DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-15 are pending in the present application.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 5, line 2, the term “aid” should read as “said”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Berkey et al. (US 2008/0314899 A1, hereinafter Berkey) in view of Thomas et al. (DE 102015220079 A1, hereinafter Thomas).
Regarding claim 1, Berkey teaches an airtight housing for use in different ambient pressure conditions (see Abstract, [0020], and Fig. 3A-C, sealed housing 302 includes pressure compensating device 310 to prevent air passing into or out of the housing 302), the housing comprising: housing walls consisting of a plastics material (see Fig. 3A-C and [0018], housing walls 302 may include plastic transparent bubble material); at least one of said housing walls being formed with a cutout and having a pressure compensating device configured to seal said cutout in said housing wall in an airtight manner (see Fig. 3A-C and [0024]-[0025], housing wall 302 has cutout and pressure compensating device 310 that seals said cutout in an airtight matter as shown and described), with said pressure compensating device having an elastic compensating element disposed to cover said cutout (see Fig. 3A-C, pressure compensating device 310 and elastic, flat (when installed), compensating element 314 disposed over the cutout as shown).
Berkey fails to teach that the pressure compensating device has a flat compensating element disposed to cover the cutout.
Thomas teaches a sealed housing (20) with a pressure compensating device including a flat compensating element covering a cutout of the housing (see Fig. 4A-B and translation page 6, para. 8 through page 7, para. 2, flat compensating element 16 covers cutout 3 and compensates pressure changes between the inside of the housing and the ambient air).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, to modify the device of Berkey with the flat compensating element configuration of Thomas. This allows for preventing pressure-induced failure of the housing as described by Thomas (see translation page 7, para. 1).
Regarding claims 2 and 3, Berkey as modified by Thomas above teaches all of the limitations of claim 1.
Berkey as modified by Thomas above fails to specifically teach that said compensating element consists of an elastomeric material; wherein said elastomeric material is a thermoplastic elastomer.
However, Thomas further teaches that that said compensating element consists of an elastomeric material; wherein said elastomeric material is a thermoplastic elastomer (see translation page 6, para. 8, compensating element 16 may be thermoplastic elastomer).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, to further modify the device of Berkey as modified by Thomas above with the compensating element materials as described by Thomas. This allows for preventing pressure-induced failure of the housing as described by Thomas (see translation page 7, para. 1).
Regarding claim 4, Berkey as modified by Thomas above teaches all of the limitations of claim 1.
Furthermore, Berkey teaches that said pressure compensating device has a connecting portion configured for mounting in said cutout and for sealing said pressure compensating device against said at least one wall (see Fig. 3A-C, pressure compensating device 314 mounted in said cutout via a connecting portion at the edge and seals the pressure compensating device 314 against the wall 302 as shown and described).
Regarding claims 5-7, Berkey as modified by Thomas above teaches all of the limitations of claim 1.
Berkey as modified by Thomas above fails to specifically teach that said pressure compensating device is a one-piece device, and said connecting portion of said one-piece pressure compensating device is held by a material connection on an edge of said cutout on a housing wall side thereof; wherein said connecting portion forms a positive connection in addition to the material connection; wherein said connecting portion embraces said housing wall on the edge of said cutout.
However, Thomas further teaches teach that said pressure compensating device is a one-piece device, and said connecting portion of said one-piece pressure compensating device is held by a material connection on an edge of said cutout on a housing wall side thereof; wherein said connecting portion forms a positive connection in addition to the material connection; wherein said connecting portion embraces said housing wall on the edge of said cutout (see Fig. 4A-B and translation page 7, para. 2, pressure compensating device 16 is held by a positive material connection to the wall 20 via a roughened surface on the housing wall 20 and/or by an undercut in the housing wall 20, thereby embracing the housing wall on the edge of the cutout as shown and described).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, to further modify the device of Berkey as modified by Thomas above with the pressure compensating configuration of Thomas. This allows for preventing pressure-induced failure of the housing as described by Thomas (see translation page 7, para. 1).
Regarding claim 8, Berkey as modified by Thomas above teaches all of the limitations of claim 1.
