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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed by the Applicant on 11/26/25 is acknowledged.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Makulla (DE 102006022296 A1, cited previously) in view of Goppin (US 20170236392 A1)
Regarding claim 1, Makulla teaches a museum display case (Fig.6) comprising: a display space 4; a filtration system (17; a filter device 17 in the form of a HEPA filter); a climate control system for treating air (In the treatment room 14 For example, a temperature-regulating material in the form of a phase change material and a moisture-regulating material in the form of a silicate gel are arranged. Both materials are in the form of Plat th 14 ' that are parallel and spaced apart from each other and from the air handling unit 10 conveyed air to be flowed around, arranged) in the display space; a first air circulation circuit both originating and terminating in the display space (top and bottom arrows).
Makulla teaches the filtration and the climate control system connected to the same circulation circuit and does not teach a first air circulation circuit and a second air circulation circuit, separate from each other and both originating and terminating in the display space; the filtration system is included in the first air circulation circuit, and the climate control system is included in the second air circulation circuit and the climate control system and the filtration system are confiqured to operate independently and at different intervals.
However, using a single circulation circuit for the filter and climate control, as disclosed in Makulla, or using separate circulation circuits for each of the filters and the climate control systems are well known design options. It is a matter of design and it is a well-known technique to separate out the two functions of filter and climate control, when the application and spacing needs them to be separately functioning.
Goppin discloses this aspect from the teachings of: its claim 6 and claim 8 wherein Goppin discloses:
wherein said at least one of an alarm and an actuator for adjusting a parameter of the showcase comprises at least an alarm and/or an actuator for adjusting a parameter inside the display space of the showcase,
selected from the following:
devices for adjusting lighting parameters, devices for adjusting climatic parameters, devices for adjusting filtering systems, devices for closing the showcase, sound and/or light alarms, other devices for adjusting operative parameters of the showcase and/or of the objects contained therein.
Therefore Goppin offers the choice of independently selecting at least one of the filtering or climate parameters, which is indicative that they are operated independent of each other.
Therefore, from the teachings of Goppin, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date the application was filed, to use separate circuits for the filter and the climate control, in the base section of the museum display, in the device of Makulla, in order to separately install and conveniently trouble shoot the two components.
Regarding claim 2, Makulla in view of Goppin teaches a museum display case; wherein each said first air circulation circuit and second air circulation circuit comprises: a pumping system for moving the air within the air circulation circuit from an intake port facing into the display space to a delivery port facing into the display space (see Abstract of Makula: the pumped air either only with the moisture-regulating material or the temperature-regulating Material or both).
Regarding claim 3, Makulla in view of Goppin teaches a museum display case; wherein the intake port is in a remote position with respect to the delivery port (see Arrows of Makulla, Goppion or Hahn).
Regarding claim 6, Makulla in view of Goppin teaches a museum display case; further comprising all-transparent vertical walls, wherein: the intake port and the delivery port of the first air circulation circuit and the second air circulation circuit are all located at a bottom of the display space (from the teachings of transparent show case bodies in Makulla, Goppion or Hahn).
Regarding claim 7, Makulla in view of Goppin teaches a museum display case, wherein the filtration system comprises at least one passive mechanical filter (HEPA filter in Makulla, common filters in Gappion).
Regarding claim 8, Makulla in view of Goppin teaches a museum display case, wherein the climate control system comprises a compartment containing hygroscopic material and/or a thermal machine, for controlling humidity and/or air temperature (see in Hahn: control of air humidity of the interior of the show case by connecting the pump to a refrigerator or to a refrigerator provided with a hygrostat. In this way it is possible to clean, to dry and to control the humidity of individual show cases in a simple manner and at a reasonable price without connecting them to expensive air conditioning systems, see in Makulla: Thus, the air temperature and the relative humidity can be in the interior of the showcase within very narrow limits, so that the criteria for the storage of high quality or sensitive exhibits can be fulfilled and Abstract of Gappion).
