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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 05/21/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 02/09/2026, with respect to the 35 USC § 112 rejections have been fully considered and are persuasive in view of the amendments to the claims. The 35 USC § 112 rejections have been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments, filed 02/09/2026, with respect to the 35 USC § 103 rejections over Mannes in view of Cresti have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding applicant’s arguments on pages 8-10 of applicant’s remarks, applicant contends that a combination of Mannes and Cresti does not teach wherein said inner wall portion separates said second space from said cargo compartment, from said inner portion of said ceiling to said at least one aperture and along the entire width of said at least one of said walls comprising said inner wall portion. However, the walls of vertical profiles 20, 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30 that face inward into the cargo compartment may also read on the claimed walls defining the cargo compartment, in addition to the outer side walls 12 and 14. Therefore, Mannes teaches wherein said inner wall portion separates said second space from said cargo compartment along the entire width of said at least one of said walls comprising said inner wall portion, wherein “at least one of said walls” is a wall of the vertical profiles. Additionally, while Mannes does not teach wherein said inner wall portion separates said second space from said cargo compartment, from said inner portion of said ceiling to said at least one aperture, Cresti teaches inner upper wall 3 covers the distance between the channels 27 and channels 29 on fig. 5. Thus, when applied to Mannes, inner upper wall 3 would cover the distance between the upper aperture of vertical profiles 20, 22, and 24 and vertical profiles 26, 28, and 30 on fig. 1 of Mannes, creating a direct connection between the inner ceiling space and inner wall space. Therefore, the combination teaches wherein said inner wall portion separates said second space from said cargo compartment, from said inner portion of said ceiling to said at least one aperture and wherein said inner wall portion is directly connected with said inner portion of said ceiling, whereby said first space is fluidically connected directly into said second space.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-6, 8-12, 15, and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mannes (DE10029355A1), referring to the English translation dated 06/07/2025, in view of Cresti (US3604218A).
Regarding claim 1, Mannes teaches
a freight container (“The present invention relates to an air guidance device for cool or warm air in air-conditioned spaces, in particular of vehicles for receiving goods to be air-conditioned, in particular truck superstructures or truck trailers”) [001], comprising:
a cargo compartment (cooling space 10) being defined by a floor (floor 16), a ceiling (ceiling 18) and walls (left side wall 12, right side wall 14, front wall 48, inward facing walls of vertical profiles 20, 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30) wherein the ceiling comprises an inner portion (ceiling sail 64) and an outer portion (ceiling 18) defining a first space (between ceiling sail 64 and ceiling 18);
a climate arrangement, configured for, upon operation, flowing a climate-conditioned air-flow through an outlet pipe into said cargo compartment of said freight container (cooling unit via cooling air outlet 50) in vicinity of said ceiling of said outer portion of said cargo compartment (as shown on fig. 1; “vicinity” is not defined, thus, flow out of cooling air outlet 50 reads on being in vicinity of ceiling 18 based on fig. 1);
at least one of said walls comprises an inner wall portion (vertical profiles 20, 22, 26, 28, 30 and horizontal profiles 32, 34) and an outer wall portion (side walls 12, 14) defining a second space within said at least one of said walls (“FIG. 3 illustrates that cold cooling air flows down not only from top to bottom between two vertical profiles along the wall, but also through flow channels 74, 76, 78 provided in the vertical profile 30” [0031 of Mannes]);
wherein said inner wall portion comprises at least one aperture between said second space and said cargo compartment (openings 72 of horizontal profiles 32, 34),
wherein said inner wall portion separates said second space from said cargo compartment (vertical profiles 20, 22, 26, 28, 30 separate flow channels 74, 76, 78 from cooling space 10)
wherein said climate arrangement is configured to provide said climate-conditioned air-flow into said cargo compartment of said freight container via said first space along said outer portion of said ceiling, said second space and said at least one aperture (as shown by flow of arrows on fig. 1), and
