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 .
Drawings
Figures 1 and 2 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR101597691B1) in view of Sung (KR10196072B1).
Regarding claim 1, the Kim reference discloses a sealing unit (30) for inspecting waterproofness of a semi-finished product, with the sealing unit coming into close contact with surfaces and holes of a semi-finished product so that a chamber space is formed in order to inspect waterproofness of the semi-finished product having multiple holes formed therein and having components mounted thereon (Abstract), the sealing unit comprising:
a body (body of 30); and
a sealing pad (31,33) detachably coupled to the body, and provided with an adhesive portion (Para. [0076]) that adheres closely to a surface of the semi-finished product and a protrusion portion (e.g. protrusion portions of 31,33) that tightly seals a hole of the semi-finished product.
However, the Kim reference fails to explicitly disclose the protrusion portion is a replaceable sealing block of the sealing pad.
The Sung reference, a seal, discloses making a protruding portion (340) be replaceable (Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to make the protruding portion be replaceable in the Kim reference in view of the teachings of the Sung reference in order reduce manufacturing costs by providing replaceable parts.
Regarding claim 2, the Kim reference, as modified in claim 1, discloses the body is provided with a fitting projection to which the sealing block is fitted (Sung, Page 6 of translation).
Regarding claim 3, the modified Kim reference discloses the invention substantially as claimed in claim 1.
However, the modified Kim reference fails to explicitly disclose the sealing block is made of a material harder than that of the sealing pad.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to make the sealing block of a harder material than the sealing pad, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious mechanical expedience and in order to ensure that the seal isn’t over pressurized. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GILBERT Y LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-5894. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-430pm.
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/GILBERT Y LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675