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 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 lacks proper antecedent basis for “the left spring clamp” and “the right spring clamp”, and it is unclear if the left spring clamp and the right spring clamp are referring to a left spring clip and a right spring clip, respectively, or that they are referring to all different elements.
For purposes of examination, the left spring clamp and the right spring clamp are treated as referring to a left spring clip and a right spring clip, respectively.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 2 are is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seifert (DE 20 2014 009 406) in view of Guo et al (CN 219087331).
Seifert discloses the structure claimed including an enclosure for a ceramic heater rod (shown by an infrared emitter having a glass/ceramic tube/rod; also, see Figures 11 and 12; para 0010), the enclosure having a top wall, a bottom wall, a left side wall, a right side wall, a left spring steel bracket as a left spring clip/clamp and a right spring steel bracket as a right spring clip/clamp (also, annotated Figure1 below; and para 0038),
PNG
media_image1.png
405
653
media_image1.png
Greyscale
a rear surface having at least one vertex and having a concave shape (also, see annotated Figure 5), and the ceramic heater rod having a left end and a right end which is fixed or held by the left spring clamp and the right spring clamp, respectively.
PNG
media_image2.png
284
474
media_image2.png
Greyscale
But, Seifert does not show the left side wall having a notch and the right side wall having a notch wherein the left and right end of the ceramic heater rod pass through the left side wall notch an the right side wall notch as claimed.
Guo discloses it is known to provide an enclosure for supporting a heater rod (12) wherein the heater rod having a left end and a right end that are supported on a left and a right clamp (13) that are positioned externally of the enclosure and in line with the left and right side walls have a notch through wherein the ends of the heater rod extend through the notch of the side walls (also, see Figure 1).
In view of Guo, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adapt Seifert with the left and right side walls having a respective notch through which the heater rod extends therethrough so that the heater rod can be further supported on the sidewalls along with the left/right spring clamps so that the heater rod is predictably supported firmly and securely within the enclosure.
With respect to claim 2, Seifert discloses that the rear surface is a reflector that is made of an aluminum material (para 0011) that is capable of reflecting radiant energy emitted by the ceramic heater rod toward an interior of a sauna (para 0001-0002).
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seifert in view of Guo as applied to claims 1 and 2 above, and further in view of Morikawa et al (US 2005/0069308).
Seifert in view of Guo discloses the enclosure claimed including the ceramic heater rod having a left wire (34) and a right wire (34) originating from left and right end the ceramic heater rod (also, see Figure 12 of Seifert) but does not show the left wire terminating at a left plug and the right wire terminating at a right plug which are configured to interface with corresponding current supply wires as claimed.
Morikawa discloses it is known to provide a heater rod having a left wire (11b) and a right wire (11a) originating from the heater rod (also, see Figures 1 and 2) wherein each of the wires is terminated at its respective plug (12), and Morikawa further discloses that the left wire and right wire are respectively connected to corresponding current/power supply wires (15).
In view of Morikawa, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adapt Seifert, as modified by Guo, with the left and right wires of the ceramic heater rod are each terminated at its respective plug and interfaced/connected to its corresponding current supply wires behind the wall of the sauna or any other suitable locations so that power can be predictably supplied to the ceramic heater rod when the enclosure is installed in an interior of the sauna.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seifert in view of Guo and Morikawa as applied to claim 3, and further in view of Wallace (US 2009/0199526).
Seifert in view of Guo discloses the enclosure that is provided in a wall of the sauna/steam cabin (para 0002) wherein the enclosure includes a rectangular cover (3) having a top edge and a bottom edge (also, see Figure 1) but does not show the top edge that is magnetically affixed to an interior wall of the sauna and the bottom edge that is fixed via a least one hinge member as claimed.
Wallace shows it is known to provide a cover that having one edge with a magnet (12) that allows the cover to be magnetically affixed to a wall and another edge that is affixed to the wall with a hinge (13) that allows the cover to be opened and closed along the hinged edge while allowing a convenient opening via the magnet (also, see Figures 3 and 4).
In view of Wallace, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adapt Seifert, as modified by Guo and Morikawa, with the rectangular cover having the top edge that can be magnetically affixed to an interior of the wall of the sauna and the bottom edge with a hinge that allows the cover to be conveniently opened and closed via the magnetically affixed top edge which would provide more convenient and easy access to the enclosure that is provided in the wall of the sauna as shown in Seifert.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seifert (DE 20 2014 009 406) in view of Wallace (US 2009/0199526) and Morikawa et al (US 2005/0069308).
Seifert discloses the method claimed including a ceramic heater rod that is provided in an enclosure installed in an interior wall of a sauna (para 0002), a rectangular cover (3) having a top edge and a bottom edge (also, see Figure 1) affixed to the wall of the sauna (also, see para 0040), the ceramic heater rod having a left wire and a right wire originating from ends of the heater rod, and the ceramic heater rod further including a left and a right end that can be engaged and disengaged from corresponding left and right spring clip/clamp (10) affixed to the enclosure. But, Seifert does not the rectangular cover member with a magnetic seal affixing the top edge to the wall of the sauna and at least one hinge affixing the bottom edge to the wall of the sauna, and unplugging the right and left wire of the first ceramic heater rod and plugging the second ceramic heater along with its second right and left wire as claimed.
Wallace shows it is known to provide a cover that having one edge with a magnet (12) that allows the cover to be magnetically affixed to a wall and another edge that is affixed to the wall with a hinge (13) that allows the cover to be opened and closed along the hinged edge while allowing a convenient opening via the magnet (also, see Figures 3 and 4).
Morikawa discloses it is known to provide a heater rod having a left wire (11b) and a right wire (11a) originating from the heater rod (also, see Figures 1 and 2) wherein each of the wires is terminated at its respective plug (12) which allows the heater rod to be plugged or unplugged via the plug which connects the left and right wires (11b, 11a) to respective connecting wire (15).
In view of Wallace and Morikawa, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adapt Seifert with the rectangular cover having the top edge that can be magnetically affixed to an interior of the wall of the sauna and the bottom edge with a hinge, as taught by Wallace, that allows the cover to be conveniently opened and closed via the magnetically affixed top edge which would provide more convenient and easy access to the enclosure that is provided in the wall of the sauna as shown in Seifert, and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adapt Seifert with the left/right wires originating from the heater rod to be unplugged from a plug as taught by Morikawa that connects the heater rod to a current supplying wire to predictably replace the first ceramic heating rod, which may have been damaged or broken, with a second ceramic heating rod having its second left/right wires plugged into the plug that connects the ceramic heater rod to the current supply wire.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SANG Y PAIK whose telephone number is (571)272-4783. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00-5:30; M-F.
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, Steven W. Crabb can be reached at 571-270-5095. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SANG Y PAIK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761
Prosecution Insights