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 (IDS) submitted on 10/28/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
Figs. 27-28 and 33F have multiple views and fail to be identified by the same number followed by a capital letter as required by CFR 1.84(u). For example, Fig. 27 show 4 different views and each view should be labeled as Fig. 27A, Fig. 27B, etc.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). 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.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the phrase "There is disclosed" is implied language. Correction is required. See MPEP § 608.01(b)(I)(C). A suggestion is to delete the phrase.
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 11, 13-14, 16-19, 25, 27, 29-30, and 34-38 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites “said joint comprising:” and should be “said threaded joint comprising:” to avoid any ambiguity of any different joint.
Claims 4, 11, 13-14, 16-18, 27, 29-30, and 34-38 recite “The joint of” and should be “The threaded joint of”.
Applicant is advised that should claims 4 and 23 be found allowable, claims 16 and 25 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
Claim 19 recites “said joint comprising:” and should be “said threaded joint comprising:”.
Claim 19 recites “a second curvature c2, c1, and c2” and should be “a second curvature c2, wherein c1[[,]] and c2”.
Claim 19 recites “wherein c1, c2, or both c1 and c2, comprises” and should delete the comma since it seems like an unnecessary break. The recitation should be “wherein c1, c2, or both c1 and c2[[,]] comprises”.
Claim 25 recites “of any one of claim 19” and should be “
Claim 30 recites “at 5 to 15 degrees” and should be “at 5 degrees to 15 degrees” to avoid ambiguity of the units of “5”.
Claim 37 recites “said shoulder wherein…to said shoulder wherein” and should include commas to have proper breaks to recite “said shoulder, wherein…to said shoulder, wherein”.
Claim Rejections - Incomplete
Claims 17 and 18 are rejected as incomplete as they depend from a cancelled base claim, claim 6. See MPEP 608.01(n)(V). Accordingly, claims 17 and 18 have not been further treated on the merits.
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 22, 27, 29-30, 38, 44-45, 47, and 50-52 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 22 recites “the segment of the third circle is between the first and second circles” which lacks antecedent basis and unclear if claims 19 or 22 intended to initially introduce a segment of a third circle. For examination purposes, the limitation will be interpreted as “ a segment of a third circle having a radius R4 is between the first and second circles” such that it is initially introduced in claim 22 and to be consistent with other language related to the third circle.
Claim 27 recites “the angle of taper” which lacks antecedent basis. For examination purposes, the limitation will be interpreted as “ an angle of taper”.
Claim 29 recites “a distal end of said member…of said first member…a radially inwardly stepped shoulder” which is unclear for various reasons. First, “said member” lacks antecedent basis and unclear if this is referring to the first or second member. Second, “said first member” is unclear because the first unthreaded segment was initially recited for both the pin thread segment and the box thread segment. Third, “a radially inwardly stepped shoulder” appears to only be for the box, however, the claim recites the second unthreaded segment which is for both the pin and the box. For examination purposes, the limitation will be interpreted as “a distal end of each of said first and second members…of said first member and said second member…a radially
Claim 29 recites “the distal end surface” which lacks antecedent basis. For examination purposes, the limitation will be interpreted as “ a distal end surface”.
Claim 38 recites “said member” which lacks antecedent basis and unclear of which member. For examination purposes, the limitation will be interpreted as “said first and second members”.
Claim 44 recites “a helical thread having a trapezoid profile” which is unclear of how much of the profile of the helical thread is trapezoidal to be reasonably considered a trapezoid. Fig. 16 shows the thread has a defined S-curve which the shape of a trapezoid does not include. Fig. 26 shows a c4 and c5 defining a particular kind of curve opposite the S-curve which is also not trapezoidal. For examination purposes, the limitation will be interpreted as “a helical thread having at least a partially trapezoidal profile” since the only part of the helical profile that defines a trapezoid is the crest being flat and parallel to the root of where the threads protrude from.
All dependent claims of these claims are rejected under 112th second paragraph by virtue of their dependency. Thus, claims 30, 45, 47, and 50-52 are rejected under 112th second paragraph.
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 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Perron (US 2017/0059063 A1).
