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 § 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 13 and 19-20 are 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.
Claim 13 depending on itself renders its features unclear to which claim it further narrows. It is suggested to change its dependency to claim 12 to address the issue.
Claim 19 recites the limitation "the camera housing" in lines 7-8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 20 is also rejected for being dependent of the base claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Harrison et al (WO 2007015101 A2) in views of Troglotech (“Troglotech Sewer Inspection Camera - T710 1-Inch Camera”, “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAKwI6kb4tA”, 2013) and Vincent (US 4042305 A).
Regarding claim 1, Harrison teaches A camera ball (Figs. 1, 4), comprising:
a single camera (18);
a housing body (8A-C) defining a single optical opening for the single camera in a front side of the housing body, wherein the housing body is formed by two or more portions configured to enclose the single camera, wherein the housing body includes a rear opening (7) diametrically opposite the camera opening (Figs. 1, 2, 4; page 11; page 14, line 15-17);
a wireless transceiver (19) operatively connected to the single camera to receive imaging data therefrom (Figs.1, 4; page 12);
an attachment member (5), wherein the attachment member is a bolt (bolt 5 have outer threads attached to inner threads of 7), disposed within the rear opening (7) (Figs. 1, 2, 4; page 11); and
a flexible spring (of rod 4) connected to the cameral ball via the attachment member (5), pull, and rotate the cameral ball via the inspection rod, wherein the female fitting includes a quick release fitting,
but fails to teach
a plurality of protrusions extending outwardly from the housing body, wherein the plurality of protrusions are disposed symmetrically about a center axis of the housing body;
wherein the flexible spring is threaded onto the attachment member at a first end of the flexible spring;
wherein the quick release fitting includes receiving portion and an aperture defined through an outer wall of the receiving portion, the aperture configured to receive a button lock of a connecting segment of the inspection rod to lock the inspection rod within the receiving portion.
However, in the same field of endeavor Troglotech teaches
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a plurality of protrusions extending outwardly from the housing body, wherein the plurality of protrusions are disposed symmetrically about a center axis of the housing body (the above annotated figure 1; ribs 1-3 disposed symmetrically about a center axis to ribs 4-6 respectively).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Trolotech in Harrison to have a plurality of protrusions extending outwardly from the housing body, wherein the plurality of protrusions are disposed symmetrically about a center axis of the housing body for forming protrusions on housing body for stronger camera housing body construction yielding a predicted result.
Moreover, in the same field of endeavor Vincent teaches
wherein the flexible spring is threaded onto the attachment member at a first end of the flexible spring (Figs. 1-5; Vincent’s method is to attach a flexible spring to a stud by threading the spring onto outer threads of a stud; this method can be used to connect Harrison’s spring 4 onto stud 5);
wherein the quick release fitting (10) includes receiving portion and an aperture (34) defined through an outer wall of the receiving portion (24), the aperture (34) configured to receive a button lock (52) of a connecting segment (38) of the inspection rod to lock the inspection rod (14, 18) within the receiving portion (Figs. 1-5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Vincent in the combination to have wherein the flexible spring is threaded onto the attachment member at a first end of the flexible spring; wherein the quick release fitting includes receiving portion and an aperture defined through an outer wall of the receiving portion, the aperture configured to receive a button lock of a connecting segment of the inspection rod to lock the inspection rod within the receiving portion for providing an quicker release fitting connector with a button lock configuration allowing quicker connecting and disconnecting from the system at later time with ease yielding a predicted result.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Harrison, Troglotech and Vincent teaches everything as claimed in claim 1. In addition, Troglogtech teaches wherein each of the plurality of protrusions (1-6) are integrally formed with the two or more portions of the housing body such that each protrusion forms a single piece with a respective portion of the housing (the above annotated figure 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Troglogtech in the combination to have the feature for forming protrusions as part of the housing body for stronger camera housing body construction yielding a predicted result.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Harrison, Troglotech and Vincent teaches everything as claimed in claim 1. In addition, Harrison teaches wherein the housing body is spheroidal (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Harrison, Troglotech and Vincent teaches everything as claimed in claim 2. In addition, Troglogtech teaches wherein the plurality of protrusions are or include one or more circumferential ribs (curved ribs 1-6) extending radially outwardly from the housing body, wherein the one or more circumferential ribs are curved along at least a portion of the two or more portions of the housing body (the above annotated figure 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Troglogtech in the combination to have the feature for forming curved protrusions as part of the housing body for stronger camera housing body construction yielding a predicted result.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Harrison, Troglotech and Vincent teaches everything as claimed in claim 4. In addition, Troglogtech teaches wherein the one or more circumferential ribs that extend radially outwardly starting from the optical opening, extending circumferentially and ending at a rear location of the housing body (the above annotated figure 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Troglogtech in the combination to have the feature for forming curved protrusions as part of the housing body for stronger camera housing body construction and allowing different predefined viewing set angles yielding a predicted result.
