DETAILED ACTION
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 and 12 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.
Regarding claim 10, the phrase “may be” is indefinite. It is not clear if the limitation following “maybe” limits the scope of the claim. It is suggested to change the phrase to “is” to correct the problem.
Regarding claim 12, the limitation “to bear against the surface of said actuator” is misdescriptive. It is suggested that the limitation be changed to “to bear against the surface of said insert member” to correct the problem.
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.
Claims 1-4 and 7-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hampton, US 2008/0066268 A1 in view of Hoshino, US 6145171. Hampton discloses a housing (14) of a quick disconnect buckle attached to a helmet (30) with a bolt (28, figure 1). Hampton also discloses an insert member (12, figure 2, 3 and 6) with two slots for receiving the end of a chin strap (34). Hampton fails to disclose the claimed details of how the housing, actuator and insert member function to provide a quick connect/disconnect buckle (12, 14) for attaching and removing the end of the chin strap (34) to the helmet (30).
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The claimed housing, actuator and insert member quick connect/disconnect buckle assembly is taught by Hoshino. Hoshino discloses a housing (2), with a slot (4b), for receiving an insert member (3), and an actuator button (6) is located within the housing with the button extending through the outer surface of the housing (figure 1). The actuator (6, figure 3) is held in a second, locking positon, by a spring (7). The button is depressed to release the insert member (3). The use of the single button actuator improves the ease of disconnecting the housing from the insert member over a two button actuator shown in Hampton. Therefore, it would have been obvious, prior to the earliest effective filing date, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Hampton’s connector assembly to have a single actuatable button to improve the speed and ease of disconnect of the chin strap from the helmet.
Regarding claim 2, Hampton discloses a housing (14) with an outer and an inner surface adapted to bear against the surface of a helmet.
Regarding claims 3 and 4, Hampton discloses a housing with an inner surface with a screw hole adapted to receive the screw (38). Hampton discloses extending the screw through the screw hole and then through the surface of the helmet to engage a threaded nut to secure the housing to the helmet ([0019]).
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Claim 3 requires the reverse of what is disclosed in Hampton, i.e., the screw hole is threaded to receive the threaded member to secure the housing to the helmet. The applicant’s specification fails to disclose any criticality associated with this threaded member and its fastening function to retain the housing to the helmet. Therefore, it would have been obvious, prior to the earliest effective filling date, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to reverse the threaded connection between the threaded member and the helmet of Hampton’s device, i.e., the threads would be placed on the screw hole in the housing and the bolt/screw would pass through the helmet from inside the helmet to threadably engage the threads in the screw hole and then place a fastening nut on the end of the screw to prevent it from loosening.
Regarding claim 7, Hoshino discloses a channel formed in the housing for receiving the actuator.
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Regarding claims 8 and 13, Hoshino discloses a spring (7) for loading the actuator (6). The spring bears against an interior of the housing and against the actuator (6).
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Regarding claims 9 and 10, Hoshino discloses a button surface exposed to the outer surface of the housing and raised into the outer surface of the housing.
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Regarding claim 11, Hoshino discloses a protrusion (l-shaped) formed on the interior of the actuator.
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Regarding claim 12, Hoshino discloses the protrusion as a vertical ramp forming a shoulder (sides) to bear against the interior surface of the hole and the bottom surface of the insert member (3).
Regarding claim 14, Hoshino discloses a constant diameter coil spring to give a constant spring force. The claim requires that the coil spring have one end with a diameter larger than the opposite end. The examiner takes official notice of the fact that coils springs having one end larger than the other is old and well-known. This type of spring gives you a variable resistance to a force compressing it, increase in travel because one coil can fit into the other, decrease in solid height, or height of the spring at full compression. This type of spring will take up less space and cost less than a constant diameter spring. Therefore, it would have been obvious, prior to the earliest effective filing date, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Hampton’s constant diameter spring to be a tapered spring to reduce the cost and space needed to house the spring.
Regarding claim 15, Hoshino discloses a tongue on the end of the insert member.
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Regarding claim 16, Hoshino discloses the bottom surface of the tongue being engaged by the actuator.
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Regarding claim 17, Hoshino discloses a ramp surface formed on the tongue, i.e., the front curved surface.
Regarding claim 18, Hoshino discloses a pocket formed on the bottom surface of the tongue adapted to engage with the actuator.
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Regarding claim 19, Hampton discloses the body of the insert member with a pair of slots to receive the chin strap.
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Regarding claim 20, the claim requires a lock screw extending through the insert member to press the chin strap against a surface in the insert member to secure the strap. The examiner takes official notice of the fact that lock screws used in this manner to secure a strap to a buckle are old and well-known. Therefore, it would have been obvious, prior to the earliest effective filing date, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Hampton’s insert member to include a lock screw to prevent any release or disconnect between the strap and the insert member.
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hampton, US 2008/0066268 A1 in view of Hoshino, US 6145171 and further in view of Murai, US 5533240. The claims require a triangular shaped, in cross-section, tail extending outwardly from the housing inner surface, which is not disclosed by Hampton. However, Murai discloses a tail (25) extending from the inner surface of the housing (12b) for use in connecting the housing to an article to improve the stability of connection.
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Therefore, it would have been obvious, prior to the earliest effective filing date, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Hampton’s housing to include a tail to add stability to the connection between the housing and the helmet.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACK W LAVINDER whose telephone number is (571)272-7119. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Friday 9-4pm (EST).
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, Jason San can be reached at 571-272-6531. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JACK W. LAVINDER
Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 3677
/JACK W LAVINDER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3677
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