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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show the inner and outer walls with the struts in combination with the funnel-shape having a size that decreases when moving in the direction counter to the assembly direction/when moving away from the connecting portion (claims 11 and 20) as described in the specification. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d). 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.
Claim Objections
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: “in the direction counter the assembly direction” in lines 11-12 should read “in the direction counter to the assembly direction”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 20 is objected to because of the following informalities: “in the direction counter the assembly direction” in lines 9-10 should read “in the direction counter to the assembly direction”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 11 and 20 each recite a combination of limitations that is not found in a single disclosed embodiment (i.e. the inner and outer walls with the struts in combination with the funnel-shape having a size that decreases when moving in the direction counter to the assembly direction/when moving away from the connecting portion). Specifically though the original claims of the instant application provide literal antecedent basis, as the original disclosure does not contain any reference to a single embodiment that comprises both such structures it is not considered described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Examiner notes that only the first embodiment (see Figs. 1-3) has the struts, but that embodiment does not also have the funnel-shape having a size that decreases when moving in the direction counter to the assembly direction/when moving away from the connecting portion. Appropriate correction is required. Examiner recommends removing the strut limitation and replacing such with other elements disclosed in the claimed embodiments of Figs. 4-10 (e.g. the bending portion 16 that makes the grommet asymmetrical and capable of allowing the cable passage portion to be bent in an approximate 90 degree angle relative to the assembly direction).
Claims 12-19 fail to meet the written description requirement at least by virtue of depending on (and therefore requiring the limitations detailed above) claim 11.
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.
Claim 14 is 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 14 recites the limitation “the catching portion”. This limitation lacks antecedent basis and is indefinite as to whether it refers to a prior claimed portion (e.g. the fastening portion, the connecting portion, etc.) or is a newly claimed portion (e.g. a smaller portion of the fastening portion that mainly comprises the catching members). Appropriate clarification and correction is required. For examination purposes Examiner assumes Applicant intended to claim “the fastening portion”.
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)(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 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Toyoda et al. (US 2020/0353881).
With regard to claim 11, Toyoda discloses a grommet apparatus (10) for the passage of lines through a component opening (as seen in Figs. 1-2, etc. it is capable of this claimed intended use limitation in the preamble), comprising: a cable passage portion (including at least 20 and the conical portion attached thereto), and a radially circumferential connecting portion (including 10, etc.) for connecting the grommet apparatus to an edge region of the component opening in an assembly direction (as seen in Figs. 1-2 it is capable of this claimed intended use/capability. Additionally see assembly direction (i.e. the right-hand x-direction) in Figs. 1-2), wherein: the connecting portion has an inner and an outer stiffening wall (inner and outer 52A, respectively), which are arranged substantially concentrically with respect to one another (as seen in Figs. 1, 3, etc.), the inner stiffening wall having a first and a second end (i.e. the axial ends thereof as seen in Figs. 1, 3, etc.), the first end located furthest in a direction counter to the assembly direction (as seen in Figs. 1, 3, etc. the left most axial/free end); the cable passage portion extends from the connecting portion in the direction counter the assembly direction (as seen in Figs. 1, 3, etc. at the conical portion thereof) and is configured, at least in a region (i.e. the region comprising at least the conical portion), with a funnel-shape (as seen in Figs. 1, 3, etc. as it is a conical portion which is a type of funnel-shape) such that a size of a cable passage opening through the cable passage portion, at least in the region, decreases when moving along the region and in the direction counter to the assembly direction (as seen in Figs. 1, 3, etc.); wherein the inner and outer stiffening walls are connected to one another by radially circumferentially arranged struts (see the two labeled struts in Examiner annotated Fig. 1 below, which examiner notes can be considered struts as they are a structural pieces that would resist pressure in the direction of its length, which is a definition encompassed by the broadest reasonable interpretation of the term to one of ordinary skill and in light of the specification), wherein the struts are arranged to be equally spaced apart from one another (as seen in Figs. 1 and 3).
PNG
media_image1.png
746
625
media_image1.png
Greyscale
With regard to claim 12, Toyoda discloses that the inner and outer stiffening walls extend approximately parallel to the assembly direction (as seen in Fig. 1, etc. as they have depth in both the assembly and counter assembly directions (i.e. axially)).
With regard to claim 13, Toyoda discloses that the connecting portion comprises a fastening portion (including 13 and 14), wherein the fastening portion comprises radially circumferentially arranged catching members (as labeled in Examiner annotated Fig. 2 below) for rearward engagement with an edge of a component lying in the assembly direction (as seen in Figs. 2-3 as they each end at a circumferential surface that can engage such a component).
