`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
`PO. Box 1450
`Alexandria1 Virginia 22313- 1450
`wwwusptogov
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`APPLICATION NO.
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` F ING DATE
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`FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
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`ATTORNEY DOCKET NO.
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`CONF {MATION NO.
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`13/283,814
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`10/28/2011
`
`Yoshihiro Takahashi
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`092122—0022
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`8835
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`53080
`7590
`07’1”“
`McDmnwulandEmeryLLp —
`The McDermott Building
`TANENBAUM,TZV1 SAMUEL
`BER
`500 North Capitol Street, NW.
`ART UNIT
`PAPER
`WASHINGTON, DC20001——UM
`3744
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`
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`
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`07/ 1 9/201 3
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`ELECTRONIC
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`Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
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`The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
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`Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above—indicated "Notification Date" to the
`following e—mail address(es):
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`mweipdocket @ mwe.c0m
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`PTOL—90A (Rev. 04/07)
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`

`

`
`
`Applicant(s)
`Application No.
` 13/283,814 TAKAHASHI, YOSHIHIRO
`
`
`AIA (First Inventorto File)
`Art Unit
`Examiner
`Office Action Summary
`
`
`STEVE TANENBAUM first“ 3744
`-- The MAILING DA TE of this communication appears on the cover sheet with the correspondence address --
`Period for Reply
`
`1) E Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
`n orma Ion
`Isc osure
`a emen 3
`'
`PaperNoIsI/Ma” Date
`f
`2) IXI I
`t'
`D'
`I
`St t
`t( )(PTO/SB/08)
`Paper No(s)/Mai| Date 10/28/11.
`MIX Other. Foreign Patent Do—c.JP 2010-025471 with translation
`
`US. Patent and Trademark Office
`PTOL-326 (Rev. 05-13)
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`Office Action Summary
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`Part of Paper No./Mai| Date 20130711
`
`
`
`A SHORTENED STATUTORY PERIOD FOR REPLY IS SET TO EXPIRE 3 MONTH(S) OR THIRTY (30) DAYS,
`WHICHEVER IS LONGER, FROM THE MAILING DATE OF THIS COMMUNICATION.
`Extensions of time may be available under the provisions of 37 CFR 1.136(a).
`In no event however may a reply be timely filed
`after SIX () MONTHS from the mailing date of this communication.
`If NO period for reply is specified above, the maximum statutory period will apply and will expire SIX (6) MONTHS from the mailing date of this communication.
`Failure to reply within the set or extended period for reply will, by statute, cause the application to become ABANDONED (35 U.S.C. § 133).
`Any reply received by the Office later than three months after the mailing date of this communication, even if timely filed, may reduce any
`earned patent term adjustment. See 37 CFR 1.704(b).
`
`-
`-
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`Status
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`1)IXI Responsive to communication(s) filed on 28 October 2011.
`IXI A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/were filed on 19 December 201 1.
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`2b)lX| This action is non-final.
`a)I:| This action is FINAL.
`3)I:I An election was made by the applicant in response to a restriction requirement set forth during the interview on
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`; the restriction requirement and election have been incorporated into this action.
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`4)|:I Since this application is in condition for allowance except for formal matters, prosecution as to the merits is
`closed in accordance with the practice under EX parte Quay/e, 1935 CD. 11, 453 O.G. 213.
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`Disposition of Claims
`5)|XI Claim(s) L8is/are pending in the application.
`5a) Of the above claim(s)
`is/are withdrawn from consideration.
`6)|:l Claim(s) _ is/are allowed.
`7)IZ| CIaim(s)_1-8is/are rejected.
`8)I:I Claim(s) _ is/are objected to.
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`9)|:l Claim((s)
`are subject to restriction and/or election requirement.
`* If any claims have been determined allowable, you may be eligible to benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway program at a
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`participating intellectual property office for the corresponding application. For more information, please see
`hit
`://www.usoto. ov/ atents/init events"
`
`
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`h/index.‘s or send an inquiry to PF"I-Ifeedback{<‘buspto.qov.
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`Application Papers
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`10)I:I The specification is objected to by the Examiner.
`11)|Z| The drawing(s) filed on 28 October 2011 is/are: a)lZl accepted or b)I:I objected to by the Examiner.
