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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-4 and 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "at the exposed position of the second groove" in line 14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It has not been established that the heating plate has an exposed position formed by a fold of the heating plate forming the second groove.
In [0025], the applicants disclosure submits that the terms “first”, “second”, etc. are used for descriptive purposes only, and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implying the number of indicated technical features, and yet now claim 1 has been amended to include “a second groove” which is not to be interpreted as a groove adjacent to the initial first groove (ie: in Figure 2, there are multiple grooves 1) formed on the heating plate and it appears that the “second groove” is to be regarded as element 4 (as per Figure 3), however the first groove is formed in the width direction of the heating plate and the second groove is formed along the length or the width direction of the heating plate, which is not supported by the original disclosure and is thus being regarded as indefinite language.
Claim 1 now recites that “the first groove is a V-shaped groove”, however the applicants original disclosure only supports groove 4 as being V-shaped (SEE [0041]) thus rendering the claims indefinite as not distinctly claiming the subject matter applicant regards as the invention in view of the disclosure.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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(s) 1-4 and 7-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hock (WO2009074841). Hock discloses a container steam heating system (SEE Abstract), characterized in that it includes a distribution assembly (6) and a heating assembly (elements 1-5), the heating assembly includes a heating plate (Figure 2) for arrangement on a bottom plate of a container (10), the heating plate for arrangement on a bottom plate of a container, the heating plate is a hollow plate with a plurality of through grooves opened inside (as evidenced by interior openings to accommodate the array of hoses 8, these grooves are being interpreted as “through grooves” and will be different from the later mentioned first and second grooves), and the distribution assembly communicates with the heating assembly and the distribution assembly distributes the steam into all the through grooves of the heating plate (page 2, line 6 – page 3, line 3), wherein a first groove (assuming of the plurality of through grooves) is formed on the heating plate and is formed in the width direction of the heating plate (SEE Figure 1), the tail end of the heating plate is bent upwards (as illustrated in Figure 2) along the first groove to form an L-shaped tail shape, (this bend forms a crease that is being interpreted as a V-shaped groove) and wherein the heating plate (each of the sections 1-5) is provided with a second groove (an additional bend), the heating plate can be folded along the second groove (an additional bend forming another crease), the second groove is formed along the width direction of the heating plate and likewise can be interpreted as “V-shaped”, wherein the folding an unfolding of the heating plate (1-5) is being broadly interpreted as being opened or closed at the position of the second grove. In re claim 2, Hock discloses that the through groove is extended along the length direction of the container (SEE Figure 1). In re claim 3, Hock discloses that the heating plate comprises a head portion (SEE the attachment location of element 6 in Figures 1 & 2), connected with the distribution assembly and a tail portion opposite to the head portion, and the through-groove inputs steam at the head portion of the heating plate, steam is output from the tail portion of the heating plate (SEE page 4, lines 26-32). In re claim 4, Hock discloses that the through-groove communicates with the inner space of the container through the tail of the heating plate (inherent, SEE Figure 1). In re claim 7, Hock discloses connecting gas pipes (via pipes 6), the heating plate has at least two (SEE the sectioned heating plates in Figure 2), and the two ends of the connecting gas pipes are respectively connected to the through grooves of different heating plates (inherent). In re claim 8, Hock discloses that the heating plates are distributed side by side, and the two ends of the connecting gas pipes are respectively connected to the through grooves of the adjacent pair of the heating plates (as per elements 1-5 of Figure 2). In re claim 9, Hock discloses that the heating plate comprises a head part (SEE the location of the header assembly 6) connected to the distribution assembly and a tail part opposite to the head part, and the connecting gas pipes sequentially connect the adjacent heating plates end to end (Figure 1). In re claim 10, Hock discloses that there are at least two heating plates (1-5), which are arranged side by side or side by side on the container floor (10) (SEE Figures 1 & 2).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY A WILSON whose telephone number is (571)272-4882. The examiner can normally be reached M-F; 7:00am-4:30pm.
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/GREGORY A WILSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762 December 4, 2025