DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the AIA first to file provisions. 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 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.
Application Status
This office action is in response to the claims filed 6/17/2025.
Claims 1-17 are currently pending and being examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
The 4 IDS documents have been considered. See the attached PTO 1449 forms.
Claim Objections
The following claims are objected to for the following informalities: Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3: “wherein wing comprises” should be changed to “wherein the at least one wing comprises”; “the leading of the arm” should be changed to “the leading edge of the arm”;
Claim 5: “the centerline of the arm forms a an acute angle” should be changed to “the centerline of the arm forms an acute angle”;
Claim 9: “the arm having leading side” should be changed to “the arm having a leading side”;
Claim 14: “the band extending though the opening” should be changed to “the band extending through the opening”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 1-13:
Claims 1-2 and 7-10 contain 8 instance of “the wing” each of which lack antecedent basis and should be changed to “the at least one wing”.
In claim 10, “the leading side of the wing” lacks antecedent basis because only the arm (in claim 9) is claimed to have a leading side.
Claims 12 and 13 recite “the acute angle” which lacks antecedent basis, as claim 10 recites an obtuse angle.
Claims dependent on the above claims are therefore also rejected as being dependent on a rejected claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-17 are allowed.
Claims 1-13 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is an Examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the prior art has been found to disclose a variety of related buckles configured to interact with bands to clamp objects (e.g., see prior art made of record). For example, Kruzel (US 2018/0273263) discloses a buckle comprising: a base (56) having a leading end and a trailing end and a first side edge and a second side edge (see FIG. 1); at least one wing (64/66) extending from the leading end of the base and having a distal end, the distal end having an edge; and a bridge (72) extending away from the upper surface of the base and defining an opening (74) between an underside of the bridge and the upper surface of the base. While the wings of Kruzel are designed to move, they do not move in response to engagement of the band with the wings, as required in the claims. Curtis (US 4,015,311) discloses a buckle where tensioning of the band causes movement of a wall, providing a visual indication of tension in the band (abstract; see FIGS. 1 and 3), however, Curtis does not disclose the wing/arm, nor a separate bridge, as required in the claims. Christensen et al. (US 2020/0003644) discloses a band clip with a bridge and wings that deform when a band is tensioned, however the clip would not be considered a buckle that clamps, as required in the claims. Thus the prior art fails to disclose when the band is undergoing tensioning by moving through the opening in a direction toward the trailing end of the base, the band engages the at least one wing, wherein the at least one wing is configured to move toward the trailing end of the base from a first position to a second position, and wherein a visual indication of band tension is provided by the position of the edge of the distal end of the wing relative to at least one of the first side edge and the second side edge of the base of the buckle (claim 1); a wing extending laterally away from the base in a first position, the wing configured to move between a first position and a second position; wherein, in the first position, the distal end surface of the wing has a first portion that is oriented at an angle with respect to a line that is colinear with the first side edge of the base of the buckle, and in the second position, the first portion is parallel with the line that is colinear with the first side edge of the base of the buckle (claim 7); and a tension indicator comprising an arm having a leading side, a trailing side and a distal end surface, the arm extending laterally away from the base in a direction toward the first side edge of the base, the leading side forming an acute angle with the centerline of the base, and applying an increasing tension to the band using the tensioning tool to move the tension indicator toward the trailing end of the buckle until the arm of the tension indicator moves to a predetermined position (claim 14). Upon examination, the art considered as a whole, alone or in combination, neither anticipates nor renders obvious the invention as claimed. It is Examiner's opinion that it would not have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to combine or modify the prior art in order to arrive at Applicant's claimed invention.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DARIUSH SEIF whose telephone number is (408)918-7542. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:30 AM-6:00 PM PST.
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/DARIUSH SEIF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
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