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
This is a Non-final Office Action for application number 18/889,868 CLAMP WITH IMPROVED RETAINING STRUCTURE filed on 9/19/2024. Claims 1-15 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement submitted on 9/19/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner. Also, the third-party submission under 37 CFR 1.290 has been considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1, 5-7 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by United States Patent No. 7,185,862 to Yang.
[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow] With regards to claim 1, Yang teaches a device having a member (22) defining a first channel
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having a first side wall (21) capable of lateral movement (See Col. 3, lines 25-26, “The engaging rib 21 can be fixedly provided, or provided on a movable T-shaped engaging block 23”) with respect to a
[AltContent: arrow]second side wall (21)
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suitable for engaging the equipment (30/camera, See Col. 3, line 54, “camera”) therebetween; the member defining a pair of surfaces (211) suitable for engaging equipment thereon, a movable member (24, 25) capable of causing the lateral movement; a substantially compressible member (spring, See Col. 3, lines 26-27 “A spring (not shown) is provided between the T-shaped engaging block 23 and the inserting groove.”) operably interconnected between the movable member and the first side wall (21); and an elongate member (221) that is selectively movable in a vertical direction (See Figures 5 and 6) with respect to one of the surfaces, the elongate member extending proud (See Figure 6) of the one of the surfaces, the elongate member extending at least partially within the member (See Figure 2), the elongate member within a peripheral area at least partially bounded by the pair of the surfaces in such a manner that the elongate member selectively the engaging equipment thereon.
With regards to claim 5, the Yang teaches a nut (25) that is rotatable to selectively offset the first side wall with respect to the second side wall.
With regards to claim 6, the Yang teaches wherein the elongate member is biased (via 223) in a raised position with respect to the one of the surfaces.
With regards to claim 7, the Yang teaches wherein the nut defines a serrated exterior profile. (See Figure 4)
With regards to claim 11, the Yang teaches that the elongate member spring (223) biasing the elongate member upwardly.
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) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent No. 7,185,862 to Yang and United States Patent Publication No. 2012/0145864 to Vogt.
With regards to claim 2, Yang teaches wherein the movable member (24, 25) is a rod and knob, however does not teach that the moveable member is a lever.
Vogt teaches a movable member lever (8), which is used to adjust a moving block/sidewall (11), the lever which may be obvious to substitute for the rod as they both perform the same function of moving the block/sidewall.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 8-10 and 12-15 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.
With regards to claim 3, the prior art does not teach wherein the member defining a second channel having a third side wall capable of lateral movement with respect to a fourth side wall suitable for engaging the equipment therebetween, wherein the first side wall and the second side wall are at a different elevation that the third side wall and the fourth side wall.
With regards to claim 4, the prior art does not teach a shaft interconnecting the first side wall on a first the member with a movable member on a second opposing side of the member.
With regards to claim 8, the prior art does not teach wherein the first side wall defines a corresponding serrated interior profile.
With regards to claim 9, the prior art does not teach wherein the movable member includes a lever defining an elongate slit therein.
Cited References
PN 12,540,796 to Johnson shows a clamp device
PN 12,359,685 to Stabler teaches a clamp device
PN 7,077,582 to Johnson shows a clamp device
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to Amy J. Sterling at telephone number 571-272-6823 or to Supervisor Jonathan Liu at 571-272-8227 if the examiner cannot be reached. The examiner can normally be reached (Mon-Fri 8am-5:00pm). The fax machine number for the Technology center is 571-273-8300 (formal amendments), informal amendments or communications 571-273-6823. Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application should be directed to the Technology Center receptionist at 571-272-3600.
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/AMY J. STERLING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3631 2/10/26