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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “protruding portion extending along less than an entire length of the body portion” in claim 3, “the gaps” in claims 4-7, and the “u-shape” of claim 14 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 1-2, 8-11, 14-17 and 20-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hitachi WO 2022057690 (hereinafter Hitachi).
Re. Cl. 1, Hitachi discloses: An attachment device (18, Fig. 5) configured to attach a conduit to a support and to relieve strain on the conduit (see Fig. 2), comprising: a body portion (18b, Fig. 6); a protruding portion (18g, Fig. 6) extending from the body portion (see Fig. 6); wherein the body portion has a length in a longitudinal direction (see Fig. 6, into the page in the view shown), has a height perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (see Fig. 6, laterally in the view shown), and has a thickness perpendicular to the height and the longitudinal direction (see Fig. 6, shown by the difference in 18g and 18f); wherein the body portion has a first end and a second end (see Fig. 5), wherein the second end is opposite to the first end along the length of the body portion (see Fig. 5); wherein the protruding portion extends from the body portion by a depth in a direction of the thickness of the body portion (see Fig. 6); wherein the protruding portion extends along the longitudinal direction of the body portion (see Fig. 5-6); wherein the protruding portion is structurally configured to engage a recessed portion of a conduit (see Fig. 5a and 6, fitting 25e); and wherein the protruding portion is structurally configured to engage the conduit to prevent movement of the conduit relative to the attachment device in a direction of the height of the attachment device so as to relieve strain on the conduit resulting from a hanging weight of the conduit (see Fig. 6).
Re. Cl. 2, Hitachi discloses: the protruding portion extends uniformly along the longitudinal direction of the body portion (see Fig. 6).
Re. Cl. 8, Hitachi discloses: the protruding portion is a first protruding portion and the attachment device further comprises a second protruding portion (see Fig. 6, there are four 18g’s).
Re. Cl. 9, Hitachi discloses: the first protruding portion and the second protruding portion are spaced apart in a direction of the height of the attachment device (see Fig. 6, spaced apart laterally in the view shown).
Re. Cl. 10, Hitachi discloses: the attachment device further comprises a third protruding portion (see Fig. 6, there are four 18g’s), and the first protruding portion, the second protruding portion, and the third protruding portion are uniformly spaced apart in the direction of the height of the attachment device (see Fig. 6).
Re. Cl. 11, Hitachi discloses: the recessed portion comprises a groove in the conduit (see 25e, Fig. 6).
Re. Cl. 14, Hitachi discloses: the protruding portion has a cross-sectional shape, and the cross-sectional shape of the protruding portion comprises a U-shape (see Fig. 6).
Re. Cl. 15, Hitachi discloses: An attachment device (18, Fig. 5) configured to attach a conduit (25a, Fig. 5) to a support and to relieve strain on the conduit (see Fig. 2), comprising: a body portion (18b, Fig. 6); a protruding portion (18g, Fig. 6) extending from the body portion (see Fig. 6); wherein the body portion has a first end and a second end (see Fig. 5), wherein the second end is opposite to the first end along a length of the body portion (see Fig. 5-6, into the page in the view of Fig. 6), the length extending in a longitudinal direction of the body portion (see Fig. 5); wherein the protruding portion extends from the body portion by a depth in a direction of a thickness of the body portion (see Fig. 6, vertical direction shown in Fig. 6); wherein the protruding portion extends along the longitudinal direction of the body portion (see Fig. 6); and wherein the protruding portion is structurally configured to engage a conduit to prevent movement of the conduit relative to the attachment device in a direction of a height of the attachment device so as to relieve strain on the conduit resulting from a hanging weight of the conduit (see Fig. 6).
Re. Cl. 16, Hitachi discloses: the protruding portion is structurally configured to engage a recessed portion of the conduit (see 25e, Fig. 6).
Re. Cl. 17, Hitachi discloses: the protruding portion extends uniformly along the longitudinal direction of the body portion (see Fig. 6).
Re. Cl. 20, Hitachi discloses: An attachment device (18, Fig. 5) configured to attach a conduit (25a, Fig. 5) to a support and to relieve strain on the conduit (see Fig. 2), comprising: a body portion (18b, Fig. 6); a protruding portion (18g, Fig. 6) extending from the body portion; wherein the protruding portion extends from the body portion a protrusion depth (see Fig. 6, vertically as shown); wherein the protrusion depth is in a direction of a thickness of the body portion (see Fig. 6); wherein the protruding portion extends along a longitudinal direction of the body portion (see Fig. 5-6); and wherein the protruding portion is structurally configured to engage a conduit to prevent movement of the conduit relative to the attachment device in a direction of a height of the attachment device so as to relieve strain on the conduit resulting from a hanging weight of the conduit (see Fig. 5-6).
