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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/27/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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,
(1) The cut of claim 1
(2) The safety pin of claim 1, 5, 7 & 12
must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). Note that if they are shown, they must be provided with a line/arrow and reference character referring to the specification.
No new matter should be entered.
(3) The use of shading in views is encouraged if it aids in understanding the invention and if it does not reduce legibility. Shading is used to indicate the surface or shape of spherical, cylindrical, and conical elements of an object. Flat parts may also be lightly shaded. Such shading is preferred in the case of parts shown in perspective, but not for cross sections. See paragraph (h)(3) of this section. Spaced lines for shading are preferred. These lines must be thin, as few in number as practicable, and they must contrast with the rest of the drawings. As a substitute for shading, heavy lines on the shade side of objects can be used except where they superimpose on each other or obscure reference characters. Light should come from the upper left corner at an angle of 45°. Surface delineations should preferably be shown by proper shading. Solid black shading areas are not permitted, except when used to represent bar graphs or color. This is in MPEP under 37 CFR 1.84(m) Standards of Drawings. The drawings appear to be shaded CAD drawings inappropriate for clarity and reproducibility as seen in fig. 3b.
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 disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
On page 9 line 7, element 1.6 is designated as a stub beam however on page 10 under example of embodiment line 4, element 1.6 is designated as holes.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-12 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Reference characters which are not enclosed within parentheses.
Reference characters corresponding to elements recited in the detailed description of the drawings and used in conjunction with the recitation of the same element or group of elements in the claims should be enclosed within parentheses so as to avoid confusion with other numbers or characters which may appear in the claims. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
Where applicant acts as his or her own lexicographer to specifically define a term of a claim contrary to its ordinary meaning, the written description must redefine the claim term and set forth the uncommon definition so as to put one reasonably skilled in the art on notice that the applicant intended to so redefine that claim term. Process Control Corp. v. HydReclaim Corp., 190 F.3d 1350, 1357, 52 USPQ2d 1029, 1033 (Fed. Cir. 1999). The term “the cut” in any claims that it is used to mean “hole,” while the accepted meaning is “Make an opening, incision, with a sharp-edged tool or object.” The term is inconsistent because the specification does not redefine the term.
Appropriate correction is required.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 1/27/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-12 are 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.
Claim 1 & 12 recites the limitation "the upper part", “the central part”, and “the lower half” in last paragraph of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
In regards to claims 1, 2, 4, 5, and 12, the scope of the claim is unclear because of the use of the terms “it” and “they”. Since one cannot definitively determine which element(s) “it” and “they” are referring to in the claims, the scope is unclear. The claims should refer to the specific element they are referring to instead of using terms like “it” and “they”. Therefore, all forms of “it” and “they” need to be replaced with the element to which they are referring.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1-12 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The primary reference of Becker (US 11384546) teaches the combination of claim 1 with the exception of multiple fixed parts to a post, a base plate with holes, a wedge that is in the central portion of the coupling bolt, and does not use a side plate that has a “U-shape” cut. Although the prior art references of record show some similar features of applicant’s claimed invention, the examiner can find no proper motivation to combine the references of record to produce applicant’s claimed invention without having to rely on impermissible hindsight.
The secondary reference of Canby (US 10745907) discloses a similar feature of the mobile part that contains a guiding wedge disposed in the center portion of the coupling. However, the primary reference could not be modified in the view of the secondary reference to arrive at the claimed invention without comprising the functionality of the base reference.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GARRETT C PATTERSON whose telephone number is (571)270-1558. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7.30am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brian Glessner can be reached at (571) 272-6754. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GARRETT CHRISTOPHER PATTERSON/Examiner, Art Unit 3633
/BRIAN E GLESSNER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3633