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Harrison, Troglotech and Vincent teaches everything as claimed in claim 5. In addition, Harrison teaches wherein the rear location is the rear opening (7) (Figs. 1, 4).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Harrison, Troglotech and Vincent teaches everything as claimed in claim 6. In addition, Troglogtech teaches wherein the housing body further comprises one or more light openings (a light opening 1 between the rib pair 2 & 6) between one or more pairs of adjacent circumferential ribs and configured to receive a light (the above annotated figure 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Troglogtech in the combination to have the features for arranging illuminations with protrusions for stronger camera housing body construction while enabling sufficient illuminations for inspections yielding a predicted result.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Harrison, Troglotech and Vincent teaches everything as claimed in claim 7. In addition, Troglogtech teaches wherein the one or more light openings include a light opening disposed between each adjacent pair (the above annotated figure 1; a light opening 1 between the rib pair 2 & 6).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Troglogtech in the combination to have the features for arranging illuminations with protrusions for stronger camera housing body construction while enabling sufficient illuminations for inspections yielding a predicted result.
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Harrison, Troglotech and Vincent teaches everything as claimed in claim 8. In addition, Troglogtech teaches wherein the one or more light openings are concentrically disposed around the camera opening (the above annotated figure 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Troglogtech in the combination to have the features for arranging illuminations with protrusions for stronger camera housing body construction while enabling sufficient illuminations for inspection areas yielding a predicted result.
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Harrison, Troglotech and Vincent teaches everything as claimed in claim 1. In addition, Harrison teaches further comprising an antenna hole defined in a rear side of the housing body and configured to allow an antenna to extend away from a direction of the camera (Figs. 1, 4; page 12; page 13, line 35 to page 14, line 4; the front housing 8B and the rear housing [8A,8C] define an interior space receiving camera 18, light sources 18A and electric circuit module 19 with a wireless transceiver connected to an aerial/antenna projected though antenna aperture 21, an on/off switch, a rechargeable battery 20).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Harrison, Troglotech and Vincent everything as claimed in claim 1. In addition, Harrison teaches wherein the housing body defines a plurality of interior features configured to nest each internal component therein (Figs. 1, 4).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Harrison, Troglotech and Vincent teaches everything as claimed in claim 1. In addition, Troglotech teaches
wherein the two or more portions of the housing body include a front portion and a rear portion, wherein the front portion (10) and rear portion (20) are configured to be attached together (annotated figure 1).
Troglotech further teaches the ribs of the front housing 10 and the ribs of the rear housing 20 are offset a bit and not completely aligned. However, making the ribs aligned is simply matter of design choice or adjustability.
