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 .
Acknowledgment is made of the amendment filed 3/4/26. Accordingly the application has been amended.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 4 and all claims depending therefrom are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4 recites “follows the shape” it is unclear what is encompassed by “follows”, causing confusion regarding the scope of the claimed invention.
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) 1-4,9,11,12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GB2514706 in view of Larson (4856248).
Claim 1. GB 2514706 discloses a building block for masoning made of a polymer-based material comprising a plurality of outer walls (as noted in the annotated figure below), a cavity (as noted in the annotated figure below) of the building block, at least one inner wall (as noted in the annotated figure below), and at least two connecting elements (as noted in the annotated figure below),
wherein the outer walls of the building block are arranged in a shape of an n-gon surrounding the cavity of the building block and the cavity of the building block is at least partially open on both a lower side and an upper side of the building block,
wherein the cavity is divided by the inner wall (as seen in the figures) into at least two parts (as noted in the annotated figure below) of the cavity of the building block, where at least one part of the cavity is adapted for the insertion of an insulating insert (as noted in the annotated figure below),
wherein each connecting element is adapted for the insertion into the cavity of another building block (as seen in figure 5), wherein at least one connecting element is intended for insertion into the cavity of a different one of two neighbouring building blocks of a different row of the building blocks than the other connecting element, wherein each connecting element is attached to one of the outer or inner walls of the building block (as seen in the figures) and offset from that wall in a direction towards the inside of the cavity (as seen in the figures) of the building block,
wherein each connecting element comprises a wall of the connecting element protruding from the respective wall of the building block, and wherein the wall of the connecting element comprises a free end (as seen in the annotated figures) and side edges, wherein the side edges approach each other from a place of attachment to the wall towards the free end (as seen in the figures, where they come to a point at the free end),
wherein the building block further comprises an insulating layer (as seen in the annotated figure below), wherein the insulating layer at least partially surrounds the part of the cavity adapted for the insertion of the insulating insert (as seen in the figures).
GB 2514706 does not disclose wherein the insulating layer is made of an elastic band with a waterproofing function.
Larson discloses a building block for masoning having an insulating layer made of an elastic band with a waterproofing function (col. 15, lines 10-12). Accordingly it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to pursue known design options and modify the building block of GB 2514706 to have an insulating layer made of an elastic band with a waterproofing function to achieve the predictable result of providing weather resistance to the block to protect the block and preserve longevity of use.
Claim 2. The building block of claim 1, wherein the at least two connecting elements are attached to at least one outer wall (as seen in the figures).
Claim 3. The building block of claim 2, further comprising at least two additional connecting elements attached to the inner wall (as seen in the annotated figure below where the inner wall can be any of the inner walls surrounding the cavity, the connecting elements extending from that at the bottom), wherein this inner wall is parallel to the outer wall (as seen in the figures) to which at least two connecting elements are attached.
Claim 4. The building block of claim 3, wherein the insulating insert is inserted into the part of the cavity between the outer wall to which the at least two connecting elements are attached, and the inner wall to which the at least two additional connecting elements are attached (as seen in figure 3), wherein the insulating insert comprises a projecting part (one of the sides that projects down from the top) overlapping the given outer wall and inner wall and the shape of this projecting part follows the shape of the walls of the connecting elements (as seen in at least figure 1).
Claim 9. GB2514706 discloses a set of modular building elements made of a polymer-based material and intended for the building of foundational and wall structures, wherein the set comprises foundation building blocks (any of the blocks as disclosed in GB2514706 placed on the first row) comprising a cavity enclosed by a solid bottom (where they are enclosed at the bottom by the surface on which they are placed such as the ground or foundation slab) and hollow building blocks, wherein the hollow building blocks are building blocks claim 1 (any of the blocks in the rows above the first row; as noted in the claims above).
Claim 11. The set of modular building elements of claim 9, further comprising partition blocks, wherein at least one partition block (as noted in the annotated figure) is attachable to an anchoring element of the building block (where it is attachable to an anchoring element such as the (as noted in the annotated figure below).
