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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, Line 3, “the temperature” should be --a temperature--;
Claim 1, Line 10, “a temperature” should be --the temperature--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-15 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 "the ... pond or terrarium" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Further the recitation renders the scope of the claim ambiguous, thus it appears that the limitations “pond or terrarium” should be removed.
Claim 12 recites the limitation "said environmental condition" in line 10. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Further the recitation renders the scope of the claim ambiguous, thus it appears that the limitation “said environmental condition” should be removed.
Claim 14 recites the limitation "said environmental condition" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Further the recitation renders the scope of the claim ambiguous, thus it appears that the limitation “said environmental condition” should be removed.
Claims 2-11, 13, & 15 are rejected due to their dependence from Claim 1.
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 1-2 & 4-15, as far as they are definited, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)&(a)(2) as being anticipated by Valatka et al (US 20180192621 A1).
Valatka et al disclose a heating device (e.g. 116) for aquariums (e.g. Para. [0043]) comprising: a casing (e.g. 116 as shown in Fig. 1) completely sealed; a heat-emitting means (e.g. Para. [0048]) configured to control the temperature of the water in the aquarium, pond or terrarium; and an NFC communication device (e.g. Para. [0034] - Additionally, some embodiments of the habitat control hub 102 also operate to connect to one or more of the habitat functional devices 110 wirelessly, such as by using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Near Field Communication (NFC), or other wireless technologies.) placed inside the casing and configured to communicate with an external unit (e.g. 104), said external unit being configured to exchange data with the NFC communication device so as to monitor and/or control an operating parameter (e.g. temperature, Para. [0048]) of the heat-emitting means and/or an operating condition of the heat-emitting means so as to control a temperature of the water contained in the aquarium.
Wherein said casing comprises a first portion (e.g. body portion of 116) and a second portion (e.g. cap portion of 116), wherein said first portion has an elongated shape and said second portion is configured so as to close said first portion at an open end of said first portion; said operating parameter associated with said heating device comprises a power output or a heat intensity (e.g. Para. [0048]) provided by the heating device; said operating condition of the heating device (20) comprises an on or off condition thereof (e.g. Para. [0045] & [0048]); a temperature sensor (e.g. Para. [0048]) adapted to measure a temperature of the aquarium; the heating device further comprising a timer (e.g. Para. [0048] & [0128]) adapted to indicate and/or control how long said heating device remains on and how long said heating device remains off; the heat-emitting means comprises an electrical resistance; the NFC communication device comprises an antenna (e.g. standard NFC hardware component for power harvesting) that allows to pick up energy from the external unit and use that energy to supply the NFC communication device, enabling communication and data exchange between the NFC communication device and the external unit even when the heating device is not supplied by an electrical grid or by a power supply or by a battery; further comprising a feedback device (e.g. Para. [0164]); and further comprising a support element connected to said first portion, configured to attach at least one suction cup (e.g. as shown in Fig. 1 connecting 116 to aquarium wall) adapted to connect the heating device to a wall of the aquarium. Wherein the external unit comprises an operating system on which an application is installed which includes the video interface (e.g. Fig. 10, Para. [0035]); the external unit further comprises a screen (e.g. Fig. 10), said application being configured to display on said screen said operating parameter or said operating condition or said environmental condition; and the external unit is configured as a mobile device.
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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Valatka et al (US 20180192621 A1) in view of Tsai (5113057).
Valatka et al disclose a heating device, as described above, but do not explicitly teach that said first portion, comprises therein, in sequence, said heat-emitting means and a control unit including a microprocessor and said NFC communication device, said NFC communication device being located at said open end of said first portion.
Tsai demonstrates a known configuration (e.g. Fig. 2) having said first portion (e.g. 10), comprises therein, in sequence, said heat-emitting means (e.g. 10a, 11) and a control unit (e.g. 10b, 10c, 22) being located at said open end of said first portion.
Valatka et al and Tsai all seek to provide a heating device for an aquarium, thus it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to structure the heating device of Valatka et al wherein said first portion, comprises therein, in sequence, said heat-emitting means and a control unit including a microprocessor and said NFC communication device, said NFC communication device being located at said open end of said first portion, in light of the teaching od Tsai, for the purpose of making a compact compartmented heating device.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Additional references listed on form PTO-892 are cited for their relevance to the disclosed invention and demonstration of the state of the art.
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/MICHAEL LESLIE/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
January 10, 2026