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 .
The amendment filed 11/12/25 has been entered.
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, 2, 4, 7-12, 14, and 16-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mertinooke et al. (US Pub. No. 2016/0237737) in view of Beichl et al. (US Pub. No. 2006/0249910).
Regarding claim 1, the Mertinooke et al. (hereinafter Mertinooke) discloses a weatherstripping backing device (Figs. 1A-6) comprising:
an elongated backing strip (202) comprising a first side (top of 202 in Fig. 4) and a second side (bottom of 202 in Fig. 4);
a pair of guide posts (212,214) located on the first side of the elongated backing strip (Fig. 4), the pair of guide posts configured to receive at least a portion of a weatherstripping material (210) therebetween, the pair of guide posts each comprising:
a first guide post portion (e.g. 212,214) extending between a first end coupled to the first side of the elongated backing strip and a second end wherein the first guide post portions of the pair of guide posts are separated from one another by a distance (Fig. 4).
However, the Mertinooke reference fails to explicitly disclose the pair of guide posts each comprising:
a flexible second guide post portion extending at an angle from the first guide post portion such that the distance between the pair of guide posts is decreased along a length of each of the of the second guide post portions, wherein the second guide post portion of each of the pair of guideposts is configured to contact at least a portion of the weatherstripping material located between the pair of guideposts to support the weatherstripping material to bias the weatherstripping material in a direction substantially perpendicular to the elongated backing strip.
The Beichl et al. (hereinafter Beichl) reference, a seal, discloses providing tapers to the guide posts`(Figs. 1-4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to provide tapering portions to the guide posts in the Mertinooke reference in view of the teachings of the Beichl reference in order to provide optimal sealing surface are.
Regarding claims 2 and 12, the Mertinooke reference, as modified in claims 1 and 11, discloses the second guide post portions on the pair of guide posts extend at different angles (Beichl, Fig. 3).
Regarding claims 3 and 13, the Mertinooke reference, as modified in claims 1 and 11, discloses the second guide post portion of each of the pair of guideposts is flexible (Mertinooke, Para. [0024]).
Regarding claims 4 and 14, the Mertinooke reference, as modified in claims 3 and 13, discloses the second guide post portion of each of the pair guideposts has a varying flexibility along the length thereof (Fig. 3).
Regarding claims 7 and 16, the Mertinooke reference, as modified in claims 5 and 11, discloses the second guide post portions of each of the pair of guideposts have varying lengths (Beichl, Fig. 3).
Regarding claims 8 and 17, the Mertinooke reference, as modified in claims 1 and 11, discloses the second guide post portions are formed from two different co-extruded materials (Mertinooke, Para. [0015] incorporates Johnson (US Patent No. 5,438,802) Col. 3, Line 64-Col. 4, Line 12).
Regarding claims 9 and 18, the Mertinooke reference, as modified in claims 1 and 11, discloses the second guide post portions are formed from a dual durometer material (Mertinooke, Para. [0015] incorporates Johnson (US Patent No. 5,438,802) Col. 3, Line 64-Col. 4, Line 12).
Regarding claims 10 and 19, the Mertinooke reference, as modified in claims 1 and 11, discloses the elongated backing strip is configured to be located in a t-slot in an extruded frame (Mertinooke, Para. [0015]).
Regarding claim 11, the Mertinooke et al. (hereinafter Mertinooke) discloses a weatherstripping device (Figs. 1A-6) comprising:
a weatherstripping backing device (Figs. 1A-6) comprising:
an elongated backing strip (202) comprising a first side (top of 202 in Fig. 4) and a second side (bottom of 202 in Fig. 4);
a pair of guide posts (212,214) located on the first side of the elongated backing strip (Fig. 4), the pair of guide posts configured to receive at least a portion of a weatherstripping material (210) therebetween, the pair of guide posts each comprising:
a first guide post portion (e.g. 212,214) extending between a first end coupled to the first side of the elongated backing strip and a second end wherein the first guide post portions of the pair of guide posts are separated from one another by a distance (Fig. 4), and
a weatherstripping material (210) positioned between the pair of guide posts and extending in a substantially perpendicular direction from the first side of the elongated backing strip through the second guide post portions (Fig. 4).
However, the Mertinooke reference fails to explicitly disclose the pair of guide posts each comprising:
a flexible second guide post portion extending at an angle from the first guide post portion such that the distance between the pair of guide posts is decreased along a length of each of the of the second guide post portions,
wherein the second guide post portions contact at least a portion of the weatherstripping material located between the pair of guideposts to support the weatherstripping material to bias the weatherstripping material in a direction substantially perpendicular to the elongated backing strip to bias the weatherstripping material in a direction substantially perpendicular to the elongated backing strip.
The Beichl et al. (hereinafter Beichl) reference, a seal, discloses providing tapers to the guide posts`(Figs. 1-4), the second guide post portion of each of the pair of guideposts is configured to contact at least a portion of the weatherstripping material located between the pair of guideposts to support the weatherstripping material (Beichl, Figs. 1-3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to provide tapering portions to the guide posts in the Mertinooke reference in view of the teachings of the Beichl reference in order to provide optimal sealing surface are.
Regarding claim 20, the Mertinooke reference, as modified in claim 11, discloses the weatherstripping material comprises pile fibers or needle punch (Mertinooke, Abstract).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/12/25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
With regards to the applicant’s argument of the Mertinooke reference, the argument is moot because the “second guide post portion” is being claimed as “flexible”. The current disclosure discloses that the varying thickness allows the guide post to be “more flexible toward second end 322” in Para. [0024]). Therefore the taper of the modified Mertinooke reference is capable of being “flexible”.
With regards to the applicant’s argument of the rejection of claims 2 and 12, the argument is not persuasive because Beichl shows different lengths, e.g. 35,36 are shorter than 21,23.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 GILBERT Y LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-5894. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-430pm.
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, Christine Mills can be reached at (571)272-8322. 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.
/GILBERT Y LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675