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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on June 17th, 2026 has been entered. Applicant’s amendment overcomes the previously set-forth rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and 35 U.S.C. 112(b), regarding claims 5 and 6. As such, the 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and 112(b) rejections are withdrawn.
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.
Claims 1 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over L.D. Hyung (KR 100711513 B1) in view of C.S. Chen (US 7,388,176 B2) and Z.H. Pan (CN 106287908 A).
Regarding claim 1, L.D. Hyung discloses a heater (Figs. 1-6, “heater 100” [title, abstract]) comprising:
A housing including a top board, a bottom board, a front board, a rear board, a left board, and a right board (Figs. 1-3, 5-6, “case 10” is shown to have top, bottom, front, rear, left, and right surfaces [section: “TECH-SOLUTION”]);
wherein the bottom board has a plurality of spaced slot members (Fig. 4, “fixing portion 30” has “insertion groove 35” of which two are present at the bottom of case 10 [section: “TECH-SOLUTION”]),
and there is one hole at the bottom on each of the left and right boards (Figs. 2 and 3, show the square-shaped air inlets on the left and right surfaces of the case 10, marked by filter net 41, which is present in the holes of case 10 [section: “TECH-SOLUTION”]);
a heating device including a plurality of plate-shaped heating elements having four sides fastened in the slot members of the bottom board so that the heating elements are equally spaced in the housing (Figs. 3 and 4, “woven heating element [20] may be manufactured in a rectangular shape” and “arranged in plurality in parallel at intervals” by inserting them into insertion grooves 35 from the bottom surface of case 10, which aligns with an insertion portion 25 of the edge of the heating elements [section: “TECH-SOLUTION”]; see Annotated Figure 1),
and a convection device including two fans, one at the bottom of each side of the heating elements, wherein the fans are disposed in the holes of the left and right board respectively (Figs. 1-3, and 6 show a “blower 40” installed in the inlet window at the bottom of each of the left and right surfaces of the case 10 [section: “TECH-SOLUTION”]);
and wherein the fans are horizontally aligned with the heating elements (it can be seen from Figs. 2 and 3 that with the alignment of the blowers 40, air would blow across the bottom of the heating elements 20 (shown in a dashed line in Fig. 2) in a horizontal direction; see Annotated Figure 2).
L.D. Hyung does not expressly disclose wherein the top board, the left board, and the right board each have a plurality of spaced slot members, and wherein the heating elements are fastened into the slot members of the top board, left board, and right board.
C.S. Chen discloses a sauna heater (Figs. 4-8, “heating device” [title, abstract]) which includes a housing with top, left, and right boards (Figs. 4 and 5, “case 40” with “transvers bars 48” and “covers 50” defining the boards [col. 2, lines 20-21, 45]) and a plurality of plate-shaped heating elements (Figs. 4-8, “plurality of heating boards 41” [col. 2, lines 28-29]).
C.S. Chen further discloses wherein the top board, the left board, and the right board of the housing each have a plurality of spaced slot members (Fig. 4 shows the “plurality of slits 43” present on the frame wherein two side covers (designated the front and rear in the description) and the top cover are disposed within the case [col. 2, line 27]; see Annotated Figure 1);
a heating device including a plurality of plate-shaped heating elements having four sides fastened into the slot members of the top board, the left board, and the right board (Fig. 4 shows “heating boards 41 being slidably engaged with the slits 43” [col. 2, lines 28-29]; See Annotated Figure 1).
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Annotated Figure 1. Prior art showing slotted member position in the top, bottom, left, and right housing surfaces, with heating element fastening.
It would have been prima facie obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the slits present on the top board, the left board, and the right board of the housing disclosed by C.S. Chen with the insertion grooves present on the bottom board of the housing disclosed by L.D. Hyung. This would have resulted in a structure with slot members on four sides of the housing to secure the plate-shaped heating members. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that having the heating elements secured on all four sides, rather than just at the bottom as disclosed by L.D. Hyung, would result in higher security of the plate, especially in the application of a convective heating device wherein air will be blown over the surface of the heating elements. Further, the presence of the slots on the top, left, and right boards would not alter the functionality of the heater disclosed by L.D. Hyung, and so there is a reasonable expectation of success in securing the heating elements on all four sides in this manner.
L.D. Hyung does not expressly disclose wherein each of the heating elements include a heating layer, a first insulator layer, two parallel conductive strips, and a second insulator layer; wherein the heating layer is secured onto the first insulator layer for electricity conduction and heat transfer; wherein the first insulator layer is configured to protect the heating layer and transfer heat so that the heating layer is configured to uniformly transfer heat; wherein the conductive strips are secured onto two side of the heating layer respectively and configured to conduct electricity; and wherein the second insulator layer is secured onto the heating layer for achieving thermal insulation.