wherein said at least one aperture is provided in vicinity of said floor (as shown by flow arrows out of horizontal profiles 32, 34 on fig. 1, openings 72 of horizontal profiles 32, 34 provided in vicinity of floor 16)
Mannes does not teach
wherein said inner portion of said ceiling covers the distance between the inner wall portions;
wherein said inner wall portion is directly connected with said inner portion of said ceiling, whereby said first space is fluidically connected directly into said second space
wherein said inner wall portion separates said second space from said cargo compartment, from said inner portion of said ceiling to said at least one aperture and along the entire width of said at least one of said walls comprising said inner wall portion
Cresti teaches
wherein said inner portion of said ceiling covers the distance between the inner wall portions (inner upper wall 3 covers the distance between the channels 27 and channels 29, fig. 5);
wherein said inner wall portion is directly connected with said inner portion of said ceiling (channel 27 directly connected with passage 5A as shown on fig. 5), whereby said first space is fluidically connected directly into said second space (as shown by flow arrows f3 and f4 on fig. 5)
Mannes teaches the freight container of claim 1, however does not teach the inner wall portion as directly connected with the inner portion of said ceiling. Cresti teaches a similar air conditioning system for a freight container, wherein the inner portion of said ceiling is comprised of an inner upper wall 3, which directly connects to channel 27. The system of Mannes can be modified to provide the ceiling structure of Cresti in place of ceiling sail 64 in order to effectively connect the said inner portion of said ceiling with the vertical profiles 20, 22, 26, 28, 30. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make this modification in order to ensure airflow reaches vertical profiles 20, 22, 26, 28, 30, and to prevent cargo from obstructing airflow through ceiling sail 64.
The combination teaches
wherein said inner wall portion separates said second space from said cargo compartment (vertical profiles 20, 22, 26, 28, 30 separate flow channels 74, 76, 78 from cooling space 10 as shown on fig. 1 of Mannes), from said inner portion of said ceiling to said at least one aperture (Mannes as modified by Cresti, from the inner portion of the ceiling created by inner upper wall 3 of Cresti to the openings 72 of horizontal profiles 32, 34 of Mannes) and along the entire width of said at least one of said walls comprising said inner wall portion (separates along the entire widths of vertical profiles 20, 22, 26, 28, 30)
Regarding claim 3, Mannes, as modified, teaches the freight container according to claim 1,
wherein at least one of said walls comprises an inner wall portion (vertical profiles 36, 38, 40) and an outer wall portion (front wall 48) defining a third space (between vertical profiles 36, 38, 40 as shown on fig. 1), wherein said cargo compartment of said freight container is fluidically connected to said third space (as shown by arrows on fig. 1) and wherein said climate arrangement is configured to return a residual air-flow of said climate-conditioned air-flow from said cargo compartment of said freight container via said third space (flow returns to cooling air inlet 52 as shown on fig. 1)
Regarding claim 4, Mannes, as modified, teaches the freight container according to claim 3,
wherein said third space comprises an auxiliary passage arranged in vicinity of said inner portion of said ceiling (as shown on fig. 1, vertical profile 24 contributes to third space between vertical profile 24, vertical profile 36, and front wall 48; top end of vertical profile 24 arranged in vicinity of ceiling sail 64) wherein an inlet of said auxiliary passage is arranged between a top part of said inner wall portion and said inner portion of said ceiling (vertical profiles comprise flow channels 74, 76 and 78 as shown on fig. 3; thus, inlet of flow channels at top of flow channels 74, 76 and 78 of vertical profile 24 are arranged between a top part of vertical profiles 36, 38, 40 and ceiling sail 64)
Regarding claim 5, Mannes, as modified, teaches the freight container according to claim 3,
wherein said walls comprise two oppositely arranged side walls (side walls 12, 14), a door (not shown but inherent to a truck trailer) and a back wall arranged oppositely said door (front wall 48), wherein said side walls define said second space (vertical profiles 20, 22, 26, 28, 30 and horizontal profiles 32, 34), and said back wall defines said third space (between vertical profiles 36, 38, 40)
Regarding claim 6, Mannes, as modified, teaches the freight container according to claim 5,
