DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Claims 32-40 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on June 1, 2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on August 06, 2024 was in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
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 “connection member” & “second connection structure” [claim 22] must be clearly shown / depicted and/or labeled within the drawings 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 § 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.
Claims 22, 24 & 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. In Claim 22, the aspect of the “connection member” as it relates to the limit member is not clearly understood since the connection member feature does not appear to be described in the disclosure, thereby obscuring the metes and bounds of patent protection being sought by applicant. In Claim 24, it is noted that the claim is defined by four distinct alternative limitations (which is acceptable); however, the third alternative includes the “and/or” phraseology which in conjunction with the other “or” alternatives may not provide proper support for the combining of distinct limitations and therefore a proper interpretation of the claimed scope is unascertainable. Claim 29 appears to be misdescriptive of the elected invention since the first end (of the first frame) can have a first rib (1111), but the second end (still on the first frame) does not appear to have a second rib (1211) which is located along the fourth end of the second frame, thereby making the claimed subject matter unclear and confusing.
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 21-24 & 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 219653282. CN`282 teaches of a connection component (fig. 1) comprising: a first frame (1), annularly arranged around a first axis (vertical axis for instance), and having a first end (upper end) and a second end (lower end) oppositely arranged in a direction parallel to the first axis, the first end having a capacity to be connected to one end of a first housing of an air handling unit, and the second end being provided with a first limit groove (34); a second frame (2), annularly arranged around a second axis (vertical axis for instance), and having a third end (lower end) and a fourth end (upper end) oppositely arranged in a direction parallel to the second axis, the third end having a capacity to be connected to one end of a second housing of the air handling unit, and the fourth end being provided with a second limit groove (32, 36) and being configured to be connected to the second end; and a limit member (35), configured to position the first frame and the second frame with one end extending into the first limit groove and another end extending into the second limit groove (such as when (1) and (2) are coupled). As to Claim 22, the connection component further comprising: a connection member (37); wherein the limit member includes a first connection structure (305), the second end is provided with a second connection structure (viewed as the rounded end structure – fig. 4), and the connection member is connected to the first connection structure and the second connection structure (via the main portion of (35)) as best understood by the examiner in view of the 112(b) above. As to Claim 23, the first frame includes a first annular frame (note fig. 1) and a first boss (30), an inner sidewall of the first annular frame, close to the first axis, is connected to the first boss, and the first limit groove is at least partially provided on the first boss (fig. 2); and the second frame includes a second annular frame (fig. 1) and a second boss (31), an inner sidewall of the second annular frame, close to the second axis, is connected to the second boss, and the second limit groove is at least partially provided on the second boss (fig. 3). As to Claim 24, the first limit groove is arranged at a side of the first frame (figs. 1-2), with a portion of the limit member (curved end portion), configured to extend into the first limit groove, being in a straight strip shape (fig. 4). As to Claim 29, the fourth end being provided with a rib (200) having a thickness direction perpendicular to the second axis and configured to abut against the second housing, if so desired and as best understood.
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 30 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 219653282. CN`282 teaches applicant’s basic inventive claimed connection component as outlined above, including a fill member (20), wherein the second end is provided with a first annular groove (10) arranged around the first axis, the fourth end is provided with the fill member arranged around the second axis, and the first annular groove and the fill member are configured to be in communication with each other when the second end is connected to the fourth end; and the fill member is configured to fill in a space formed by the first annular groove, when the second end is connected to the fourth end; but CN`282 does not show the inclusion of a second annular groove arranged around the second axis from which the fill member would fill. As to this aspect, the position is taken that it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the fill member separable {in a manner such that both the first and second frames would include annular grooves – wherein the fill member would fit within both grooves and provide the same sealing aspect}, with a reasonable expectation of success, since it has been held that constructing a formally integral structure into various elements, where the elements perform the same function as the integral structure, involves only routine skill in the art. In re Dulberg, 289 F.2d 522, 523, 129 USPQ 348, 349 (CCPA 1961); (The claimed structure, a lipstick holder with a removable cap, was fully met by the prior art except that in the prior art the cap is "press fitted" and therefore not manually removable. The court held that "if it were considered desirable for any reason to obtain access to the end of [the prior art’s] holder to which the cap is applied, it would be obvious to make the cap removable for that purpose.”).
Claims 21-22, 24, 29 & 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Betto et al., [US 2010/0264782] in view of Lord [US 2012/0079791]. Betto teaches of a connection component (fig. 1) comprising: a first frame (10), annularly arranged around a first axis (such as a vertical axis), and having a first end (upper end) and a second end (lower end) oppositely arranged in a direction parallel to the first axis, the first end being configured to be connected to one end of a first housing of an air handling unit (such as (16)), and the second end being provided with a guide (6a); a second frame (7), annularly arranged around a second axis (such as a vertical axis), and having a third end (lower end) and a fourth end (upper end) oppositely arranged in a direction parallel to the second axis, the third end being configured to be connected to one end of a second housing of the air handling unit (such as (2)), and the fourth end being provided with a limit groove (6b) and being configured to be connected to the second end; and a limit member (viewed as the guide (6a)), configured to position the first frame and the second frame with one end into the limit groove. Betto teaches applicant’s basic inventive claimed connection component as outlined above; but does not show the second end as having a distinct limit groove. As to this aspect, Lord is cited as an evidence reference for the known aspect of adjacently stacked components (note fig. 8) having oppositely arranged limit grooves (20) along upper and lower ends that accept a limit member (82) in order to couple both components together. Accordingly, the position is taken that it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the device of Betto so as to provide a distinct limit groove along the first frame and distinct limit member in view of Lord’s teaching, with a reasonable expectation of success, because this arrangement would enhance the versatility of the prior art’s device by providing an alternative means by which the stacked components can be coupled without having a form a limit member along one of the components, i.e., the use of a distinct limit member and mating limit grooves on opposing components would allow for more versatility in the stacked coupling arrangement as dependent upon the needs and/or preferences of an end user. Regarding Claim 22, as modified, the connection component further comprising: a connection member (viewed as the main body of the “I” shaped limit member); wherein the limit member includes a first connection structure (such as the horizontal top of the I for instance), the second end is provided with a second connection structure (such as the horizontal bottom of the I for instance), and the connection member is connected to the first connection structure and the second connection structure. Regarding Claim 24, as modified, the first limit groove is arranged at a side of the first frame (would be along one side of the frame), with a portion of the limit member, configured to extend into the first limit groove (for proper coupling), being in a straight strip shape (shown). Regarding Claim 29, as modified, the fourth end being provided with a rib (such as the vertically oriented rib between (8a and 6b) as shown in fig. 2A for instance) having a thickness direction perpendicular to the second axis and configured to abut against the second housing.
Regarding Claim 31, as modified, wherein in a first working state of the connection component, the first end is connected to the first housing (fig. 9), the second end is connected to the fourth end (shown), the third end is connected to the second housing (fig. 9), one end of the limit member would extend into the first limit groove, and another end of the limit member would extend into the second limit groove; and in a second working state of the connection component, the first end is connected to the first housing (fig. 9), the third end is connected to the second housing (fig. 9), the first frame is separated from the second frame (they can be separated if need be), and one end of the limit member extends into the first limit groove or is separated from both the first frame and the second frame (such as in an unassembled state).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 25-28 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 – see the attached Form PTO-892 showing various connection components and assemblies utilizing such components.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES O HANSEN whose telephone number is (571)272-6866. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8 am - 4:30 pm.
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, Daniel Troy can be reached at 571-270-3742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JOH
June 12, 2026
/James O Hansen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637
Prosecution Insights