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 § 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) 1-3, and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Foley (US 2014/0157949) in view of Bain et al (CN 102570230).
Foley discloses an insert for a hybrid bicycle crank arm assembly, a metallic component (165) having a bore (see Fig 3) formed therethrough, said insert (165) configured to provide compression to a portion of a composite component (75) of said bicycle crank arm assembly when said insert (165) is coupled with said composite component (75) of said hybrid bicycle crank arm assembly (see Fig 3).
Foley does not disclose said metallic component comprising: a retention shape having an outer wall; and a hooked undercut formed exterior to said outer wall of said retention shape, said hooked undercut having a portion which extends outwardly from in a direction substantially parallel to said outer wall of said retention shape.
Bain teaches the use of a metallic component comprising: a retention shape having an outer wall (see Fig 3); and a hooked undercut (unnumbered hook, see Fig 3) formed exterior to said outer wall of said retention shape (see Fig 3), said hooked undercut (unnumbered hook, see Fig 3) having a portion which extends outwardly from in a direction substantially parallel to said outer wall of said retention shape (see Fig 3).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date. was made to modify the device of Foley to include a metallic component as taught by Bain et al in order to simplify installation.
Bain shows and renders obvious said hooked undercut (unnumbered hook, see Fig 3) is directionally configured to inhibit rotation of said insert about an insert axis when said insert is coupled with said composite component (see ¶5) of said hybrid bicycle crank arm assembly.
Re claim 3, Bain shows and renders obvious said hooked undercut (unnumbered hook, see Fig 3) extends from at least a portion of said metallic component (see ¶28) to provide resistance to a torsional load when said insert is coupled with said composite component (see ¶5) of said hybrid bicycle crank arm assembly (see Fig 3).
Re claim 7, Foley discloses said insert is a pedal insert.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6 and 8-20 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
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VICKY A JOHNSON whose telephone number is (571)272-7106. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday.
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/VICKY A JOHNSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3617