C.S. Chen discloses wherein each of the heating elements include a heating layer (Figs. 6 and 7, “the heating layer 45” [col. 2, line 34]),
a first insulator layer (Figs. 6 and 7, “heating layer 45 is sandwiched between two isolation plates 46” [col. 2, lines 34-35]; the first insulator layer is analogous to the first isolation plate),
two parallel conductive strips (Figs. 6 and 7, “copper portion 47” [col. 2, line 40]; see Annotated Figure 2),
and a second insulator layer (Figs. 6 and 7, “heating layer 45 is sandwiched between two isolation plates 46” [col. 2, lines 34-35]; the second insulator layer is analogous to the second isolation plate);
wherein the heating layer is secured onto the first insulator layer for electricity conduction and heat transfer (“The heating layer 45 […] can be printed on the two facing sides of the isolation layers 46” [col. 2, lines 35-37]);
wherein the first insulator layer is configured to protect the heating layer and transfer heat so that the heating layer is configured to uniformly transfer heat (the isolation plates 46 fully cover the heating layer 45 [Fig. 6]; “the heat is transferred via the isolation plates 46” [col. 2, lines 61-62]);
wherein the conductive strips are secured onto two sides of the heating layer respectively and configured to conduct electricity (the conductive strips are copper (copper portion 47) which is known in the art to be electrically conductive; see Annotated Figure 2 for securing position);
and wherein the second insulator layer is secured onto the heating layer for achieving thermal insulation (the heating layer 45 “is sandwiched between two isolation plates 46” [col. 2, lines 34-35]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the layered heating structure disclosed by C.S. Chen for the woven heating structure disclosed by L.D. Hyung. The thin, layered heating boards disclosed by C.S. Chen allow for evenly dispensed heat and a compact size (discussed in abstract and background). One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized this, and been motivated to substitute these thin, layered heating boards for the woven heating boards disclosed by L.D. Hyung in order to yield a structure that evenly dispenses heat in a compact device, that will heat a room quickly using the convection device disclosed by L.D. Hyung. Because the layered heating element structure is known in the art, with an application to sauna heaters with a plurality of heating elements, this simple substitution of one known element for another would achieve predictable results.
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Annotated Figure 2. Layering structure of plate-shaped heating element from prior art.
L.D. Hyung does not expressly disclose that the bottom board has two holes, and a convection device including two fans on an underside of the heating elements wherein the fans are disposed in the holes of the bottom board respectively; and wherein the fans are vertically aligned with the heating elements.
Z.H. Pan discloses a heater (Figs. 1 and 2, “convection type electric heater” [title, abstract]) comprising a housing with top, bottom, front, rear, left, and right boards (Fig.1 , “shell 01” can be seen to have each of these surfaces [section: “Embodiment 1”), a plurality of heating elements (Fig.1 , “each of the plurality of heat-generating regenerators 02 is provided with an electric heating element 03” [section: “Embodiment 1”]), and a convection device (the device includes forced convection over the heating elements [section: “Embodiment 1”]; discussed in detail below).
Z.H. Pan further discloses that the bottom board of the housing has two holes (Fig. 1, the bottom of the housing includes an “air intake window 04” with “intake holes 05” [section: “Embodiment 1”]; Fig. 1 shows two air intake windows 04, each with intake holes 05; see Annotated Figure 3),
and a convection device including two fans on an underside of the heating elements (Fig. 1, a “fan 08” is present at the bottom of the housing, underneath heating elements 03 [section: “Embodiment 1”]; Fig. 1 specifically shows two fans; see Annotated Figure 3)
wherein the fans are disposed in the holes of the bottom board respectively (Fig. 1, fan 08 is present in each of the air intake windows 04 [section: “Embodiment 1”]);
and wherein the fans are vertically aligned with the heating elements (see Annotated Figure 3 for air flow direction).
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Annotated Figure 3. Convection device configuration and air flow direction over heating elements from prior art.