Berkey as modified by Thomas above fails to specifically teach that said at least one housing wall, which has said pressure compensating device, and said pressure compensating device are manufactured by two-component injection molding.
However, Thomas further teaches that said at least one housing wall, which has said pressure compensating device, and said pressure compensating device are manufactured by two-component injection molding (see translation page 7, para. 2).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, to further modify the device of Berkey as modified by Thomas above with the injection molded housing wall of Thomas. This configuration allows for preventing pressure-induced failure of the housing as described by Thomas (see translation page 7, para. 1).
Regarding claims 9 and 10, Berkey as modified by Thomas above teaches all of the limitations of claim 1.
Berkey as modified by Thomas above fails to specifically teach that said cutout is a round cutout; wherein said cutout is a circular cutout.
However, Berkey teaches that the pressure compensating device is designed to flex under pressure through the cutout (see Fig. 3A-C, pressure compensating device 314 flexes through the cutout as shown).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, to modify the device of Berkey as modified by Thomas above such that the cutout was a circular cutout. This would ensure that there was a uniform pressure applied to the edge of the pressure compensating device, thereby reducing failure points in the connection to the wall as is known in the art.
Regarding claim 11, Berkey as modified by Thomas above teaches all of the limitations of claim 1.
Berkey as modified by Thomas above fails to specifically teach a printed circuit board bearing at least one electronic component arranged in a housing void inside the housing.
However, Berkey does teach that the pressure compensating device is for protecting electronic components in an enclosure void, in particular for camera components within a housing void (see [0004]).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, to utilize the device of Berkey as modified by Thomas above so as to protect PCB’s including electronic components within a housing void in a similar manner as the device of Berkey. This is because it is well known in the art to utilize PCB’s for electronic components of a device, e.g. cameras, and thus would benefit from the protection provided by the device of Berkey as modified by Thomas.
Regarding claim 12, Berkey as modified by Thomas above teaches all of the limitations of claim 1.
Furthermore, Berkey teaches that the airtight housing according to claim 1 is configured as an electronics housing (see Abstract).
Regarding claim 13, Berkey as modified by Thomas above teaches all of the limitations of claim 1.
Berkey as modified by Thomas above fails to specifically teach a fluid metering device, comprising: a housing according to claim 1; a counter and a control device at least partially arranged in said housing.
However, Berkey does teach that the pressure compensating device is for protecting electronic components within a housing void (see [0004]).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, to utilize the device of Berkey as modified by Thomas above so as to protect electronic components for a camera or any sensor device including fluid meters with counters/control devices within the housing. This would allow for the enclosure to protect and prolong the life of the device electronics in a manner as described by Berkey for a camera (see [0004]).
Regarding claim 14, Berkey as modified by Thomas above teaches all of the limitations of claim 1.
Berkey as modified by Thomas above fails to specifically teach a method for producing a housing according to claim 1, the method which comprises forming at least the housing wall, which has the pressure compensating device, by a two-component injection molding process.
However, Thomas further teaches that said at least one housing wall, which has said pressure compensating device, and said pressure compensating device are manufactured/formed by two-component injection molding (see translation page 7, para. 2).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, to further modify the device of Berkey as modified by Thomas above with the injection molded housing wall of Thomas. This configuration allows for preventing pressure-induced failure of the housing as described by Thomas (see translation page 7, para. 1).
Regarding claim 15, Berkey as modified by Thomas above teaches all of the limitations of claim 1.
Berkey as modified by Thomas above fails to specifically teach using a thermoplastic material component to form the housing wall and using a thermoplastic elastomer component to form the pressure compensating device.
However, Thomas teaches using a thermoplastic material component to form the housing wall and using a thermoplastic elastomer component to form the pressure compensating device elastomer (see translation page 6, para. 8 through page 7, para. 3, housing 2 formed as thermoplastic material and compensating element 16 as a thermoplastic elastomer).
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, to further modify the device of Berkey as modified by Thomas above with the materials as described by Thomas. This configuration allows for preventing pressure-induced failure of the housing as described by Thomas (see translation page 7, para. 1).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHANIEL T WOODWARD whose telephone number is (571)270-0704. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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/NATHANIEL T WOODWARD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855