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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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 16, 23, 24 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable by Macherel et al (US 10,577,033).
As concerns claims 16, 23, 24, and 27, Macherel et al (US 10,577,033) discloses:
16. (New) An apparatus, comprising:
a skirt (Macherel - 300) that has an inner surface;
a bending member (Macherel - 224) that engages the skirt (Macherel - 300) and is located inboard from the skirt (Macherel - 300) in a lateral direction, wherein the bending member (Macherel - 224) has a vertical length that extends in a vertical direction; and
a connection that has an insert (Macherel - 218) and a fastener (Macherel - 219),
wherein the fastener (Macherel - 219) is disposed through the insert (Macherel - 218), and
wherein relative movement between the skirt (Macherel - 300) and the bending member (Macherel - 224) causes the fastener (Macherel - 219) to compress a portion of the insert (Macherel - 218). (Under the circumstance that the upper section of the skirt was pushed or pulled above the bend shown in Figure 4A, causing relative movement between 300 and 224, insert 218 would be compressed by the presence of 219.)
PNG
media_image1.png
703
627
media_image1.png
Greyscale
23. (New) The apparatus as set forth in claim 16, wherein the bending member (Macherel - 224) has a bottom terminal end in the vertical direction, wherein the bending member (Macherel - 224) has a top terminal end in the vertical direction, and wherein the connection is located closer to the top terminal end than to the bottom terminal end in the vertical direction. (Figure 4A)
24. (New) The apparatus as set forth in claim 16, wherein at least 50% of the vertical length of the bending member (Macherel - 224) does not have any surfaces parallel to the inner surface. (Figure 4A illustrates wherein bending member 224 appears to have a tapered section which is not parallel to the inner surface of the skirt)
27. (New) The apparatus as set forth in claim 16, wherein the fastener (Macherel - 219) directly engages the insert (Macherel - 218). (Figure 4A illustrates such engagement)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17-22, 25-26 and 28-30 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
As concerns claims 17-22, Macherel discloses the apparatus of claim 16.
Neither Macherel nor any additionally cited art of record teaches or fairly suggests, alone or in combination, inter alia, wherein the insert has a plurality of voids therethrough, wherein the bending member is constructed as claimed, wherein the bending member has a slot into which the insert is disposed, wherein the connection comprises a skirt insert as claimed, or wherein the bending member were connected, closer to the bottom end.
As concerns claims 25 and 26, neither Macherel nor any additionally cited art of record teaches or fairly suggests, alone or in combination, inter alia, wherein the bending member was made of plastic or wherein the insert was made of a more flexible material, comparatively.
As concerns claims 28-30, neither Macherel nor any additionally cited art of record teaches or fairly suggests, alone or in combination, inter alia, wherein there is any particular relationship between the pivotabiliy and slidability of the insert with relation to the fastener. As best understood from the disclosure of Macherel, there is no significant ability to pivot and none to slide either.
All of these modifications would have required significant manipulation and experimentation.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AARON L LEMBO whose telephone number is (571)270-3065. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7am-4pm.
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, Nicole Coy can be reached on (571) 272-5405. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/AARON L LEMBO/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3679
Prosecution Insights