wherein said inner portion comprises an opening between said first space and said cargo compartment in vicinity of said door, wherein said climate arrangement is configured to provide a portion of said climate-conditioned air-flow into said cargo compartment of said freight container via said opening (as shown by arrows out of page from ceiling sail 64 on fig. 1)
Regarding claim 8, Mannes, as modified, teaches the freight container according to claim 1,
wherein said climate arrangement is configured to provide the climate-conditioned air-flow into said cargo compartment via said at least one aperture as a function of the position of said at least one aperture in said inner wall portion (“It can be seen from this that the cooling air supplied via the ceiling sail 64 flows down approximately linearly, for example in the region of the left side wall 12 between the vertical profiles 20, 22, and then enters openings of the horizontal profile 32 at the top and exits from the same again at the bottom” [0029]; as shown by arrows on fig. 1, an aperture of horizontal profile 32 arranged closer to front wall 48 will provide the airflow into cooling space 10 closer to front wall 48 as well, wherein an aperture of horizontal profile 32 arranged further from front wall 48 will provide the airflow into cooling space 10 further from front wall 48 as well)
Regarding claim 9, Mannes, as modified, teaches the freight container according to claim 5,
wherein said climate arrangement is configured to provide the climate-conditioned air-flow into said cargo compartment via said at least one aperture as a function of the position of said at least one aperture in said inner wall portion (“It can be seen from this that the cooling air supplied via the ceiling sail 64 flows down approximately linearly, for example in the region of the left side wall 12 between the vertical profiles 20, 22, and then enters openings of the horizontal profile 32 at the top and exits from the same again at the bottom” [0029]; as shown by arrows on fig. 1, an aperture of horizontal profile 32 arranged closer to front wall 48 will provide the airflow into cooling space 10 closer to front wall 48 as well, wherein an aperture of horizontal profile 32 arranged further from front wall 48 will provide the airflow into cooling space 10 further from front wall 48 as well), and wherein a concentration of said at least one aperture, by the number of said at least one aperture, increases in a direction of the cargo compartment from said back wall towards said door (as shown on fig. 1 reproduced below, the distance between apertures of horizontal profile 32 decreases closer to door area, thus concentration of number of apertures increases in a direction of the cooling space 10 from said front wall 48 towards the door)
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Annotated Fig. 1 of Mannes
Regarding claim 10, Mannes, as modified, teaches the freight container according to claim 5,
wherein said freight container further comprises at least one spacer arranged on at least one of said door and said back wall (vertical profile 42)
Regarding claim 11, Mannes teaches
a method for controlling a climate-conditioned air-flow in a freight container (“The present invention relates to an air guidance device for cool or warm air in air-conditioned spaces, in particular of vehicles for receiving goods to be air-conditioned, in particular truck superstructures or truck trailers”) [001] having a cargo compartment (cooling space 10) being defined by a floor (floor 16), a ceiling (ceiling 18) and walls (left side wall 12, right side wall 14, front wall 48) wherein the ceiling comprises an inner portion (ceiling sail 64) and an outer portion (ceiling 18) defining a first space (between ceiling sail 64 and ceiling 18), said method comprising the steps of:
flowing, by a climate arrangement, a climate-conditioned air-flow through an outlet pipe into said cargo compartment (into cooling space 10 as shown on fig. 1, via cooling air outlet 50) of said freight container in vicinity of said ceiling of said outer portion of said cargo compartment (as shown on fig. 1; “vicinity” is not defined, thus, flow out of cooling air outlet 50 reads on being in vicinity of ceiling 18 based on fig. 1);
wherein at least one of said walls comprises an inner wall portion (vertical profiles 20, 22, 26, 28, 30 and horizontal profiles 32, 34) and an outer wall portion (side walls 12, 14) defining a second space within said at least one of said walls (“FIG. 3 illustrates that cold cooling air flows down not only from top to bottom between two vertical profiles along the wall, but also through flow channels 74, 76, 78 provided in the vertical profile 30” [0031 of Mannes]);
wherein said inner wall portion comprises at least one aperture between said second space and said cargo compartment (openings 72 of horizontal profiles 32, 34); and
wherein said inner wall portion separates said second space from said cargo compartment (vertical profiles 20, 22, 26, 28, 30 separate flow channels 74, 76, 78 from cooling space 10), and