Troglotech discloses the claimed invention except for “wherein the one or more circumferential ribs formed in the front portion and the one or more circumferential ribs formed in the rear portion are configured to align when the front and rear portions are attached”. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have “wherein the one or more circumferential ribs formed in the front portion and the one or more circumferential ribs formed in the rear portion are configured to align when the front and rear portions are attached”, since it has been held that the provision of adjustability, where needed, involves only routine skill in the art. In re Stevens, 101 USPQ 284 (CCPA 1954); or
Troglotech discloses the claimed invention except for “wherein the one or more circumferential ribs formed in the front portion and the one or more circumferential ribs formed in the rear portion are configured to align when the front and rear portions are attached”. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have “wherein the one or more circumferential ribs formed in the front portion and the one or more circumferential ribs formed in the rear portion are configured to align when the front and rear portions are attached” since the applicant has not disclosed that “wherein the one or more circumferential ribs formed in the front portion and the one or more circumferential ribs formed in the rear portion are configured to align when the front and rear portions are attached” solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally well with the camera ball of Troglotech.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Troglogtech in the combination to have the features for providing stronger camera housing body assembly with different separated body parts for allowing internal components to be assembled and serviced yielding a predicted result.
Claims 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Harrison et al (WO 2007015101 A2) in views of Troglotech (“Troglotech Sewer Inspection Camera - T710 1-Inch Camera”, “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAKwI6kb4tA”, 2013) and Vincent (US 4042305 A) as applied to claim 13(12) above, and further in view of Sannata (US 10375356 B2).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Harrison, Troglotech and Vincent teaches everything as claimed in claim 13 (interpreted as claim 12), but fails to teach
wherein the two or more portions are configured to be fastened together with one or more fasteners.
However, in the same field of endeavor Sannata teaches
wherein the two or more portions are configured to be fastened together with one or more fasteners (Figs. 11A-11M; each of front cover and rear cover having respective screw holes for screws).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Sannata in the combination to have wherein the two or more portions are configured to be fastened together with one or more fasteners for allowing internal components to be assembled and serviced easily when needed while allowing good alignment of body components yielding a predicted result.
Claims 16-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Harrison et al (WO 2007015101 A2) in views of Troglotech (“Troglotech Sewer Inspection Camera - T710 1-Inch Camera”, “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAKwI6kb4tA”, 2013), Sannata (US 10375356 B2) and [Lim et al (KR 101539723 B1) or Vincent (US 4042305 A)].
Regarding claim 16, Harrison teaches An dryer vent inspection system kit (Figs. 1, 2, 4; page 10; inspection of ducts; drain surveys; locating dislodged joints in drains;… or other purposes; muffler and exhaust systems; an intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim; Moreover, Harrison’s wireless inspection system kit can inspect dryer vents or ducts; dryer vent is a species or an example of a duct system; On page 14, Harrison further describes an external diameter of camera housing is 30 mm which is very suitable for fitting into a dryer vent and flexural modulus of elastically deformable rod > 25 which is also very suitable for allowing the camera to rotate and flex while traversing contortions of duct systems such as dryer vent so as not to damage the system), comprising:
a camera ball (1), comprising:
a single camera (18) configured to capture a live video of an interior of a dryer vent (Fig. 1);
a plurality of lights (18A) configured to illuminate the interior of the dryer vent during an inspection (Fig. 1);
a wireless transceiver (18) configured to transmit the live video from the single camera to a remote device to display the live video (Figs. 1, 4; page 13, lines 1-16);
a forward housing portion (8B) having a central hole (18) defined therethrough for receiving a camera lens, a plurality of light apertures (18A) defined therethrough and arranged circumferentially about the central opening,
a rear housing portion (8A, 8C) having a central hole (7) defined therethrough for receiving an attachment member (4) (Figs. 1, 2, 4; page 11; page 14, line 15-17), an aperture (21) defined therethrough for receiving an antenna of the wireless transceiver, and the interior space of the rear housing portion form a camera ball interior to nest and encase the single camera, the plurality of lights, the wireless transceiver, and the electronics assembly therein (Figs. 1, 2, 4; page 12; page 13, line 35 to page 14, line 4; the front housing 8B and the rear housing [8A,8C] define an interior space receiving camera 18, light sources 18A and electric circuit module 19 with a wireless transceiver connected to an aerial/antenna projected though antenna aperture 21, an on/off switch, a rechargeable battery 20),