`Applicant may not request that any objection to the drawing(s) be held in abeyance. See 37 CFR 1.85(a).
`
`Replacement drawing sheet(s) including the correction is required if the drawing(s) is objected to. See 37 CFR 1.121 (d).
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`Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119
`12)IZI Acknowledgment is made of a claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a)-(d) or (f).
`Certified copies:
`
`b)I:I Some * c)I:I None of the:
`a)le All
`1.IZI Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
`2.I:I Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No.
`3.|:I Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been received in this National Stage
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`application from the International Bureau (PCT Rule 17.2(a)).
`* See the attached detailed Office action for a list of the certified copies not received.
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`Attachment(s)
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`3) I] Interview Summary (PTO-413)
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 13/283,814
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`Page 2
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`Art Unit: 3744
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`DETAILED ACTION
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`1.
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`This first non-final action is in response to applicant’s original filings of
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`10/28/2011. Claims 1-8 are pending.
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`Priority
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`2.
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`Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C.
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`119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
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`Information Disclosure Statement
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`3.
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`The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/28/2011 was filed
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`before the mailing date of the first action on the merits. The submission is in
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`compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure
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`statement is being considered by the examiner.
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`Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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`4.
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`The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis
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`for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
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`(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described
`as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to
`be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been
`obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which
`said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the
`invention was made.
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`5.
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`The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148
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`USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining
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`obviousness under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) are summarized as follows:
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`1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
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`2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
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`3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 13/283,814
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`Page 3
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`Art Unit: 3744
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`4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating
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`obviousness or nonobviousness.
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`6.
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`Claims 1-8 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable
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`over Satoshi (JP Pub. No. 2010-025471) in view of Ceroke (U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,502).
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`7.
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`8.
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`Regarding claim 1,
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`Satoshi is directed towards a pressure regulating device which eliminates
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`negative pressure inside a low temperature storage (abstract).
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`9.
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`Satoshi teaches
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`a plug member 83 to be used for a low-temperature storage (see abstract)
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`including:
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`a heat-insulating housing 1 (see abstract) including an opening face (see
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`Fig. 6);
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`a heat-insulating door3 configured to open or close the opening face (see
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`Fig. 4A, 6);
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`a cooling device 4 configured to 000/ an article stored inside the heat-
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`insu/ating housing (Detailed Description translation 118); and a through-
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`ho/e 21 a passing through a heat-insulating wall (see Figs. 1, 2) included in
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`the heat-insulating housing from an outer side of the storage to an inner
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`side thereof (see Figs. 1, 2, 3A) and having an internal thread 82b formed
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`on an inner periphery thereof (see Figs. 2, 4B), the plug member 83
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`configured to open or close an opening portion 8a of the through-hole 21 a
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`Application/Control Number: 13/283,814
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`Page 4
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`Art Unit: 3744
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`on the outer side of the storage (see Figs. BA, BB, 48), the plug member
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`83 comprising:
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`an external thread 83b configured to be threaded/y engaged with the
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`internal thread 82b (see Figs. 2, BA, BB);
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`and a flange member 83e configured to abut onto a face 82a (see Fig. BB)
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`having the opening portion 8a formed therein and close the opening
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`portion (see Fig. BB), by threaded engagement between the external
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`thread 83b and the internal thread 82b (see Fig. 4B).
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`10.
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`Satoshi does not teach
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`the external thread 83b having a cut formed in a portion of an outer
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`periphery thereof, the cut configured to open a part of the opening portion
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`in a state where the flange member does not abut on the face 82a having
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`the opening portion 8a formed therein, while the external thread 83b is
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`threaded/y engaged with the internal thread 82b.
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`11.
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`Ceroke is directed towards a drain plug for threaded engagement within a
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`threaded drain opening of a pressurized system to prevent complete removal of the plug
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`before release of any residual pressure within the system (abstract). An axially
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`extending groove (cut) is formed in the threaded portion of an elongated shank of the
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`plug and terminates in an unthreaded area of the shank adjacent to an enlarged head of
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`the plug (abstract).
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`12.
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`Accordingly, Ceroke teaches
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 13l283,814
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`Page 5
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`Art Unit: 3744
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`an external thread 4 having a cut 18 formed in a portion of an outer
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`periphery thereof (see Fig. 2).
