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 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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7-8, and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 6336766 to DeVillele (hereinafter “DeVillele”).
-From Claim 1: DeVillele discloses a position-limiting device, comprising:
a position-limiting element 10 having
a position-limiting portion 13 and
a blocking portion 17; and
a body 15 having
a corresponding blocking portion 21 and
a fitting portion 30,
wherein the blocking portion 17 of the position-limiting element 10 and the corresponding blocking portion 21 of the body 15 block each other, allowing the position-limiting element 13 to be fitted to the body, the fitting portion 30 is fitted to an object 20, and the position-limiting element 13 penetrates a position-limited component 5 before being rotated to block or position-limit the position-limited component.
-From Claim 2: DeVillele discloses wherein the position-limited component 5 further comprises a position-limiting opening portion (the elongate part of 6) and a body opening portion (the circular part of 6), the body opening portion position-limits non-axial or lateral movement of the body, and the position-limiting portion penetrates the position-limiting opening portion before being rotated to restrict axial movement of the position- limited component.
-From Claim 3: DeVillele discloses wherein the body opening portion is of a larger size than, of a smaller size than or of the same size as the position-limiting opening portion.
-From Claim 4: DeVillele discloses wherein the position-limiting element 10 has a joint portion 17, and the joint portion is fitted to the position-limiting portion 13 or the blocking portion.
-From Claim 5: DeVillele discloses wherein the fitting portion 30 has a material engaging portion 33 for engaging with the object 20.
-From Claim 7: DeVillele discloses wherein the position-limiting opening portion is a slot, hole, oblong hole or notch.
-From Claim 8: DeVillele discloses wherein the position-limiting element is a strip, block, sheet, lever, or resilient leaf spring.
-From Claim 10: DeVillele discloses wherein the position-limited component 5 further comprises a body opening portion (the circular part of 6), the body opening portion position-limits non-axial or lateral movement of the body, and the position-limiting portion 13 penetrates the body opening portion before being rotated to restrict axial movement of the position-limited component 5.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 9 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
As to Claim 6, it would not have been obvious to modify DeVillele so as to make the fitting portion 30 press against the object 20 such that part of a material of the object enters or flows into the material engaging portion.
As to Claim 9, it would not have been obvious to modify DeVillele so as to make the blocking portion and the corresponding blocking portion fitted to each other by riveting, fastening, etc.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, as the cited references include structure similar to that of the presently claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL J WILEY whose telephone number is (571)270-7324. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm PST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber Anderson can be reached at 5712705281. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DANIEL J WILEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678 7/28/2026
Prosecution Insights