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 .
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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, 2, 5, 6, 8-16 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0268148 to Kim et al. (Kim) in view of U.S. Patent 5,661,978 to Holmes et al. (Holmes).
In reference to claim 1, Kim teaches a medical cabinet (10, FIG. 1-72) for cooling vaccines comprising a cabinet (100, FIG. 1-72) having upstanding front wall (front of frame 110, FIG. 2) and upstanding rear wall (back surface of frame 110, opposite the front wall as described above, FIG. 2) flanked by upstanding side walls (side walls of frame 110, flanking the front and rear walls, as described above, FIG. 1) enclosed by a top wall and bottom wall (top and bottom wall of frame 110, as described above, FIG. 1) on their top edges and bottom edges, respectively, to define a cabinet volume (102, FIG. 2); at least one shelf (101, FIG. 22) dividing the cabinet volume into separate compartments; a first Peltier thermoelectric device (411, FIG. 11-13) providing a first semiconductor plate (inherent in the structure of a Peltier device 411, FIG. 1-13) across which a voltage is applied supported by at least one wall of the cabinet (100, FIG. 1-72); a heat sink (cooling block 421, FIG. 13) attached to at least one of the first and second Peltier thermoelectric devices (411, FIG. 13); and a fan (431, FIG. 13) attached to the heat sink and forcing air through the heat sink, but does not teach a second Peltier thermoelectric device providing a second semiconductor plate across which the voltage is applied supported by at least one wall of the cabinet. Holmes teaches a medical dispensing drawer and thermoelectric device for cooling the contents therein (FIG. 1-9) comprising a second Peltier thermoelectric device (two TE devices 116, FIG. 6; col 5, lines 24-26) providing a second semiconductor plate across which the voltage is applied supported by at least one wall (55, FIG. 3) of the cabinet (drawer 45, FIG. 1-9) in order to increase the cooling capacity of the system.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Kim, to add a second Peltier thermoelectric device providing a second semiconductor plate across which the voltage is applied supported by at least one wall of the cabinet, as taught by Holmes, in order to increase the cooling capacity of the system.
In reference to claim 2, Kim and Holmes teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Kim teaches wherein the upstanding front wall has at least one rectangular opening receiving at least one sliding drawer having a bottom wall surrounded by sidewalls terminating upwardly at a rectangular lip surrounding an upwardly exposed opening (par 0375 and FIG. 1-72).
In reference to claim 5, Kim and Holmes teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Kim teaches wherein the at least one shelf (101, FIG. 22) is vented permitting airflow through the at least one shelf (at 150, FIG. 22).
In reference to claim 6, Kim and Holmes teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Kim teaches wherein at least one of the upstanding front wall, rear wall, and upstanding side walls of the cabinet are covered with an insulation material (par 0283).
In reference to claim 8, Kim and Holmes teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Kim teaches wherein the heat sink and fan (unmarked, underneath space 170, FIG. 26) are positioned on an exterior of the cabinet (FIG. 26).
In reference to claim 9, Kim and Holmes teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Kim teaches wherein the heat sink has multiple fins (424, FIG. 13) adapted to exchange heat with ambient air (par 0225).
In reference to claim 10, Kim and Holmes teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Kim teaches electrical wiring communicating with at least one of the first and second Peltier thermoelectric devices and the fan (par 0053) and terminating at a standard automotive 12-volt connector (intended use recitation; the system in FIG. 1 is capable of performing said functional language).
In reference to claim 11, Kim and Holmes teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Kim teaches wherein an inner surface of at least one of the front wall, rear wall, and sidewalls is lined with a conductive material (metallic material, par 0136).
In reference to claim 12, Kim and Holmes teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Holmes teaches at least one temperature sensor communicating with a microcontroller controlling a temperature of the cabinet volume (thermistor, col 6, lines 40-51).
In reference to claim 13, Kim and Holmes teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Kim teaches wherein the cabinet volume is approximately 5 to 9 cubic feet or less (it appears that said volume in FIG. 1 is 5 to 9 cubic feet or less).
In reference to claims 14-16 and 18, they claim the method of providing and configuring the apparatus of claims 1, 2, 5, 6, 8-13, thus, they are rejected based on the rejection of apparatus as explained in the rejection of claims 1, 2, 5, 6, 8-13 above and the associated method steps, which follow directly from the use of the apparatus, are rejected accordingly.
Claim(s) 3-4 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and Holmes as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0137706 to Hussain et al. (Hussain).
In reference to claim 3, Kim and Holmes teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 2 above, but they do not teach sliding rails receiving the at least one drawer and permitting the at least one drawer to slide into and out of the at least one rectangular opening. Hussain teaches RFID enabled drawer refrigeration system (FIG. 1-32) comprising sliding rails (192, FIG. 17) receiving the at least one drawer (180, FIG. 16-17) and permitting the at least one drawer to slide into and out of the at least one rectangular opening (par 0095 and 0096) in order to provide easy access to the inside of the drawer (par 0096).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Kim and Holmes, to add sliding rails receiving the at least one drawer and permitting the at least one drawer to slide into and out of the at least one rectangular opening, as taught by Hussain, in order to provide easy access to the inside of the drawer.
In reference to claim 4, Kim, Holmes and Hussain teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 3 above, and Hussain teaches wherein the sliding rails (192, FIG. 17) are supported on an inner surface of at least one of the upstanding side walls (side walls of cabinet 40, FIG. 1-32).
In reference to claim 17, it claims the method of providing and configuring the apparatus of claims 13 and 4, thus, they are rejected based on the rejection of apparatus as explained in the rejection of claims 3 and 4 above and the associated method steps, which follow directly from the use of the apparatus, are rejected accordingly
Claim(s) 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and Holmes as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent 6,625,991 to Clark (Clark).
In reference to claim 7, Kim and Holmes teach the system as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above, and Holmes teaches first and second Peltier devices (two TE devices 116, FIG. 6; col 5, lines 24-26), but they do not teach explicitly wherein the first and second Peltier thermoelectric devices extend through an opening in the top wall of the cabinet. Clark teaches a space saving food chiller (FIG. 1-4) wherein the Peltier thermoelectric device (12, FIG. 4) extends through an opening in the top wall of the cabinet (opening in the top wall 13, FIG. 4) in order to allow for efficient exhaust of hot air off of the heat sink out to the ambient.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Kim and Holmes, to have the first and second Peltier thermoelectric devices extend through an opening in the top wall of the cabinet, as taught by Clark, in order to allow for efficient exhaust of hot air off of the heat sink out to the ambient.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
See attached PTO-892 for relevant prior art.
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/FILIP ZEC/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
12/3/2025