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 .
This a second non-final Official action.
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 2-5, 11-18, 22 - are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe (3,526,071) in view of Shibata (9,853,430).
4. Watanabe, fig. 10, teaches a method for installing a wall, comprising:
installing an arrangement of wall units 4, wherein the arrangement of wall units includes rows, each of the rows includes horizontally-adjacent wall units, adjacent rows form horizontal seams between the rows, pairs of the horizontally-adjacent wall units form vertical seams between the horizontally-adjacent wall units, fig. 10, and joints are formed where the horizontal seams and the vertical seams meet (joints at 6); and
inserting a “rubber piece” 9 into the joints col. 3, lines 35-45,
wherein each piece is inserted by compressing it (the “soft material…rubber piece” is necessarily compressed to provide a compressed piece because if not, the piece would not sufficiently “avoid an air gap” and “gasket” square gap 6), inserting the compressed piece into a corresponding one of the joints, and allowing the inserted compressed piece to expand and form a seal separating an exterior side and an interior side of the wall at the corresponding one of the joints. Watanabe does not call the rubber piece a plug but it is because it plugs square air gap 6.
Watanabe does not teach each of the flexible pieces is inserted by compressing it between fingers to provide the compressed plug. Shibata, fig. 1, teaches it is old in the art for flexible pieces/”plugs” to be inserted by compressing them between fingers to provide the compressed plug. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for each of the plugs to be inserted by compressing it between fingers to provide the compressed plug and a tight seal.
2. Watanabe in view of Shibata teaches the method of claim 4, Watanabe further teaching the flexible plugs include an elastomer (soft rubber).
3. Watanabe does not expressly teach the soft rubber flexible plugs include silicone. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the flexible plugs to include silicone for strength.
5. Watanabe does not teach the plug is compressed by rolling the plug to reduce a diameter of the plug because the plug has no diameter (the plug is square, line 44). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the plug to be compressed by rolling the plug to reduce a diameter of the plug by making square gap 6 round for an appealing corner detail (Note: Applicant does not recite that the plug is round, only that it has a rollable diameter).
14. Watanabe, figs. 7, 10, 11, teaches a method for installing a wall that includes a lower row of wall units and an upper row of wall units above the lower row, the method comprising:
installing horizontally-adjacent wall units in the lower row including installing a first lower row unit and installing a second lower row unit horizontally adjacent to the first lower row unit;
installing horizontally-adjacent wall units in the upper row over the lower row, including installing a first upper row unit and installing a second upper row unit horizontally adjacent to the first upper row unit, wherein:
the wall includes vertical seams between the horizontally adjacent wall units and a horizontal seam between the first row and the second row,
joints (at 6) are formed where the horizontal seam meets the vertical seams; and
plugging (via 9) the joints with preformed, flexible plugs with a shape memory (“flexible rubber” has a shape memory),
the vertical seams, the horizontal seam and the plugs are configured for use in forming a seal between an exterior side and an interior side of the wall, and each of the joints are plugged by compressing a corresponding one of the preformed flexible plugs (the “soft material…rubber piece” is necessarily compressed to provide a compressed piece because if not, the piece would not sufficiently “avoid an air gap” and “gasket” square gap 6) to provide a compressed plug and inserting the compressed plug into the joint, wherein the compressed plug is configured to expand within the joint.
Watanabe does not teach each of the flexible pieces (plugs) is inserted by compressing it between fingers to provide the compressed plug. Shibata, fig. 1, teaches it is old in the art for flexible pieces/”plugs” to be inserted by compressing them between fingers to provide the compressed plug. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for each of the plugs to be inserted by compressing it between fingers to provide the compressed plug and a tight seal.
11. Watanabe in view of Shibata teaches the method of claim 14, Watanabe further teaching the first upper row unit is over and aligned with the first lower row unit to form a first column of the wall units and the second upper row unit is over and aligned with the second lower row unit to form a second column of the wall units.
12. Watanabe in view of Shibata teaches the method of claim 14, Watanabe further teaching the flexible plugs include an elastomer (soft rubber).
13. Watanabe does not expressly teach the soft rubber flexible plugs include silicone. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the flexible plugs to include silicone for strength.
15. Watanabe in view of Shibata teaches the method of claim 14, Watanabe further teaching the arrangement of wall units has an air seal gasket 1 line for creating an air seal, and the plugs maintain the air seal at the joints, col. 3, lines 30-46.
16. Watanabe in view of Shibata teaches the method of claim 14, Watanabe further teaching the plugs maintain the air seal while accommodating movement including movement caused by live load slab deflection, movement caused by thermal changes, and movement caused by seismic activity because the seal is flexible.
