DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-12 have been considered for patentability.
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 4 and 5 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. Specifically, Claim 4 recites “center points of odd-numbered columns of the holes” and “center points of even-numbered columns of the holes” but the claim does not specify how the columns are numbered, from what reference point the numbering originates, or how odd-numbered and even-numbered columns are determined. Therefore, it is unclear which columns are considered odd and even rendering the scope of the claim indefinite. Additionally, it is unclear whether the claimed “separation” between center points is required between adjacent columns or between any odd-numbered and even-numbered columns. Claim 4 will be examined as best understood. Appropriate correction is required. Claim 5 is rejected on similar grounds and will also be examined as best understood.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-10 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Kim et al. (US Publication 2023/0199985).
In re Claim 1, Kim discloses a housing 110, comprising: a side wall 111 (Figure 1) having a plurality of holes 112 (Figure 2); and at least one reinforcing rib 113 (Figures 2, 3 and 4) disposed on a surface of the side wall, wherein the holes are disposed on a side surface of the side wall (front surface), the at least one reinforcing rib extends along edges of the holes (See Figure 2 and 3), and the at least one reinforcing rib 113 has a plurality of extending directions parallel to the surface (the ribs extend in directions that correspond to the shape of the holes), and the extending directions are different from each other (See Figure 2, the ribs extend in different directions as required to mimic the shapes of the different-shaped holes), wherein the side wall and the at least one reinforcing rib are an integral structure (See Figure 2), and the at least one reinforcing rib 113 does not cover the holes (Figure 2).
In re Claim 2, Kim discloses a main plane, wherein the main plane is connected to the side wall, and the at least one reinforcing rib 113 is connected to the main plane (arbitrarily a plane can be drawn perpendicular to the sidewall that corresponds to the rib 113 location).
In re Claim 3, Kim discloses wherein the at least one reinforcing rib 113 has a shape corresponding to the holes (Figure 2).
In re Claim 4, as best understood, Kim discloses wherein the holes 112 are disposed in columns in a first direction (Figure 2, first direction may be into the page or depth direction), a center point of a first column of a hole (for example the upper left corner column/hole as shown in Figure 2) is separated from another center point of another column of another hole (for example the column/hole below or to the right of the upper left column/hole as shown in Figure 2) in a second direction (i.e. a direction running parallel to the outer surface of the side wall 111), and the first direction is different from the second direction.
In re Claim 5, Kim discloses wherein the housing 110 has a first direction (for example a direction perpendicular to the outer surface of the side wall 111 running into the page or in the depth direction as shown in Figure 2) and a second direction parallel to the surface of the side wall (Figure 2), the holes 112 are disposed in rows in the second direction (Figure 2), a center point of a hole (for example the hole in the upper left corner of the sidewall 111 as shown in Figure 2) is separated from another center point of another hole 112, and the first direction is different from the second direction.
In re Claim 6, Kim discloses wherein a number of the at least one reinforcing rib 113 is plural, and the reinforcing ribs have different extending lengths (See Figure 2 for example, the ribs 113 have different lengths as they follow the shape and varying lengths of the different shaped holes 112).
In re Claim 7, Kim discloses wherein the holes 112 have shapes of a circle, an ellipse, a rectangle or other geometric figures (See Figure 2 for example).
In re Claim 8, Kim discloses wherein the shapes of the holes 112 are the same (See for example the holes 112 at the top portion and/or the bottom portion of the sidewall 111 in Figure 2).
In re Claim 9, Kim discloses wherein the shapes of the holes 112 are different from each other (See Figure 2 showing various different shaped holes).
In re Claim 10, Kim discloses a main plane, wherein the main plane is connected to the side wall 111, and the at least one reinforcing rib 113 is connected to a root of the main plane (the main plane is arbitrary and can be drawn to be perpendicular through the sidewall to intersect the reinforcing rib such that the reinforcing rib is connected to a root of the main plane).
In re Claim 12, Kim discloses wherein a number of the at least one reinforcing rib 113 is plural (See Figure 2), and adjacent ones of the reinforcing ribs 113 are separated from each other (See Figures 2 and 3).
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) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US Publication 2023/0199985) in view of Kurihara (US Patent 5,623,133).
In re Claim 11, Kim discloses wherein a number of the at least one reinforcing rib 113 is plural (See Figure 2) but does not explicitly disclose wherein adjacent ones of the reinforcing ribs are connected to each other. However, providing such was not new in the art of electrical device housings. For example, Kurihara discloses a sidewall 1 comprising a plurality of holes 2, wherein the holes are surrounded by a reinforcing rib 4 that is connected to adjacent ribs (See Figures 2A, 2B). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art of electrical device housings at a time before applicant’s effective filing date to have provided connected reinforced ribs, as disclosed in Kurihara, in place of the solitary reinforced ribs as otherwise disclosed in Kim to provide adequate structural support for a sidewall that has a plurality of holes.
Conclusion
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/ADRIAN S WILSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841