DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claims 3-5 & 7 objected to because of the following informalities:
In regards to claim 3-5, the claimed subject matter “the third through hole” & “the fourth through hole” has no antecedence. Appropriate correction is required.
In regards to claim 7, the claimed subject matter “the…second inner bores” & “the fourth through hole” has no antecedence.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-14 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. In regards to claims 1, 2, 8 the claimed subject matter “the first through hole and the second through hole are in optical communication with the first inner bore” “the third through hole and the fourth through hole are in optical communication with the second inner bore” & “the first drive shaft in the first inner bore the first through hole is in optical communication with the second through hole” are rendered indefinite. Examiner interprets the claim language as the first and second hole exchanging optical information with the bore hole. Examiner notes by definition optical communication is regarded as transmission of light at a distance using light to carry information which is performed visually or electronically. Clarification is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 8, 9, & 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by 이병준 Lee Byung-Jun KR 100488561.
With respect to claim 1, Lee teaches a coupling, comprising:
a main body(fig 1);
a first hub (fig 1, 5) (pg. 3, ¶ 4) at a first end of the main body, wherein the first hub comprises a first inner bore configured to receive a first shaft (fig 1, 2) and a pair of aligned first (fig 1, 10) and second through holes (fig 1, 11) extending through opposite walls of the first hub.
With respect to claim 3 according to claim 1, Lee teaches the coupling wherein the first through hole (fig 2a, 10) has the same shape as the second through hole (fig 2a, 11), and the third through hole (fig 2b, 12) has the same shape as the fourth through hole (fig 2b, 13).
With respect to claim 8, Lee teaches an apparatus, comprising:
a main body (fig 1);
a first hub (fig 1, 5) (pg. 3, ¶ 4) at a first end of the main body, wherein the first hub comprises a first inner bore configured to receive a first shaft (fig 1, 2) and a pair of aligned first (fig 1, 10) and second through holes (fig 1, 11) extending through opposite walls of the first hub; and
a first drive shaft (fig 1, 2) configured to rotate the main body (fig 1, 5) (pg. 3, ¶ 2) , wherein the drive shaft is in the first inner bore.
With respect to claim 9 according to claim 8, Lee teaches the apparatus further comprising:
an optical source (fig 1, 21) configured to emit light toward the first through hole (pg. 3, ¶ 6); and
an optical sensor (fig 1, 23) configured to detect light propagated out of the second through hole (pg. 3, ¶ 6).
With respect to claim 10 according to claim 9, Lee teaches the apparatus of further comprising a controller “ECU” electrically connected “pulse signal” to the optical sensor (pg. 2, ¶ 11).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by 이병준 Lee Byung-Jun KR 100488561 in view of Sun CN 207414433.
With respect to claim 5 according to claim 1, Lee does not specifically teach the first through hole has the same size as the second through hole and the third through hole has the same size as the fourth through hole.
Sun’s background of invention, in the field of endeavor of drilling, teaches drills are capable of drilling holes of same diameter sizes (pg. 3, ¶ 10, lines 12-13). At the time prior to the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form the combination’s first and second holes with the same size to achieve the predictable result of forming adequate holes enabling a field of view for the combination’s cameras.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over 이병준 Lee Byung-jun KR 100488561 B1 in view of Engineers Edge, “Machinist Drilled Hole Tolerance Capabilites Chart Per. AND10387” https://www.engineersedge.com/manufacturing/drill-mechanical-tolerances.htm, November 9, 2013 hereafter Engineers Edge.
With respect to claim 6 according to claim 1, Lee does not specifically teach the coupling wherein the first through hole has a different size from the second through hole, and the third through hole has a different size from the fourth through hole.
Engineers edge, in the field of endeavor of drilling, teaches drills may (pg. 3, chart) form holes with slightly different sizes due to their inherent tolerance. At the time prior to the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form the combination’s first and second holes with different sizes to achieve the predictable result of forming similar sized holes for enabling adequate field of view for the combination’s cameras.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-20 are allowed. Claims 2, 4, 7, & 11-14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rejected base claim overcomes U.S.C 112 rejection and dependent claims are rewritten to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims or to include the limitation(s) and any intervening claims into the base claim. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
As to claim 2, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious “a second hub at a second end of the main body opposite the first end, wherein the second hub comprises a second inner bore configured to receive a second shaft and a pair of aligned third and fourth through holes extending through opposite walls of the second hub, wherein the third through hole and the fourth through hole are in optical communication with the second inner bore”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 2.
As to claim 4, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious “first through hole has a different shape from the second through hole, and the third through hole has a different shape from the fourth through hole”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 4.
As to claim 7, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious “the first and second inner bores extend along an axial direction of the coupling, and the first through hole, the second through hole, the third through hole and the fourth through hole each extend along a radial direction of the coupling transverse to the axial direction”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 7.
As to claim 11, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious “the controller is configured to cease rotation of the main body in response to a determination that the optical sensor has detected a threshold amount of light within a predetermined duration”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 11.
As to claim 13, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious “generate an alarm in response to a determination that the optical sensor has detected a threshold amount of light within a predetermined duration”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 13.
As to claim 14, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious “data acquisition system (DAQ) configured to receive a signal from the optical sensor and convert the received signal into a signal readable by the controller”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 14.
As to claim 15, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious “a first through hole and a second through hole, and the first through hole is optically aligned with the second through hole; and a plurality of draft shafts, wherein each of the drive shafts is received by an inner bore of a
corresponding hub of the plurality of hubs, wherein the plurality of drive shafts is configured to
rotate the main body”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 15.
Conclusion
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/MAURICE C SMITH/Examiner, Art Unit 2877