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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: reference character “42” in Figure 6 is mentioned nowhere in the Specifications. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “50” has been used to designate both electronic control unit and top panel of housing. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claim 8 is 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.
Regarding claim 8, the phrase “so that said are slidably engaged with the said track brackets” is indefinite because it appears a term is omitted after the phrase “so that said” and it is believed that the included term should be “slider brackets”.
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 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20090126241 A1 to Asofsky in view of US 6393207 B1 to Martin.
Regarding claim 1, Asofsky teaches an Electric Fireplace Insert and Methods of Use (an electric modular fireplace insert), comprising: a fireplace insert housing formed from separate housing components (fireplace housing 100, see Figure 1), said housing components including a bottom panel (bottom portion of fireplace insert, see Figure 2), a right side panel (right side interior façade 130b, see Figures 1 and 2), a left side panel (left side interior façade 130b, see Figures 1 and 2), a back panel (projection screen 550, see Figure 5) and a front glass panel, wherein said fireplace insert housing (fireplace housing 100, see Figure 1) may be assembled from and disassembled into said separate housing components; a heater unit (hot air generator 400, see Figure 5, Paragraph 0045) removably disposed within said fireplace insert housing (fireplace housing 100, see Figure 1), said heater unit (hot air generator 400, see Figure 5, Paragraph 0045) including a heating element (electric device or gas burning device that is included in hot air generator 400, see Paragraph 0045) and a fan (see Paragraph 0045); a fire simulator unit (LED flame light system 920, see Figure 2) removably disposed within said fireplace insert housing (fireplace housing 100, see Figure 1), said fire simulator unit (LED flame light system 920, see Figure 2) comprising a series of lights (LEDs 922 mounted within a group of conical reflectors 718a, 718b, and 718c; see Paragraph 0033 and Figure 2), said fire simulator unit (LED flame light system 920, see Figure 2) being electrically and operationally connected to said heater unit (hot air generator 400, see Figure 5, Paragraph 0045); an electronic controller (CPU 710, see Figure 5) operationally connected to said heater unit (hot air generator 400, see Paragraph 0045) and said fire simulator unit (LED flame light system 920, see Figure 2), said electronic controller (CPU 710, see Figure 5, Paragraph 0045) being programmed to control said heater unit (electric fireplace controller 700, see Figures 1 and 2, Paragraph 0045) and said fire simulator unit (LED flame light system 920, see Figure 2, Paragraph 0047); and wherein said electric modular fireplace insert (electric fireplace 10, see Figure 1) is adapted to be assembled and then installed into a desired location in a fully assembled state.
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Asofsky teaches a front panel (see Figures 1 and 7). Asofsky does not teach that the front panel is made of glass.
Martin teaches a front glass panel (viewing panel 34, which is to simulate an electric fireplace with glass doors, see paragraph 7 and Figure 1 below), wherein the fireplace insert housing may be assembled from and disassembled into the separate housing components.
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct an electric fireplace insert taught by Asofksy with a front panel made of glass as taught by Martin with a reasonable expectation of success to provide a means to reflect the light provided by the electric fireplace and protect the LED lights from any external exposure.
Regarding claim 2, Asofsky teaches the heater unit (electric fireplace controller 700, see Figures 1 and 2) and said fire simulator unit (LED flame light system 920, see Figure 2) are hardwired together, and are both disposed within a sub-housing that is removably installed into fireplace insert housing (fireplace housing 100, see Figure 1).
Regarding claim 3, Asofsky teaches the heater unit (hot air generator 400, see Figure 5, Paragraph 0045) is disposed within an upper portion of said fireplace insert housing (fireplace housing 100, see Figure 1), and said flame simulator unit (LED flame light system 920, see Figure 2) is disposed within a lower portion of said fireplace insert housing (fireplace housing 100, see Figure 1), and wherein said heater unit and said flame simulator unit (LED flame light system 920, see Figure 2) are connected together by a removable electrical cord (wires held together by input/output port 712 which are shown to be removable from the entire fireplace insert, see Figure 5).
Regarding claim 4, Asofsky teaches the heater unit (electric fireplace controller 700, see Figures 1 and 2) includes a control panel (CPU 710, see Figure 5) allowing a user to control temperature of said heating element (heated air generated by hot air generator 400, see paragraph 0045), and speed of said fan (hot air generator 400, see Figure 5).
Regarding claim 5, Asofsky teaches the control panel (CPU 710, see Figure 5) further allows a user to control said lights (LEDs 922 mounted within a group of conical reflectors 718a, 718b, and 718c; see Paragraph 0033 and Figure 2) within said flame simulator unit (LED flame light system 920, see Figure 2).
Regarding claim 6, Asofsky teaches the wireless receiver (electric fireplace controller 700 may include a radio frequency remote control unit, see Paragraph 0043) that is operatively connected to said electronic controller (CPU 710, see Figure 5).
Regarding claim 7, Asofsky teaches a remote control that is in wireless communication with said wireless receiver (see Paragraph 0043 regarding the radio frequency remote control unit), so that said remote control is adapted to operate said electronic controller (CPU 710, see Figure 5).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20090126241 A1 to Asofsky in view of US 6393207 B1 to Martin as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 20230204172 A1 to Walker.
Regarding claim 8, Asofsky does not teach a heater unit includes a pair of slider brackets disposed on either side of a top panel.
Walker teaches that a heater unit (heater assembly 250, see Figure 28) includes a pair of slider brackets (brackets 410, see Figure 28) disposed on either side thereof, and wherein said housing (housing 552, see Figure 28) further includes a top panel (not shown, see Figure 29A); said top panel (top of housing 252) having a pair of track brackets (grooves in the insert housing 212, see Figure 29A) affixed to an underside thereof, so that said are slidably engaged with said track brackets (grooves in the insert housing 212, see Figure 29A), thereby allowing said heater unit (heater assembly 250, see Figure 28) to be slidably insertable into said housing (housing 552, see Figure 28) after assembly of said electric modular fireplace insert (not shown, see Figure 30), and further allowing said heater unit (heater assembly 250, see Figure 28) to be slidably removable from said housing (housing 552, see Figure 28) (See Paragraph 0072 and Figures 28, 29A and 30).
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct a heater unit taught by Asofsky with slider brackets disposed on either side of a top panel of the fireplace housing as taught by Walker with a reasonable expectation of success to provide a pair of slider brackets that can slide the heater unit on and off from the top panel of the fireplace housing.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: US 20110286725 A1 and US 20210140643 A1 are cited to show electric fireplaces.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ISHFAR AHMED whose telephone number is (571)270-3775. The examiner can normally be reached 9 am to 5 pm.
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, Jonathan Liu can be reached at 5712728287. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ISHFAR AHMED/Examiner, Art Unit 3631
/CASSANDRA DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3631
