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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claim 1 has been amended to depend from claim 16.
Applicant's election with traverse of invention II (claims 16-20) in the reply filed on 7/22/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that amended claim 1 depends from the elected invention.
Claims 1-20 will be examined.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-15 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, lines 8-9, “an inner diameter (D1) the first drum” should be –an inner diameter of the first drum--;
In claim 2, lines 1-2, “the diameter (D2) is at least twice the diameter (D1)” should be –the inner diameter (D2) of the second drum is at least twice the inner diameter (D1) of the first drum--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Arcand et al., US 2022/0057020 A1.
Regarding claim 16, Arcand ‘020 discloses a saddle clamp 220 for a cable, comprising: a first housing part 206 having a first upper portion (i.e., a top portion) with a first curved inner surface 212, a second housing part 204 having a first upper portion (i.e., a top portion) with a second curved inner surface 212, the first housing part 206 and the second housing part 204 being removably attachable, wherein the first curved inner surface 212 and the second curved inner surface 212 define a channel (i.e. an opening) through the saddle clamp (see figure 2B), at least one insert (224, 222) removably securable in the channel, the at least one insert having a first insert part 224 received in the first curved inner surface 212 of the first housing part 206 and a second insert part 222 received in the second curved inner surface 212 of the second housing part; and the at least one insert (224, 222) includes a plurality of inserts 232 interchangeable in the channel, each having a different inner diameter to accommodate a different cable size (see paragraphs [0045]-[0046] and [0055], claim 20), see figure 1-5.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-15 and 17-19 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:
The claims 1-15 and 17-19 are patentable over the prior art of record because the teachings of the references taken as a whole do not show or render obvious the combination set forth in claims 1-15 and 17-19, including every structural element recited in the dependent claims.
None of the references of the prior art teach or suggest the elements of the device as advanced above and such do not provide the necessary motivation, absent applicant's specification, for modifying the device in the manner required by the claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. For sake of prosecuting the case further, see PTO-892, for similar clamping device.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SANG K KIM whose telephone number is 571-272-6947. The examiner can normally be reached Tuesday through Thursday from 10:30 A.M. to 9 P.M or Tuesday through Thursday from 10:30 A.M. to 7 P.M.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Robert Hodge, can be reached on (571) 272-2097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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SK
8/4/26
/SANG K KIM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3654
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