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.
Claims 1, 5-8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 a1 as being anticipated by Saito ( US20210260614).
Saito teaches as in claim 1 a filter apparatus(10, Figure 2 and 3) comprising: a housing(12) configured to accommodate a filter element(52) and having an opening section(11w) for entry and exit of the filter element( 52) into and out of the housing(12) and a door(40,42) capable of closing the opening section(11w); a receiver plate(59) on which the filter element(52) is placeable; and a restriction member(46) disposed between the filter element(52) and the door(40) and configured to restrict movement of at least one of the filter element(52) and the receiver plate(59), in a state where the receiver plate(59) on which the filter element (52) is placed is accommodated in the housing(12).
Saito discloses as in claim 5 transport cart (82)configured to transport the filter element(52) to be used in the filter apparatus (10) a loading surface member (83) on which the filter element is loadable; and a carriage(81) capable of supporting the loading surface member and traveling. Saito discloses as in claim 6 the loading surface member (83) is slidable relative to the carriage (81) such being as in claim 7 9 par 0038) a rotation member ( rollers par 0039). Saito further discloses as in claim 8 The transport cart according to wherein the loading surface member and the receiver plate are engageable with each other.
Saito discloses as in claim 10 , a painting apparatus(figure 1) comprising: a painting booth(90) for a painting operation; and a filter apparatus ((10) configured to receive air from the painting booth, the filter apparatus includes a housing (12) having opening (11w) and door (42), a receiver plate(59) on which a filter element(50) is placed, a restriction member(46) disposed between the filter element(50) and the door(42) and configured to restrict movement of at least one of the filter element and the receiver plate, in a state where the receiver plate(59) on which the filter element is placed is accommodated in the housing(12).
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 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito in view of CN 214862051
Saito discloses the filter apparatus, supra, except for the restriction member is capable of coming into contact with the receiver plate accommodated in the housing and a contact member provided for the housing and a contact piece provided for the receiver plate as in Claims 2-3. However, CN214862051 discloses a restriction member (10) being adjoining contact pieces(10,11,12) coming into contact with a filter frame receiver(8). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the claimed invention to include a restriction member as in CN214862051 in in order to easily mount the filter frame in a manner to easily remove and replace as suggested by CN 214862051(par 0004, 0020).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito in view of Haynes ( US 20050023787) .
Saito discloses essentially the filter apparatus claimed supra except for the transportation cart having a travel restriction as in claim 9. It is notoriously well known in the art to have a travel restriction installed on a transport cart as shown by Hayes ( brake 26,26’) . It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to include a travel restriction as in Haye sin the transport cart of Saito in order to safely stop a transportation cart without usage of manual force as suggested by Haynes ( par 0004,0028)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is 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.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: None of the prior art of record teach nor disclose a stopper member as in claim 4 recited in combination with the claimed elements of independent claim 1.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Prior cited on PTO-892 is considered of interest disclosing similar filter systems for paint spray booths.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Duane Smith whose telephone number is (571)272-1166. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5 Monday-Friday.
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.
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.
DUANE SMITH
Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 1759
/DUANE SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1759