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 § 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 11-12 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by LeVey (US 6,132,153). LeVey discloses a fastening assembly comprising a nut structure (10) receiving a screw (60), the nut structure comprising: a nut head (20) having a threaded hole (22) and a space (50) communicating with the threaded hole; a fastening piece (30) including a base ring (32) abutting against the nut head in the axial direction (at 52) and with a plurality of elastic arms (40) equally spaced around a center axis located in the space and partially extending towards the threaded hole (Fig. 3); each of the elastic arms has an inner thread (44); and the screw is configured to first couple with the inner threads then couple with the threaded hole.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-10 and 13-19 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Qin (US 2023/0193943), Gibbs (US 783,630) and Miller (US 2,384,953) are cited to teach nuts with fastening pieces. Hermann (US 6,685,413) and Akashi (US 5,980,176) are cited to teach nut structures having a nut and a fastening retaining piece. The other references are cited as general interest.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FLEMMING SAETHER whose telephone number is (571)272-7071. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 - 7:00 eastern.
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/FLEMMING SAETHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675
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