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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 23 September 2025 fails to comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609 because NPL citations 6 and 7 list incorrect U.S. Patent application numbers. It appears Applicant intends to cite the Australian application numbers. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered as to the merits (see Strike-through). Applicant is advised that the date of any re-submission of any item of information contained in this information disclosure statement or the submission of any missing element(s) will be the date of submission for purposes of determining compliance with the requirements based on the time of filing the statement, including all certification requirements for statements under 37 CFR 1.97(e). See MPEP § 609.05(a).
Claim Objections
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 14, it appears “a lower surface” should read --the lower surface--
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-6 and 9-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoder (US Pat. No. 4,953,820).
In regards to claim 1, Yoder teaches a mounting device for a metal panel, comprising: a body (10) comprising an arm (16) with a first aperture (41), the body including at least one interior surface that defines a throat; an insert (14) comprising a leg (30) and a trunk (29), the leg including a second aperture (31); and a fastener (42) insertable through the second aperture of the insert and into the first aperture of the body, wherein insertion of the fastener into the second aperture of the insert and the first aperture of the body causes the throat of the body to engage a first surface (68) of a panel projection of the metal panel when the mounting device is positioned on the metal panel, and wherein insertion of the fastener into the second aperture of the insert and the first aperture of the body causes the trunk of the insert to engage a second surface (72) within a cavity of the panel projection of the metal panel.
In regards to claim 2, Yoder teaches the arm of the body includes a notch (54), wherein the leg of the insert includes a protrusion (52), and wherein the protrusion is insertable into the notch of the body.
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In regards to claim 3, Yoder teaches a first side surface of the arm (16) of the body and a second side surface of the leg (30) of the insert are set at an oblique angle when the throat is engaged to the first surface and the trunk is engaged to the second surface (e.g.; see oblique angle indicated by dotted lines above).
In regards to claim 4, Yoder teaches the throat comprises a base surface, wherein the base surface and a proximal end of the trunk define a gap (e.g.; between 20 and 32) in which the panel projection is positioned when the mounting device is installed on the metal panel.
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In regards to claim 5, Yoder teaches the throat comprises a first side surface (1; see annotation above), a second side surface (2), a base surface (b), a third side surface (3), a fourth side surface (22), and a fifth side surface (28).
In regards to claim 6, Yoder teaches the base surface (b; see annotation above) engages the first surface (68) of the panel projection of the metal panel when the mounting device is positioned on the metal panel, and wherein a proximal end (34) of the trunk engages the second surface (72) of the panel projection.
In regards to claim 9, Yoder teaches the second aperture (31) in the insert is an elongated slot (i.e.; the apertures has a depth as viewed in Fig. 1).
In regards to claim 10, Yoder teaches the body further comprising a wall with a third aperture (69) for installing a structure (26) onto the mounting device after the mounting device is installed on the panel projection of the metal panel.
In regards to claim 11, Yoder teaches the body further comprising a second arm (20) opposite the arm (16), wherein an upper surface of the wall and an exterior surface (top of 20 in Fig. 1) of the second arm are substantially perpendicular, and wherein the exterior surface of the second arm is substantially planar.
In regards to claim 12, Yoder teaches a mounting device for a metal panel, comprising: a body (10) comprising an arm (16) with a notch (54), the body including at least one interior surface that defines a throat; and an insert (14) comprising a leg (30) and a trunk (29), the leg including a protrusion (50, 52), wherein the body and the insert are rotatable between a first orientation and a second orientation when the protrusion is positioned within the notch of the body (about axis 71), wherein the body and the insert being in the first orientation causes the insert to be disengaged from a panel projection (72, 68) of the metal panel, and wherein the body and the insert being in the second orientation causes the throat of the body to engage a first surface (68) of the panel projection, and the trunk of the insert to engage a second surface (72) within a cavity of the panel projection of the metal panel (Col 3, Lines 45-50).
In regards to claim 13, Yoder teaches the body comprising a tab (18) located above the arm (16) (i.e.; depending on the orientation of the clamp), the tab including a lower surface that at least partially defines the notch (54).