Perron discloses a threaded joint for coupling together first and second members (Fig. 2 shows a threaded joint for coupling together first and second members 14 and 16), each of said members having a central axis between respective ends thereof (Fig. 2, 14 and 16 have a central axis between respective ends thereof), said threaded joint comprising:
a pin thread segment at one end of said first member (Fig. 2, 14 has a pin thread segment as shown); and
a tubular box thread segment at one end of said second member (Fig. 2, 16 has a box thread segment at one end), said box thread segment and said pin thread segment each comprising:
a helical thread defined by a pressure flank and a clearance flank spaced apart from each other with alternating roots and crests extending between said pressure flanks and clearance flanks (Fig. 2 shows that each 14 and 16 has a helical thread defined by a pressure flank and a clearance flank spaced apart from each other with alternating roots and crests extending between said pressure flanks and clearance flanks),
wherein said pressure flank comprises an S-curve extending upward from the root toward the crest (Fig. 15 shows a pressure flank which has an S-curve extending upward from the root at 20 toward the crest at 22), said S-curve defined by a first curvature c1 adjacent to the root (Fig. 15, the R2 and R3 near 22 defines a first curvature c1 adjacent to 20) and a second curvature c2 (Fig. 15, the other R2 and R3 near 22 defines a second curvature c2), wherein c1 and c2 curving in opposing directions with an inflection point between said curvatures c1 and c2 (Fig. 15, c1 and c2 are in opposing directions with an inflection point at 64),
wherein c1, c2, or both c1 and c2 comprises a first compound curvature (Fig. 15, both c1 and c2 comprises a compound curvature defined by R2 and R3 respectively), and
wherein the clearance flank comprises a curvature c4 comprising a second compound curvature (Fig. 7, the curvature at 84 and 86 defines a curvature c4 defining a second compound curvature), the second compound curvature comprising a segment of a first circle having a radius R5 (Fig. 7, at 86 defines a segment of a first circle having a radius R5), and a segment of a second circle having a radius R6 (Fig. 7, at 84 defines a segment of a second circle having a radius R6).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 44-45, 47, and 50-52 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Perron (US 2017/0059063 A1) in view of Church (US 2010/0123311 A1).
In regard to claim 44, Perron discloses a threaded joint part (Fig. 2 shows a threaded joint part) comprising:
a body (Fig. 2, 14 has a body),
a helical thread having at least a partially trapezoidal profile (Fig. 2, 14 has a helical thread shown with at least a partially trapezoidal profile of the threads) and extending around the body (Fig. 2, the threads extend around the body of 14), the helical thread having flat crests and flat roots (Fig. 2 shows the helical thread has flat crests and flat roots), a pressure flank and a clearance flank spaced apart from each other with alternating roots and crests extending between the pressure flank and the clearance flank (Fig. 2 shows the helical thread has a pressure flank and a clearance flank spaced apart from each other with alternating roots and crests extending between the pressure flank and the clearance flank).
Perron does not expressly disclose the helical thread having a tapered leading section having a first end and second end, the first end starting proximate at an end of the body, the leading section tapered from the second end to the first end,
an angular crest located between the second end of the tapered leading section and the flat crests.
In the related field of threaded joints, Church teaches a helical thread having a tapered leading section having a first end and second end (Figs. 5 and 12A shows a helical thread for a pin which shows a tapered leading section having a first end and a second end), the first end starting proximate at an end of a body (Fig. 5, the first end can be defined proximate at an end of the body of the helical thread), the leading section tapered from the second end to the first end (Fig. 5 shows the leading section is tapered from the second end to the first end at 13 or 44),
an angular crest located between the second end of the tapered leading section and the flat crests (Fig. 5, end of 13 as shown has an angular crest similar to applicant’s invention of an angular crest shown in Fig. 33B at 3306) in order to have at least the advantage of a known and reliably formed thread.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the helical thread of Perron to include the helical thread having a tapered leading section having a first end and second end, the first end starting proximate at an end of the body, the leading section tapered from the second end to the first end, an angular crest located between the second end of the tapered leading section and the flat crests with a reasonable expectation of success in order to have the advantage of a known and reliably formed thread as taught by Church.
