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
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 flow surface claimed in claims 1-20 must be shown 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.
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 9 and 22 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.
The term “the flow surface has an arc length that is less than 450” in the final lines of claims 9 and 22 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “arc length that is less than 450” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Given the lack of clarity in the specification and lack of support in the Figures, Examiner is unable to further examine these claims.
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) 1-2, 5-6, 10, 13-15, 23, and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Spade (US 20120132125 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 14, Spade teaches a hull assembly of a personal watercraft comprising: a deck (¶ [0041], Figures 1-3, element 14); a hull supporting the deck (¶ [0041], Figures 1-3, element 12), the hull having a bow and a stern opposite the bow (Figures 1-3); a left flow attachment feature and a right flow attachment feature connected to an underside of the hull near the stern (Figures 1-3, elements 104), the left and right flow attachment features being disposed on opposite sides of a longitudinal centerplane of the personal watercraft hull (Figures 1-3), the left and right flow attachment features being laterally spaced from the longitudinal centerplane (Figures 1-3), for each flow attachment feature of the left and right flow attachment features: the flow attachment feature comprises a flow surface facing downwardly (Figures 1-9: bottom of elements 102, elements 116, and bottom of elements 108 each satisfy this limitation), the flow surface having a front end and a rear end (Figures 1-9: bottom of elements 102, elements 116, and bottom of elements 108 each satisfy this limitation), the flow surface extending upwardly and rearwardly from the front end to the rear end (Figures 1-9: elements 116, and bottom of elements 108 each satisfy this limitation); the flow surface is curved in a longitudinal direction of the watercraft hull such that, in response to water flowing along the flow surface as the personal watercraft moves forwardly on the water, the stern is pulled downwards relative to the bow (Figures 1-9: elements 108 satisfy this limitation).
Regarding claims 2 and 15, Spade teaches the independent claim(s), wherein the flow surface is curved in a lateral direction of the watercraft (Figures 2-9).
Regarding claim 5, Spade teaches the independent claim(s), wherein the left and right flow attachment features are distinct from the hull and are fastened to the hull (Figures 1-9).
Regarding claim 6, Spade teaches the independent claim(s), wherein: the hull has left and right downward-facing surfaces near the stern (Figure 3); and the left flow attachment feature and the right flow attachment feature are fastened to the left and right downward-facing surfaces respectively (Figure 3 inasmuch as applicant has claimed).
Regarding claims 10 and 23, Spade teaches the independent claim(s), wherein, for each flow attachment feature of the left flow attachment feature and the right flow attachment feature, the rear end of the flow surface is disposed forward of a transom of the stern or is longitudinally aligned with the transom of the stern (Figures 1-3).
Regarding claims 13 and 26, Spade teaches the independent claim(s), wherein: the hull has a left corner surface and a right corner surface (Figures 1-3, strakes and chines elements 66 and 68 comprise a plurality of corners on the bottom surfaces of the hull), the left corner surface being disposed adjacent to and forwardly of the left flow attachment feature (Figures 1-3, strakes and chines elements 66 and 68 comprise a plurality of corners adjacent to and forward of attachment feature), the right corner surface being disposed adjacent to and forwardly of the right flow attachment feature (Figures 1-3, strakes and chines elements 66 and 68 comprise a plurality of corners adjacent to and forward of attachment feature); the front end of the left flow attachment feature is disposed vertically higher than a lower end of the left corner surface such that a left step is defined between the left comer surface and the front end of the left flow attachment feature (Figures 1-3); and the front end of the right flow attachment feature is disposed vertically higher than a lower end of the right comer surface such that a right step is defined between the right comer surface and the front end of the right flow attachment feature (Figures 1-3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4, 7-8, 11-12, 21, and 24 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 JUSTIN MICHAEL HESTON whose telephone number is (571)272-3099. The examiner can normally be reached Mondays and Wednesdays: 0500-1300, Tuesdays 0500-1400, Thursdays and Fridays by appointment only..
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, Timothy D Collins can be reached at 571-272-6886. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JUSTIN MICHAEL HESTON/Examiner, Art Unit 3644
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