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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s communication filed on 21 November 2023. In virtue of this communication, claims 1-20 are currently presented in the instant application. Pin light of a preliminary amendment, claims 1-20 have been amended.
Information Disclosure Statement(s)
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 6/25/2025 and 12/01/2025 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claim 20 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 20, line 1: “comprsing” should be --comprising--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Howells et al. (Publication No.: US 2023/0109770 A1, herein known as D1).
With respect to claim 1, D1 discloses an enclosure for a refrigerant gas leak sensor for a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (title, abstract, Fig. 1), the enclosure comprising
a bottom part for mounting the enclosure on a mounting surface and a top part being attached to the bottom part (Fig. 3, bottom part base of bottom housing 314 and top cover 302; [0031]),
the bottom part and the top part enclosing a chamber for receiving a printed circuit board having a sensing element of the refrigerant gas leak sensor (PCB 304; Fig. 3 and [0031]; with sensor on the PCB as described in [0025] and [0033] as part of bench assembly 306 also seen in Fig. 3),
the bottom part having a channel for connecting to the sensing element and being in fluid communication with ambient air (unreferenced bottom holes seen in Figs. 9C and 9D, which have sampling tubes 104 and exhaust tube 106 passing through them as seen in Fig. 1 and described in [0028]),
D1 does not disclose an enclosure wherein the enclosure has an exterior sidewall extending in a circular manner around the chamber and the channel and extending between the bottom part and the top part (while the bottom housing 314 has side walls on all four sides, these side walls are considered part of the bottom housing 314 and seem to be integral with the housing as a hole, and have a rectangular configuration rather than a circular).
However, it has been held that making integral and separable, and changes in shape and size, are both obvious variants over the prior art of record. In this case, forming the sidewalls as a circular unit separate from the top and bottom sections of the housings would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as a design choice that would allow for different sizes and shapes for the overall housing, increasing or decreasing the size of the overall enclosure, and changing the aesthetics between rounded and square.
It is noted that Sahibzada, cited below, and the MPS refrigerant gas sensor, supplied with the IDS on 6/25/2025, both show circular gas sensor housings being known in the art.
With respect to claim 2, D1 further discloses an enclosure wherein the exterior sidewall has a first section being attached to the bottom part and a second section being attached to the top part (in the combination this would inherently be the case).
With respect to claim 3, D1 further discloses an enclosure wherein a connection between the exterior sidewall and the top part is rounded (hinge connection as seen in Figs. 4A and 4B).
With respect to claim 6, D1 does not disclose an enclosure wherein the channel is arranged in the center of the bottom part (two holes are symmetrical around the center instead).
As above, it has been held that a rearrangement of parts is an obvious variant over the prior art of record. In this case, placing the sampling tube in a more central location would be an obvious variant over the prior art as the specific location of the tube does not change the overall function of the device and would require no undue experimentation.
Klein et al. (cited in full below), for instance, shows an example of a gas sensor with two tubes for an inlet and outlet has one centrally located in the overall housing.
With respect to claim 10, D1 further discloses an enclosure wherein the bottom part comprises at least one mounting leg having an elongated mounting hole (unreferenced, four mounting legs with holes are seen best in Figs. 9A-9D and shown mounted in Fig. 1).
With respect to claim 16, D1 further discloses an enclosure wherein the enclosure comprises a printed circuit board assembly with a sensing element of a refrigerant gas leak sensor, the printed circuit board assembly being mounted in the chamber and the sensing element of the refrigerant gas leak sensor being arranged on the channel and closing the channel ([0034], the PCB can form the top wall of the detection chamber; Fig. 3).
With respect to claim 17, D1 does not explicitly disclose an enclosure wherein the enclosure comprises an Ingress Protection level of at least IP 54 according to IEC 60529 (multiple seals such as seals 316 are utilized).
However, this is a known standard that one of ordinary skill in the art in the art would be able to meet using known materials and the overall design of D1.
With respect to claim 18, D1 discloses an enclosure wherein the enclosure is mountable to a flat surface in any vertical, horizontal or inclined orientation (see for example Fig. 1).
With respect to claim 19, D1 discloses a refrigerant gas leak sensor having a printed circuit board assembly, a sensing element, and the enclosure as claimed in claim 1 (see above), wherein the printed circuit board assembly is arranged in the chamber and wherein the sensing element is attached to the printed circuit board assembly and the sensing element is arranged on an entrance of the channel ([0034], the PCB can form the top wall of the detection chamber; Fig. 3).
With respect to claim 20, D1 discloses a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system comprising at least one mounting surface and at least one enclosure as claimed in claim 1 having a printed circuit board assembly with a refrigerant gas leak sensor, wherein the enclosure is mounted on the mounting surface (see rejection of claim 1 above, which is utilized in a HVAC system and shown mounted in Fig. 1; [0001]).
Claim(s) 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 as applied to claim 1 or 2 above, and further in view of Sahibzada (Publication No.: US 2011/0081852 A1, herein known as D2).
