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 . 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 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.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because multiple reference characters have been given to the same structure in the following figures:
“30, 30L” in Figure 1
“30, 30U” in Figure 5
“1, 150” in Figure 8
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 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 3, 5, 7, and 8 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “a second surface” in line 1. It is unclear from the claim how a second surface can exist without having the presence of a first surface.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the second surface" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim; a second surface is not previously recited in the claim(s). Claims 7 and 8 inherit this issue for depending upon claim 5.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 5,314,174 (Hagman).
Regarding claim 1, Hagman discloses a joint assembly (12) for a ball joint of a vehicle (see Figures 2 and 3, and annotated Figure 1 below), the joint assembly comprising
a housing (28, 30, 56, 58),
a joint member (54, 60) that may be at least partly inserted into the housing (see Figure 2),
a locking member (40) that is movable between a locked position, in which the joint member is locked to the housing, and an unlocked position (see column 3, lines 11-58), the joint assembly further comprising
a resilient member (38) that is arranged to bias the locking member towards the locked position (see column 3, lines 11-38),
wherein the joint assembly comprises a fluid inlet (adjacent 26; see annotated Figure 1 below) and is configured such that a pressurized fluid may be supplied via the fluid inlet to move the locking member from the locked position to the unlocked position (see column 3, lines 11-58).
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Figure 1. Annotated Figure 2 of Hagman
Regarding claim 2, Hagman discloses the locking member (40) comprises a first surface (see annotated Figure 1 above) and the joint assembly (12) is configured such that the pressurized fluid may act on the first surface to move the locking member from the locked position to the unlocked position (see column 3, lines 11-58).
Regarding claim 3, Hagman discloses the locking member (40) comprises a second surface (see annotated Figure 1 above) and the joint assembly (12) is configured such that the resilient member (38) may act on the second surface to move the locking member from the unlocked position to the locked position (see column 3, lines 11-58).
Regarding claim 4, Hagman discloses the joint assembly (12) is configured such that the locking member (40) is movable along a straight linear path between the locked position and the unlocked position (up and down in Figure 2).
Regarding claim 5, Hagman discloses the first surface (see annotated Figure 1 above) is arranged on a first side of the locking member (40) and the second surface (see annotated Figure 1 above) is arranged on a second side of the locking member, wherein the first side is opposite to the second side (see Figure 2).
Regarding claim 6, Hagman discloses the first surface (see annotated Figure 1 above) is annular (see circular-shaped joint assembly 12 in Figure 1).
Regarding claim 7, Hagman discloses the locking member (40) comprises a bearing surface (see annotated Figure 1 above) that is inclined with respect to the straight linear path along with the locking member is movable (the bearing surface inclined at a right angle relative to the path), such that when the locking member moves from the unlocked position to the locked position the bearing surface may exert a clamping force that clamps the joint member (54, 60; see Figure 2 and column 3, lines 11-58).
Regarding claim 8, Hagman discloses a first bearing unit (50) arranged between the bearing surface (see annotated Figure 1 above) and the joint member (54, 60) when the latter is in position in the housing (28, 30, 56, 58), wherein the joint assembly (12) is configured such that when the locking member (40) moves from the unlocked position to the locked position the bearing surface presses the first bearing unit towards the joint member and exerts the clamping force onto the joint member (see Figure 2 and column 3, lines 11-58).
Regarding claim 9, Hagman discloses the resilient member (38) is a helical compression spring that encircles the joint member as seen along the longitudinal axis of the helical resilient member (see Figures 2 and 3, where stud 36 reads on “a joint member that may be at least partly inserted into the housing” as required by claim 1).
Regarding claim 10, Hagman discloses the housing (28, 30, 56, 58) comprises a first end and a second end, the second housing end comprising an opening (see annotated Figure 1 above, where both housing portions 56, 58 include an opening) for insertion of the joint member (54, 60; see Figure 2).
Regarding claim 11, Hagman discloses the first housing end (bottom end in Figure 2) is closed (via plate 28).
Regarding claim 12, Hagman discloses the first housing end (top end in Figure 2) is an upper end and the second housing end (bottom end in Figure 2) is a lower end (see Figure 2).
Regarding claim 13, Hagman discloses the fluid inlet (adjacent 26) is positioned closer to the second housing end (bottom end in Figure 2) than to the first housing end (top end in Figure 2).
