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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This is a non-final First Office Action on the Merits in application 19/055,173, filed 9/13/2024.
Claims 1-20 are pending and examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 5/12/2025 is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: in para. [0053], line 8, “may integrally formed with” should be “may be integrally formed with”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 5, 7 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities: in claim 1, line 10, “removOably” should be “removably”; in claim 5, line 2, “the anchor” should be “the anchor body”; in claim 7, line 3, “with second” should be “with a second”, and in claim 20, line 1, “the anchor” should be “the anchor body”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 10-20 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.
In claim 10, line 20 and claim 14, line 27, “the helical plates” has no antecedent basis since “a helical plate” was set forth previously. By changing the phrase to “the helical plate” the rejection would be overcome.
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.
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 1-3, 5-10, 13-14 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bruce(U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. 2019/0145075; cited on IDS filed 5/12/2025.
Bruce discloses an anchor assembly(10, see para. [0028] and Fig. 1) comprising:
an anchor(10, see para. [0028] and Fig. 1) including an anchor body(anchor base 12) having a first end having a pointed or inclined tip(anchor base 12 has an end portion 18, that terminates in a pointed tip 20, see para. [0030] and Fig. 1),
a second end opposite the first end(top of 22, see Fig. 1),
a wall defined between the first end and the second end(12 is considered the body and a wall of the body, see Fig. 1),
a helical plate coupled to the wall adjacent to the first end(at or near, considered adjacent, the first end of the wall of the anchor base 12 is coupled to one or more load bearing helical plate 28, see para. [0031] and Fig. 1), and
an aperture in the wall of the anchor body(14, see para. [0028] and Fig. 1), the aperture positioned between the helical plate and the second end(see Fig. 1), the aperture configured to receive one or more wires therethrough(see paras. [0028] and [0030]), and
an attachment member that is removably couplable to the second end of the anchor body(30 and horizontal mounting plate on 22, see Figs. 4 and 10; 30, 30 and 40 and horizontal plate on 40 collectively define an attachment member, the collar 30 acts as a cover and 40 and horizontal mounting plate connects to mounting plate 22 via fasteners 36, considered removably couplable, see paras. [0032] and [0034] and Fig. 6; or horizontal plate on 30, see Fig. 7, or horizontal plate in Figs. 14, 17 and 19-20), the attachment member including a mounting plate(horizontal mounting plate; see Figs. 4, 6-7, 10 and 12; paragraph [0032]) having an opening configured to be in communication with an interior of the anchor body (mounting plate above 22/40 has an opening that is in communication with the interior of anchor base 12, see Figs.), the opening configured to receive the one or more wires from the interior of the anchor body (mounting plate above 22 or 40 has an opening 26 that is used to pass/receive electrical wires through the interior of anchor base 12, see para. [0030]),
wherein the anchor body is configured to be partially inserted into a ground via rotation of the mounting plate(see para. [0030]) which causes rotation of the anchor body such that the helical plate advances the anchor body into the ground (when the anchor 10 is rotated, the load bearing helical plate(s) 28 screw/advance the anchor body into the soil, see paras. [0030] and [0031]), and
wherein the mounting plate(horizontal plate above 22, or element 40) is configured to mechanically couple to a housing of an electric device or a pedestal for coupling the housing of the electric device(the mounting plate above 22 or 40 is coupled to element 102 of 100 and therefore considered “mechanically coupled” to the base 102 of structure 100, which can be the base of a street light pole, considered the housing of an electrical device, or a pedestal 40 that can serve as a connector and support between the mounting plate and the base 102 of structure 100) while the one or more wires are mechanically and electrically coupled to the electric device to power the electric device(the electrical wires can pass through opening 26 of the mounting plate above 22 or 40 and through an opening in base 102 to pass into the structure which can be a street light pole/electrical device, these electric wires could then be used to power, considered electrically couple, the structure 100, considered electric device, see para. [0030] and [0034] and Figs. 1-4).
