DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This Office Action is in response to the claims filed on 09/19/2025.
Status of Claims: Claims 1-2, 4-8, 11-12, and 14-25 are currently pending and have been examined below. Claims 3, 9-10, and 13 have been cancelled.
Claim Interpretation
In lines 2-3 claim 20, “wherein the kit comprises a plurality of insert cover component elements, and wherein a first of at least two of said plurality of insert cover component elements” is brought to applicant’s attention as the kit seems to comprise at least two insert cover component elements (i.e., (i) the first one is introduced in claim 19; and (ii) the second one introduced in claim 20). Note that the scope of the claims are clear.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 19-20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In lines 15-19 of claim 1, “the first vertical wall and the second vertical wall the defining a lengthwise channel therebetween” should read --the first vertical wall and the second vertical wall defining a lengthwise channel therebetween--.
In line 3 of claim 19, “a base component defining an channel and chamber” should read --a base component defining a channel and a chamber --.
In line 9 of claim 19, “the upward facing channel” should read --the channel --.
In the last two lines of claim 19, “wherein the upward chamber is larger in volume than the upward facing channel” should read --wherein the chamber is larger in volume than the channel--.
In lines 5-6 of claim 20, “plurality of insert component elements” should read --plurality of insert cover component elements --.
Appropriate corrections are required. Above provides non-limiting examples, the applicant(s) must find and correct all issues similar to those discussed above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-2, 4-8, 11-12, and 14-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 19, and 24
Recitations such as “wherein the first vertical wall, the second vertical wall, and the third vertical wall are coplanar with the tip of the first vertical wall and the linear segment” on lines 29-31 discloses new matter. See Annotated figure 1A below showing the second vertical wall 41 and third vertical wall not coplanar with the tip of the first vertical wall and the linear segment 42. The figure below only shows the second and third vertical walls coplanar with each other and the tip of the first vertical wall and the linear segment coplanar with each other but not all 4 parts are coplanar.
Additionally, applicant’s specification does not provide support on the limitation above and the planes are drawn similar to applicant’s interpretation of the planes on page 2 of the Remarks section filed 09/19/2025.
Note that this new matter issue is also present in claims 19 and 24. In claim 24, the claim recites the lengthwise channel 32 defined between the first vertical wall and the second vertical wall as such the first vertical wall is wall 40 and the second vertical wall is wall 41 which, as shown below, both vertical walls are not coplanar with each other.
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Annotated figure 1A
Claim 4
Recitations such as “wherein the linear segment has a non-zero slope” on lines 1-2 discloses new matter. The linear segment 42 has a straight horizontal surface (see Annotated figure 1A above) which is a zero slope (see different slope characteristics below).
Recitations such as “wherein the linear segment…disposed between the back facing
end and the horizontal face” on lines 1-3 discloses new matter. The linear segment 42 is not located between the back facing end 15 and the horizontal face 27 (see Annotated figure 1 below).
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Source: https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/24085139-the-infinite-positive-undefined-slope-negative-zero-types-of-slope-of-vector-illustration-a-line-in-mathematics
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Annotated figure 1
All claims depending from a rejected claim are rejected for including the 112 issues of the claim from which it depends.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 and 24-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Niemann (EP 1932997) (hereinafter “Niemann”).