the wireless transceiver operatively connected to the single camera to receive imaging data therefrom and configured to wirelessly communicate the imaging data to the remote device (Figs.1, 4; page 12);
the electronics assembly including:
a power switch operatively connected to the controller to turn the controller on or off, the power switch accessible from an outside of a housing body (page 13, line 35 to page 14, line 4);
a rechargeable battery disposed within the housing body (page 13, line 35 to page 14, line 4), and
the attachment member (5) partially inserted into the central opening (7) of the rear housing portion and secured with a fastener (inner threads of 7) on the interior of the camera ball such that a portion of the attachment member (5) extends outward from the rear housing portion, wherein the attachment member is a threaded attachment member and the fastener (inner threads of 7) is a threaded fastener threaded onto the attachment member (5) (Figs. 1, 2, 4; page 11);
a flexible spring (of rod 4) having a first end and a second end,
an inspection rod (a second rod 4 coupled to a first rod 4) selectively coupled to the camera ball via the quick release female fitting (of 6) for maneuvering the camera ball through the interior of the dryer vent during the inspection (Figs. 1, 2, 4; page 11),
but fails to teach
a forward housing portion having a plurality of ribs defined on the forward housing portion, extending from the central opening to a rear of the forward housing portion, and arranged circumferentially about the central opening, protruding outward from the forward housing portion, wherein the plurality of light apertures are disposed between the plurality of ribs such that the plurality of light apertures and the plurality of ribs alternate in the circumferential direction, wherein the interior space includes a plurality of fastener apertures disposed therein for receiving a respective fastener,
a rear housing portion having an aperture defined therethrough configured for receiving a charging cable to charge the single camera or one or more portions of the electronics assembly, and a plurality of ribs defined on the rear housing portion, extending from the central opening to a rear of the rear housing portion, and arranged circumferentially about the central opening, protruding outward from the rear housing portion, wherein the interior space includes a plurality of fastener apertures disposed therein for receiving a respective fastener,
the electronics assembly including:
a controller disposed configured to control the single camera, the plurality of lights, the wireless transceiver;
a charging port accessible from the outside of the housing body through the charging aperture;
a plurality of fasteners, each respective fastener extending through a respective fastener aperture of the rear housing portion into a respective fastener aperture of the forward housing portion to secure the rear housing portion to the forward housing portion;
a flexible spring having a first end and a second end, the first end threaded onto the attachment member.
However, in the same field of endeavor Troglotech teaches
a forward housing portion (10) having a plurality of ribs (1, 3, 5) defined on the forward housing portion, extending from the central opening (7) to a rear of the forward housing portion, and arranged circumferentially about the central opening, protruding outward from the forward housing portion, wherein the plurality of light apertures (2, 4, 6) are disposed between the plurality of ribs (1, 3, 5) such that the plurality of light apertures and the plurality of ribs alternate in the circumferential direction (the above annotated figure 1),
a rear housing portion (20) having a plurality of ribs (1, 3, 5) defined on the rear housing portion, extending from the central opening to a rear of the rear housing portion, and arranged circumferentially about the central opening, protruding outward from the rear housing portion (the above annotated figure 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Troglotech in Harrison to have a forward housing portion having a plurality of ribs defined on the forward housing portion, extending from the central opening to a rear of the forward housing portion, and arranged circumferentially about the central opening, protruding outward from the forward housing portion, wherein the plurality of light apertures are disposed between the plurality of ribs such that the plurality of light apertures and the plurality of ribs alternate in the circumferential direction, and a rear housing portion having a plurality of ribs defined on the rear housing portion, extending from the central opening to a rear of the rear housing portion, and arranged circumferentially about the central opening, protruding outward from the rear housing portion for providing protrusions for stronger camera housing construction yielding a predicted result.