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`13.
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`The cut 18 is configured to permit any residual pressure to flow through groove
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`18 via groove outlet end 21 (col 4, lines 5-11; Fig. 5). Further, cut 18 is configured to
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`open a part of opening 10 in a state where the O-ring 15 is unseated from the face 16 or
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`surface 17, while the external thread 4 is threadedly engaged with internal thread 12
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`(col4, lines 5-11; Fig. 5; ). In this manner, the internal pressure of vessel 11 and the
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`external pressure outside of vessel 11 will be equalized.
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`14.
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`It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
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`invention to modify Satoshi by Ceroke such that Satoshi has
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`an external thread 83b having a cut 18 formed in a portion of an outer
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`periphery thereof,
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`the cut 18 configured to open a part of the opening portion 8a in a state
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`where the flange member 83e does not abut on the face 82a having the
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`opening portion 8a formed therein, while the external thread 83b is
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`threadedly engaged with the internal thread 82b
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`with the motivation of preventing the complete removal of the plug 83 while equalizing
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`the pressure within and without housing 1.
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`15.
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`Regarding claim 2,
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`16.
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`Ceroke teaches an
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`external thread 4 having a cut 18 formed in a portion of the outer periphery
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`of a column member 2.
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 13/283,814
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`Page 6
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`Art Unit: 3744
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`17.
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`It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
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`invention to modify Satoshi by Ceroke such that
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`the external thread 83b is a thread having the cut formed in a portion of
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`the outer periphery of a column member 83f
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`with the motivation of preventing the complete removal of the plug 83 while equalizing
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`the pressure within and without housing 1.
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`18.
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`Regarding claim 3,
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`19.
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`Ceroke teaches that
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`the external thread 4 has a cut 18 formed over the entire length thereof
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`(see Fig. 2) in a direction of the threaded engagement (see Fig. 4).
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`20.
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`It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of
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`invention to modify Satoshi by Ceroke such that
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`the external thread 83b has a cut formed over the entire length thereof
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`(see Fig. 2) in a direction of the threaded engagement
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`with the motivation of ensuring that internal and external pressure is allowed to equalize
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`while still ensuring that a proper length of internal and external thread is engaged so
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`that the plug member remains threadedly engaged with the internal thread.
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`21.
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`Regarding claim 4,
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`22.
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`The subject matter of claim 4 is directed towards essentially the same subject
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`matter as claim 3 and has been addressed in the rejection of claim 3. See rejection of
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`claim 3 above.
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`23.
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`Regarding claim 5,
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`

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`Page 7
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`Art Unit: 3744
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`24.
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`Satoshi, in view of Ceroke, does not teach that
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`the external thread includes a plurality of cuts as the cut.
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`25.
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`However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time
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`of invention to duplicate the cut with the motivation of ensuring that the equalization of
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`external and internal pressure occurs faster than with a single out since a mere
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`duplication of working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art.
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`26.
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`Regarding claim 6,
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`27.
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`The subject matter of claim 6 is directed towards essentially the same subject
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`matter as claim 5 and has been addressed in the rejection of claim 5. See rejection of
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`claim 5 above.
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`28.
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`Regarding claim 7,
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`29.
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`The subject matter of claim 7 is directed towards essentially the same subject
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`matter as claim 1 and has been addressed in the rejection of claim 1. See rejection of
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`claim 1 above.
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`30.
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`Regarding claim 8,
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`31.
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`Satoshi teaches that the
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`through-hole 21 a is formed on the heat insulating wall on a side surface of
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`the heat insulating housing 1 (abstract, see Figs. 1, 2).
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`32.
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`Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
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`examiner should be directed to STEVE TANENBAUM whose telephone number is
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`(313)446-6522. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday 9:30
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`AM to 6:00 PM.
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`

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`Application/Control Number: 13/283,814
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`Page 8
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`Art Unit: 3744
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`If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s
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`supervisor, Frantz Jules can be reached on (571) 272-6681. The fax phone number for
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`the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571 -273-8300.
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`Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the
`
`Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for
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`published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR.
`
`Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only.
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`For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should
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`you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic
`
`Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a
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`USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information
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`system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272—1000.
`
`/S. T./
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`Examiner, Art Unit 3744
`/Frantz F. Jules/
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`Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3744
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`