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 .
Status of Application
Claims 1-8 are pending and have been examined in this application. This communication is the first action on the merits. The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed on 11/28/2023 has been considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by FR3056455B1 to LeBorgne.
A) As per Claim 1, LeBorgne teaches an air deflector for a cabin air recirculation system (LeBorgne: Figure 1), the air deflector comprising:
a heater mounting portion (LeBorgne: Figure 4A with grooves best shown hold each Item 5 in Figure 2 but present in all embodiments) defining a heater mounting groove to guide and position a heater,
wherein the heater mounting portion includes a top wall (LeBorgne: Figure 4A, Item 35), two vertical side walls (LeBorgne: Figure 4A, Items 32) extending along a heater installation direction on both sides of the heater mounting portion, and two ribs (LeBorgne: Figure 4A, Items 7 are on both lateral sides adjacent to walls 32 and in addition in between) extending along the heater installation direction on both sides of the heater mounting portion,
wherein each rib includes a first end portion (LeBorgne: Figure 4A, portion of Item 7 abutting end wall 35) being distal relative to the heater installation direction and extending horizontally along the heater installation direction, and a second end portion (LeBorgne: Figure 4A, Item 79) being proximal relative to the heater installation direction and extending horizontally along the heater installation direction,
wherein a height of each rib increases along the heater installation direction between the first end portion and the second end portion, so that a distance of between the rib and the top wall at the first end portion is less than a distance between the rib and the top wall at the second end portion, to reduce a sliding friction of the heater during installation (LeBorgne: Figure 4A, Item 7 are sloped to allow ease of installation until last portion where it becomes a press fit as Item 7 extends).
B) As per Claim 2, LeBorgne teaches that the distance between the rib and the top wall at the first end portion is less than a height of the heater, to fit the heater tightly and to avoid shaking after the heater is installed (LeBorgne: Figure 4A, portion of Item 7 abutting end wall 35 deforms heater to hold in place), and
wherein the distance between the rib and the top wall at the second end portion is greater than the height of the heater, to reduce the sliding friction of the heater during installation (LeBorgne: Figure 4A, Item 79 does not yet compress heater).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-8 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
A) WO2020012086A1 to Pierron
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALLEN SCHULT whose telephone number is (571)272-8511. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM-5PM.
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, HELENA KOSANOVIC can be reached at 571-272-9059. 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.
/Allen R. B. Schult/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
Prosecution Insights