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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species I, drawn to Figs. 1-7B, covered by claims 1-20 in the reply filed on 07/13/2026 is acknowledged.
As a result of the Restriction/Election, the Applicant elected the apparatus of Species I, to which in light of MPEP 2106.I. which states according to 35 U.S.C. 101, that apparatuses and methods are of different classifications, and simply illustrating the steps of a method, does not reclassify an invention under 35 U.S.C. 101, therefore, claims 15-20 are removed from consideration as they pertain to a method, of which does not require the structure of the apparatus.
Information Disclosure Statement
According to MPEP 609, in nonprovisional applications, applicants and other individuals substantively involved with the preparation and/or prosecution of the application have a duty to submit to the Office information which is material to patentability as defined in 37 CFR 1.56. The provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98 provide a mechanism by which patent applicants may comply with the duty of disclosure provided in 37 CFR 1.56. Applicants and other individuals substantively involved with the preparation and/or prosecution of the patent application also may want the Office to consider information for a variety of other reasons; e.g., to make sure that the examiner has an opportunity to consider the same information that was considered by these individuals, or by another patent office in a counterpart or related patent application filed in another country.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the
A room of a building structure and a location that is adjacent to the room of a building structure (The Applicants own ¶0021 that a ceiling panel of a room is not shown, and with the ceiling not being shown, and no other structure being present, outside of the actual device and its internal components, to represent evidence of a building, much less a room therein, is not shown either)
must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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 Examiner respectfully points to the MPEP 608.01(i) and 37 C.F.R. 1.75 which states “The claim or claims must conform to the invention as set forth in the remainder of the specification and the terms and phrases used in the claims must find clear support or antecedent basis in the description so that the meaning of the terms in the claims may be ascertainable by reference to the description. (See 1.58(a)). Further, the MPEP 608.01(o) states “The meaning of every term used in any of the claims should be apparent from the descriptive portion of the specification with clear disclosure as to its import; and in mechanical cases, it should be identified in the descriptive portion of the specification by reference to the drawing, designating the part or parts therein to which the term applies. A term used in the claims may be given a special meaning in the description. See MPEP 2111.01 and 2173.05(a)”.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: On or about page 11 of the Specifications filed 02/23/2024, the paragraph numbering goes from ¶0038 to ¶0001, of which ¶0001 has already been established on page 2 of the same Specifications. The Applicant shall renumber ¶0001 on Page 11 to the next contiguous number from ¶0038, and so on for the rest of the paragraph numbers in the Specifications. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 recites the limitation of the housing in line 2, to then claim “the main housing” in line 8 of the same claim. Appropriate correction is required.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-6-are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mergener et al (US 2020/0263886), hereinafter referred to as Mergener.
Regarding claim 1, Mergener (US 2020/0263886) shows a ventilation system comprising:
a housing (14, Fig. 1b) defining an internal region (14b, Fig. 1B/3) and the housing configured to be positioned adjacent to a room of a building structure (¶0002, Lines 1-6 – as the Applicant has shown any room of a building structure or room of a building structure adjacent to another room of a building structure, as does Mergener shows with the housing being configured to be positioned adjacent to a room of a building structure, as the device can vent air from a place, through to another adjacent building structure),
a blower (15, Fig. 1B) in the internal region (Fig. 1B/3) and configured to draw air out of the room of the building structure (¶0013, Lines 1-10), and
a grille (see Annotated Figure 1) configured to at least partially block view of the housing and the blower (Fig. 1B – when fully connected, the grille is configured to at least partially block view of the housing and the blower),
the grille comprising:
a trim cover (see Annotated Figure 1) configured to connect to at least one of the main housing, the blower and the room (Fig. 1B),
the trim cover comprising:
at least one side element (see Annotated Figure 1) configured to define an aperture (see Annotated Figure 1),
a hanger (see Annotated Figure 1) connected to the at least one side element (see Annotated Figure 1), the hanger comprising a base (see Annotated Figure 1); and
a grille cover (see Annotated Figure 1) configured to engage the base (see Annotated Figure 1).
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Annotated Figure 1
Regarding claim 2, Mergener shows wherein the hanger further comprises a guide plate (see Annotated Figure 1).
Regarding claim 3, Mergener shows wherein the trim cover further comprises a second hanger (see Annotated Figure 1) connected to the at least one side element (see Annotated Figure 1).
Regarding claim 4, Mergener shows wherein the grille cover is configured to be biased by gravity to engage the base (see Annotated Figure 1 – as the Applicant states in their own ¶0005 of “The grille cover can be configured to be biased by gravity to engage the base. The grille cover can have a clip having an engagement face configured to engage the base.”, as does Mergener show the grille cover is configured to be biased by gravity to engage the base, by the clip 12).
