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 .
The amendment filed on 11 August 2026 in response to the non-final office action mailed on 01 July 2026 has been considered. Claim(s) 1, 2, and 4-13 is/are pending. Claim(s) 3 has/have been canceled. Claim(s) 1, 2, and 4-13 has/have been examined in this action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4-8, and 10-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR 101692806 B1 to Kim (See translation) in view of EP 1 867 791 B1 to Schlueter.
Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses a manhole covering (Fig.1) comprising: a manhole cover (10, Fig.7), wherein the manhole cover comprises: at least one locking device (50) for locking the manhole cover to a shaft frame (90) of the manhole covering, wherein the locking device has a latch (121) which is movable between an unlocking position (Fig.5) and a locking position (Fig.6 and 7), and at least one screw (130, Fig.7) actuatable from an outer side (top of Fig.7) of the manhole cover, and wherein the latch is movable from the locking position (Fig.7) into a pressing position (Fig.8) in order to press the manhole cover firmly against the shaft frame during use (Fig.8).
Kim discloses wherein the screw (130), and the screw housing (100) are configured to rotate the latch between the unlocking position and the locking position. Kim further discloses wherein the fastener (300, Fig.22) itself is used to rotate (a lot 311) the latch (321) between the unlocking position and the unlocking position in a separate embodiment (Fig. 20 and 21).
Kim does not disclose a monitoring device for monitoring the locking, wherein the monitoring device is designed to detect the unlocking position, the locking position, and the pressing position of the latch.
Schlueter discloses providing a manhole cover with a monitoring device for monitoring the locking, wherein the monitoring device is designed to detect the unlocking position, the locking position, and the position of the lid (Paragraph [0024]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided the manhole assembly of Kim with a monitoring device as taught by Schlueter so to enable one to both monitor the placement and safety of the manhole cover from a distance and also to allow access to the manhole cover, thereby preventing unwanted access to the manhole cover.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the before the effective filing date of the invention to have formed the tool slot within the fastener of Kim so to enable both the fastener and the housing to be engaged to tighten the fastener as well as rotate the latch to the locking position, thereby reducing the need to provide different tools for each operation.
Regarding claim 2, Kim discloses wherein the at least one screw (130, Fig.7) is further configured to move the latch between the locking position (Fig.7) and the pressing position (Fig.8).
Regarding claim 4 Kim discloses wherein the locking device has a stop (40 and 41, Fig.4) in each case for the latch in the unlocking position and in the locking position.
Regarding claim 5, Kim discloses wherein the manhole cover has at least two locking devices (Fig. 4 and 5).
Regarding claim 6, Kim discloses wherein the locking devices are arranged distributed in the circumferential direction (Fig. 5) of the manhole cover.
Regarding claim 7, Schlueter discloses wherein the monitoring device has at least one sensor (20, 22; Paragraph [0035]) for detecting the position of the latch.
Regarding claim 8, Schlueter discloses wherein the monitoring device has an antenna (10) in order to transmit the information about the position of the latch wirelessly to a monitoring center (Paragraphs [0017] and [0031]).
Regarding claim 10, Schlueter discloses wherein the monitoring device is arranged in a protected housing (Paragraph [0035]) on an inner side of the manhole cover.
Regarding claim 11, Kim in view of Schlueter disclose a manhole covering according to claim 1 (See claim 1 above), Kim also discloses wherein the shaft frame (90) is configured to receive the manhole cover (Fig.4 and 7), and wherein the manhole cover rests on a support surface (91, Fig.7) of the shaft frame.
Regarding claim 12, Kim discloses wherein the latch (121) of the locking device in the locking position engages behind the shaft frame (Fig.7), and in the pressing position presses against the shaft frame (Fig.8), so that the manhole cover is pressed firmly against the support surface of the shaft frame (Fig.8).
Regarding claim 13, Kim in view of Schlueter disclose a monitoring system having at least one manhole covering according to claim 11 (See claim 11 above) and a monitoring center (Paragraphs [0017] and [0031]), wherein the monitoring center is designed to receive the information about the position of the latch from the monitoring device and to visualize the position of the latch (Paragraphs [0017] and [0031]).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR 101692806 B1 to Kim (See translation) in view of EP 1 867 791 B1 to Schlueter in view of Lanham et al.
Regarding claim 9, although Schlueter discloses the use of electronic locks, and also teaches using devices such as antennas, sensors, etc.; Kim in view of Schlueter do not specifically disclose wherein the monitoring device has at least one energy storage device for autonomous energy supply.
Lanham et al. disclose wherein the monitoring device has at least one energy storage device (64) for autonomous energy supply.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided a battery source to the assembly of Kim in view of Schlueter as taught by Lanham et al. so to provide a power source to the assembly without the need for hard wiring or other ele3ctronic means, thereby making the assembly more portable and less prone to larger, more expensive issues if damaged.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Although Kim does not disclose the screw is used to move from locked to unlocked position in the embodiment referred to in the rejection of claim 1, Kim does show wherein the fastener housing is used to rotate the latch from unlocked to locked position. After further review, Kim discloses using the fastener to rotate the latch from locked to unlocked position in a separate embodiment. Combining the teachings of both embodiments, one of ordinary skill in the art would have arrived at a solution to allow both fastener and housing to be rotated, thereby causing tightening from locked to pressing, and also causing rotation from unlocked to locked position.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN D KWIECINSKI whose telephone number is (571)272-5160. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm.
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RDK
/RYAN D KWIECINSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3635
