DETAILED ACTION
The present application and its arguments have been reviewed and currently claims 1-4 and 6 are rejected and claims 5 and 7-9 are objected to.
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) 1-4 and 6 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.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 3/10/2026. These drawings are accepted, however, only a portion of the cross-hatching has been corrected while other parts of the body (12) have not been properly cross-hatched as outlined below.
The drawings are objected to because:
In figure 6 and figures 10-15, the connector body (12) lacks cross-hatching under 37 CFR 1.84(h)(3) as shown in annotated figure 6 below.
In figure 14, the cross-hatching in the center of the body (12) should be removed as there should not be any cross-hatching as shown in annotated fig. 14 below.
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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.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Oberdorfer et al. (U.S. Patent No. 10,927,992).
Claim 1, Oberdorfer discloses:
A connector (see fig. 1) for connecting pipes comprising:
a connector body (5, fig. 1) having a hollow channel (see near 6 in fig. 3b); and
a retainer (3, fig. 1) configured to lock a pipe (S1, fig. 2),
wherein the pipe is inserted into the hollow channel in an axial direction to the connector body (see fig. 3b),
wherein the retainer includes:
a pair of legs (15a, 15b, fig. 4) inserted into the connector body along a plane orthogonal to the axial direction,
a detecting claw (21a, fig. 4) positioned on the pair of legs, the detecting claw being configured to contact a bulge of the pipe to allow the pair of legs to elastically deform radially outward when the pipe is inserted (ex., see fig. 7, where 21a would be contacted by the bulge which spreads the legs),
a removal stopper piece (see annotated fig. 4 below) opposing the bulge in the axial direction when the pipe is inserted to prevent the pipe from being removed from the connector body (see annotated fig. 3c below), and
a locking claw (23a, fig. 4) protruding in the axial direction from a leg of the pair of legs,
wherein the connector body includes:
a first restricting surface (see annotated figure 8b below showing the magnified portion of the connector body showing “first surface”) configured to hold the retainer in a temporary locked position by restricting a movement of the locking claw of the retainer inserted into the connector body in a removal direction (see annotated fig. 8b, where the first surface would prevent removal of the retainer),
a second restricting surface (see “Second Surface” in annotated fig. 8b) configured to restrict a movement (ex., a “ restrict a movement” is broad limitation as a “movement” could be very small) of the locking claw from the temporary locked position to a fully locked position (ex., see annotated fig. 8b where the “Second Surface” has a small outward portion that could restrict a “movement”),
a guide groove (see “Groove” in annotated fig. 8b) provided between the first restricting surface and the second restricting surface to allow the locking claw to move in a radial direction when the pair of legs is elastically deformed radially outward (ex., see annotated fig. 9b below, where the groove allows radial movement), and
a guide surface (see annotated fig. 8b) extending in a direction that is radially outwardly from the first restricting surface (see annotated fig. 8b) and toward the fully locked position (see annotated fig. where the guide surface extends towards the fully locked position via the incline), and configured to guide the locking claw in the direction toward the fully locked position along the guide surface when the pair of legs is further elastically deformed radially outward (structurally, the guide surface extends in the direction towards the fully locked position and having the legs radially outward and pressing down on the retainer would meet the functional limitation of the claim).
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In regards to claim 2, Oberdorfer discloses:
The connector according to claim 1, wherein an interval between the pair of legs is configured to be larger at an end when the pipe body exceeds the detecting claw in the axial direction when the retainer is in the temporary locked position (structurally, there is nothing preventing this functional limitation), and
a force in a removal direction generated in the retainer is restricted by the first restricting surface of the connector body (it is inherent that the “First Surface” would restrict such movement).
In regards to claims 3-4, Oberdorfer discloses:
The connector according to claims 1-2, wherein the detecting claw is provided at an end of the pair of legs (see annotated fig. 4 above), and wherein the detecting claw includes an inclined surface on a front side of a pipe insertion direction that is inclined with respect to the insertion direction.
In regards to claim 6, Oberdorfer discloses:
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the guide surface is planar (see fig. 7, where all surfaces are planar).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 7-9 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In regards to claims 5 and 7-9, Oberdorfer is the closest prior art based on the amended claims, where Oberdorfer discloses:
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the retainer has a retainer body with the pair of legs extending from both ends (ex., claim 8), and
an auxiliary removal stopper piece protruding from the retainer body in the same direction as the extending direction of the pair of legs (ex., 25a in fig. 4; ex., claim 8),
but does not disclose:
wherein the second restricting surface is inclined to approach the first restricting surface toward the radially outward direction (ex., claim 5);
wherein the connector body has a guide inclined surface on an opposite side of the first restricting surface in a direction toward the fully locked position (ex., claim 7; ex., no surface exists), and
wherein the guide inclined surface is inclined to guide the locking claw radially inward to temporarily lock the retainer is temporarily locked to the connector body (ex., claim 7; ex., no surface exists);
wherein the auxiliary removal stopper piece axially opposes the bulge inserted into the hollow channel to prevent the pipe from being removed from the connector body (ex., claim 8; ex., the removable stopper piece does not axially oppose the bulge or contact the bulge in any way),
wherein the locking claw is extendable from the pair of legs in a pipe insertion direction (ex., claim 9; ex., the locking claw is extendable opposite the pipe insertion direction).
It would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to modify the device of Oberdorfer to meet the limitations of claims 5 and 7-9 as such modification would require impermissible hindsight.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 ALEXANDER TYLER RUFRANO whose telephone number is (571)272-6223. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8:30AM to 4:30PM.
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, Matthew Troutman can be reached at (571) 270-3654. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/A.T.R./Examiner, Art Unit 3679
/Matthew Troutman/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3679
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