DETAILED ACTION
The present application and its arguments have been reviewed and currently claims 1-6 are rejected.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-6 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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, 3, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shimazaki (JP-2018003980).
Claim 1, Shimazaki discloses:
A hose joint (see fig. 4b hereinafter unless otherwise noted) comprising:
a guide part (see near 1) provided in a nipple (1 and 11) and provided to face an inner surface of a hose body (B) having flexibility;
a tightening member (2) having a tapered surface (2a) provided to face an outer peripheral surface of the guide part and have a diameter which gradually becomes larger in an inserting direction of the hose body (see fig. 4b);
a sleeve (3) provided to be reciprocatable in each of the inserting direction of the hose body and an opposite hose pullout direction along the tightening member (ex., compare fig. 3b and fig. 4b) and be capable of elastic diameter expansion/contraction deformation in a radial direction (see fig. 5, where sleeve 3 comprises fingers capable of expansion/contraction); and
an elastic member (5) provided so as to press the sleeve in the hose pullout direction along the tapered surface (ex., compare fig. 3b and fig. 4b),
wherein the sleeve has a plurality of sleeve projections (34) that bite into an outer surface of the hose body when a diameter of the sleeve is contracted (see fig. 4b),
the guide part has a plurality of O-rings (34) arranged from a far side to a rear side in the inserting direction of the hose body, and
the plurality of sleeve projections are disposed above the O-ring on the far side in the inserting direction of the hose body when connection of the hose body is completed (see fig. 4b), while being disposed above the O-ring on the rear side in the inserting direction of the hose body when a force to pull out the hose body from the hose joint is exerted (see fig. 4b, where the projections are above both O-rings), and
the hose body and the sleeve are simultaneously moved in the hose pullout direction (see fig. 4b).
Claim 3, Shimazaki discloses:
The hose joint according to claim 1, further comprising a ring (4) serving as a retainer of the elastic member,
wherein the ring has a given thickness in the inserting direction of the hose body (see fig. 4b), and reciprocates while keeping a parallel state between an outer peripheral surface of the ring and an inner face of the tightening member, such that a pressing force of the elastic member uniformly acts on the sleeve in the circumferential direction (ex., compare fig. 3b and fig. 4b).
Claim 6, Shimazaki discloses:
The hose joint according to claim 1, further comprising a ring (4) serving as a retainer of the elastic member,
wherein the ring has a given thickness in the inserting direction of the hose body and in contact with an inner face of the tightening member (ex., see near 4 where the ring presses directly against the ring 6 which directly presses against tightening member 2), and reciprocates while keeping a parallel state with the nipple (ex., compare fig. 3b and fig. 4b), such that a pressing force of the elastic member uniformly acts on the sleeve in the circumferential direction.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 2, 4, and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimazaki as applied to claim 1 above and in view of Mizuguchi et al. (JP-2003343783).
In regards to claim 2, Shimazaki discloses:
The hose joint according to claim 1,
but does not disclose:
wherein the sleeve has an extending part extending further than the tightening member in the hose pullout direction opposite to the inserting direction of the hose body, and the extending part functions as a pressing part for performing a pressing operation on the sleeve in the inserting direction of the hose body so as to expand the diameter of the sleeve when the hose body, the insertion of which has been completed, is pulled out.
In regards to the extending part, Mizuguchi discloses a similar device comprising:
a first embodiment (see fig. 5) where a sleeve (30) does not comprise an extending part, and
a second embodiment (see fig. 6) where a sleeve (30) comprises an extending part (40) extending out of a tightening member (19) to provide the benefit of pushing the sleeve forward which allows teeth of the sleeve to project radially outward (see lines 242-246 in the translated document provided herein).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to modify the tightening member and sleeve of Shimazaki such that the sleeve comprises an extending part that extends beyond the tightening member because Mizuguchi discloses that there a finite number of identified solutions such as a first embodiment where a sleeve does not comprise an extending part (see fig.5) extending from a tightening member or a second embodiment where a sleeve comprises an extending part extending from a tightening member (see fig. 6) to provide the benefit of pushing the sleeve forward which allows teeth of the sleeve to project radially outward (see lines 242-246). A person of ordinary skill could have pursued the known potential solutions with a reasonable expectation of success because modifying the sleeve with the provision of an extending part such that the extending part extends beyond the tightening member is within their technical grasp and would produce no new results.
In regards to claim 4, Shimazaki further discloses:
The hose joint according to claim 1, further comprising a ring (4) serving as a retainer of the elastic member,
wherein the ring has a given thickness in the inserting direction of the hose body (see fig. 4b), and reciprocates while keeping a parallel state between an outer peripheral surface of the ring and an inner face of the tightening member, such that a pressing force of the elastic member uniformly acts on the sleeve in the circumferential direction (ex., compare fig. 3b and fig. 4b).
In regards to claim 5, Shimazaki further discloses:
The hose joint according to claim 4, wherein the nipple has an escaping part (ex., to the left of protrusion 1b) serving as a space into which the ring retreats in the inserting direction of the hose body when the pressing operation is performed.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 ALEXANDER TYLER RUFRANO whose telephone number is (571)272-6223. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8:30AM to 4:30PM.
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/A.T.R./Examiner, Art Unit 3679
/Matthew Troutman/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3679