Claim 12. The building block of claim 1, wherein the side edges of each connecting element are formed at least in part by opposing ramped surfaces each having a first portion originating from a respective one of the side walls of the building block, the ramped surfaces extending downwardly and inwardly from the respective side walls toward one another (where they extend downwardly and inwardly toward each other to form a point at the free end), the ramped surfaces terminating in spaced relation to one another at a second portion opposite the first portion, the wall of the connecting element positioned between the ramped surfaces (as seen in the figures).
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) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GB2514706 in view of Larson (4856248) and further in view of Judd (6722094).
Claim 5. GB2514706 discloses the building block of claim 4, but does not expressly disclose wherein the insulating insert comprises a recess on the opposite side of the insulating insert from the projecting part, wherein the shape of the recess of the insulating insert is complementary to the shape of the connecting elements and the projecting part.
It is known in the art to have insulating inserts with projecting parts and a recess on the opposite side of the insulating insert from the projecting part, where the shape of the recess is complementary to the shape of the connecting elements and the projecting part. For example Judd discloses an insulating insert with projecting parts (10a,b and/or 41,42,38) and recess (14a,b and/or 18a,b,c) on the opposite side of the insulting insert.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to pursue known design options and modify the insert of GB2514706 to have a projecting part and recess on the opposite side where the shape of the recess is complementary to the connecting element and projecting part to achieve the predictable result of improving the insulating capabilities as well is providing improved self alignment where the cores inter-align and reduce gaps.
Claim(s) 6-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GB2514706 in view of Larson (4856248) and further in view of Thomas (8671640).
Claims 6-8. GB2514706 discloses the building block of claim 1, but does not disclose further comprising an anchoring element rigidly or removably fastened to the outer wall or further comprising at least one groove for a removable fastening of the anchoring element, where a total of at least two grooves including the at least one groove regularly arranged along the length or width of the outer wall.
Thomas discloses an anchoring element (10) rigidly or removably fastened to an outer wall of a building block and at least one groove (7) which includes a total of at least two grooves regularly arranged along the length or width of the outer wall (see Figure 4A where the assembled block has at least 2 grooves).
Accordingly at the time the invention was filed it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to pursue known design options and modify the building block of claim 1 to have an anchoring element rigidly or removable fastened to the outer wall and at least one or a total of at least two grooves arranged along the length or width to achieve the predictable result of blocks that can be easily and securely attached together to form a desired design for a completed structure.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GB2514706 in view of Larson (4856248) and further in view of Hapel 4262463.
Claim 10. GB2514706 discloses the set of modular building elements of claim 9 further comprising a supplementary building block (any of the additional blocks in additional rows), but does not expressly disclose wherein the length of the supplementary building block is n times smaller than the length of the hollow building block in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the masonry, where n is a natural number greater than 1, wherein the supplementary building block comprises at least two connecting elements. However GB2514706 does disclose that the blocks can be made to any size (claim 5). Further it is known in the art to have building blocks of larger and smaller sizes. For example Hapel discloses a set of modular building element having building blocks and supplementary building blocks that are n times smaller than the building block where N is a natural number greater than 1 (see figures and disclosure). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to pursue known design options and modify the set of building elements of GB2514706 to have supplementary building blocks that are smaller than the building block as claimed to achieve the predictable result of allowing lateral off setting of successive layers while ensuring uniform spacing and aligned stacking (as taught by Hapel).
Response to Arguments
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Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/4/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicants argument that GB2514706 does not disclose a connecting element wall that is offset from the wall of the building block in a direction toward the interior cavity is not persuasive. The drawings clearly show the connecting elements offset inwardly from the building block wall toward the cavity, where it is seen that they are not a direct extension of the wall but clearly offset inwardly.
Applicant’s arguments that GB2514706 does not disclose a separate insulating layer formed as an elastic band providing a waterproofing function surrounding the cavity region is a newly added claim limitation not previously considered. As noted in the rejection above, GB2514706 is not relied upon for teaching for this added claim limitation.
Applicant’s arguments regarding claims 5-8, 10 are not persuasive as the office does not rely on the noted prior art references for teaching the features of amended claim 1.
Applicants arguments regarding claim 12 are not persuasive, claim 12 is a newly added claim with limitations not previously considered or rejected. The prior art as noted above clearly teaches the limitations of claim 12.
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.
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JESSICA L. LAUX
Examiner
Art Unit 3635
/JESSICA L LAUX/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3635
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