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 .
Applicant’s response of 03/12/2026, including an amended specification/claim and replacement drawings, has been reviewed. The objection to the specification/claim and objection to the drawings have been overcome. However, there is a new objection to the drawings and the rejection under 35 USC § 112(a) and (b) has not been fully overcome and is made final as set forth below.
Objection to the Drawings
The drawings are objected to due to the following inconsistencies:
1) Figures 2.4, 3.4, 3.5, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, and 4.6 are missing the horizontal edges of the ring at the base of the cylindrical feature. Please see the annotated drawings below.
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735
1839
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2) Figure 3.4 shows the indicated cap in broken lines which is inconsistent with the other views. Please see the annotated drawings below.
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726
2015
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To overcome this objection, applicant may amend the drawings by showing the indicated above features consistently across all applicable views.
Rejection 35 USC § 112(a) and (b)
The claim is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first and second
paragraphs, as the claimed invention is not described in such full, clear, concise and exact terms as to
enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the same, and fails 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.
Some of the features that were indicated as nonenabled and indefinite in the previous office action dated 12/16/2025 were not converted to broken lines to form no part of the claimed design. Please see the annotated drawings below. The exact shape and dimensionality of the indicated interior features shown in gray, cannot be fully understood due to the insufficient disclosure.
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830
1054
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726
1401
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724
1414
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686
1424
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As a possible means of overcoming this rejection, applicant may submit replacement drawings
with the nonenabled and indefinite features reduced to broken lines in all applicable views so that they form no part of the claimed design.
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. If all the figures on a drawing sheet are canceled, a
replacement sheet is not required. A marked-up copy of the drawing sheet (labeled as “Annotated
Sheet”) including an annotation showing that all the figures on that drawing sheet have been canceled
must be presented in the amendment or remarks section that explains the change to the drawings. 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 changes are not accepted by
the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next
Office action.
When preparing new or replacement drawings, be careful to avoid introducing new matter. New
matter is prohibited by 35 U.S.C. 132 and 37 CFR 1.121(f).
Conclusion/Contact Information
The drawings are objected to for the reasons set forth above. The claim is rejected under 35 USC § 112(a) and (b) for the reasons set forth above.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner
should be directed to AUDRIS PARK whose telephone number is (571)272-9609. The examiner can
normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-4:30 pm (EST).
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,
Richard Kearney can be reached on (571)272-8312. The fax phone number for the organization where
this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from
Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To
file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit
https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and
https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional
questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like
assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or
571-272-1000.
/A.P./
Examiner, Art Unit 2933
/NATASHA VUJCIC/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2933
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