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 .
Notice to Applicant
Claim 1 has been examined in this application. This communication is a final rejection in response to the “Amendments to the claims” and “Remarks” filed 10/21/2025.
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 1 is rejected under 35 USC 103 as being obvious over US Patent Number 6,266,917 to Hight in view of US Patent Application Number 2020/0178514 by Schurman.
Regarding claim 1, Hight discloses a pest control apparatus for housing a pest station, the pest control apparatus comprising:
A first end wall and a second end wall, wherein the first end wall and second end wall extend an entire height of the pest control apparatus (left and right walls 14 in Figure 4);
A first side wall and a second side wall (front and rear walls 14 in Figure 4), wherein:
The first and second side walls interconnect the first and second end walls (see Figures 1 and 4),
The first and second end walls and the first and second side walls form an internal cavity (see Figures 2 and 4), and
At least one of the first and second side walls includes an opening (apertures 44 on rear wall 14 in Figure 4); and
An inner shelf positioned within the internal cavity (floor 12), wherein:
The inner shelf forms a first compartment (decorative unit 4) and a second compartment within the internal cavity (pedestal 6), with the first compartment being positioned above the second compartment (see Figure 2), and
The opening provides pests access into the second compartment (see Figures 2 and 4).
Hight does not disclose the first end wall and second end wall are continuous, wherein a trap within the second compartment may be accessed by lifting the apparatus off a surface. However, this limitation is taught by Schurman. Schurman discloses a housing 5 for a trap 1, Figure 3 shows the trap may be accessed by lifting the apparatus off a surface. Furthermore, housing 5 has continuous side walls, and the access at the bottom of housing 5 provides a teaching to make the side walls of Hight continuous since an alternate access point is provided for the trap. It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Hight using the teachings from Schurman as a substitution of known ways to provide access to a trap within a housing.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/21/2025 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of the current grounds of rejection.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL H WANG whose telephone number is (571)272-6554. The examiner can normally be reached 10-6:30.
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, Josh Michener can be reached at 571-272-1467. 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.
MICHAEL H. WANG
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3642
/MICHAEL H WANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642