It would have been prima facie obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to move the convection device with fans at the sides of the heater disclosed by L.D. Hyung to the position of the convection device at the bottom of the heater disclosed by Z.H. Pan. This would result in the heater disclosed by L.D. Hyung wherein there are two holes in the bottom surface of the housing, each with a fan present, which will be vertically aligned with the heating elements. A person of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do this in order to improve the air flow of the heater disclosed by L.D. Hyung. Moving the convection device to the bottom of the housing would allow for the fans to be vertically aligned not only with the heating elements, but also with the air outlet. This would negate the need for the guide plate 60 disclosed by L.D. Hyung that controls the direction of the air coming in from the sides of the heater, and instead, the air could flow directly from the bottom to the top of the heater. Because the convection heater with a plurality of heating elements disclosed by Z.H. Pan is known to have this arrangement in analogous invention, wherein the convection device is at the bottom of the housing vertically aligned with the heating elements, there is a reasonable expectation of success in moving the convection device disclosed by L.D. Hyung to the bottom of the housing wherein it will be vertically aligned with the heating elements.
Regarding claim 7, L.D. Hyung does not expressly disclose wherein the housing is made of wood.
C.S. Chen discloses wherein the housing is made of wood (“The case 40 is made by plastic or wood.” [col. 2, lines 23-24]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have made the housing of the heater disclosed by L.D. Hyung (whose material is not disclosed) out of wood. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this as a safety precaution, as wood is a known thermal insulator and so it would not burn the hands of a user who is trying to handle the device. Because using wood as a housing material is known in the art of sauna heaters, as disclosed by C.S. Chen, using wood as the material for the housing of the heater disclosed by L.D. Hyung would achieve predictable results.
Claims 2-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over L.D. Hyung (KR 100711513 B1) in view of C.S. Chen (US 7,388,176 B2) and Z.H. Pan (CN 106287908 A), and further in view of I.J. Soon (KR 101454785 B1) and P.S. Woo (KR 2013003566 A).
Regarding claim 2, L.D. Hyung discloses wherein the front board has a display panel (Figs. 1 and 2, “operation panel 70” and “display window 71” are present on the front surface of the housing [section: “TECH-SOLUTION”]) and an on/off switch (“a button for operating the control unit 60” is present on the operation panel 70 [section: “TECH-SOLUTION”]), wherein the display panel is configured to show temperature (“a display window 71 that can visually check the temperature” [section: “TECH-SOLUTION”]), and wherein the on/off switch is configured to activate or deactivate the heater (“when the button of the operation panel 70 is set to ON, current from an external power source is sequentially supplied to the electrode copper wire 26” which connects to the heating elements [section: “TECH-SOLUTION”]).
L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan does not expressly disclose wherein the display panel is configured to show time.
I.J. Soon discloses a heater (Fig. 1, “far-infrared heater” [title, abstract]) comprising a housing with top, bottom, front, rear, left and right boards (Figs. 1 and 2, “case unit 10” is seen to have each of these surfaces [section: “DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS”]) that uses a plurality of heating elements (Fig. 3, “plurality of unit radiation units 21” [section: “DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS”]) to heat an area.
I.J. Soon further discloses wherein the front board has a display panel (Fig. 1 shows the “display unit 31” on the front board of the case unit 10 [section: “DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS”])
wherein the display panel is configured to show temperature and time (“The display unit displays […] the set temperature and the set time or the remaining operation time” [section: “DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS”]),
It would have been prima facie obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the time display disclosed by I.J. Soon with the display panel disclosed by L.D. Hyung, which is configured to display the temperature. The time display disclosed by I.J. Soon allows users to view the time they have set the heater to operate for or, alternatively, the remaining operation time. Because the heater disclosed by L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan is already configured to display the temperature, a person of ordinary skill in the art could add the time display in a manner which would not alter the functionality of the heater. Combining these two elements, which are known in the art of heaters would thus, achieve predictable results.
L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan does not expressly disclose further comprising two light bars disposed on two sides of the front board respectively.
P.S. Woo discloses a heater (Figs. 1 and 2, “warm air heater” [section: “DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS”]) comprising a housing with top, bottom, front, rear, left, and right boards (Figs. 1 and 2, “housing” is shown to have these surfaces [section: “DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS”]) and a planar heating element (Figs. 2a and 3, “heating means 21” with “planar heating element 32” [section: “DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENT”]) paired with a convection device (Figs. 1 and 2, “inlet hole 14,” “fan 17,” and “discharge gap H” [section: “DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENT”]).
P.S. Woo further discloses two light bars on the top board of the housing (Fig. 1, “lamp L” [section: “DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS”]).
L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan and further in view of P.S. Woo does not expressly disclose that the light bars are disposed on two sides of the front board respectively. Specifically, P.S. Woo discloses two embodiments in the Figures. In Fig. 1, the lamps L are disposed perpendicularly to one another and in Fig. 2, the lamp L is disposed as a single light bar. Both embodiments show lamps L disposed on the top board of the housing. However, P.S. Woo also discloses that these lamps L can be “as many as needed,” “can be of any shape known in the art,” “may be installed in various ways,” and are “not limited by the type or mounting structure” (discussed in section: “DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS”).
