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 § 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) 1-5 and 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oster (EP 3121042 A1) in view of Abbott (US 3973939 A).
Regarding claim 1, Oster teaches of:
A cabinet system for installation in a vehicle, comprising:
a lower receiving space, an upper receiving space (Fig. 1, above 22 is the upper receiving space and below 22 is the lower receiving space),
wherein the upper receiving space is configured such that an air conditioner can be reversibly inserted into the upper receiving space (¶ [0032], Since the supply air duct 32 extends over the entire height of the cabinet system 10, an air conditioning unit can be flexibly mounted at any height in the cabinet system. All that is required is that the connection opening 38 be formed at the correct height. This can be facilitated by pre-defining several connection openings as part of the preinstallation, for example by means of predetermined breaking points.; the air conditioner can be mounted at any position within the cabinet and therefore can be mounted in the upper receiving space), and
wherein the upper receiving space is configured such that the air conditioner is mechanically reversibly fixed in the upper receiving space by a completed insertion into the upper receiving space (the receiving space has all of the requisite structure presented by the independent claim and therefore is capable of mechanically reversibly receiving the air conditioner)
Oster fails to explicitly teach:
at least one electrical contacting device for providing electrical power and/or for data communication
and is reversibly contacted with the electrical contacting device.
Abbott teaches of:
at least one electrical contacting device for providing electrical power and/or for data communication
and is reversibly contacted with the electrical contacting device (Fig. 9, 107 and 108 is inserted into 112 and 113 of the air conditioner and is therefore reversibly connected).
The primary reference can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
provide a vehicle power supply plug in the upper receiving space of the cabinet of Oster and connect the air conditioner of Oster to the power supply plug when it is installed in the upper receiving space
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would provide power to the air conditioner
Regarding claim 2, the combined teachings teach of the cabinet system according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein at least the upper receiving space comprises at least one air guiding device for guiding outside air (Oster, Fig. 1, 32 is an air guiding device for guiding outside air from 36), and
wherein the upper receiving space is configured such that the air conditioner is reversibly contacted with the air guiding device by a completed insertion into the upper receiving space (Oster, Fig. 1, 38 is positioned to be in contact with air conditioner wherever it is reversibly mounted within the cabinet; ¶ [0032], Since the supply air duct 32 extends over the entire height of the cabinet system 10, an air conditioning unit can be flexibly mounted at any height in the cabinet system. All that is required is that the connection opening 38 be formed at the correct height. This can be facilitated by pre-defining several connection openings as part of the preinstallation, for example by means of predetermined breaking points)
Regarding claim 3, the combined teachings teach of the cabinet system according to claim 2, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the air guiding device consists at least partially of an opening in a rear wall of the cabinet system (Oster, Fig. 1, 36 is an opening in the rear wall of the cabinet system).
Regarding claim 4, the combined teachings teach of the cabinet system according to claim 2, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the air guiding device consists at least partially of an opening in a wall of the vehicle serving as a rear wall of the cabinet system (Oster, Fig. 1, 36 is an opening which is a rear wall of the vehicle and serves as a rear wall of the cabinet system).
Regarding claim 5, the combined teachings teach of the cabinet system according to claim 2, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the air guiding device includes a connection in a part of the vehicle forming a region of the bottom surface of the cabinet system and/or in a part of the vehicle forming a region of an upper end surface of the cabinet system (Oster, Fig. 1, 32 includes a connection to a part of the vehicle forming a region of the bottom surface of the cabinet system and an upper surface of the cabinet system as it spans the entire vertical height of the cabinet system).
Regarding claim 7, the combined teachings teach of the cabinet system according to claim 1, however, the combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
wherein an electrical connection is provided between a power supply opening into the lower receiving space and the electrical contacting device.
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
provide a power supply opening through 18 of Oster so that 107/108 can be fed through the opening and connect to the electrical contacting device of the air conditioner
A person of ordinary skill would have been motivated to modify the combined teachings to have a power supply opening into the lower receiving space for the following reasons:
it has been found that choosing from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success would be “Obvious to Try” based upon the following rationale:
At the time of the application’s filing there had been a recognized need in the art to provide electrical power to an air conditioner within a cabinet in a vehicle in order for it to be powered (see Abbott as presented in claim 1)
There are a finite number solutions to the recognized problem within the combined teachings, particularly, within the upper receiving space of Oster. The identified solutions are providing a power supply opening within one of the 6 walls surrounding the upper receiving space of Abbott in order for the air conditioner to electrically connect to the vehicle power source
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention could have pursued the known potential solutions, particularly the claimed solution of a power supply opening in 18 of Oster, with a reasonable expectation of success in providing electrical power to the air conditioner
Regarding claim 8, the combined teachings teach of the cabinet system according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the electrical contacting device is adapted to be electrically contacted with an electrical interface of the air conditioner by a sliding or plug-in connection (Abbott, 107/108 is electrically contacted with an electrical interface of the air conditioner 112/113 via a plug-in connection)
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oster (EP 3121042 A1) in view of Abbott (US 3973939 A) as presented in claim 1, and in further view of Seccuro (US 10041737 B2).
Regarding claim 6, the combined teachings teach of the cabinet system according to claim 1, however, the combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
wherein a condensate removal device is provided, and
wherein the condensate removal device is connected to the upper receiving space.
Securro teaches of:
wherein a condensate removal device is provided (Fig. 1, 150 is a condensate removal device), and
wherein the condensate removal device is connected to the upper receiving space (see combination made below).
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
attach the condensate removal device to the air conditioner in the upper receiving space and position the drain pipe from the device to the exterior of the vehicle
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would collect and drain condensate from the air conditioner
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL J GIORDANO whose telephone number is (571)272-8940. The examiner can normally be reached M-Fr 8 AM - 5 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Edelmira Bosques can be reached at (571) 270-5614. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/M.J.G./Examiner, Art Unit 3762
/EDELMIRA BOSQUES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3762