wherein said climate-conditioned air-flow is provided in vicinity of said ceiling of said cargo compartment (as shown on fig. 1); and
providing said climate-conditioned air-flow into said cargo compartment of said freight container via said first space along said outer portion of said ceiling, said second space and said at least one aperture (as shown by flow of arrows on fig. 1)
wherein said at least one aperture is provided in vicinity of said floor (as shown by flow arrows out of horizontal profiles 32, 34 on fig. 1, openings 72 of horizontal profiles 32, 34 provided in vicinity of floor 16)
Mannes does not teach
wherein said inner portion of said ceiling covers the distance between the inner wall portions;
wherein said inner wall portion is directly connected with said inner portion of said ceiling, whereby said first space is fluidically connected directly into said second space;
wherein said inner wall portion separates said second space from said cargo compartment, from said inner portion of said ceiling to said at least one aperture and along the entire width of said at least one of said walls comprising said inner wall portion
Cresti teaches
wherein said inner portion of said ceiling covers the distance between the inner wall portions (inner upper wall 3 covers the distance between the channels 27 and channels 29, fig. 5);
wherein said inner wall portion is directly connected with said inner portion of said ceiling (channel 27 directly connected with passage 5A as shown on fig. 5), whereby said first space is fluidically connected directly into said second space (as shown by flow arrows f3 and f4 on fig. 5)
Mannes teaches the freight container of claim 11, however does not teach the inner wall portion as directly connected with the inner portion of said ceiling. Cresti teaches a similar air conditioning system for a freight container, wherein the inner portion of said ceiling is comprised of an inner upper wall 3, which directly connects to channel 27. The system of Mannes can be modified to provide the ceiling structure of Cresti in place of ceiling sail 64 in order to effectively connect the said inner portion of said ceiling with the vertical profiles 20, 22, 26, 28, 30. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make this modification in order to ensure airflow reaches vertical profiles 20, 22, 26, 28, 30, and to prevent cargo from obstructing airflow through ceiling sail 64.
The combination teaches
wherein said inner wall portion separates said second space from said cargo compartment (vertical profiles 20, 22, 26, 28, 30 separate flow channels 74, 76, 78 from cooling space 10 as shown on fig. 1 of Mannes), from said inner portion of said ceiling to said at least one aperture (Mannes as modified by Cresti, from the inner portion of the ceiling created by inner upper wall 3 of Cresti to the openings 72 of horizontal profiles 32, 34 of Mannes) and along the entire width of said at least one of said walls comprising said inner wall portion (separates along the entire widths of vertical profiles 20, 22, 26, 28, 30)
Regarding claim 12, Mannes, as modified, teaches the method according to claim 11,
wherein said step of providing said climate-conditioned air-flow into said cargo compartment via said at least one aperture is performed as a function of the position of said at least one aperture in said inner wall portion (“It can be seen from this that the cooling air supplied via the ceiling sail 64 flows down approximately linearly, for example in the region of the left side wall 12 between the vertical profiles 20, 22, and then enters openings of the horizontal profile 32 at the top and exits from the same again at the bottom” [0029]; as shown by arrows on fig. 1, an aperture of horizontal profile 32 arranged closer to front wall 48 will provide the airflow into cooling space 10 closer to front wall 48 as well, wherein an aperture of horizontal profile 32 arranged further from front wall 48 will provide the airflow into cooling space 10 further from front wall 48 as well)
Regarding claim 15, Mannes, as modified, teaches the freight container according to claim 1,
wherein the inner wall separates the second space from the cargo compartment by a plate parallel with the outer wall (vertical profiles comprise plate that abuts container 58, running parallel to side walls 12 and 14 as shown on fig. 1)
Regarding claim 17, Mannes, as modified, teaches the method according to claim 11,
wherein the inner wall separates the second space from the cargo compartment by a plate parallel with the outer wall (vertical profiles comprise plate that abuts container 58, running parallel to side walls 12 and 14 as shown on fig. 1)
Claim(s) 7 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mannes (DE10029355A1), referring to the English translation dated 06/07/2025, in view of Cresti (US3604218A), in further view of Marshall (WO2005061808A1).
