OFFICE ACTION- REFUSAL
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 Rejection- 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b)
The claim is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b) 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.
The claim is indefinite and nonenabling for the following:
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The three-dimensional appearance of the referenced area cannot be understood due to a lack of views. The referenced area is not visible in perspective views to describe their form and location and therefore are unclear in nature. Because the area cannot be understood without resorting to conjecture, the claim is indefinite and nonenabled. To overcome this portion of the rejection, applicant may reduce all indefinite and nonenabled areas to broken lines or remove shading from indefinite and nonenabled areas. (See annotated drawing below.)
The scope of the claim cannot be understood due to a lack of clarity and views. The referenced area shows shading that occurs between broken line and solid line subject matter, however, because the surface is not visible in its entirety and there is no additional shading, it cannot be understood where the claim begins and ends. Because the area cannot be understood without resorting to conjecture, the claim is indefinite and nonenabled. To overcome this portion of the rejection, applicant may reduce all indefinite and nonenabled areas to broken lines or remove
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shading from indefinite and nonenabled areas. (See annotated drawing below.)
Any replacement reproduction 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 reproduction should be labeled as amended. If a reproduction 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 reproductions for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each reproduction sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must he 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 corrected reproductions must not contain new matter (35 U.S.C. 132; 37 CFR 1.121).
CONCLUSION
Applicant is reminded that any reply to this Refusal must be signed either by a patent practitioner (i.e., a patent attorney or agent registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office) or by the applicant. If the applicant is a juristic entity, the reply must be signed by a patent practitioner. See 37 CFR 1.33(b).
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Online via the USPTO's Electronic Filing System-Web (EFS-Web) (Registered eFilers only)
https://www.uspto.gov/patents-application-process/applying-online/efs-web-guidance-and-resources
Mail: Commissioner For Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA, 22313-1450
Mailing should be done sufficiently in advance to ensure the USPTO receipt prior to reply period expiration
Facsimile to the USPTO's Official Fax Number (571-273-8300) (Do Not Fax Formal Reproductions)
Hand-carry to USPTO's Alexandria, Virginia Customer Service Window
For additional information regarding responding to office actions see:
https://www.uspto.gov/patents-maintaining-patent/responding-office-actions
The references are cited as pertinent prior art. Applicant may view and obtain copies of the cited references by visiting http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.htmland pressing the “Patent Number Search” button.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LEAH ELIZABETH MAY whose telephone number is (571)272-2654. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. 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, Susan Krakower can be reached on 571-272-4496. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LEAH ELIZABETH MAY/Examiner, Art Unit 2917
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