It would have been prima facie obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the light bars disclosed by P.S. Woo with the heater disclosed by L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan. The function of the heater would not be altered by the presence of the lights, and the lights would function in the same manner installed on the heater disclosed by L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan as they do in the heater disclosed by P.S. Woo. Combining these two elements which are known in the art would, therefore, achieve predictable results. Further, it is known in the art to have light bars present on heaters and, as disclosed by P.S. Woo, these light bars may have a variety of installation shapes or positions. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the light bars disclosed by P.S. Woo could be installed on either side of the front board of the housing of the heater, and doing so would be an obvious matter of design choice involving the rearrangement of parts which does not modify the operation of the heater. See MPEP 2144.05-VI-C.
Regarding claim 3, L.D. Hyung discloses wherein bottoms of the heating elements are electrically connected to a power supply which is electrically connected to the display panel (Fig. 4, “electrode copper wire 26” runs vertically along the heating element and connects to the “power line 27” which runs along both the top and bottom of the heating element and connects to a power source; the operation panel 70, which includes the display window 71, controls the current draw from the power source into power line 27 [section: “TECH-SOLUTION”]).
Regarding claim 4, L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan does not expressly disclose further comprising a remote control electrically connected to the display panel.
I.J. Soon discloses further comprising a remote control electrically connected to the display panel (“The input unit may be provided on the remote controller for the sake of convenience” [section: “DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS”]; the control unit 30 includes both the input unit (remote controller) and display unit 31, and so the two are electrically connected).
It would have been prima facie obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the heater disclosed by L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan with the remote control electrically connected to the display panel disclosed by I.J. Soon. One would be motivated to do this “for the sake of convenience,” as disclosed by I.J. Soon. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that a sauna user utilizing the heater disclosed by L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan may want a remote control to negate the need to get up to adjust sauna heat settings. Further, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have had the knowledge necessary to implement the remote control into the system of the combination heater. Including a remote control in the heater disclosed by L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan would not alter the functionality of the heater. Thus, combining these elements (the heater and the remote control) which are known in the art would achieve predictable results.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over L.D. Hyung (KR 100711513 B1) in view of C.S. Chen (US 7,388,176 B2) and Z.H. Pan (CN 106287908 A), and further in view of J.J. Lu (CN 109237593 A).
Regarding claim 5, L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan does not expressly disclose wherein the heating layer is implemented as a graphene coating. Specifically, the layered configuration disclosed by C.S. Chen includes a heating layer that is implemented as graphite.
J.J. Lu discloses a heater (Fig. 3, heating room greenhouse instrument 100) comprising a housing with top, bottom, front, rear, left, and right boards (Fig. 3, “heating house instrument assembly 10” [section: “Description”]) and a plate-shaped heating element having a layered structure (Figs. 1 and 3, “microcrystalline glass heating panel 11” [section: “Description”]);
wherein the heating layer is implemented as a graphene coating (Fig. 1 shows the layered structure of the heating panel wherein “the graphene layer 115” generates heat [section: “Description”]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the graphene heating layer disclosed by J.J. Lu for the graphite heating layer disclosed by L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan. Both graphene and graphite are carbon-based coatings known in the art to conduct heat and emit far-infrared light, as disclosed by C.S. Chen and J.J. Lu. Additionally, both can be applied in coating methods and thus the substitution would be simple with no alterations to the structure of the heating elements. Because graphene is known in the art of planar heating elements for heaters, this simple substitution of graphene for graphite would achieve predictable results.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over L.D. Hyung (KR 100711513 B1) in view of C.S. Chen (US 7,388,176 B2) and Z.H. Pan (CN 106287908 A), and further in view of J.J. Lu (CN 109237593 A) and Y.F. Chen (CN 107044173 A)
Regarding claim 6, L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan does not expressly disclose wherein the first insulator layer is made of crystalline glass. Specifically, the layered configuration disclosed by C.S. Chen states that the first insulator layer is made of glass fiber.
J.J. Lu discloses the wherein the first insulator layer is made of crystalline glass (Fig. 1 shows the layered structure of the heating panel wherein the “microcrystalline glass layer 111” is the insulative layer [section: “Description”]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the microcrystalline glass layer disclosed by J.J. Lu for the glass fiber layer disclosed by L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan. Microcrystalline glass has a higher “mechanical strength […] than common glass, good thermal stability, [and] good electric insulation performance” (J.J. Lu, section: “Description”), all of which are key elements to have in the first insulator layer. Because microcrystalline glass is a known insulator layer in the art of layered planar heating elements for heaters, this simple substitution of microcrystalline glass for glass fiber would achieve predictable results.