Regarding claim 7, Mannes, as modified, does not teach the freight container according to claim 6,
wherein said climate arrangement is configured to control a ratio between said climate-controlled air-flow to be provided into said cargo compartment via said at least one aperture and said portion of the climate-controlled air-flow to be provided into said cargo compartment via said at least one opening
Mannes teaches “In the upper portion of the front wall 48 there is a cooling air outlet 50, from which cold cooling air is supplied to the cooling space 10” [0026], however does not explicitly describe the fan system associated with cooling air outlet 50 in order to sufficiently circulate the space. Marshall teaches “The control apparatus 15 is connected to the fan and to the vents for providing outputs to them to control their speed and position respectively. The control apparatus 15 is provided with processing means that determine the outputs to the fan and the vents in accordance with one or more of: a clock, direct commands from a user, a temperature sensor that senses the internal temperature of the container, a temperature sensor that senses the external temperature, and a temperature sensor that senses the temperature in the volume containing the phase change material” [page 7 lines 16-22]. Therefore, the system of Mannes can be modified to comprise a variable speed fan controlled by a controller based on these variety of factors. Thus, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make this modification in order to efficiently circulate air based as desired, such as at a higher rate when outside air is warmer, or at a lower rate when conserving energy.
The combination teaches
wherein said climate arrangement is configured to control a ratio between said climate-controlled air-flow to be provided into said cargo compartment via said at least one aperture and said portion of the climate-controlled air-flow to be provided into said cargo compartment via said at least one opening (The system of Mannes comprising a variable speed fan would blow a greater ratio of air towards the rear apertures and the opening when operating at a higher rate, and blow a greater ratio of air towards the apertures proximate front wall 48 when operating at a lower rate)
Regarding claim 13, Mannes, as modified, teaches the method according to claim 11,
wherein said walls comprise two oppositely arranged side walls (side walls 12, 14), a door (not shown but inherent to a truck trailer) and a back wall arranged oppositely said door (front wall 48), wherein said inner portion comprises an opening between said first space and said cargo compartment in vicinity of said door (as shown by arrows out of page from ceiling sail 64 on fig. 1)
Mannes does not teach
wherein said step of providing said climate-conditioned air-flow into said cargo compartment comprises controlling a ratio between the climate-controlled air-flow to be provided into said cargo compartment via said at least one aperture and the climate-controlled air-flow to be provided into said cargo compartment via said at least one opening
Mannes teaches “In the upper portion of the front wall 48 there is a cooling air outlet 50, from which cold cooling air is supplied to the cooling space 10” [0026], however does not explicitly describe the fan system associated with cooling air outlet 50 in order to sufficiently circulate the space. Marshall teaches “The control apparatus 15 is connected to the fan and to the vents for providing outputs to them to control their speed and position respectively. The control apparatus 15 is provided with processing means that determine the outputs to the fan and the vents in accordance with one or more of: a clock, direct commands from a user, a temperature sensor that senses the internal temperature of the container, a temperature sensor that senses the external temperature, and a temperature sensor that senses the temperature in the volume containing the phase change material” [page 7 lines 16-22]. Therefore, the system of Mannes can be modified to comprise a variable speed fan controlled by a controller based on these variety of factors. Thus, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make this modification in order to efficiently circulate air based as desired, such as at a higher rate when outside air is warmer, or at a lower rate when conserving energy.
The combination teaches
wherein said step of providing said climate-conditioned air-flow into said cargo compartment comprises controlling a ratio between the climate-controlled air-flow to be provided into said cargo compartment via said at least one aperture and the climate-controlled air-flow to be provided into said cargo compartment via said at least one opening (The system of Mannes comprising a variable speed fan would blow a greater ratio of air towards the rear apertures and the opening when operating at a higher rate, and blow a greater ratio of air towards the apertures proximate front wall 48 when operating at a lower rate)
Conclusion
The prior art of record not relied upon includes:
Gilpin (US2305075A), which teaches a similar freight container to that claimed
Strobel (US4800733A), which teaches a similar freight container to that claimed
Fujimoto (US4979431A), which teaches a similar freight container to that claimed
Bushnell (US20120073322A1), which teaches a similar freight container to that claimed
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRETT P. MALLON whose telephone number is (571)272-4749. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday from 8am to 5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MICHAEL HOANG can be reached at (571)272-6460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRETT P. MALLON/Examiner, Art Unit 3762 /MICHAEL G HOANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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