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 .
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leijon et al. (6376775) in view of Nakayama et al. (7488893).
Leijon et al. discloses a cable comprising a core strand (A in layer K3); a bare copper strand (B in layer K4) positioned adjacent the core strand; and a jacketed strand (A in layer K4) positioned adjacent to the core strand, wherein the jacketed strand comprising a jacket (strand A is an insulated strand, the insulation layer on the strand is a jacket) disposed around a core of the jacketed strand, wherein a portion of the jacket is visible to a user observing the cable.
Leijon et al. does not disclose the portion of the jacket undergoing at least a partial melting when the current carried by the cable exceeding the fault threshold. In other words, Leijon et al. does not disclose the jacket being a PVC jacket, see application’s publication [0075].
Nakayama et al. discloses a cable. Nakayama et al. discloses that PVC is known in the art for being used as cable insulator/jacket (col. 1 lines 40-43). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to use PVC for the jacket (insulation of strand A) of Leijon et al. since PVC is known in the art for being used as jacketing material as taught by Nakayama et al.
Leijon et al. does not disclose at least one conductive layer positioned between the core of the jacketed strand and the jacket of the jacketed strand.
Nakayama et al. discloses a conductive strand comprising a (copper) core and a conductive layer (tin, col. 8 line 50) provided on the core. It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to provide a conductive layer as taught by Nakayama et al. on the (copper) core (of strand A) of Leijon et al. to provide a protecting layer and/or a joining means in the jacketed strand.
It is noted that since the modified cable of Leijon et al. comprises structure and material as claimed, it is a ground cable and can be used in a power distribution network; the portion of the jacket undergoes at least a partial melting when the current carried by the ground cable exceeds the fault threshold; the at least one conductive layer is positioned between the core and the jacket of the jacketed strand.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claim 1 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12191053 in view of Leijon et al. Claim 1 of said patent discloses the invention substantially as claimed except for a bare copper strand positioned adjacent to the core strand. Leijon et al. discloses a cable comprising a core strand (A in layer K3) and a bare copper strand (B in layer K4) positioned adjacent to the core strand. It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to include a bare copper strand as taught by Leijon et al. adjacent to the core strand in the cable of said patent to increase the transmission capacity of the cable.
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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/CHAU N NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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