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, 4, and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent 3,769,117 (Bowen).
In Re claim 1 Bowen discloses a tube body (15) in which a cylindrical member assembled to an outer periphery of a tube main body by laser welding (21 in Figure 3), the tube body being characterized in that an outer diameter of the tube main body in a portion where the cylindrical member is assembled is different from an outer diameter of the tube main body where the cylindrical member is not assembled (varying diameter if tube 15 shown in Figure 4), and the outer diameter of the tube main body in the portion where the cylindrical member is not assembled is smaller than an inner diameter of the cylindrical member (shown in Figure 4).
In Re claim 4 Bowen discloses a mandrel which is inserted in the tube main body (16 in Figure 4).
In Re claim 5 Bowen discloses rotating the tube main body while laser welding is being performed with the center of the tube main body serving as the center of rotation (abstract).
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) 2 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bowen.
In Re claim 2 Bowen discloses many limitations but fails to disclose a reinforcing member incorporated into a wall of the tube main body.
The use of reinforcing fiber in the manufacturing of plastic objects was old and well known in the art at the effective filing date of the invention.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use a reinforcing structure in the tube main body of Bowen, in order to make the tube body more resistant to wear and unwanted deformation.
In Re claim 6 it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention that the Rotation speed and laser output should be adjusted to result in a secure weld.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 7 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US PGPub 2022/0039635 discloses a medical device comprising a tube main body and attached cylindrical members.
US Patent 4,694,136 discloses an apparatus and method for laser welding concentric tubes.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON KAROL NIESZ whose telephone number is (571)270-3920. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5 EST.
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/JASON K NIESZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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