PNG
media_image2.png
770
590
media_image2.png
Greyscale
With regard to claim 14, Toyoda discloses that the catching members have a catching edge facing opposite to the assembly direction (i.e. the outer axial edge thereof that is configured/capable of facing the wall 100 as seen in Fig. 3), wherein the catching members extend outwardly from the fastening portion in a radial direction (as seen in Fig. 1-3 as they have radial height and extend outwardly compared to some parts of the fastening portion), and wherein the catching members are arranged radially circumferentially and uniformly spaced apart from one another on the catching portion and are integrally formed on the grommet apparatus (as seen in Figs. 1-3).
With regard to claim 15, Toyoda discloses that the connecting portion comprises a sealing portion (including at least 14), wherein the sealing portion has a radially circumferential sealing lip (14) extending substantially in the assembly direction (as seen in Fig. 3).
With regard to claim 16, Toyoda discloses that the cable passage opening is formed at approximately the center of the cable passage portion (as seen in Figs. 1-3).
With regard to claim 17, Toyoda discloses that the grommet apparatus is manufactured by a single-component injection molding process (Examiner notes this this is a product-by-process limitation and it has been held that the patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. If the product in the product-by-process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior product was made by a different process. In re Thorpe, 777 F.2d 695, 698, 227 USPQ 964, 966 (Fed. Cir. 1985).).
With regard to claim 18, Toyoda discloses that the cable passage portion extends from the first end of the inner stiffening wall (as seen in Fig. 3, etc.).
With regard to claim 19, Toyoda discloses that the cable passage portion comprises a bending portion (as labeled in Examiner annotated Fig. 1 above, which as it is made of a flexible material (see para. [0022]) is capable of bending) and a guiding portion (as labeled in Examiner annotated Fig. 1 above, which as it is designed to conform to the outer surface of W at least aids in guiding it), wherein at least one flexible portion (as labeled in Examiner annotated Fig. 1 above, which is a flexible portion as it is made of a flexible material. See para. [0022]) interconnects the bending portion and the guiding portion (as seen in Fig. 1).
With regard to claim 20, Toyoda discloses a grommet apparatus (10) for the passage of lines through a component opening (as seen in Figs. 1-2, etc. it is capable of this claimed intended use limitation in the preamble), comprising: a cable passage portion (including at least 20 and the conical portion attached thereto), and a radially circumferential connecting portion (including 10, etc.) for connecting the grommet apparatus to an edge region of the component opening in an assembly direction (as seen in Figs. 1-2 it is capable of this claimed intended use/capability. Additionally see assembly direction (i.e. the right-hand x-direction) in Figs. 1-2), wherein: the connecting portion has an inner and an outer stiffening wall (inner and outer 52A, respectively), which are arranged substantially concentrically with respect to one another (as seen in Figs. 1, 3, etc.); the cable passage portion extends from the connecting portion in a direction counter the assembly direction (as seen in Figs. 1, 3, etc. at the conical portion thereof) and is configured, at least in a region (i.e. the region comprising at least the conical portion), with a funnel-shape (as seen in Figs. 1, 3, etc. as it is a conical portion which is a type of funnel-shape) such that a size of a cable passage opening through the cable passage portion, at least in the region, decreases when moving away from the connecting portion (as seen in Figs. 1, 3, etc.); wherein the inner and outer stiffening walls are connected to one another by radially circumferentially arranged struts (see the two labeled struts in Examiner annotated Fig. 1 above, which examiner notes can be considered struts as they are a structural pieces that would resist pressure in the direction of its length, which is a definition encompassed by the broadest reasonable interpretation of the term to one of ordinary skill and in light of the specification), wherein the struts are arranged to be equally spaced apart from one another (as seen in Figs. 1 and 3).
Examiner Recommendations
In the interest of advancing prosecution, Examiner recommends overcoming the above 112 rejections and then claiming, in the independent claims, a folded bending portion (16) that makes the grommet asymmetrical and is capable of allowing the cable passage portion to be bent in an approximate 90 degree angle relative to the assembly direction when the bending portion is unfolded.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and provides additional examples of similar grommets.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS L FOSTER whose telephone number is (571)270-5354. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kristina Fulton can be reached at (571) 272-7376. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/NICHOLAS L FOSTER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675