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In regards to claim 14, Yoder teaches an upper surface of the protrusion (50, 52) and a lower surface of the tab (18) are set at an oblique angle when the protrusion is inserted in the notch and the body is in the first orientation (i.e.; as defined by the neck 50; see dotted lines above).
In regards to claim 15, Yoder teaches the notch includes a first pivot corner, wherein the protrusion includes a second pivot corner (the corners defined at 54 in Fig. 1), and wherein the first pivot corner and the second pivot corner engage during a rotating of the body and the insert between the first orientation and the second orientation about an axis (71) proximate to the first pivot corner.
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 7, 8 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoder (US Pat. No. 4,953,820) in view of Haddock et al. (US Pat. No. 11,352,793 B2).
In regards to claims 7, Yoder teaches at least the base surface (b; see annotation above) engages the first surface (68) of the panel projection of the metal panel when the mounting device is positioned on the metal panel, and wherein a proximal end (34) of the trunk engages the second surface (72) of the panel projection.
Yoder does not teach the third surface engages the first surface. Haddock teaches a base surface (38) and third surface (31) engage a first surface (57) of a panel.
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date and with reasonable expectation of success to modify Yoder’s mounting to have the third surface engages the first surface. The motivation would be for the purpose of allowing the mounting device to conform to a curved panel surface (57) as taught by Haddock.
In regards to claim 16, Yoder teaches a mounting device to engage a panel projection extending from a metal panel, comprising: a body (10) including a first aperture (41), a notch (54), and a throat (defined by 20); an insert (14) including a second aperture (31) that is an elongated slot (i.e.; 31 has a depth in Fig. 1), a protrusion (50, 52), and a trunk (29), wherein the protrusion is insertable into the notch of the body; and a fastener (42) insertable through the second aperture of the insert and into engagement with the first aperture of the body, wherein the body and the insert are rotatable between a first orientation and a second orientation when the protrusion is inserted into the notch (about axis 71), wherein the body and the insert being in the first orientation causes a gap between an end (34) of the trunk and a base surface (24) of the body to be a first magnitude, wherein the body and the insert being in the second orientation causes the gap between the end of the trunk and the base surface of the body to be a second magnitude that is less than the first magnitude, wherein when the fastener is inserted through the second aperture of the insert and into engagement with the first aperture of the body, rotation of the fastener causes the body and the insert to move into the first orientation (Col 3, Lines 45-50).
Regarding both claim 8 and 16, Yoder does not teach the first aperture being in threaded engagement with the fastener. Haddock teaches a first aperture of a body (12) being in threaded engagement with a fastener (58). In addition, mere reversal of working parts has been held to be an obvious modification (In re Gazda, 219 F.2d 449, 104 USPQ 400 (CCPA 1955)).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date and with reasonable expectation of success to modify Yoder’s device to reverse the apertures such that the first aperture is in threaded engagement with the fastener. The motivation would be for the purpose of moving the pivot axis to suit different structural characteristics of the panel, such as to conform to a rounded surface as taught by Haddock.
In regards to claim 17, modified Yoder teaches an arm (Yoder: 16) of the body includes the first aperture and the notch, and wherein a leg (Yoder: 30) of the insert includes the second aperture and the protrusion.
In regards to claim 18, in modifying Yoder, Haddock teaches a tab (conforming to 78, Fig. 7 of Haddock) located above the arm (12 of Haddock), the tab including a lower surface that at least partially defines the notch (22 of Haddock).
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In regards to claim 19, in modifying Yoder, Haddock teaches an upper surface of the protrusion is set at an oblique angle to a first side surface of the leg, and wherein a lower surface of the tab is set at an oblique angle to an upper surface of the body (e.g.; see oblique angle defined by dotted lines above).
In regards to claims 8 and 20, in modifying Yoder, Haddock teaches the threading of the fastener has a thread pitch, and wherein the first aperture has a length at least two times greater than the thread pitch (e.g.; see threading and length of aperture in Fig. 5 of Haddock).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see the PTO-892 for additional prior art related to Applicant’s disclosed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STANTON L KRYCINSKI whose telephone number is (571)270-5381. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 10:00AM-5:00PM ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jonathan Liu can be reached at (571)272-8227. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Stanton L Krycinski/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3631
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