17. Watanabe does not teach the plug is compressed by rolling the plug to reduce a diameter of the plug because the plug has no diameter (the plug is square, line 44). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the plug to be compressed by rolling the plug to reduce a diameter of the plug by making square gap 6 round for an appealing corner detail (Note: Applicant does not recite that the plug is round, only that it has a rollable diameter).
18. Watanabe in view of Shibata teaches the method of claim 14, Watanabe further teaching each of the lower row of wall units and the upper row of wall units have rectilinear (square) shape.
22. Watanabe in view of Shibata teaches the method of claim 14, Watanabe further teaching each of the joints is a four-way junction, fig. 10, formed where a corner of the first lower row unit, a corner of the second lower row unit, a corner of the first upper row unit, and a corner of the second upper row unit meet, and each of the preformed flexible plugs has a shape memory (rubber) such that each compressed plug expands to fill the corresponding four- way junction and maintain an air seal at an air seal gasket line of the wall.
Claims 6-8 - are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe in view of Strickland (2019/007824).
6. Watanabe, fig. 10, teaches a method for installing a wall, comprising:
installing an arrangement of wall units 4, wherein the arrangement of wall units includes rows, each of the rows includes horizontally-adjacent wall units, adjacent rows form horizontal seams between the rows, pairs of the horizontally-adjacent wall units form vertical seams between the horizontally-adjacent wall units, and joints (joints at 6) are formed where the horizontal seams and the vertical seams meet; and
inserting preformed, flexible plugs into the joints (the “soft material…rubber piece” is necessarily preformed to provide a compressed piece because if not, the piece would not sufficiently “avoid an air gap” and “gasket” square gap 6).
Watanabe does not expressly teach the joints plugged by inserting the plugs into the joints from an interior side of the arrangement of wall units. Strickland teaches joints plugged by inserting joint seals into the joints from an interior side of an arrangement of wall units, para. 4. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the joints to be plugged by inserting the plugs into the joints from an interior side of the arrangement of wall units to reduce cost and improve worker safety, para. 4.
7. Watanabe in view of Strickland teaches the method of claim 6, Watanabe further teaching the arrangement of wall units has an air seal gasket 1 line for creating an air seal, and the plugs maintain the air seal at the joints, col. 3, lines 30-46.
8. Watanabe in view of Strickland teaches the method of claim 7, Watanabe further teaching the plugs maintain the air seal while accommodating movement including movement caused by live load slab deflection, movement caused by thermal changes, and movement caused by seismic activity because the seal is flexible.
Claim 21 – is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe in view of Shibata and in further view of Strickland.
21. Watanabe in view of Shibata teaches the method of claim 4, Watanabe further teaching each of the joints is a four-way junction formed where corners of four of the wall units meet, and each of the flexible plugs is inserted into a corresponding one of the four-way junctions. Watanabe does not teach inserting from an interior side of the arrangement of wall unit. Strickland teaches inserting a seal type plug from an interior side of an arrangement of wall units. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to insert the plug from an interior side of the wall unit arrangement to reduce cost and improve worker safety, para. 4.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 is allowed because the best reference of record, Watanabe, does not teach “a top of each wall unit forms a gutter that includes opposing sides and a concave- upward opening to receive a sill of an above-positioned wall unit in the arrangement of wall units, and after two horizontally adjacent wall units in a lower row are installed, the method includes installing a preformed, flexible gasket into the gutter of each of the pairs of horizontally-adjacent wall units to provide a waterproof seal across the gutters of the pair of horizontally-adjacent wall units, and pressing the preformed, flexible gasket within the gutter using a spring compression clip”.
Claims 20 and 23 are allowed because Watanabe, figs. 7, 10, 11, teaches a curtainwall system with the structure described above, including each wall unit in the arrangement of wall units has an air seal gasket (projection portion 7 of part 1 is an air seal gasket because it maintains air tightness, col. 3, line 39) configured for use in providing an air seal between wall units where the air seal separates an exterior side and an interior side of the arrangement of wall units, and the expanded plugs that fill the joints are also used to provide the air seal that separates the exterior side and the interior side of the arrangement of wall units, col. 3, lines 30-50, wherein each wall unit in the arrangement of wall units further has a water barrier gasket (1, but not projection 7 of 1) to put a water seal between wall units. However, the Watanabe water barrier gasket as defined does not put the water seal between wall units and a rain screen gasket, as Watanabe does not teach a rain screen gasket.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL J KENNY whose telephone number is (571)272-9951. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.
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, Brian Glessner can be reached at (571)272-6754. 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.
/DANIEL J KENNY/Examiner, Art Unit 3633
/BRIAN E GLESSNER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3633
Prosecution Insights