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
Figure 7 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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 § 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)(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 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Louaisil (US 2017/0321805).
With regard to claim 1, Louaisil discloses a sealing structure (as seen in Figs. 4-7) comprising: a first member (2); a second member (as described in para. [0030], etc.) to be fixed to the first member (as described in para. [0030] and in that it is capable of such an intended use); and a gasket (10) to be fitted into an annular fitting groove provided in at least one of the first member and the second member to seal a gap between respective end surfaces of the first member and the second member (as seen in Fig. 7, etc.), the gasket including: an annular gasket main body (i.e. the main portion including 40 and 20) to be fitted into the fitting groove (as seen in Fig. 7); and a plurality of protrusions (42) provided on an inner circumferential surface or an outer circumferential surface of the gasket main body (as seen in Figs. 5-7), the protrusions being provided spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction (as seen in Figs. 5-6), wherein, in a state where the gasket is fitted in the fitting groove before the first member and the second member are fixed together (i.e. as seen in Fig. 7), the protrusions are in contact with one of sidewalls of the fitting groove (i.e. the right-sidewall as seen in Fig. 7), and the gasket main body has a meandering portion (including 18 and/or 20) which is not in contact with either of the sidewalls of the fitting groove (as seen in Fig. 7).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Louaisil (US 2017/0321805) alone.
With regard to claim 3, Louaisil fails to disclose that each of the protrusions is provided with a hollow. However it would have been considered obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to have modified the device of Louaisil such that ach of the protrusions is provided with a hollow as Examiner hereby takes Official Notice that the art is replete with examples of protrusions having a hollow (e.g. an indented portion or hole adjacent thereto or part thereof). Such a modification would provide the expected benefit of providing addition deformation to the protrusions allowing for controlling the compression of the sealing structure when installed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is 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 and provides additional examples of seals for installation in grooves with meandering portions and projections.
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.
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/NICHOLAS L FOSTER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675
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