With respect to claim 7, D1 does not disclose an enclosure wherein the enclosure comprises a snap-fit assembly attaching the bottom part and the top part (uses a hinge instead as described above).
D2 teaches an enclosure for a gas sensor that has a connection for the two housing portions using screws, threads, clips, snap fits, or other suitable fastening means ([0010]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to further modify the enclosure of D1 by utilizing a snap fit connection as taught by D2 instead of the hinge connection of D1 as a known alternative means of connecting on housing to the next. The snap fit would allow for full removal of the top portion of the enclosure for replacement or repairs.
With respect to claim 8, the combination of D1 and D2 further discloses an enclosure wherein the snap-fit assembly comprises at least one snap-fit attached to the bottom part (combination as above).
With respect to claim 9, D1 does not disclose an enclosure wherein the enclosure comprises a snap-fit assembly attaching the bottom part and the top part, wherein the snap-fit assembly comprises at least one snap-fit attached to the bottom part, and wherein the at least one snap-fit projects from the sidewall towards the top part (uses a hinge instead as described above).
D2 teaches an enclosure for a gas sensor that has a connection for the two housing portions using screws, threads, clips, snap fits, or other suitable fastening means ([0010]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to further modify the enclosure of D1 by utilizing a snap fit connection as taught by D2 instead of the hinge connection of D1 as a known alternative means of connecting on housing to the next. The snap fit would allow for full removal of the top portion of the enclosure for replacement or repairs. Due to the arrangement of the enclosure of D1, the snap-fit of the top cover over the bottom enclosure would be obvious to project from the sidewalls towards the top part.
Claim(s) 11-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Petele et al. (Publication No.: EP 3901530 B1, supplied and cited in the IDS submitted on 6/25/2025, herein known as D3).
With respect to claim 11, D1 does not disclose an enclosure wherein the enclosure comprises a connector opening for leading through an electrical connector being attachable to a printed circuit board arranged in the chamber (there is an opening in the side as seen in Figs. 3 but there does not seem to be an explicit description of its use).
D1 further teaches using communication between different gas sensors ([0006], [0027]), and the communication can be performed through any kind of wired or wireless technology ([0048]).
D3 teaches having an opening through the side of the enclosure for an isolated electrical cable 13 to be inserted and connected to the circuit board 3 ([0046], Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to further modify the enclosure of D1 by utilizing the side opening of the enclosure (or adding an additional side opening) to arrange a wiring system of an electrical connector to the circuit board as taught by D3, in order to provide things such as power and wiring needed to perform the communications between the different gas sensors.
With respect to claim 12, the combination of D1 and D3 further discloses an enclosure wherein an electrical connector is arranged in the connector opening (see combination above).
With respect to claim 13, while the combination of D1 and D3 does not explicitly disclose an enclosure wherein the electrical connector comprises 1 to 10 pins, preferably 2 to 8 pins, further preferably 3 to 7 pins, most preferred 4 to 6 pins (the specific wiring is not described).
However, these arrangements would be obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to select based on the needed requirements of the system (such as for power, communications, data transfer, alarms, control, etc.).
With respect to claim 14, the combination of D1 and D3 further discloses wherein the exterior sidewall comprises the connector opening (Fig. 3 and the combination above).
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lys et al. (Publication No.: US 2020/0163183 A1, herein known as D4).
With respect to claim 15, D1 does not disclose an enclosure wherein at least the top part and/or bottom part comprises a UV-resistant material, preferably a UV resistant polymer, a metal-coated polymer, a metal or a ceramic material (the top and bottom can be made of a Polycarbonate/Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene blend, [0033], the top can also be any other plastic material, [0034]).
D4 teaches forming an enclosure for a gas sensor ([0148]-[0150] and Fig. 16A), and that the enclosure 3180 can be formed from metals, polymers, metal alloys, ceramics, and/or other materials ([0150]). D4 further teaches that the materials used can change the methods used in making the enclosure.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to further modify the enclosure of D1 by forming the enclosure out of other known materials such as metals, polymers, metal alloys, ceramics, etc. as taught by D4 based on the capabilities of the manufacturing and desired traits of the enclosure, such as durability, strength, heat resistance, etc..
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-5 are 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.
While slits in the sidewalls are known in the art to cause diffusion of the airflow, see for example, Fig. 34 with slits 306 of Moredock et al., cited in full below, these are now formed in/along a skirt created around the exterior sidewall to direct the airflow downward towards the channel.
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
West (Publication No.: US 2022/0341612 A1)
Moredock et al. (Publication No.: US 2019/0001250 A1)
Baxendell et al. (Patent No.: US 9,792,793 B2)
Williamson (Patent No.: US 9,257,027 B2)
Klein et al. (Patent No.: US 5,844,148 A)
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIANA HANCOCK whose telephone number is (571)270-7547. The examiner can normally be reached on 10AM-6PM EST M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Stephanie Bloss can be reached on (571) 272-3555. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/D.H/Examiner, Art Unit 2852
3/7/2026
/STEPHANIE E BLOSS/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852