Claim 19
(Niemann discloses) A door sill assembly (embodiment in figure 11) for a doorway (abstract discloses the invention is directed for usage on doors), the door sill assembly comprising:
a base component defining a channel and chamber (all parts shown in Annotated figure 11 below), the channel and the chamber separated by a first vertical wall (Annotated figure 11 below), the channel comprising the first vertical wall and a second vertical wall (Annotated figure 11 below), the chamber comprising a third perpendicular vertical wall and a chamber bottom connecting the third vertical wall and the first vertical wall (Annotated figure 11 below); and
an insert component element (10; figures 6 and 11) having a single mating projection (Annotated figure 11 below), the single mating projection received in the upward facing channel (see projection in the channel; Annotated figure 11 below) to secure the insert component element with the base component such that the insert component element is disposed over the channel and the chamber directly against and along a length of the first and second vertical walls (Annotated figure 11 below), and the insert cover component having a horizontal face forming a horizontal surface abuts a tip of the first vertical wall (Annotated figure 11 (II) below), wherein the first vertical wall, the second vertical wall, and the third vertical wall are coplanar with the tip of the first vertical wall (Annotated figure 11 (II) below; this was interpreted as best understood by the examiner in light of the 112(a) issue above as --wherein the first vertical wall and the second vertical wall are coplanar with the tip of the first vertical wall--), and wherein the upward chamber is larger in volume than the upward facing channel (see volume defined by the first vertical wall, third vertical wall, and chamber bottom compared to the volume of the channel in Annotated figure 11 below).
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Annotated figure 11
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Annotated figure 11 (II)
Claim 24
(Niemann discloses) A door sill (door sill embodiment in figure 35) for an entryway, the door sill comprising:
a base component (Annotated figure 35 below) having an interior end (right end of the base component) and an exterior end (left end of the base component) with a width defined between the interior end and the exterior end (Annotated figure 35 below), the base component having a top surface including an angled segment and an angled edge (Annotated figure 35 below), the angled segment extending directly from the exterior end of the base component towards the interior end of the base component at a first non-zero slope (Annotated figure 35 below), the angled edge extending from an interior end (Annotated figure 35 below) of the angled segment towards the interior end of the base component at a second slope greater than the first non-zero slope (see second slope steeper than the first slope; Annotated figure 35 below), the base component including a first vertical wall extending downward from an interior end of the angled edge (Annotated figure 35 below) and a second vertical wall spaced apart from the first vertical wall (Annotated figure 35 below), the base component defining lengthwise channel (channel where 50 is inserted) defined between the first vertical wall and the second vertical wall (Annotated figure 35 below); and
an insert cover component (Annotated figure 35 (II) below) having a horizontal face forming a horizontal surface (Annotated figure 35 (II) below) coplanar with the linear segment and with a tip of the first vertical wall (see coplanar relationship of the horizontal face, linear segment, and tip of the first vertical wall in Annotated figure 35 (II) below), removably attachable to the base component over the channel (figure 35), the insert cover component including a single downward facing projection (50) engaged with the first vertical wall and the second vertical wall (figure 35) to removably attach the insert cover component to the base component with the front facing end of the insert cover component (left end of the insert cover component abutting the first vertical wall) abutting the first vertical wall, wherein the first vertical wall and the second vertical wall are coplanar with the tip of the first vertical wall (this was interpreted as best understood by the examiner as --the first vertical wall is coplanar with the tip of the first vertical wall--), and wherein the insert cover component selectable depending on requirements of the entryway (figure 35).
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Annotated figure 35
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Annotated figure 35 (II)
Claim 25
(Niemann discloses) The door sill of claim 24, wherein the single downward facing projection solely secures the insert cover component into the lengthwise channel and onto the base component (figure 35).
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.
Claims 20-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Niemann, as applied to claims 19 and 24-25 above, in view of Roberts et al. (US 20180148975) (hereinafter “Roberts”).
Claim 20
(Niemann discloses) A kit (Examiner notes the term “kit” is generally taken to mean a set of unrelated parts, i.e. the parts do not have to be related as in a single retail unit; In view of this the different embodiments of the insert component element 10 of Niemann (figures 11, 16, and 21) are part of a kit) comprising the door sill assembly of claim 19 (see rejection in claim 19 above), and a second insert cover component element (insert component element 10 in figure 21) having a single mating projection (Annotated figure 21 below), wherein the kit comprises a plurality of insert cover component elements (first insert component element 10 in figure 11 and second insert component element 10 in Annotated figure 21 below; as noted in the claim interpretation above, this was interpreted as two insert component elements), and wherein a first (10 in figure 11) of at least two of said plurality of insert cover component elements combined with the base component forms a different overall shape of the door sill assembly relative to a second (10 in figure 21) of the at least two of said plurality of insert component elements combined with the base component (since the two inserts have two different overall shapes, it is taught that combining the first insert with the base component will have a different overall shape than the base component installed with the second insert).
