DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 02/17/2026 has been entered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: see “10b”. Any changes to the drawings should be made on the clear original drawings.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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. 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.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 20 and 22-23 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Pub No. 20200053888 (“BEST”).
Regarding Claim 20, Best discloses a housing (2) system for electrical and electronic components ,comprising
a housing (2) including a frame having said fixed side walls and four corner pillars (40’) firmly connected with said fixed side walls (50, fixed to the lower housing part 10 ), respectively, said four corner pillars (40’) forming at least one interface ( along upper and outer wall) for external mounts and internal mounts (see e.g., 22) each of said four corner pillars (40’) comprising an outer jacket (40’), a segmented inner pillar (at the center 40’) containing a through-opening (through the center) and being arranged within and spaced from said outer jacket (40’), and
a channel wall (surrounding 20, best seen in Figs. 1-4) which extends along each of said inner pillars (40’) and which defines a channel (through the center of 20) arranged within each of said inner pillars (40’) between an outer segment (protruding from the rear side of 20, See Fig.4) of said inner pillar and said channel wall; CLAIM 22-wherein a distance between said channel wall (surrounding 20) and a center of said housing is less than a distance between said outer segment of said inner pillar (at the center pf 40’40’) and said center; CLAIM 23- wherein each said four corner pillars (40’) contains a continuous space between said outer jacket and said inner pillar.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 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 of this title, 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.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C 103(a) as being unpatentable over BEST as applied to claim 20 above, in view of WO 2015063289 (“BURY et al.”).
BEST discloses the inner pillar and the channel a cylindrical shape but does not disclose the inner pillar through opening and said channel have a polygonal configuration in cross-section.
Bury et al. demonstrates an electronic housing with a pillar at each corner each pillar is circular or hexagonal (124, best seen in Fig. 4). It would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention that the cylindrical inner pillar and channel could be configured in a polygonal shape to provide a more rigid secure connection with the adjacent members being mounted on the inner pillar and channel, furthermore such a modification would be an obvious alternate design as demonstrated by BURY et al.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 20-23 has been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 3-6, 10-14 and 18-19 are allowable.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KIMBERLEY S WRIGHT whose telephone number is (571)270-3328. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 11:30-5:30.
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, Daniel Troy can be reached on 5712703742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should 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 USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/KIMBERLEY S WRIGHT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637
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