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 .
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(s) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20080150280, Feger in view of US 20220026003, Kanegae.
In regards to claim 1, in Figures 1-3 and paragraphs detailing said figures, Feger discloses a pipe joint comprising: a housing (1) formed with an insertion hole (near 2) into which a pipe (17) including an annular spool (22) is inserted; a retainer (9) attached to a storage opening (near 12) provided at an outer circumferential wall of the housing and movable from a releasing position to a locking position by being pressed in; a detection arm (11) provided at the retainer, regulating pressing of the retainer by a regulating wall (12) of the housing in a state in which the retainer is at the releasing position, and releasing the regulation by the regulating wall by bending toward an outer side in a radial direction of the housing; a pipe lock arm (13) provided on a rear side in an insertion direction of the pipe compared to the detection arm in the retainer and facing, in a state in which the retainer is at the locking position, the spool of the pipe inserted at a predetermined position in the housing, in the insertion hole and on the rear side in the insertion direction; and a facing wall provided at the housing and facing the detection arm of the retainer at the releasing position, on the rear side in the insertion direction. Feger does not disclose an inclined surface provided at the detection arm. Kanegae teaches a pipe being inserted into a connector main body, first leg parts of a retainer being deformed and expanded by pressing force in the axial direction on tapered surfaces (32b1) of the first leg parts caused by an annular protrusion of the pipe (abstract). The Feger invention is fully capable of having an inclined surface provided at the detection arm. It 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 to modify the detection arm with a tapered surface to deformed and expanded by pressing force in the axial direction of the first leg parts caused by an annular protrusion of the pipe, as taught by Kanegae.
In regards to claim 2, Feger in view of Kanegae further disclose the facing wall faces the pipe lock arm of the retainer at the releasing position, on a front side in the insertion direction.
In regards to claim 3, Feger in view of Kanegae further disclose a protrusion (6, 13’) provided at the housing and facing the retainer at the releasing position, in a direction intersecting a pressing direction of the retainer.
In regards to claim 4, Feger in view of Kanegae further disclose a front wall provided at the housing and facing the retainer on a front side in the insertion direction; a rear wall provided at the housing and facing the retainer on the rear side in the insertion direction; and a rib (see Figure 3 below) connecting the front wall and the rear wall.
[AltContent: textbox (Rib)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Back wall)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Front wall)][AltContent: arrow]
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In regards to claim 5, Feger in view of Kanegae further disclose a notch (4) having a shape in which the front wall is partially cut out from an outer circumference side and allowing a distal end of the detection arm to be visually recognized from the front side in the insertion direction in a state in which the retainer is at the locking position.
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.
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/AARON M DUNWOODY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3679
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