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 .
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.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lajewardi et al. (US 2020/0173481), hereinafter “Lajewardi”.
Regarding claim 18, Lajewardi discloses a screw (10) comprising: a shank (14) having a threaded portion (30) defining a rotational direction of the screw; and a head (12) having a side (86 with 88) and a plurality of protrusions (82) positioned along the side, each protrusion of the plurality of protrusions comprising: an outer wall (82A with 82B); a trailing wall (96) facing opposite the rotational direction of the screw, the trailing wall defining a single, substantially flat trailing surface between the outer wall and the side of the head (FIG. 9); and a leading wall (90) facing the rotational direction of the screw, the leading wall defining a plurality of leading surfaces (90, 92) between the outer wall and the side of the head, the plurality of leading surfaces being oriented at different angles (FIG. 9) such that the leading wall has curvature between the outer wall and the side of the head (¶31).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-17 are allowed.
Claims 19-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Lajewardi discloses a screw (10) comprising: a shank (14) having a threaded portion (30) defining a rotational direction of the screw; and a head (12) having a side (86 with 88) and a plurality of protrusions (82) positioned along the side, each protrusion of the plurality of protrusions comprising: an outer wall (82A with 82B); a trailing wall (96) facing opposite the rotational direction of the screw, the trailing wall defining a single, substantially flat trailing surface between the outer wall and the side of the head (FIG. 9); and a leading wall (90) facing the rotational direction of the screw, the leading wall defining a plurality of leading surfaces (90, 92) between the outer wall and the side of the head, the plurality of leading surfaces being oriented at different angles (FIG. 9) such that the leading wall has curvature between the outer wall and the side of the head (¶31).
However, the prior art, alone or in combination, fails to disclose wherein the plurality of leading surfaces comprises: a first leading surface extending inwardly from the outer wall; a second leading surface extending inwardly from the first leading surface toward the side; and a third leading surface extending between the second leading surface and the side of the head, OR wherein each protrusion of the plurality of protrusions comprises a bottom wall extending inwardly from the outer wall toward the side of the head, the bottom wall joining the trailing wall and the leading wall, the bottom wall defining a first bottom wall surface that is substantially parallel to the top surface.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OLIVIA C CHANG whose telephone number is (571) 270-5017. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7:30AM-5:00PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, please contact the examiner’s supervisor, KEVIN TRUONG, at (571) 272-4705. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571 -273-8300.
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/OLIVIA C CHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3775
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