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 § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7-11, 13-15, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhou (US 2020/0363066 A1).
With respect to claim 1 Zhou discloses a fireplace system, comprising: a burner [reference character 1] comprising an upper portion shape [see annotated Fig. below] and a front sloping surface sloping downwardly [see annotated Fig. below]; and a log [reference character 2] comprising a recess [see annotated Fig. below] disposed into a bottom surface of the log, wherein the recess comprises a recess shape complementary to at least a portion of the upper portion shape of the burner [see Fig. 6], wherein the log is disposed over the burner such that at least a portion of the burner is disposed within the recess [see Fig. 6], wherein the burner is disposed in the recess of the log such that the log hides the burner from view from a position [see annotated Fig. below] in front of the fireplace system [see Figs 5 and Fig. 11].
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With respect to claim 2 Zhou discloses that the front sloping surface is an upper front sloping 2. surface sloping downwardly in an aft-to-forward direction [see annotated Fig. above].
With respect to claim 3 Zhou discloses that the front sloping surface is a lower front sloping surface sloping downwardly in a forward-to-aft direction, wherein at least a portion of the lower front sloping surface is outside the recess [see annotated Fig. above].
With respect to claim 4 Zhou discloses that a second position in front of the fireplace system, a first axis spanning toward the fireplace system at least 45 degrees from a second axis spanning along the bottom surface of the log does not intersect with the burner1, such that the log hides the burner from view from the second position in front of the fireplace system, wherein a first angle formed between the first axis and the second axis comprises a first vertex at a front lower point of the log [see annotated Fig. below].
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With respect to claim 5 Zhou discloses that the log comprises a front lower point [see annotated Fig. below], wherein the front sloping surface of the burner spans away from the front lower point of the log in a downward direction [see annotated Fig. above associated with claim 1].
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With respect to claim 7 Zhou discloses that the burner comprises a plurality of ports [see annotated Fig. below] disposed on a burner front portion of the burner.
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With respect to claim 8 Zhou discloses that at least one of the plurality of ports is disposed on the 8. front sloping surface of the burner [see annotated Fig. above].
With respect to claim 9 Zhou discloses that at least one of the plurality of ports is disposed at least partially on an upper front sloping surface of the burner [see annotated Fig. above], wherein the upper front sloping surface couples to the lower front sloping surface of the burner.
With respect to claim 10 Zhou discloses that the at least one of the plurality of ports is disposed on a burner surface intersection at which the upper front sloping surface couples to the lower front sloping surface of the burner [see annotated Fig. above].
With respect to claim 11 Zhou discloses that the recess further comprises a front declining surface [see annotated Fig. below], and wherein the log is disposed on the burner such that a log front surface [see annotated Fig. below] of the log at least partially overlaps at least one of the plurality of ports along a first axis.
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With respect to claim 13 Zhou discloses that the recess further comprises a front declining surface, forming a log front flange between the front declining surface of the recess and a log front surface of the log, wherein the thickness of the log front flange decreases from a top of the front declining surface to a bottom of the front declining surface.
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With respect to claim 14 Zhou discloses that there is at least a partial seal between the log and the burner within the recess in the log. Note that secondary air flow through 12 and out through 21, in order to support combustion of the fuel, this means that there must be at least a partial seal between the side of the log and the surfaces above 11 in order to prevent the escape of air between the log and that surface.
With respect to claim 15 Zhou discloses that there is a first space [see annotated Fig. below] between the log and the burner within the recess, wherein the space allows airflow [via ports 21] therethrough to contribute to combustion of a flame fuel exiting the burner.
With respect to claim 19 Zhou discloses that the burner comprises at least one of a square, triangular, or diamond cross-sectional shape [specifically a diamond cross sectional shape].
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.
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.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou (US 2020/0363066 A1) in view of Cakebread (US 6,390,808 B1).
With respect to claim 20 Zhou does not disclose that the burner comprises at least one of a metal, a metal alloy, a ceramic material, or a polymeric material, and wherein the log comprises at least one of a ceramic material, a ceramic fiber, concrete, a metal, a metal alloy, a polymeric material, or fiberglass.
Cakebread disclose an artificial log burner assembly that includes “[a] burner 22 comprising an elongated metal tube…” [column 2 lines 43-44] and an artificial log “…formed from a refractory material such as ceramic fibers…” [column 1 lines 14-15].
In the same field of artificial log fireplaces it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of the filing date of the invention to modify Zhou by forming the burner from meal and the log from ceramic as taught by Cakebread, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known component or material on the basis of suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious mechanical design expediency. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. Also see MPEP 2144.07. Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp. states "Reading a list and selecting a known compound to meet known requirements is no more ingenious than selecting the last piece to put in the last opening in a jig-saw puzzle." 325 U.S. at 335, 65 USPQ at 301.). Since the system only require the use of a refractory material, the designation of a specific refractory material does nothing to enhance the patentability of a design.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 12, and 16-18 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VIVEK K SHIRSAT whose telephone number is (571)272-3722. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00AM-5:20AM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven B McAllister can be reached at 571-272-6785. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/VIVEK K SHIRSAT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
1 Note that only the second axis is spatially defined with respect to the claimed structure, the first axis can be arbitrarily drawn as subtending 45 degrees with respect to the second axis.