Regarding claim 2, Bruce discloses the anchor assembly of claim 1, wherein the attachment member further includes a hollow body(collar 30 includes opening 34 and second opening 35 which collectively define a hollow body, see Fig. 16; 40 has ends and an opening 46, see para. [0034]).
Regarding claim 3, Bruce discloses the anchor assembly of claim 2, wherein the hollow body includes a first engagement interface(side surface of 30, see Fig. 4, or bottom surface of 40, see Fig. 4) that is configured to matingly engage with a second engagement interface of the anchor body(side surface of 22, see Fig. 4, or upper surface of 22, see Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 5, Bruce discloses the anchor assembly of claim 2, wherein one of the hollow body and the anchor body includes a detent aperture(second opening 35 of the collective hollow body defines a detent aperture; see Figs. 16 and 17) and the other of the hollow body and the anchor body includes a detent(mounting plate 22 of anchor body 12 defines a detent; see Figs. 1 and 17) that is configured to be removably received in the detent aperture to couple the hollow body to the anchor body(mounting plate/detent 22 is configured to be removably received in the second opening/detent aperture 35 of the collective hollow body via fasteners 36).
Regarding claim 6, Bruce discloses the anchor assembly of claim 2, wherein the hollow body is coupled to the anchor body via a fastener(the hollow body defined by opening 34 and second opening 35 is coupled to the anchor body 12 via mounting plate 22 and fasteners 36, see para. [0043] and Fig. 17).
Regarding claim 7, Bruce discloses the anchor assembly of claim 1, wherein the attachment member is a first attachment member and the mounting plate is a first mounting plate(the horizontal mounting plate on 22; see Fig. 4) and wherein the first attachment member is interchangeable with a second attachment member(first attachment member 30 is interchangeable with second attachment member of collar 30 and insert 40, see Figs. 4 and 6) that is removably couplable to the second end of the anchor body(attachment member 40 is removable couplable to the second end 16 of anchor body 12 via mounting plate 22, bolts 36, and relevant apertures 44: see para. [0034] and Fig. 6), the second attachment member including a second mounting plate(considered insert 40) that is different from the first mounting plate(the body 42 of insert 40 defines a second mounting plate, which is different from the horizontal mounting plate above 22, see Figs. 5 and 6) and has an opening configured to be in communication with an interior of the anchor body(see para. [0034] and Fig. 4 and 6).
Regarding claim 8, Bruce discloses the anchor assembly of claim 7, wherein the first mounting plate has a first mounting interface(the top surface of the horizontal mounting plate on 22 defines a first mounting surface, see Fig. 4) and the second mounting plate has a second mounting interface that is different from the first mounting interface(the top surface of body 40, second mounting plate, defines a second mounting surface, which is different from the top surface, considered first mounting interface, of the horizontal mounting plate on 22; see Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 9, Bruce discloses the anchor assembly of claim 7, wherein the first attachment member has a first engagement interface(bottom of the horizontal plate to top of 22, see Fig. 4) and the second attachment member has a second engagement interface(the bottom surface of insert 40 and top of 22, see Fig. 5) that is the same as the first engagement interface (the first engagement interface and the second engagement interface are functionally the same, see Fig. 4 and 6), each of the first and second engagement interfaces configured to engage a complementary mating interface of the anchor body(see Figs. 4 and 6).
