DETAILED ACTION
This is the first Office Action on the merits based on the 19/217,259 application filed on 05/23/2025. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim 1, as originally filed, is currently pending and considered below.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/30/2025 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
On line 4, “the protuberance” should be corrected to --- the at least one protuberance---
On line 5, “the tension supporting member” should be corrected to --- the flexible tension supporting member ---
On lines 7-8, “the tension supporting member” should be corrected to --- the flexible tension supporting member ---
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Berke (US Patent Pub. No. 2021/0205662; PD: 07/08/2021).
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Regarding claim 1, Berke discloses a rope arrangement (See Figures 1 and 4 above) comprising: a thimble (i.e., the thimble annotated in Figure 4 above; Para. [0032] “The conductive wire 112 may be attached to the carabiner by being looped with a thimble and crimp about one end of the carabiner.”); a flexible tension supporting member (Wire 112; Figure 4) which is terminated on the thimble; at least one protuberance (i.e., the crimp that protrudes from the thimble annotated in Figure 4 above), wherein the protuberance is integral with the thimble (i.e., the thimble and crimp form a connection to the attachment mechanism 118 and the wire 112); a channel (Aperture 110; Figure 1) through which the tension supporting member may travel within the channel; and a stop (Stopper 116; Figure 1) configured to surround the tension supporting member, such that when the stop contacts the at least one protuberance of the thimble, the stop acts as a barrier to prevent the tension supporting member from traveling beyond the stop (i.e., when the crimp/protuberance and the stop contact each other as seen in Figure 4 above, the stop 116 is not allowing the wire 112/tension supporting member from traveling beyond the stop).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW M KOBYLARZ whose telephone number is (571)272-8096. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:30-5:00.
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/ANDREW M KOBYLARZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3784
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