L.D. Hyung does not expressly disclose wherein the second insulator layer is implemented as a coating having excellent thermal insulation.
C.S. Chen discloses the second insulator layer is implemented as having excellent thermal insulation (“the isolation plates 46 are made by glass fiber” [col. 2, line 37]; glass fiber is known in the art as a thermal insulator).
It would have been prima facie obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement glass fiber as the second insulator layer for the layered heating element disclosed by L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan. As discussed with regard to claim 1, the layered heating configuration disclosed by C.S. Chen would yield a structure that evenly dispenses heat, in a compact device, that will heat a room quickly in combination with the convection device. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized further that the material disclosed by C.S. Chen for the second insulator layer, namely glass fiber, would provide excellent thermal insulation, and so would be motivated to use glass fiber in this configuration. This would not alter the configuration of the implemented layered heating element of L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan, as this is the disclosed material of the heating element’s second insulator layer. Thus, this configuration and material selection would achieve predictable results.
L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan does not expressly disclose the second insulator layer is implemented as a coating.
Y.F. Chen discloses a method for spray application of glass fiber coating to flat surfaces for the purpose of sound proofing and heat resistance (technique described in detail in section: “Invention contents”). With regard to the heat insulation of the glass fiber coating, it is described to have “excellent heat preservation” (section: “Invention contents”) and thus, would be considered as an insulator layer implemented as a coating having excellent thermal insulation.
It would have been prima facie obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have substituted the glass fiber coating insulator layer disclosed by Y.F. Chen for the glass fiber insulator layer disclosed by L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan which did not specify an application method. One would have been motivated to use the coating method disclosed by Y.F. Chen as the coating is thin, durable, not easy to crack, and has a low material cost. Additionally, the spray coating method is simple and quick to perform, as it only involves spraying layers onto the surface to be insulated. Each of these motivations is discussed in detail in the section “Invention contents” of the disclosure of Y.F. Chen. Because spray application of glass fiber coating layers is known in the art of heat insulation, substituting this known glass fiber insulator layer coating for the glass fiber insulator layer disclosed by L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen and Z.H. Pan would be a simple substitution of one known element for another, and would achieve predictable results.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on June 17th, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding claim 1, Applicant argues that (1) the limitation “wherein the top board, the bottom board, the left board, and the right board each have a plurality of spaced slot members” is not rendered obvious by the disclosure of L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen.
Applicant further argues that (2) due to the above limitation being non-obvious, the limitation “a plurality of plate-shaped heating elements having four sides fastened into the slot members of the top board, the bottom board, the left board, and the right board” is also not rendered obvious by the disclosure of L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen.
Regarding argument (1), Applicant argues that C.S. Chen discloses that the slot members which have been considered analogous to claim 1 in the Non-Final Rejection are present on the frame, and not on the boards themselves. However, the Non-Final Rejection asserts that boards can be defined by the sides of the entire case, which includes both the frame and the covers (case 40, transverse bars 48, and covers 50 [col. 2, lines 20-21, 45]; see Non-Final Rejection, page 5, or page 4 of this document). Applicant states that the Non-Final Rejection mischaracterizes the case disclosed by C.S. Chen as being analogous to the boards of the claimed invention and that the covers alone are more analogous to the boards. However, when the heating device disclosed by C.S. Chen is assembled, the frame and boards come into contact with one another and are connected via magnets (magnets 49 and metal plates 49A [col. 2, lines 45-56, Fig. 4A]). Thus, when the case is assembled, the transverse bars and covers are connected. This assembly is analogous to the claimed invention in that when the housing of the claimed invention is assembled, the plurality of slot members 17, which appear to be present on bars in Fig. 3, are connected to the boards 11, 12, 15, and 16.
Regarding argument (2), the assertion that the limitation “a plurality of plate-shaped heating elements having four sides fastened into the slot members of the top board, the bottom board, the left board, and the right board” is non-obvious relies on argument (1) standing. However, in the response to argument (1) above, it is determined that L.D. Hyung in view of C.S. Chen renders the limitation “wherein the top board, the bottom board, the left board, and the right board each have a plurality of space slot members” obvious, and thus the fastening of the heating elements into said slot members is obvious, per the arguments of the Non-Final Rejection, page 5-7 (or pages 4-6 of this document).
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 MARISSA RAE BOSS whose telephone number is (571)270-0274. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00am-5:00pm.
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/MARISSA RAE BOSS/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
/IBRAHIME A ABRAHAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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