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 features of “the first and second single layer armour layers being helically wound in opposing directions” as claimed in 13. 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.
Claim 11 is 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.
Regarding claim 11, the phrase "such as" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 1-12 and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pokojny et al. (4647718) in view of Houghton (WO 97/22899).
Pokojny et al. discloses a power cable comprising a conductor (not shown), and an insulation system (38, 38’) arranged around the conductor, the power cable having a first cable section (left side of the joint 32), a second cable section (right side of the joint 32), and a joint region (36) between the first and second cable sections, wherein the conductor has a conductor joint (32) in the joint region, and an armor (40, 22, 40’) arranged around the insulation system, and extending along the first cable section, the second cable section, and the joint region, the armor including a fist single layer armor layer, wherein in the joint region elongated elements of the first single layer armor layer include a plurality of joint region armoring elements (22) being connected to the cable section armors (40, 40’) (re-claim 1).
Pokojny et al. does not disclose, in the first and second cable sections, the armor (40, 40’) including a plurality of cable section armoring elements and a plurality of filler elements extending along the first cable section and the second cable section (re-claim 1).
Houghton discloses a submarine cable comprising an armor having a plurality of elongated elements being arranged around an insulation system (4) and extending along the cable, wherein the elongated elements of the armor layer comprise a plurality of cable section armoring elements (7) and a plurality of filler elements (8).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to modify the armor (40, 40’) in the first and second cable sections of Pokojny et al. to comprise a plurality of cable section armoring elements (7) and a plurality of filler elements (10), as taught by Houghton, to meet the desired weight and strength of the cable.
It is noted that since the modified cable of Pokojny et al. comprises structure and material as claimed, it is an AC submarine power cable; the joint region armoring elements (22, steel, col. 8 line 10) have a higher stiffness tensile strengh than filler element (10 of Houghton, polyethylene, page 2 line 16); and the stiffness tensional strength of the first single layer armor layer is higher in the joint region (all elements 22 are steel) than in the first and second sections (mix of steel and polethylene, taught by Houghton) (re-claims 1 and 16).
Pokojny et al., as modified, also discloses that the first single layer armor layer in the joint region is formed by 100% of joint region armoring elements (22) (re-claims 2 and 3); first and second connecting elements (48, col. 11 lines 15-16) which are arranged to connect the cable section armoring elements to the joint region armoring elements (re-claims 4 and 17); the connecting elements (48) are adapted to be crimped (clamped) onto the cable section armoring elements and the joint region armoring elements (re-claim 6); the joint region comprises the conductor joint forming part of a flexible joint (re-claims 7 and 18); the filler elements are composed of a material having a lower density (polyethylene, Houghton, polyethylene, page 2 line 16) than the material of the armoring elements (re-claims 8, 9, 19, and 20); the cable section armoring elements and/or the joint region armoring elements comprise steel (re-claim 10); the cable section armoring elements comprise synthetic fibers (10, PVC or polyethylene) (re-claim 11); the elongated elements of the armor are helically wound (stranded armor layer, see abstract of Houghton) (re-claim 12); 40-60% of the elements in the first and/or second cable section are filler elements (see Houghton, page 2 lines 11-12, 50%) (re-claim 15);
Re-claim 5, althought not disclosed in Pokojny et al., it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to weld, instead of crimping, the cable section armoring element to the joint region armoring elements to meet the specific design of the cable since welding is another known method, beside crimpring, for joining elements.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pokojny et al. in view of Houghton as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Zettervall (2014/0367164).
Claim 14 additionally recites the filler elements being fixated by cable straps in proximity to the joint region. Zettervall discloses a power cable comprising an armor layer including a joint region, wherein elements in the armor layer are fixated by cable straps (20) in proximity to the joint region (Fig. 5). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to use the cable straps, in proximity to the joint region of Pokojny et al., to secure the armor elements thereon in the modified armor layer of the first and second cable sections, as taught by Zettervall.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 13 is 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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHAU N NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1980. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th, 7am to 5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Imani N Hayman can be reached at 571-270-5528. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHAU N NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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