Regarding claim 5, Mergener shows wherein the grille cover comprises a clip (see Annotated Figure 1 - the Merriam-Websters Dictionary defines Clip: “any various devices that grip, clasp, or hook”; the Examiner is using the broadest reasonable interpretation to understand that element 12 is a clip that hooks into the hole of the hanger) having an engagement face configured to engage the base (see Annotated Figure 1 – The Merriam-Websters Dictionary defines Face: “a front, upper, or outer surface”; as the Applicant has shown the clip 200 having an engagement face 204 configured to engage the base 118, as does Mergener show with the clip 12, of which comprises a face or an outer surface, is configured to engage the base of the hanger via the hole in the hanger).
Regarding claim 6, Mergener shows the grille cover further comprising an arm (see Annotated Figure 1) connecting the hanger to the at least one side element and extending the hanger into the aperture (see Annotated Figure 1).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mergener et al (US 2020/0263886), hereinafter referred to as Mergener, as evidenced by Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square).
Regarding claim 7, Mergener shows wherein the at least one side element comprises four straight side elements (see Annotated Figure 1 - as the Applicant discloses four straight side elements 106, as seen in their own Fig. 5a, by showing straight elements 106 with rounded corners, as does Mergener show with the at least one side element comprises of four straight side elements, which as evidenced by Wikipedia above, are connected to form a rectangle, as every square is a rectangle by definition) connected to form a rectangle (see Annotated Figure 1 – as stated in the Wikipedia link above “Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal sides.”).
Claims 8-13-are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mergener et al (US 2020/0263886), hereinafter referred to as Mergener.
Regarding claim 8, Mergener (US 2020/0263886) shows a grille for connection to a ventilation system, the grille comprising:
a trim cover (see Annotated Figure 1) comprising: at least one side element (see Annotated Figure 1) configured to define an aperture (Fig. 1b/, see Annotated Figure 1 – the aperture is comprised of an area in which multiple apertures exist to transfer air therethrough),
a hanger (see Annotated Figure 1) connected to the at least one side element (see Annotated Figure 1), the hanger comprising a base (see Annotated Figure 1); and
a grille cover (/see Annotated Figure 1) configured to engage the base (see Annotated Figure 1).
Regarding claim 9, Mergener shows wherein the hanger further comprises a guide plate (see Annotated Figure 1).
Regarding claim 10, Mergener shows wherein the trim cover further comprises a second hanger (see Annotated Figure 1) connected to the at least one side element (see Annotated Figure 1).
Regarding claim 11, Mergener shows wherein the grille cover is configured to be biased by gravity to engage the base (see Annotated Figure 1 – as the Applicant states in their own ¶0005 of “The grille cover can be configured to be biased by gravity to engage the base. The grille cover can have a clip having an engagement face configured to engage the base.”, as does Mergener show the grille cover is configured to be biased by gravity to engage the base, by the clip 12).
Regarding claim 12, Mergener shows wherein the grille cover comprises a clip (see Annotated Figure 1 - the Merriam-Websters Dictionary defines Clip: “any various devices that grip, clasp, or hook”; the Examiner is using the broadest reasonable interpretation to understand that element 12 is a clip that hooks into the hole of the hanger) having an engagement face () configured to engage the base (see Annotated Figure 1 – The Merriam-Websters Dictionary defines Face: “a front, upper, or outer surface”; as the Applicant has shown the clip 200 having an engagement face 204 configured to engage the base 118, as does Mergener show with the clip 12, of which comprises a face or an outer surface, is configured to engage the base of the hanger via the hole in the hanger).
Regarding claim 13, Mergener shows the grille cover further comprising an arm (see Annotated Figure 1) connecting the hanger to the at least one side element and extending the hanger into the aperture (see Annotated Figure 1).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mergener et al (US 2020/0263886), hereinafter referred to as Mergener, as evidenced by Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square).
Regarding claim 14, Mergener shows wherein the at least one side element comprises four straight side elements (see Annotated Figure 1 - as the Applicant discloses four straight side elements 106, as seen in their own Fig. 5a, by showing straight elements 106 with rounded corners, as does Mergener show with the at least one side element comprises of four straight side elements, which as evidenced by Wikipedia above, are connected to form a rectangle, as every square is a rectangle by definition) connected to form a rectangle (see Annotated Figure 1).
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure and is provided in the Notice of References Cited.
The following prior art teaches related ventilation units:
US 2019/0360649 - Puffer discloses a ceiling mounted ventilation unit comprising a face with an apertures for air to move, while also being mounted with clips
US 2007/0184776 – Caldwell discloses a ceiling mounted ventilation unit that has a descending face with apertures for air to flow therethrough, mounted to a housing with clips
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN L FAULKNER whose telephone number is (469)295-9209. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9-7, Every other F: Flex.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Hoang can be reached at 571-272-6460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RYAN L FAULKNER/Examiner, Art Unit 3762
/AVINASH A SAVANI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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