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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11/05/2025 has been entered.
Claim Status
Claims 2 and 7 are canceled. Claims 1, 3-6, and 8-12 are pending. Claims 1 and 6 have been amended. By virtue of dependency, dependent claims 3-5 are amended in scope. Claims 9-12 are new.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 3-6, and 8-12 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claims 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Higashiura et al. (EP 3330632 A1), hereafter referred to as “Higashiura.”
Regarding Claim 9: Higashiura teaches an indoor unit (10, paragraph [0005]) for an air conditioner (100), comprising: a main body (13, 14) that: comprises: a fan (14); and a heat exchanger (13), and is attached to a wall on a rear side of the main body (13, 14); a casing (20, 11) that: accommodates the main body (see Figure 2), and is attachable to and detachable (see Figure 1, disassembly and accommodation, paragraph [0026]) from the main body (13, 14) with the main body being attached to the wall (paragraphs [0028] and [0039]); a front panel (18) that is attachable to and detachable from the casing (20, 11) with the main body (13, 14) being attached to the wall; and a left side panel (left 28) and a right side panel (right 28) that: cover side surfaces of the casing (see Figures 1 and 4), respectively, and are attachable to and detachable (see Figure 4) from the casing (20, 11) with the main body (13, 14) being attached to the wall (paragraphs [0028] and [0039]), wherein the front panel (18) covers (when assembled the panel covers the perimeter) an end part of each of the left side panel (left 28) and the right side panel (right panel 28 see Figure 1), each of the left side panel (left 28) and the right side panel (right 28) is detachable from the casing (20, 11) by moving along a corresponding one of the side surfaces of the casing (20, 11) in a direction toward a front side of the casing (remove screws 35 forward to unlatch 28, see Figure 4), and the casing (20, 11) has an open rear side (open prior to panel 27 being added to 20 and 11).
Regarding Claim 10: Higashiura teaches wherein the casing (20) comprises: a body portion (11) that is in a horizontally elongated rectangular parallelepiped shape (see Figure 1) ; and side portions (11b) on respective right and left sides of the body portion (see Figure 1).
Regarding Claim 11: Higashiura teaches wherein the body portion (11) and the side portions (11b) are integrally formed (see Figure 1, abstract).
Regarding Claim 12: Higashiura teaches wherein the casing (20, 11) is configured to be attached to and detached from the main body (13, 14) through the opening of the casing (11 detached from 27, elements 13, 14 can be removed).
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 (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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1 and 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Higashiura et al. (EP 3330632 A1), hereafter referred to as “Higashiura,” in view of Ito et al. (JP 11101469 A), hereafter referred to as “Ito.”
Regarding Claim 1: Higashiura teaches an indoor unit (10, paragraph [0005]) for an air conditioner (100), comprising: a main body (13, 14) comprising a fan (14) and a heat exchanger (13); a casing (20, 11) that accommodates the main body (see Figure 2); a left side panel (left 28) and a right side panel (right 28) that each cover a respective side surface of the casing (see Figure 4); and a front panel (18) that covers (when assembled the panel covers the perimeter) an end part of the left side panel (left 28) and an end part of the right side panel (right 28), wherein a rear side (via 27) of the main body (13, 14) is attached to a wall (paragraphs [0028] and [0039]), the casing (20,11) is attachable to and detachable from the main body (13, 14) with the main body (13, 14) being attached to the wall at the rear side (via 27), the front panel (18) is attachable to and detachable from the casing (see Figure 1) with the main body (13, 14) being attached to the wall at the rear side (via 27), the left side panel (left 28) and the right side panel (right 28) are attachable to and detachable (see Figure 4) from the casing (20,11) with the main body (13, 14) being attached to the wall at the rear side, each of the left side panel (left 28) and the right side panel (right 28) is detachable from the casing (20,11) by moving along a corresponding one of the side surfaces of the casing (20,11) in a direction toward a front side of the casing (remove screws 35 forward to unlatch 28, see Figure 4).
Higashiura fails to teach the casing comprises hooks, the left side panel and the right side panel each comprise a protrusion, and each of the left side panel and the right side panel is fixed to the casing only by engaging the protrusion with a corresponding one of the hooks.
Ito teaches a casing (1), hooks (10), a panel (5), and a protrusion (8), and the panel (5) is fixed to the casing (1) only by engaging the protrusion with the corresponding hook (see Figure 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the casing comprises hooks, the left side panel and the right side panel each comprise a protrusion, and each of the left side panel and the right side panel is fixed to the casing only by engaging the protrusion with a corresponding one of the hooks to the structure of Higashiura as taught by Ito in order to advantageously use the known retaining elements to attach the air conditioner elements to one another (see abstract of Ito).
Regarding Claim 4: Higashiura teaches further comprising a bottom panel (16a/16b) that covers a bottom surface of the casing (20, 11) and is attachable to and detachable from the casing (see Figure 1).
Regarding Claim 5: Higashiura teaches wherein the bottom panel (16a, 16b) is detachable from the casing (11) by detaching the left side panel (left 28) and the right side panel (right 28) from the casing (11, functional limitation disassembly).
Claims 3, 6, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Higashiura et al. (EP 3330632 A1), hereafter referred to as “Higashiura,” in view of Ito et al. (JP 11101469 A), hereafter referred to as “Ito,” as applied to claims 1 and 5 above, and further in view of Moffett (US 2008/0035635 A1).
Regarding Claim 3: Higashiura teaches wherein the front panel (18) is fixed to the casing (20, 11 see Figure 1).
Higashiura fails to teach that the attachment is via a fastener.
Moffett teaches a front panel (150) is fixed to a casing (100) via a fastener (117, 151).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided wherein the front panel is fixed to the casing via a fastener to the structure of Higashiura modified supra as taught by Moffett in order to advantageously provide removeable access into and from the unit (see Moffett, paragraph [0016]).
Regarding Claim 6: Higashiura modified supra fails to teach wherein the left side panel is in contact with and supports a bottom surface of a left side part of the bottom panel, and the right side panel is in contact with and supports a bottom surface of a right side part of the bottom panel.
Moffett teaches a left side panel (410) is in contact with and supports a bottom surface of a left side part of a bottom panel (440), and a right side panel (430) is in contact with and supports a bottom surface of a right side part of the bottom panel (see Figure 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided wherein the left side panel is in contact with and supports a bottom surface of a left side part of the bottom panel, and the right side panel is in contact with and supports a bottom surface of a right side part of the bottom panel to the structure of Higashiura modified supra as taught by Moffett in order to advantageously provide support and assembly of the panels of the housing (see paragraph [0020], of Moffett).
Regarding Claim 8: Higashiura teaches wherein a bottom panel (16a,16b) is fixed to the casing (20,11 see Figures 1-2).
Higashiura fails to teach that the attachment is via a fastener.
Moffett teaches a bottom panel (140) is fixed to a casing (100) via a fastener (nibs into holes in 142 and 143, paragraph [0016]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided wherein the front panel is fixed to the casing via a fastener to the structure of Higashiura modified supra as taught by Moffett in order to advantageously provide removeable access into and from the unit (see Moffett, paragraph [0016]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Brandt (3,174,541).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KIRSTIN U OSWALD whose telephone number is (571)270-3557. The examiner can normally be reached 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Len Tran can be reached at 571-272-1184. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KIRSTIN U OSWALD/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/LEN TRAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763