Regarding claim 10, Bruce discloses the anchor of claim 1, and
a first portion defined between the first end and a location between the first end and the second end(the anchor body 12 comprises a first portion provided between the first end 18 and a location just above opening 14, see Fig. 1), the aperture considered a first aperture in the wall and in communication with an interior of the body(see paras. [0028] and [0030] and Fig. 1), the aperture being in the first portion(the anchor body 12 comprises a first portion provided between the first end 18 and a location just above opening 14 thereby including the opening 14 within the first portion, see Fig. 1), the first aperture configured to receive one or more wires into the interior from an outside of the body (see paras. [0028] and [0030]),
a second portion defined between the second end(16) and the location(the anchor body 12 comprises a second portion provided between the second end and the location just above opening 14, see Fig. 1), the second portion integrally formed with the first portion as a single-piece(the first portion and second portion are integrally formed as the wall of the anchor body 12, see Fig. 1),
a second aperture positioned between the first and the second end(opening 26 is positioned and extends between the first end 18 and the second end 16, see Fig. 1), the second aperture configured to receive the one or more wires from the interior of the body(opening 26 is in communication with the interior of anchor body 12 and is used to pass/receive electrical wires through the interior of anchor body 12, see para. [0030] and Fig. 1), and
a bracket coupled to the second portion(22 is integrally coupled to the second end of anchor body 12, see Fig. 1), the bracket configured to mechanically couple a housing of a charger for an electric vehicle(the mounting plate/bracket 22 is capable of mechanically coupling to the housing of a charger for an electric vehicle, see Figs. 1 and 17) while the one or more wires are mechanically and electrically coupled to the charger through the first and second apertures to power the charger(the electrical wires can pass through, considered mechanically coupled, first aperture 14 of the anchor body 12, second aperture 26, and through an opening in base 102 to pass into the structure 100, which can be an electric vehicle charger, therefore the electric wires are capable of providing power, electrically coupled, to the charger; see para. [0028] and [0030] and Figs. 1-4),
wherein the body is configured to be partially inserted into a ground via rotation which causes the helical plates to advance the first portion into the ground (when the anchor 10 is rotated, the load bearing helical plate 28 screws/advances the first end 18, considered a section of the first portion, of anchor body 12 into the soil, partially inserted into a ground, see paras. [0030] and [0031] and Fig. 1); and
wherein the first portion is configured to be positioned under a surface of the ground(see Fig. 1 figure 1; paragraphs [0030], [0031]) and the second portion is configured to project from the ground such that the charger is supported by the second portion above the ground(see Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 13, Bruce discloses the anchor of claim 10, wherein the second end includes a tool mounting interface configured to removably couple to a tool for driving the body into the ground(second end 16 defines a tool mounting interface, is capable of being used to screw the anchor base 12 into the soil and is therefore capable of removably coupling a tool for driving the body into the ground, see para. [0030] and Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 14, Bruce discloses the anchor of claim 1 and 10, and
a cap that is couplable to the second end(collar/cap 30 is couplable to the second end 16 via mounting plate 22, see para. [0043] and Fig. 17), the cap including a cap body(collar/cap 30 comprises a body 32, see para. [0043] and Fig. 17) having
a first end(32a, see Fig. 17) being an open end,
a second end(32b, see Fig. 17) opposite the first end,
a wall extending between the first end and the second end(the walls of body 32 extend between the 32a and 32b, Figs. 16 and 17), and
a second aperture(34) in the wall of the cap body and in communication with an interior(35) of the cap body(see Figs. 16 and 17),
wherein the cap body is configured to be coupled to the anchor body(see para. [0043] and Fig. 17),
wherein the first aperture is configured to guide one or more wires from an outside of the anchor body through the interior of the anchor body(first aperture 14 is configured to pass/guide electric wires through the of the anchor body 12 from outside the anchor body 12, see para. [0028] and [0030] and Fig. 1 and the interior of the cap body to the second aperture 34 is configured to provide passage of electric wiring between the mounting plate 22, the second opening 35 (interior of the cap body), and the base 102 of structure 100, see para. [0043] and Fig. 17),
wherein the cap body is configured to mechanically couple to a housing of a charger for an electric vehicle(the cap body 32 is capable of mechanically coupling to the housing of a charger for an electric vehicle, see Figs. 1 and 17) while the one or more wires are mechanically and electrically coupled to the charger to power the charger(see above rejection and para. [0043]),
wherein the anchor body is configured to be partially inserted into ground via rotation which causes the helical plate to advance the first portion into the ground(see above rejection), and
wherein the first portion is configured to be positioned at least partially under a surface of the ground and the second portion is configured to project from the ground such that the charger is supported by the second portion(see above rejection).
