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 Objections
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities: “an removable internal attachment device” is suggested to read as “a removable internal attachment device.” Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 17 is objected to because of the following informalities: “a first cavity” is suggested to read as “the first cavity.” Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 20 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the cylindrical shaft” is suggested to read as “a cylindrical shaft.” 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.
Claims 16-18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Vansickel et al. (U.S. Patent 10,514,157 B2).
With regards to Claim 16, Vansickel discloses a whip assembly for an off-road vehicle [Figures 1-7] including:
A detachable insert (114, 404, 116, 118) with an integrated illumination component (118, 422);
A base (102, 112) with a first cavity [e.g., within (112)] to receive the insert;
A mount (430) configured to be secured to a vehicle (602), wherein the illumination component is an array of LEDs (422).
With regards to Claim 17, Vansickel discloses the base includes a cylindrical shaft with (the) first cavity [e.g., within (112)] configured to fit the insert, a second cavity [e.g., within (102)] configured to accommodate the mount, and a third cavity [e.g., within (424)] for fastening means to secure the insert and the base [note Figure 4].
With regards to Claim 18, Vansickel discloses the insert (114, 404, 116, 118) includes a shank portion (412) and a head portion (414, 416), the shank portion being received within the first cavity of the base [e.g., within (112)], and the head portion being secured by a complementary-shaped head retaining cavity in the base [e.g., within (112)].
With regards to Claim 20, Vansickel discloses the base (102, 112) including a through-hole extending orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of (the) a cylindrical shaft for accommodating a locking mechanism [e.g., (438, 426, 416, and/or 414)].
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 1 and 4-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vansickel et al. (U.S. Patent 10,514,157 B2).
With regards to Claim 1, Vansickel discloses a whip assembly [Figures 1-7], including:
A base component (102, 112) including a first cavity [e.g., within (112)] and a second cavity [e.g., within (102)] in communication with the first cavity;
A mount (430) configured to be received in and detachable from the second cavity, the mount including a threaded portion (108) to attach the mount to a structure (602) external to the whip assembly;
An insert (114, 404, 116) configured to be received in and detachable from the first cavity, the insert including an upper section (410, 116) and a lower section (412); and
A bar (118) configured to be received in the upper section of the insert.
Vansickel does not specifically teach the lower section being an internally-threaded section, but rather a ball bearing section [see Figure 4: (418)].
However, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the lower section of Vansickel to be an internally threaded section for attachment purposes. Such threaded sections are considered functionally equivalent to the ball bearings with respect to attachments, especially since threaded sections are generally stronger attachments.
With regard to Claims 4 and 11, Vansickel discloses the base (102, 112) including an internal section formed at an upper extremity of the first cavity, wherein the insert includes a head section (412) configured to be received in the internal section of the base.
Vansickel does not specifically teach the internal section being polygon-shaped, whereby the insert includes a head/upper section formed as a polygon and received in the internal, polygon-shaped section of the base.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have changed the shape of the internal section and the head/upper section of Vansickel to be polygon-shaped, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker that mere change of form or shape of an invention involves only routine skill in the art [In re Williams, 36 F.2d 436, 438 (CCPA 1929) – MPEP 2144.05]. In this case, a polygon-shaped internal section and head section would be suitable to distinguish the connection and facilitate a particular/unique attachment.
With regard to Claims 5-6, Vansickel discloses the bar (118) is configured to be attached in the upper section of the insert (410), but does not specifically teach the bar being configured to be permanently attached in the upper section of the insert, wherein the bar is permanently attached to the insert by one of gluing, welding, and press fitting.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the bar to be configured to be permanently attached in the upper section of the insert through attachment means by one of gluing, welding, and press fitting. Such attachment means are well-known in the art, whereby permanent attachment would provide greater security as desired.
With regards to Claim 7, Vansickel discloses the bar (118) and the insert (114, 404, 116) being formed as a single element [note Figure 7, as broadly interpreted, (118) and (114, 404, 116) are formed as a single element].
With regards to Claim 8, Vansickel discloses a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) (422) formed on an outer surface of a portion of the bar (118); and an internal, integrally-formed wiring system (206, 414) to provide electrical power to the LEDs, the wiring system including a connector [(414) and/or (604)] for coupling to an external source of electrical power [e.g., (606)].
With regards to Claim 9, Vansickel discloses the bar (118) including a flag bracket (434) for attaching a flag to the bar [note Figure 4].
Claims 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vansickel et al. (U.S. Patent 10,514,157 B2).
With regards to Claim 12, Vansickel discloses a vertical whip assembly [Figures 1-7], including:
A base component (102, 112);
A mount (430) configured to be detachably connected to and to penetrate a lower end of the base [within (102)];
An insert (114, 404, 116) configured to be detachably connected to and to penetrate an upper end of the base [within (112)];
A vertical bar (118) connected in an upper end cavity of the insert;
A removable lock pin and keeper assembly (110) to maintain the mount connected to the base [note Figures 1-7]; and
A removable internal attachment device (412, 418) configured to maintain the insert connected to the base [note Figures 1-7].
Vansickel does not specifically teach the vertical bar being “permanently” connected in an upper end cavity of the insert.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vertical bar to be permanently connected in the upper end cavity of the insert, such as through attachment means (e.g., glue, welding, press fitting). In this case, providing for the vertical bar to be permanently connected would provide greater security as desired.
With regards to Claim 13, Vansickel discloses the base (102, 112) is configured to prevent rotation of the insert (114, 404, 116) in the base [as broadly interpreted, relative based on minimal friction].
With regards to Claim 14, Vansickel discloses the vertical bar including an array of LEDs (422) formed on an exterior of the bar [note Figures 1-7]; an electrical conductor (206) formed integrally with the vertical bar and configured to provide electrical power to LEDs in the array of LEDs; a connector [(414) and/or (604)] formed at a distal end of the electrical conductor and configured to couple the electrical conductor to an electrical power supply (606).
With regards to Claim 15, Vansickel discloses the mount (430) being configured to detachably connect to a vehicle (6).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vansickel et al. (U.S. Patent 10,514,157 B2).
With regards to Claim 19, Vansickel discloses the shank portion (412) and head portion (414, 416) of the insert, but does not specifically teach them being hexagonal in shape.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have changed the shape of the shank portion and the head portion of the insert to be hexagonal in shape, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker that mere change of form or shape of an invention involves only routine skill in the art [In re Williams, 36 F.2d 436, 438 (CCPA 1929) – MPEP 2144.05]. In this case, the hexagonal shape would be suitable to distinguish the connection and facilitate a particular/unique attachment.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, but is not considered exhaustive: U.S. Publication 2018/0222377 A1 to Bradshaw that teaches a whip lighting assembly [Figure 1] and U.S. Patent 7,4349,971 B1 to Wang that teaches a flagpole assembly for a vehicle [Figures 1-5].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON M HAN whose telephone number is (571)272-2207. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST M-F.
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Thursday, February 5, 2026
/Jason M Han/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875