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 . 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 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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of the joining system of Figures 3 and 4 (Species III) in the reply filed on August 4, 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 5, 6, 8, and 9 are hereby withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Spain on December 4, 2023. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the ES202331009 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(h)(3) because hatching is not used to indicate section portions of an object in a cross-sectional view of the invention shown in Figures 1-3.
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 § 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, 7, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2019/0048913 (Rosenberg).
Regarding claim 1, Rosenberg discloses a joining system (100) for joining at least a first anterior element (10) and a second posterior element (12), each of the elements comprising a through hole (14, 16; see Figures 1-10), the joining system comprising:
a threaded bolt (110) configured to pass through the through hole of the first anterior element and the second posterior element (see Figure 2A) and comprising a longitudinal axis, a posterior longitudinal zone, and an anterior longitudinal zone (see annotated Figure 1 below),
a shank (120) configured to be located concentrically to the threaded bolt in at least the anterior longitudinal zone of the threaded bolt and configured to move together with said threaded bolt, the shank comprising an outer face (at 120) comprising at least a tapered longitudinal section (126, 130) pointing towards the posterior longitudinal zone of the threaded bolt (see Figure 2A),
a housing (160) configured to be attached to the second posterior element and comprising a conical inner face (see annotated Figure 1 below) for housing the shank in an assembled position of the joining system (see Figure 2A), and
a clamping element (180) configured to thread the posterior longitudinal zone of the threaded bolt to fasten the joining system when the joining system is mounted on at least the first anterior element and the second posterior element (see Figure 2A and paragraphs [0047]-[0050]).
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Figure 1. Annotated Figure 2A of Rosenberg
Regarding claim 2, Rosenberg discloses the shank (12) is attached to the threaded bolt (110; see Figure 2A).
Regarding claim 4, Rosenberg discloses the conical inner face (see annotated Figure 1 above) of the housing (160) comprises a shape complementary to the outer face of the shank (120; see Figure 2A).
Regarding claim 7, Rosenberg discloses the housing (160) and the clamping element (180) are configured so that the housing is located longitudinally between the clamping element and the second posterior element (12; see Figure 2A).
Regarding claim 12, Rosenberg discloses a distance between a rear end of the threaded bolt (110) and a rear end of the shank (120) is greater than a length of the housing (160; see annotated Figure 2 below, which shows the housing being shower than the length between the rear ends of the threaded bolt and shank).
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Figure 2. Annotated Figure 2A of Rosenberg
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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rosenberg in view of US 3,178,984 (Barothy).
Rosenberg discloses the joining system according to claim 1, but does not expressly disclose the shank (120) and the threaded bolt (110) form a single piece.
Barothy teaches it is known in the art of joining systems to choose between a two-piece shank/threaded bolt (see Figures 1 and 2) and a single piece shank/threaded bolt (see Figures 3 and 4). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the joining system of Rosenberg such that the shank and the threaded bolt form a single piece, as Barothy teaches it is a design choice known in the art of joining systems to choose between a two-piece shank/threaded bolt and a single piece shank/threaded bolt.
Claims 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rosenberg in view of US 9,506,493 (Dobbin).
Regarding claim 10, Rosenberg discloses the joining system according to claim 1, but does not expressly disclose the clamping element (180) comprises a spherical float, and instead discloses the clamping element having a flat end surface.
Dobbin teaches it is known in the art of clamping elements for joining systems to choose between a clamping element (13) comprising a spherical float (14; see Figure 2) and a clamping element (53) comprising a flat end surface (see Figure 12). Dobbin teaches providing such a spherical float allows the joining system to secured fix panels even though the threaded bolt (10) may not be perpendicular to the panels (see column 5, lines 4-15). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the joining system of Rosenberg such that the clamping element comprises a spherical float, in order to allow the joining system to secured fix panels even though the threaded bolt may not be perpendicular to the panels.
Regarding claim 11, Dobbin teaches the clamping element (13) comprises a curved front part (at 14; see Figure 2).
Claims 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rosenberg in view of US 2,144,553 (Simmonds).
Regarding claim 13, Rosenberg discloses the joining system according to claim 1, but does not expressly disclose a retaining sleeve in connection with the clamping element (180), the retaining sleeve comprising means to: prevent a rotation of the clamping element about the longitudinal axis of the threaded bolt (110), and limit a displacement of the clamping element along the longitudinal axis of the threaded bolt.
Simmonds teaches a retaining sleeve (1) in connection with a clamping element (2), the retaining sleeve comprising means to:
prevent a rotation of the clamping element about the longitudinal axis of a threaded bolt (see page 2, column 2, line 37), and
limit a displacement of the clamping element along the longitudinal axis of the threaded bolt (see page 1, column 2, lines 20-24).
Simmonds teaches this structure allows the clamping element to be readily removable as needed, while also preventing rotation and limiting displacement of the clamping element when secured (see page 1, column 2, lines 20-24, and page 2, column 2, lines 44-62). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the joining system of Rosenberg such that a retaining sleeve in connection with the clamping element, the retaining sleeve comprising means to: prevent a rotation of the clamping element about the longitudinal axis of the threaded bolt, and limit a displacement of the clamping element along the longitudinal axis of the threaded bolt, as taught in Simmonds, in order to allow the clamping element to be readily removable as needed, while also preventing rotation and limiting displacement of the clamping element when secured.
Regarding claim 14, Simmonds teaches the retaining sleeve (1) comprises a first surface (shown nominally at reference character 1 in Figure 3) configured to be located, in a mounting position, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the threaded bolt and comprising a first hole (formed inside 2 in Figure 3) for housing the clamping element (2; see Figure 3).
Regarding claim 15, Simmonds teaches the retaining sleeve (1) comprises at least a second surface (shown nominally at reference character 2 in Figure 3) configured to be located, in the mounting position, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the threaded bolt so as to longitudinally partially cover the clamping element (2) and a rear part of the housing (provided 160 of Rosenberg, the proposed combination would provide a retaining sleeve which covers a rear end of the housing), the second surface comprising at least a second hole (7) for insertion of a through element (6) for connecting the retaining sleeve to the housing (the retaining sleeve would be indirectly connected to the housing via it’s connecting to the clamping element and threaded bolt).
Conclusion
The prior art set forth in the attached Notice of References Cited (PTO-892) made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure in the field of joining systems.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Josh Skroupa whose telephone number is (571)270-3220. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET.
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, Amber Anderson can be reached on (571)270-5281. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Josh Skroupa/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678
August 14, 2026
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