Regarding claim 17, Bruce discloses the anchor assembly of claim 14, wherein the cap body(30) is coupled to the anchor body(12) by a fastener(32 is coupled to 12 via mounting plate 22 and fasteners 36, see para. [0043] and Figs. 16 and 17.
Regarding claim 18, Bruce discloses the anchor assembly of claim 14, wherein a bracket(102) is coupled the cap body(32, see Figs. 16 and 17), the bracket configured to mechanically couple the housing of the charger(base 102 is capable of mechanically coupling to the housing of a charger meeting the claim limitation, see Figs. 16 and 17).
Regarding claim 19, Bruce discloses the anchor assembly of claim 14, wherein a portion of the wall of the cap body adjacent the second aperture defines a device mounting interface(apertures 50 are provided on the top surface 32b of the walls of cap body 32 adjacent to second aperture 34, see para. [0043] and Figs. 15-17) for mechanically coupling the housing of the charger(apertures 50 are capable of mechanically coupling to the housing of the charger meeting the claim limitation, see para. [0043] and Figs. 15-17).
Regarding claim 20, Bruce discloses the anchor assembly of claim 14, wherein the second end of the anchor body includes a tool mounting interface configured to removably couple to a tool for driving the anchor body into the ground(second end 16 defines a tool mounting interface, is capable of being used to screw the anchor base 12 into the soil and is therefore capable of removably coupling a tool for driving the body into the ground, see para. [0030] and Fig. 1).
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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bruce in view of Fenwick(U.S. Pat. App;. Publ. 2016/0356294; cited on IDS filed 5/17/2025).
Bruce discloses the anchor assembly of claim 2, but lacks the hollow body including a first threaded interface that is configured to matingly engage with a second threaded interface of the anchor body.
Fenwick discloses wherein the hollow body includes a first threaded interface that is configured to matingly engage with a second threaded interface of the anchor body(considered pile 24) has an externally threaded upper end 370 (second threaded interface) configured to matingly engage with the internally threaded second coupler threaded surface 332 (first threaded interface) of second coupler portion 322 (hollow body); figure 1; paragraph [0054]).
It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have substituted the mounting plate of Bruce with the threaded interfaces of Fenwick given that KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 127 S.Ct. 1727, 82 USPQ.2d 1385 (Fed. Cir. 2005), cert. granted, 547 U.S. __ (2006) has found that the substitution of one known element for another would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Claims 11-12 and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bruce.
Regarding claims 11-12, Bruce discloses the anchor of claim 10, wherein the bracket is a first bracket (mounting plate 22 defines 2 first bracket; figure 1), the charger is a first charger (the charger is a first charger), the one or more wires are one or more first wires (the electrical wires are a first set of wires; paragraph [0028]), but lacks a second bracket coupled to the second portion, the second bracket configured to mechanically couple a housing of a second charger for an electric vehicle while the one or more second wires are mechanically and electrically coupled to the charger to power the second charger.
It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have duplicated the bracket and wires of the anchor of Bruce with a second bracket plate and second set of wires to configure a second electric vehicle charging system in order to have allowed for multiple vehicles to be charged at once. Most families have multiple vehicles and therefore, it would be obvious that homes would require a second charging station to charge multiple vehicles at the same time.
The specific location of the brackets is considered a feature best determined by a skilled artisan to optimize organization and support for charging by separating the wiring and mounting position for a second electric charging station giving room for two vehicles to be charged at once.
Regarding claims 15-16, Bruce discloses the anchor assembly of claim 14, wherein the cap body is coupled to the anchor body and structurally appears to coupleable before or after the anchor body is inserted into the ground.
Applicant’s disclosure lends no criticality to the interaction of the cap and anchor bodies when inserted into the ground.
Therefore, the specific insertion of the body and or the cap and anchor body together is considered a feature best determined by a skilled artisan given the intended use of the anchor and design requirements thereof.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BETH A. AUBREY whose telephone number is (571)272-1851. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8a-4:30p.
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BETH A. AUBREY
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3633
/Beth A Aubrey/
Prosecution Insights