In regard to claim 45, Perron and Church disclose the threaded joint part of claim 44, and Church further discloses wherein the threaded joint part comprises a pin and wherein first end comprises a point (Fig. 5 shows a pin and the first end has a point at the end near 13 or 44. See claim 44 for the same reasons to combine Perron and Church.).
In regard to claim 47, Perron and Church disclose the threaded joint part of claim 44, and Church further discloses wherein the tapered leading section has a top surface with an acute angle in relation to a central axis of the body at a distal end of the body (Fig. 5 shows the free end of the thread similar to applicant’s invention such that the tapered leading section has a top surface with an acute angle in relation to a central axis of the body at a distal end of the body. See claim 44 for the same reasons to combine Perron and Church.).
In regard to claim 50, Perron and Church disclose the threaded joint part of claim 44, and Church further discloses wherein the tapered leading section does not include the flat crest and does not include the pressure flank (Fig. 5, at the end of 13 and/or 44 the tapered leading section does not include the flat crest and does not include the pressure flank similar to applicant’s invention. See claim 44 for the same reasons to combine Perron and Church.).
In regard to claim 51, Perron and Church disclose the threaded joint part of claim 44, and Church further discloses wherein the tapered leading section includes at least a portion of the crest and at least a portion of pressure flank (Fig. 5, away from the end of 13 and 44 and going towards the body of the pin, the tapered leading section has at least a portion of the crest and at least a portion of the pressure flank).
In regard to claim 52, Perron and Church disclose the threaded joint part of claim 44, and Perron further discloses wherein the helical thread is a buttress thread (In [0057] discloses the helical thread can be a type of buttress thread).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 4, 11, 13-14, 16, and 34-37 are allowed, however, are objected to for reasons above under the section Claim Objections.
Claims 22-23 and 25 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 27, 29-30, and 38 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 and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance of claims 1, 22-23, and 25:
In regard to claim 1, Perron discloses a threaded joint for coupling together first and second members, each of said members having a central axis between respective ends thereof, said threaded joint comprising:
a pin thread segment at one end of said first member; and
a tubular box thread segment at one end of said second member, said box thread segment and said pin thread segment each comprising:
a helical thread defined by a pressure flank and a clearance flank spaced apart from each other with alternating roots and crests extending between said pressure flanks and clearance flanks,
wherein said pressure flank comprises an S-curve extending between the root and the crest, said S-curve defined by a first curvature c1 adjacent to the root and a second curvature c2 adjacent to the crest, c1 and c2 curving in opposing directions with an inflection point between said curvatures c1 and c2,
wherein c1, c2, or both c1 and c2, comprises:
a compound curvature comprising a segment of a first circle having a radius R2, a segment of a second circle having a radius R3 (See claim 1 that requires all the features of “A threaded joint…a second circle having a radius R3” and Fig. 15).
Perron does not show or suggest the compound curvature has a segment of a third circle having a radius R4.
In the related field of threaded joints, Shu (CN 109882088 A) discloses a compound curvature having a first circle having a radius R1, a second circle having a radius R3, and a third circle having a radius R7.
However, it would not have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Perron to include a third circle in view of Shu with a reasonable expectation of success because such a modification would require hindsight reasoning and reconstruction. The compound curvature of Shu defines the entire pressure flank and claim 1 requires the compound curvature having the third circle to be at only one side of the inflection point of the S-curve. A person of ordinary skill in the art would not reasonably modify c1 and/or c2 of Perron to include a third circle in view of the pressure flank of Shu that only has a third circle that defines the entire pressure flank.
In regard to claims 22-23 and 25, the claims are allowable for the same reasons above since the claims require the third circle having a radius R4.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Conclusion
The following prior arts made of record and not relied upon are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Church (US 2008/0277933 A1), Granger et al. (US 2012/0025522 A1), Granger et al. (US 2012/0068458 A1), Verdillon (US 2002/0113436 A1), Drenth (US 2014/0102808 A1), and Olivier (US 6,047,997) discloses a threaded joint having a pressure flank having particularly shaped pressure flanks similar to applicant’s invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to William S. Choi whose telephone number is (571)272-8223. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 9:30-5:30.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew Troutman can be reached at (571) 270-3654. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM S. CHOI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3679
