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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-8 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-7 objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 amended to recited “an overall thickness” of the front and rear support sections, however the dependent claims recite “the thickness” throughout. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-2, 4, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Da Pra’ et al. (US 2007/0145794 A1)(hereinafter Da Pra’).
RE Claim 1: Da Pra’ discloses a bicycle seat tube (Fig 15) comprising:
a tube head (Fig 15)(see upper end near 16, 17, 18, 19);
a tube tail (Fig 15)(opposite lower end); and
a tube body (Fig 15) integrally connected between the tube head and the tube tail and having an annular cross-sectional shape (para 0139), the tube body extending along an axial direction and being divided in relation to the axial direction into a front support section, a rear support section opposite to the front support section, and two side support sections opposite to each other and integrally connected between the front support section and the rear support section (Fig 15, also para 0139),
wherein an overall thickness of the front support section is greater than an overall thickness of the rear support section (s’ greater than s).
RE Claim 2: Da Pra’ discloses the bicycle seat tube as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thickness of the front support section and the thickness of the rear support section both remain consistent along the axial direction (s on and s’ remain consistent in width over a portion of the axial)(as currently drafted, the claim does not require consistent thickness along an entire axial length).
*** IN AN ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATION OF DA PRA’, THE FOLLOWING REJECTION IS MADE ***
RE Claim 1: Da Pra’ discloses a bicycle seat tube (Fig 14) comprising:
a tube head (Fig 15)(see upper end);
a tube tail (Fig 15)(opposite lower end); and
a tube body (Fig 15) integrally connected between the tube head and the tube tail and having an annular cross-sectional shape (para 0138), the tube body extending along an axial direction and being divided in relation to the axial direction into a front support section, a rear support section opposite to the front support section, and two side support sections opposite to each other and integrally connected between the front support section and the rear support section (Fig 15, also para 0138),
wherein an overall thickness of the front support section is greater than an overall thickness of the rear support section (s’ greater than s).
RE Claim 4: Da Pra’ discloses the bicycle seat tube as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thickness of the front support section and the thickness of the rear support section gradually decrease along the axial direction from the tube tail toward the tube head (along a portion of the length of the tube the sides decrease).
RE Claim 6: Da Pra’ discloses the bicycle seat tube as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thickness of the front support section and the thickness of the rear support section gradually decrease along the axial direction from the tube head toward the tube tail (along a portion of the length of the tube the sides increase).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 5, and 7 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. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The prior art of record does not disclose, either alone or in combination, the details an axis of the tube head and an axis of the tube tail are eccentric relative to the axial direction, along with the remaining limitations of the claim. This statement is not intended to necessarily state all the reasons for allowance or all the details why the claims are allowed and has not been written to specifically or impliedly state that all the reasons for allowance are set forth (MPEP 1302.14).
Claim 8 allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The prior art of record does not disclose, either alone or in combination, the details of T1 and T2 satisfy the relationship T1-T2 > 0.1 mm, along with the remaining limitations of the claim. This statement is not intended to necessarily state all the reasons for allowance or all the details why the claims are allowed and has not been written to specifically or impliedly state that all the reasons for allowance are set forth (MPEP 1302.14).
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892.
These documents present alternatives designs similar in scope which illustrate relevant features in comparison to Applicant’s submission. The cited prior art include various bike seats and bike seat mounts.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIA E GRABER whose telephone number is (571)272-4640. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5.
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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/MARIA E GRABER/Examiner, Art Unit 3644
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