(i) (However, if applicant disagrees regarding the kit rationale presented above, Roberts teaches) a plurality of insert component elements (see insert components in Roberts figures 6 and 14-15) as part of a kit (par. 133 discussing the invention is a kit which comprises a base component figure 3 and insert components in figures 6 and 14-15).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide the door sill assembly of Niemann such that it is a kit with various insert components as taught by Roberts, with a reasonable expectation of success, for the versatility provided by the kit and the provision of different insert components allowing the assembly to meet different door requirements and needs.
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Annotated figure 21
Claim 21
(Niemann, as modified above, discloses) The kit of claim 20, wherein combination of the insert cover component elements (Annotated figure 11 above) to the base component results in a sill configuration (the sill configuration in Annotated figure 11 above), the sill configuration differing based on the insert cover component element selected from the kit combined with the base component (this is taught since the sill configuration in Annotated figure 11 above is different than the sill configuration in Annotated figure 21 above) such that the sill configuration is suitable for specific of different applications (this is taught due to the different shapes of the two insert cover component elements thus they provide different sill configurations for different applications).
Claim 22
(Niemann, as modified above, discloses) The kit of claim 21, wherein said base component is an extended length base component (see base component in Annotated figure 11 above as an extended length base), and wherein the extended base component is adjustable at included integral notches (intended use; see integral notches, in Annotated figure 11 above, can provide extensions to the base component).
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Niemann in view of Roberts, as applied in claims 20-22, in further view of Van Camp et al. (US 8567128) (hereinafter “Van Camp”).
Claim 23
(Niemann, as best understood, discloses) The kit of claim 21.
Modified Niemann fails to disclose a jamb boot having integral boot notches.
(However, Van Camp teaches) a jamb boot (470; Van Camp figure 13B-13C) having integral boot notch (the notches underneath 470 one on the right side of 473 where 475 attaches to and another on the left side of 473).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to provide the modified Niemann with the jamb boot of Van Camp, with a reasonable expectation of success, for providing stability and additional support to the door sill assembly such that the jamb boot prevents the base component from sliding.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments directed to the claim objections and 112 rejections have been considered.
Applicant's arguments filed on 09/19/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding Jetton and claims 1-8, 11-12, and 14-18, applicant’s arguments are directed to the coplanar relationship between the first vertical wall, the second vertical wall, the third vertical wall, and a linear segment. This was found unpersuasive simply because this was not supported by the original disclosure. Examiner notes that other amendments in claim 1 overcome Jetton.
Regarding Jetton and claims 24-25, this found moot as Jetton was not used in the rejection of claims 24-25 above.
Regarding Niemann and claims 19-23, applicant argues that “requires an insert cover component having a horizontal face forming a horizontal surface which abuts a tip of the first vertical wall, thereby causing the first vertical wall, the second vertical wall, and the third vertical wall to be coplanar with the tip of the first vertical wall” (page 3 of the Remarks section). Due to the new matter issue in claims 19 and 24, this was rejected under examiner’s best knowledge of the claim.
Regarding “The definition of single on page 14 of the Office Action”, this was found moot as the dictionary definition was not used in the rejection above.
Examiner also considered applicant’s arguments regarding “The rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103 should also be withdrawn”.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PATRICK B PONCIANO whose telephone number is (571)272-9910. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:30-4:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel Cahn can be reached at (571) 270-5616. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PATRICK B. PONCIANO/Examiner, Art Unit 3634
/DANIEL P CAHN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3634