Moreover, in the same field of endeavor Sannata teaches
a rear housing portion having an aperture defined therethrough configured for receiving a charging cable to charge the single camera or one or more portions of the electronics assembly, a forward housing portion, wherein the interior space includes a plurality of fastener apertures disposed therein for receiving a respective fastener, a rear housing portion, wherein the interior space includes a plurality of fastener apertures disposed therein for receiving a respective fastener (Figs. 11A-11M; each of front cover and rear cover having respective screw holes for screws; the rear cover having an USB aperture for a charging cable),
the electronics assembly including: a controller (CPU on the main board) disposed configured to control the single camera, the plurality of lights, the wireless transceiver; a charging port (USB) accessible from the outside of the housing body through the charging aperture (Figs. 11A-11M);
a plurality of fasteners, each respective fastener extending through a respective fastener aperture of the rear housing portion into a respective fastener aperture of the forward housing portion to secure the rear housing portion to the forward housing portion (Fig. 11G).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Sannata in the combination of Harrison and Troglotech to have a rear housing portion having an aperture defined therethrough configured for receiving a charging cable to charge the single camera or one or more portions of the electronics assembly, a forward housing portion, wherein the interior space includes a plurality of fastener apertures disposed therein for receiving a respective fastener, a rear housing portion, wherein the interior space includes a plurality of fastener apertures disposed therein for receiving a respective fastener, the electronics assembly including: a controller disposed configured to control the camera, the plurality of lights, the wireless transceiver; a charging port accessible from the outside of the housing body through the charging aperture; a plurality of fasteners, each respective fastener extending through a respective fastener aperture of the rear housing portion into a respective fastener aperture of the forward housing portion to secure the rear housing portion to the forward housing portion for providing more secure fastening configuration with through screws between the front and rear housing portions and improved internal electronic assembly with better technologies yielding a predicted result.
Furthermore, in the same field of endeavor Lim/Vincent teaches
a flexible spring (spring 140) having a first end and a second end, the first end threaded onto the attachment member (Lim: Figs. 5-7; page 5, lines 11-48; spring rod 140 having one end threaded onto the rod connector 150; this method can be used to connect Harrison’s spring 4 onto stud 5; Vincent: Figs. 1-5; Vincent’s method is to attach a flexible spring to a stud by threading the spring onto outer threads of a stud; this method can be used to connect Harrison’s spring 4 onto stud 5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Lim/Vincent in the combination of Harrison, Troglotech and Sannata to have a flexible spring having a first end and a second end, the first end threaded onto the attachment member for using a flexible coil spring threaded over the attachment member producing an alternative spring rod attachment providing different product varieties yielding a predicted result.
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Harrison, Troglotech, Sannata and Lim/Vincent teaches everything as claimed in claim 16. In addition, Harrison teaches
wherein the camera ball, the attachment member, and the flexible spring are configured to, together, be selectively removed from and attached to a plurality of different duct inspection rods or duct inspection rod adapters (Figs. 1, 2, 4; page 12; page 13, line 35 to page 14, line 4; different duct inspection rods can be attached and removed from female connector 6).
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Harrison, Troglotech, Sannata and Lim/Vincent teaches everything as claimed in claim 17. In addition, Harrison teaches
wherein the plurality of lights are separate from the single camera (Fig. 1).
Claims 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Harrison et al (WO 2007015101 A2) in view of [Vincent (US 4042305 A) or Lim et al (KR 101539723 B1)].