Re. Cl. 21, Hitachi discloses: the body portion has a first end and a second end (see Fig. 5), the second end being opposite to the first end along a length of the body portion, the length extending in the longitudinal direction of the body portion (see Fig. 5).
Re. Cl. 22, Hitachi discloses: the protruding portion is structurally configured to engage a recessed portion of the conduit (see Fig. 6, engaging 25e).
Re. Cl. 23, Hitachi discloses: the protruding portion extends uniformly along the longitudinal direction of the body portion (see Fig. 6).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 3, 18 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hitachi in view of Oga US 7399922 (hereinafter Oga).
Re. Cls. 3, 18 and 24, Hitachi does not explicitly disclose the protruding portion extends along an entire length of the longitudinal direction of the body portion. Oga discloses a strap (1, Fig. 3) which includes a protruding portion (17, Fig. 3) which is intended to mate with a groove formed on a conduit (2a, Fig. 1), and the protruding portion extends along an entire length of the longitudinal direction of the body portion (see Fig. 3, 17 extends the entire interior length of body portion 12).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Hitachi protruding portions to extend along the entire length of the body portion as disclosed by Oga with reasonable expectation of success to provide maximum integration between the conduit and the body portion that would provide the most resistance to movement between the two.
Claims 4-7, 12-13 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hitachi in view of Takadoro US 2005/0247826 (hereinafter Takadoro).
Re. Cls. 4-7, 12-13 and 19, Hitachi does not disclose the protruding portion extends along less than an entire length of the longitudinal direction of the body portion (Cls. 4 and 19), the protruding portion is separated in the longitudinal direction by a gap between portions of the protruding portion (Cl. 5), the protruding portion is separated in the longitudinal direction by gaps between portions of the protruding portion, and the gaps are spaced along the longitudinal direction (Cl. 6), the gaps are spaced along the longitudinal direction at uniform intervals (Cl. 7), the protruding portion has a cross-sectional shape, and the cross-sectional shape of the protruding portion comprises a triangle (Cl. 12), or the protruding portion has a cross-sectional shape, and the cross-sectional shape of the protruding portion comprises a trapezoid (Cl. 13). Takadoro discloses an attachment device (Fig. 4) which includes a body portion (24, Fig. 4) and protruding portions (25, 26, Fig. 4) which function to make with grooves (10, Fig. 1 and 7, Fig. 3) on a conduit to prevent movement of the conduit relative to the attachment device. Re. Cls. 4 and 19, Takadoro discloses disclose the protruding portion extends along less than an entire length of the longitudinal direction of the body portion (see 26s, there are gaps between 26s). Re. Cls. 5-7, Takadoro discloses the protruding portion is separated in the longitudinal direction by a gap between portions of the protruding portion (see spacing between 26s, Fig. 4); the protruding portion is separated in the longitudinal direction by gaps between portions of the protruding portion, and the gaps are spaced along the longitudinal direction (see Fig. 4); the gaps are spaced along the longitudinal direction at uniform intervals (see Fig. 4). Re. Cl. 12, Takadoro discloses the protruding portion (25, Fig. 4) has a cross-sectional shape, and the cross-sectional shape of the protruding portion comprises a triangle (see Fig. 4). Re. Cl. 13, Takadoro discloses the protruding portion (26, Fig. 4) has a cross-sectional shape, and the cross-sectional shape of the protruding portion comprises a trapezoid (see Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the protruding portions to be discontinuous (i.e. have gaps) as disclosed by Takadoro with reasonable expectation of success since it has been held obvious to replace one known means with another (i.e. continuous ribs with spaced ribs) to achieve a predictable result (i.e. preventing movement between the attachment device and conduit). KSR Int’l Co. V. Teleflex Inc. 550 U.S. ___, 82 USPQ 2d 1385 (Supreme Court 2007) (KSR). Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the protruding portions of Hitachi to be triangular or trapezoidal as disclosed by Takadoro with reasonable expectation of success since it has been held obvious to modify the shape or configuration of a device absent persuasive evidence that the particular configuration was significant. In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Munch US 4779828, Kohut US 4795116, Kohut US 4784358, and Jobin US 5794897 disclose other known attachment devices which function to prevent movement of a conduit relative to its main body .
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER E GARFT whose telephone number is (571)270-1171. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Terrell McKinnon can be reached at (571)272-4797. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER GARFT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3632