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 § 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.
Claims 1-8, 10-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by United States Patent No. 3273600 to Swan (Swan).
With regard to claim 1, Swan discloses a vacuum hose (Swan, title) comprising:
an inner tube (1, figs. 1, 6 and 9) body having a spiral structure (shown in fig. 1) defined by a first contact portion and a second contact portion (the legs 3 shown in fig. 8), wherein one end of the second contact portion is connected to one end of the first contact portion (as shown in cross section views of figs. 6 and 9 a first flange 3 on one side of the web strip contacts the adjacent flange from the adjacent strip as described at column 2, lines 25-36), and the other end of the second contact portion is in contact with the other end of the first contact portion (shown in fig. 9); and
an outer tube body (10/4, fig. 9) having a spiral structure (shown in fig. 1) defined by a covering portion (4, fig. 9), wherein the outer tube body is sleeved over the inner tube body (tape 10 is spirally wound about the covering portion and the inner tube to create a sleeve as shown ) such that the covering portion contacts the first contact portion and the second contact portion and covers the end of the second contact portion in contact with the end of the first contact portion (shown in fig. 9).
With regard to claim 2, Swan discloses the vacuum hose of claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the spiral structure of the inner tube body is further defined by a connecting portion (13, fig. 9) provided between the first contact portion and the second contact portion (shown in fig. 9, the foamed elastomer extends between the first and second contact portions in the space between the inner and outer tubes), with the first contact portion being connected to the second contact portion through the connecting portion (shown in fig. 9).
With regard to claim 3, Swan discloses the vacuum hose of claim 1, wherein the spiral structure of the outer tube body is further defined by a first bending portion and a second bending portion, with the covering portion extending and bending toward the first contact portion to form the first bending portion, and the covering portion extending and bending toward the second contact portion to form the second bending portion (shown in cross section, the covering layer 10 has bent portions 11 that extend from the contact portions).
With regard to claim 4, Swan discloses the vacuum hose of claim 3 as set forth above, wherein the first bending portion is in contact with the first contact portion, and the second bending portion is in contact with the second contact portion (shown in fig. 9, the outer layer is in contact with the contact portions after foaming is complete in layer 13).
With regard to claim 5, Swan discloses the vacuum hose of claim 4 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the first bending portion in contact with the first contact portion is bonded to the first contact portion (after the foamed elastomer portion 13 is formed), and the second bending portion in contact with the second contact portion is bonded to the second contact portion (after the foamed elastomer portion 13 is formed).
With regard to claim 6, Swan discloses the vacuum hose of claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the end of the second contact portion in contact with the end of the first contact portion is bonded to the end of the first contact portion (column 2, lines 51-57).
With regard to claim 7, Swan discloses the vacuum hose of claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the covering portion in contact with the first contact portion and the second contact portion is bonded to at least one of the first contact portion and the second contact portion (after the elastomer portion is foamed and set).
With regard to claim 8, Swan discloses the vacuum hose of claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the inner tube body and the outer tube body are comprised of different materials (as indicated by the differing hash lines for shown in fig. 9. The foamed elastomer portion 13 demonstrates the different materials of the inner and outer layers.
With regard to claim 10, Swan discloses a vacuum hose according to claim 1 as set forth above. The disclosure of Swan includes one method of manufacturing a vacuum hose comprising:
forming an inner tube body having a spiral structure defined by a first contact portion and a second contact portion, wherein one end of the second contact portion is connected to one end of the first contact portion, and the other end of the second contact portion is in contact with the other end of the first contact portion (as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above);
forming an outer tube body having a spiral structure defined by a covering portion; and combining the outer tube body with the inner tube body such that the covering portion contacts the first contact portion and the second contact portion and covers the end of the second contact portion in contact with the end of the first contact portion (as set forth in the rejection of claim 1).
With regard to claim 11, Swan discloses the method of claim 10 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the spiral structure of the inner tube body is further defined by a connecting portion provided between the first contact portion and the second contact portion, with the first contact portion being connected to the second contact portion through the connecting portion, and forming the inner tube body comprises: extruding the spiral structure defined by the end of first contact portion and the end of the second contact portion connected through the connecting portion (as set forth in the rejection of claim 2 above).
With regard to claim 12, Swan discloses the method of claim 11 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein forming the inner tube body further comprises:
bonding the end of the second contact portion in contact with the end of the first contact portion to the end of the first contact portion (as set forth in the rejection of claim 7 above).
with regard to claim 13, Swan discloses the method of claim 10 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the spiral structure of the outer tube body is further defined by a first bending portion and a second bending portion, with the covering portion extending and bending toward the first contact portion to form the first bending portion and the covering portion extending and bending toward the second contact portion to form the second bending portion, and forming the outer tube body comprises: extruding the spiral structure of the outer tube body defined by the covering portion, the first bending portion extending from one end the covering portion, and the second bending portion extending from the other end of the covering portion (as set forth in the rejection of claim 3 above).
With regard to claim 14, Swan discloses the method of claim 13 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein combining the outer tube body with the inner tube body comprises: covering the end of the second contact portion in contact with the end of the first contact portion with the covering portion; contacting the first contact portion with the first bending portion; and contacting the second contact portion with the second bending portion (as set forth in the rejection of claim 5 above).
With regard to claim 15, Swan discloses the method of claim 14 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein combining the outer tube body with the inner tube body further comprises:
bonding the covering portion to at least one of the first contact portion and the second contact portion (after the elastomer foam layer 13 is formed).
With regard to claim 16, Swan discloses the method of claim 14 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein combining the outer tube body with the inner tube body further comprises: bonding the first bending portion to the first contact portion; and bonding the second bending portion to the second contact portion (after the elastomer foam layer 13 is formed the claimed bonding exists).
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent No. 3273600 to Swan (Swan).
With regard to claim 9, Swan discloses the vacuum hose of claim 8 as set forth above, but does not further disclose wherein the inner tube body is comprised of a low-density polyethylene and EVA copolymer, and the outer tube body is comprised of a high-density polyethylene material.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to make the hose of Swan out of commercially available materials, including LDPE and EVA for the inner tube and HDPE for the outer tube body, in order to test the hose for suitability when used in its intended field of application. Low and high density polyethylene materials are widely utilized and affordable and the use of these materials is motivated by cost saving concerns.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following references discloses similar but distinct hose configurations: USPNs 746630, 1270579, 2008/0210327, 2008/0223472, 2013/0284302 and 2016/0151818.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID R DEAL whose telephone number is (469)295-9216. The examiner can normally be reached M-F generally 8-4 pm CST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisors can be reached at: Craig M Schneider (571) 272-3607 and Ken Rinehart (571) 272-4881. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAVID R DEAL/Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3753