Regarding claim 19, Harrison teaches A camera system (Figs. 1, 4), comprising:
a forward housing portion (8B) having a first end and a second end opposite the first end (Figs. 1, 4); and
a rear housing portion (8A, 8C) having a first end and a second end opposite the first end, the first end of the rear housing portion configured to interface with the second end of the forward housing portion (8B), wherein the forward housing portion and the rear housing portion are separable from one another to allow placement of a wireless camera (camera unit 18) within the camera housing (Figs. 1, 4; page 12; page 13, line 35 to page 14, line 4; the front housing 8B and the rear housing [8A,8C] define an interior space receiving camera 18, light sources 18A and electric circuit module 19 with a wireless transceiver connected to an aerial/antenna projected though antenna aperture 21, an on/off switch, a rechargeable battery 20);
wherein the rear housing portion includes:
a central hole (7) defined through the second end for receiving a first portion of an attachment member (4) (Figs. 1, 2, 4; page 11; page 14, line 15-17);
the attachment member (4) with the first portion (5) of the attachment member removably threaded into the central hole (7) and a second portion (6) of the attachment member extending outwardly from second end of the rear housing portion (Figs. 1, 2, 4; “The male screw threaded connector 5 can be screwed into a female screw threaded connection 7 provided on a housing 8 of the camera assembly”);
a flexible resilient extension (of rod 4)
a quick release fitting (6) at second end of the flexible resilient extension configured to releasably couple an inspection rod (a second rod 4 coupled to the fitting 6 of a first rod 4) to the camera housing via the flexible resilient member (Figs. 1, 2, 4; page 11; “The female screw threaded connector 6 can be screwed into a matching male screw threaded connector provided on the end of a series of rods that may each be of the same form as shown in Fig. 2, except that, as explained below, the rod 4 is plastically deformable whereas each rod of the series of rods may be elastically deformable”),
but fails to teach
a flexible resilient extension removably threaded onto the second portion of the attachment member at a first end of the flexible resilient extension.
However, in the same field of endeavor Lim/Vincent teaches
a flexible resilient extension (spring 140) removably threaded onto the second portion of the attachment member at a first end of the flexible resilient extension (Vincent: Figs. 1-5; Vincent’s method is to attach a flexible spring to a stud by threading the spring onto outer threads of a stud; this method can be used to connect Harrison’s spring 4 onto stud 5; Lim: Figs. 5-7; page 5, lines 11-48; spring rod 140 having one end threaded onto the rod connector 150; this method can be used to connect Harrison’s spring 4 onto stud 5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to use the teachings as taught by Lim/Vincent in Harrison to have a flexible resilient extension removably threaded onto the second portion of the attachment member at a first end of the flexible resilient extension for using a flexible coil spring threaded over the attachment member producing an alternative spring rod attachment providing different product varieties yielding a predicted result.
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Harrison, Troglotech, Sannata and Lim/Vincent teaches everything as claimed in claim 19. In addition, Harrison teaches further comprising the inspection rod (a second rod 4 coupled to a first rod 4), wherein both of the flexible resilient member and the inspection rod are configured to flex under application of a transverse force so as to allow the camera to traverse curved portions of a dryer vent during inspection, and wherein both of the flexible resilient member and the inspection rod are configured to return to an original position after traversing the curved portion so as to remain rigid when advancing the camera system forward (Figs. 1, 2, 4; page 11; “The female screw threaded connector 6 can be screwed into a matching male screw threaded connector provided on the end of a series of rods that may each be of the same form as shown in Fig. 2, except that, as explained below, the rod 4 is plastically deformable whereas each rod of the series of rods may be elastically deformable… series of rods has a natural state in which it is straight, and can be bent into a different shape by elastic deformation, but will then return to a straight shape as soon as it is free to do so”).
Alternative/additional rejections
Kjerulff (US 2557119 A) shows two obvious methods of attaching a flexible spring to a connector where a first method of fig. 1 shows a flexible spring A is threaded onto the connector 1 and a second method of fig. 5 is the same as Harrison’s fig. 2. Kjerulff can be used in place of Lim/Vincent to teach a flexible spring having a first end and a second end, the first end threaded onto the attachment member for the same reasons.
Prior arts
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Southwest Florida Dryer Vent Cleaning Inc, Video Inspection of Dryer Vent, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YylEHiMHNd0. The video shows a captured video captured by an inspection camera inside a dryer vent.
Southwest Florida Dryer Vent Cleaning Inc, Dryer Vent Cleaning - Cerromar Dr. Naples Lakes C.C., 2014 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBuuKp1tZQY. The video shows a flexible spring is threaded onto an attachment member at a first end and a quick connect female connector at a second end. The quick connect female connector is connected to a rod via a button lock quick release fitting.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Quan Pham whose telephone number is (571)272-4438. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9am-7pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sinh Tran can be reached at (571) 272-7564. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Quan Pham/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2637