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
Figures 21-23 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure.
A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art.
If the patent is of a basic nature, the entire technical disclosure may be new in the art, and the abstract should be directed to the entire disclosure. If the patent is in the nature of an improvement in an old apparatus, process, product, or composition, the abstract should include the technical disclosure of the improvement. The abstract should also mention by way of example any preferred modifications or alternatives.
Where applicable, the abstract should include the following: (1) if a machine or apparatus, its organization and operation; (2) if an article, its method of making; (3) if a chemical compound, its identity and use; (4) if a mixture, its ingredients; (5) if a process, the steps.
Extensive mechanical and design details of an apparatus should not be included in the abstract. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length.
See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the single paragraph is not within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites, “[a] ring body which is to be provided in a pipe joint…the ring body comprising: an annular ring main body portion…the plurality of interval maintaining parts…the plurality of interval maintaining parts being inserted between the socket sealing surface and the outer circumferential surface of the spigot, the plurality of interval maintaining parts maintain an interval between the socket sealing surface and the outer circumferential surface of the spigot in the pipe radial direction at a predetermined size that allows the seal ring to be pushed in, and a escape space into which a distal end portion of the seal ring that is compressed can enter is formed at a location which is between one interval maintaining part and another interval maintaining part that are adjacent in the pipe circumference direction and which is closer to a socket opening end than the ring main body portion. However, the original disclosure recites:
A ring body 40 is provided between the lock ring 8 and the seal ring 19 in the pipe axis direction 27. As illustrated in Fig. 4 to Fig. 6, the ring body 40 is made of a material that has elasticity, such as resin.
As illustrated in Fig. 7, the ring main body portion 41 has a quadrilateral cross section. Further, as illustrated in Fig. 4 to Fig. 6, the plurality of interval maintaining parts 42 are integrally provided on the ring main body portion 41 at predetermined intervals from each other in a pipe circumference direction 44. As illustrated in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9, the interval maintaining part 42 is a protrusion that protrudes from the ring main body portion 41 at a position toward the socket opening end, and protrudes further outward in the pipe radial direction than the ring main body portion 41. The interval maintaining part 42 has an engagement surface 45 that is caught on the first end face 22b of the socket protrusion 22 in the insertion direction 31 of the spigot 3.
It is not clear to the Examiner exactly what Applicant is attempting to claim. For this Office Action Only, the Examiner will assume that Applicant is claiming the ring body and will interpret claim(s) accordingly. Applicant should amend claims accordingly.
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(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20210095798, Kishi.
Note, only the ring body is considered part of the claimed invention.
In regards to claim 1, in Figures 20-23 and paragraphs detailing said figures, Kishi discloses a ring body which is to be provided in a pipe joint, the pipe joint comprising: a spigot formed in a first pipe; a socket formed in a second pipe; a lock ring accommodation groove formed in an inner circumference of the socket; a lock ring accommodated in the lock ring accommodation groove; and a seal ring which, at a location that is closer to an opening end of the socket than the lock ring, is compressed in a pipe radial direction to seal a space between an outer circumference of the spigot and the inner circumference of the socket, the socket having, at the inner circumference, a socket sealing surface with which an outer circumferential surface of the seal ring contacts with pressure over the entire circumference, and a socket protrusion that protrudes inward in the pipe radial direction from a deeper portion of the socket sealing surface, an inner diameter of the socket sealing surface being larger than an inner diameter of the socket protrusion, a spigot engagement portion being formed at the outer circumference of the spigot, and in a state in which the spigot is inserted in the socket, separation of the spigot from the socket can be prevented by the spigot engagement portion being caught on the lock ring from a deeper portion of the socket in a separation direction of the spigot, the ring body comprising: an annular ring main body portion (29) that can be inserted between an inner circumferential surface of the socket protrusion and an outer circumferential surface of the spigot; and a plurality of interval maintaining parts (30) that can be inserted between the socket sealing surface and the outer circumferential surface of the spigot, wherein the plurality of interval maintaining parts are provided in the ring main body portion at predetermined intervals in a pipe circumference direction, by the plurality of interval maintaining parts being inserted between the socket sealing surface and the outer circumferential surface of the spigot, the plurality of interval maintaining parts maintain an interval between the socket sealing surface and the outer circumferential surface of the spigot in the pipe radial direction at a predetermined size that allows the seal ring to be pushed in, and a escape space into which a distal end portion of the seal ring that is compressed can enter is formed at a location which is between one interval maintaining part and another interval maintaining part that are adjacent in the pipe circumference direction and which is closer to a socket opening end than the ring main body portion.
In regards to claim 2, in Figures 20-23 and paragraphs detailing said figures, Kishi discloses an outer diameter of the interval maintaining part is larger than an outer diameter of the ring main body portion, the interval maintaining part has an engagement surface which is caught on the socket protrusion in an insertion direction of the spigot, and the engagement surface projects outward in the pipe radial direction from an outer circumferential surface of the ring main body portion.
In regards to claim 3, in Figures 20-23 and paragraphs detailing said figures, Kishi discloses in a state in which the engagement surface of the interval maintaining part is caught on the socket protrusion, a deeper end of the ring main body portion in a pipe axis direction is positioned closer to the socket opening end than a deeper end of the socket protrusion.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-9 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AARON M DUNWOODY whose telephone number is (571)272-7080. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 6:00 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, Matthew Troutman can be reached at 571-270-3654. 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 M DUNWOODY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3679
Prosecution Insights