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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the openings and circuit breaker wheels (claims 2 and 12) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: 302(1-2); par. 0041.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: par. 0040-0041 recite “circuit breaker wheels”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2-4 and 12-14 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.
Claims 2 and 12 recite “wherein the door latching and sealing system seals openings for circuit breaker wheels”, in which it is unclear what is meant by “circuit breaker wheels” and what is required by the claim.
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, 7-11, and 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bonfanti (US 20170040778 A1) in view of Kadziolka (US 20080092449 A1).
As to claim 1, Bonfanti discloses: An arc resistant switch gear (Fig. 3-5) comprising:
a switchgear enclosure 27 including a circuit breaker (par. 0015; not shown) ;
a
enclosure door latch and sealing mechanisms (latched by some means, sealed by 10; see par. 0016) configured to provide a combination of latching and sealing functionality to seal and latch the switchgear enclosure with the
wherein to remove the circuit breaker out of the switchgear enclosure a door sealing slider 16 which is in the switchgear enclosure must be removed (the door must be opened to access the circuit breaker inside; seal portion 16 slides with the door 12 and may be considered “removed” when the door is open and the seal portion 16 is removed from the flange 24; see par. 0016).
Bonfanti does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the door is a high voltage door.
However, Kadziolka discloses:
a high voltage door (par. 0002);
in order to prevent exposure of personnel to high voltages (par. 0002).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Bonfanti as suggested by Kadziolka, e.g., providing:
wherein the door is a high voltage door;
in order to prevent exposure of personnel to high voltages.
Additionally, all claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined/modified the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination/modification would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S.___, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
As to claim 7, Bonfanti in view of Kadziolka does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the door latching and sealing system comprises:
a door sealing and latching ledge that is configured to move up and down when a handle on the high voltage door rotates.
However, Kadziolka discloses:
a door sealing and latching ledge 131 (Fig. 2A-6B; par. 0031-0032) that is configured to move up and down when a handle 142 on the high voltage door 144 rotates;
in order to pivot and rotate between an open and closed position, where the inner door 131 is blocked from outward movement (par. 0033).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Bonfanti as suggested by Kadziolka, e.g., providing:
wherein the door latching and sealing system comprises:
a door sealing and latching ledge that is configured to move up and down when a handle on the high voltage door rotates;
in order to pivot and rotate between an open and closed position, where the inner door is blocked from outward movement.
As to claim 8, Bonfanti in view of Kadziolka discloses:
wherein the door sealing and latching ledge 131 (Fig. 2A-6B; Kadziolka) is mounted between a door closing cover lower 150, 141 and a door support lower 144.
As to claim 9, Bonfanti in view of Kadziolka discloses: wherein when an arc pressure hits the high voltage door, the door sealing and latching ledge will get pressed to a door frame (see 18, par. 0016 in Bonfanti; see 116a, par. 0021, 0031 in Kadziolka).
As to claim 10, Bonfanti in view of Kadziolka discloses: wherein the door sealing and latching ledge is configured to seal the high voltage door (sealed, see Fig. 5, par. 0016 in Bonfanti) and latch the high voltage door to keep the arc pressure in the arc resistant switch gear (as in par. 0021, 0031 in Kadziolka).
As to claim 11, the product of claim 1 inherently necessitates the method of claim 11.
As to claim 17, the product of claim 7 inherently necessitates the method of claim 17.
As to claim 18, the product of claim 8 inherently necessitates the method of claim 18.
As to claim 19, the product of claim 9 inherently necessitates the method of claim 19.
As to claim 20, the product of claim 10 inherently necessitates the method of claim 20.
Examiner’s Note: regarding claims 11 and 17-20, since there are no specific method steps being claimed, just a general process of assembling of the device (i.e., providing each element, connecting, etc.), the fact that the structure of the device of the present invention is obvious over Bonfanti in view of Kadziolka means that the general method for providing such a structure is also inherently obvious over the same references. The method steps recited in the claims are inherently necessitated by the structure of Bonfanti in view of Kadziolka.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 and 12-14 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 5-6 and 15-16 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
As to claims 2-6 and 12-16, the allowability resides in the overall structure and functionality of the apparatus/entirety of the method as recited in the dependent claims 2, 5, 12, and 15, including all of the limitations of their base claims and intervening claims, and at least in part, because they recite the following limitations:
2. The arc resistant switch gear of claim 1, wherein the door latching and sealing system seals openings for circuit breaker wheels, and wherein the door sealing slider is mounted between two plates that are mounted on the high voltage door and there are two slots in the door sealing slider for moving up and down.
5. The arc resistant switch gear of claim 1, further comprising: a handle on the high voltage door that is configured to be rotated and the door sealing slider moves downwards, wherein a 45 deg slot on a door closing ledge lower will change a direction of movement.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the door latching and sealing system seals openings for circuit breaker wheels, and wherein the door sealing slider is mounted between two plates that are mounted on the high voltage door and there are two slots in the door sealing slider for moving up and down.
15. The method of claim 11, further comprising: providing a handle on the high voltage door that is configured to be rotated and the door sealing slider moves downwards, wherein a 45 deg slot on a door closing ledge lower will change a direction of movement.
Leccia (US 20030151337 A1), Gingrich (US 20140097734 A1), Schmidt (US 20130320831 A1), and Mathieu (US 20080148642 A1) disclose conventional switchgear cabinets and door latching/sealing systems.
None of the prior art, either alone or in combination, can be reasonably construed as adequately teaching the above claimed elements, in combination with the remaining claim limitations.
Further, Examiner has not identified any double patenting issues.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACOB R CRUM whose telephone number is (571)270-7665. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/JACOB R CRUM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835