Claims 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Makulla (DE 102006022296 A1, cited previously) in view of Goppin (WO 0184986 A1, cited previously) and further in view of Fang (CN 206964386 U,cited previously)
Regarding claim 4, Makulla in view of Goppin and Hahn teaches the invention set forth in claim 3 above, but is silent regarding at least one opaque vertical wall, wherein: each said first air circulation circuit and second air circulation circuit comprises a section extending in the opaque vertical wall, and one of the intake port and the delivery port is located at a top of the display space, and the other of the intake port and the delivery port is located at a bottom of the display space.
However, use of pipes in display cabinets, wherein an intake port is in the bottom section and the delivery port at the top section is one of the many techniques towards debris, humidity or temperature control. Fang teaches the pipe that connects the filter 41 in the base section, to the fan 2 connected to the delivery portion at the top section, and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date the application was filed, to use one of the ports at the top portion and the other on the bottom section in order to circulate air into the showcase from the top.
Regarding claim 5, from the teachings of Fang wherein one of the circuits is connected to the top section and the other port of the circuit connected to the bottom section, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date the application was filed, to use the same technique for both the circuits, such that the delivery port of the first air circulation circuit and the delivery port of the second air circulation circuit are located at the top of the display space, and the intake port of the first air circulation circuit and the intake port of the second air circulation circuit are located at the bottom of the display space, in order to achieve cooling from the top portion.
Other art
Cited previously:
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CN 213820744 U discloses:
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For claim 4, CN 216754055 U discloses:
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CN 214905469 U, CN 214905441 U, KR 20220070724 A, CN 104586146 B, CN 108244893 A, KR 20160045319 A, JP 2008113870 A, CN 214905469 U, CN 214905441 U-N, CN 209750550 U, CN 213820744 U, CN 211926269 U-N,CN 210383399 U, CN 209750550 U-103, CN 108464683 A, CN 108244893 A-N, CN 206907395 U; CN 206482366 U, JP 2002177103 A, JP H0556831 A-opaque, US 5031413 A, US 4872320 A, DE 3805212 A1
CN 210433196 U: Tang teaches a museum dust-proof stand wherein a first air circulation circuit (12,15 and 11 in Fig.2, wherein and suction pipe 14 from one end of the cleaner 11 to the air inlet end of the fixedly connected with a dust box 12 through wind pipe is fixed in the dust collecting cover 15 and the filter is within the dust box 12) and a second air circulation circuit (13/9 and 5/16), that is a separate filtration system (11,12,15 in Fig.2) included in the first air circulation circuit.
Tang further teaches a separate PLC controller separate from the filter circuit, wherein the PLC controller.
CN 103767409 A discloses: NOVELTY - The cabinet has a cabinet body provided with a base that is mounted on an upper part of a transparent box body. The transparent box body is located with a door. An upper part of the door is provided with a fingerprint lock switch that is placed with a temperature detecting device. A timer is connected with a photo-catalyst lamp. A control device is arranged on a cooling device and connected with a humidifying device and a ventilation device.
Response to Arguments
The amendment filed by the Applicant on 11/26/25 is acknowledged, however they are not found to be persuasive. Regarding the climate and temperature control being separately functioning/control features, it is respectfully noted that it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide separately functioning/control features of climate and temperature control, since forming into two features, of a system with climate and temperature control that was formerly formed in a single system involves only routine skill in the art. Wherein the newly presented prior art Goppin provides this feature.
Further even more, a second example is given below: wherein CN 108812508 B discloses:
Fig.1 and temperature control system layer 21, a filtering and purifying system layer 20
AND
the structure of the water environment adjusting device is a temperature control system layer, a filtering and purifying system layer, an electrolytic oxygen-increasing system layer, an illumination system layer from bottom to top; a central control system layer and a power supply system layer; each layer of the system layer is isolated by a waterproof heat insulation plate.
Therefore, it is a well-known technique used in various applications, to form separate temperature and filtering layers.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Fatima Farokhrooz whose telephone number is (571)-272-6043. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday- Friday, 9 am - 5 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s Supervisor, James Greece can be reached on (571) 272-3711.
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/Fatima N Farokhrooz/
Examiner, Art Unit 2875