Regarding claim 14, Hagman discloses a constriction member (68) that is releasably attached to the opening (via bolt holes in housing portions 28, 30, 56, 58), wherein the joint member (54, 60) is not withdrawable through the opening when the constriction member is attached to the opening, and wherein the joint member is withdrawable through the opening when the constriction member is not attached to the opening (see column 3, lines 11-26).
Regarding claim 15, Hagman discloses a ball joint (see Figure 2) for a vehicle (workplace holder system 10 being a vehicle for the ball joint of the joint assembly 12), the ball joint comprising the joint assembly of claim 1 (see rejection above).
Regarding claim 16, Hagman discloses a V-stay (a “stay” being provided for workpiece 76 as shown in Figure 5; base 14 having V-shaped corners) for a vehicle (workplace holder system 10 being a vehicle for the ball joint of the joint assembly 12), the V-stay comprising the joint assembly according to claim 1 (see rejection above).
Regarding claim 17, Hagman discloses a vehicle (workplace holder system 10 being a vehicle for the joint assembly 12) comprising the joint assembly (12) according to claim 1 (see rejection above).
Regarding claim 18, Hagman discloses a method of releasing a joint assembly (12) of a ball joint (see Figures 2 and 3), the joint assembly comprising a joint member (54, 60) and a locking member (40) that is movable between a locked position in which the joint member is locked and an unlocked position, the joint assembly further comprising a resilient member (38) that is arranged to bias the locking member towards the locked position (see column 3, lines 11-58), the method comprising
supplying a fluid to the joint assembly to move the locking member from the locked position to the unlocked position (see column 3, lines 11-58).
Regarding claim 19, Hagman discloses connecting a pressurized fluid source (via 26) to the joint assembly before supplying the fluid (see column 3, lines 11-58).
Regarding claim 20, Hagman discloses the joint assembly (12) comprises a housing (28, 30, 56, 58) to which the joint member (54, 60) is locked when the locking member (40) is in the locked position (see Figure 2), the method comprising
detaching the joint member from the housing after supplying the fluid to the joint assembly to move the locking member from the locked position to the unlocked position (see column 3, lines 11-58, and column 4, lines 18-26).
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.
In the interest of compact prosecution, the following alternative rejection of claims 15-17 is made:
Claims 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hagman in view of EP 2 589 826 (Erdem).
Regarding claim 15, Hagman discloses a ball joint, the ball joint comprising the joint assembly of claim 1 (see rejection above), but does not explicitly disclose the ball joint being for a vehicle.
Erdem teaches it is known in the art of joint assemblies with ball joints to provide said joint assemblies as a means to secure V-stay bars on vehicles to allow them to withstand heavy loads (see Abstract). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the ball joint comprising the joint assembly of claim 1 of Hagman as part of a ball joint for a vehicle, as Erdem teaches it is known in the art of joint assemblies with ball joints to provide said joint assemblies as a means to secure V-stay bars on vehicles to allow them to withstand heavy loads.
Regarding claim 16, Hagman discloses a joint assembly according to claim 1 (see rejection above), but does not explicitly disclose the joint assembly as part of a V-stay for a vehicle.
Erdem teaches it is known in the art of joint assemblies with ball joints to provide said joint assemblies as a means to secure V-stay bars on vehicles to allow them to withstand heavy loads (see Abstract). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the joint assembly of claim 1 of Hagman as part of a V-stay for a vehicle, as Erdem teaches it is known in the art of joint assemblies with ball joints to provide said joint assemblies as a means to secure V-stay bars on vehicles to allow them to withstand heavy loads.
Regarding claim 17, Hagman discloses the joint assembly according to claim 1 (see rejection above), but does not explicitly disclose the joint assembly as part of a vehicle.
Erdem teaches it is known in the art of joint assemblies with ball joints to provide said joint assemblies as a means to secure V-stay bars on vehicles to allow them to withstand heavy loads (see Abstract). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the joint assembly of claim 1 of Hagman as part of a vehicle, as Erdem teaches it is known in the art of joint assemblies with ball joints to provide said joint assemblies as a means to secure V-stay bars on vehicles to allow them to withstand heavy loads.
Conclusion
The prior art set forth in the attached Notice of References Cited (PTO-892) made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure in the field of joint assemblies for ball joints.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Josh Skroupa whose telephone number is (571)270-3220. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber Anderson can be reached on (571)270-5281. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Josh Skroupa/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678
August 18, 2026
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