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
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.
Claim(s) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (CN 211045340 U) in view of Yang (US 20130106563 A1). Foreign reference and translation attached.
As to claim 1, Li discloses: A closed-type temperature control device (Fig. 1-2), comprising:
a
a base 11, wherein the base is a cavity structure provided with an opening, the base is fixedly connected to the
Li does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the box is a ceramic box.
However, Yang discloses:
providing a ceramic box/base 3, 31 (par. 0018);
in order to provide an insulating and high temperature resistant material (par. 0018).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Li as suggested by Yang, e.g., providing:
wherein the box is a ceramic box;
in order to provide an insulating and high temperature resistant material.
It has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Additionally, all claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined/modified the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination/modification would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S.___, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
As to claim 2, Li in view of Yang discloses: wherein the temperature sensing cover covers the opening of the base and seals (par. 24; Li) the opening of the base, and a protrusion 14 (Fig 1-2; Li) is formed on an inner side surface of the temperature sensing cover for interacting with both ends of the temperature sensing piece in a positioning manner (par. 25; Li).
As to claim 3, Li in view of Yang discloses:
wherein the temperature sensing piece further comprises:
a bimetallic sheet 22 (par. 21, 27; Li) and an energy storage steel sheet 23 (Li), wherein the shape and size of the bimetallic sheet and the energy storage steel sheet are the same, the bimetallic sheet is overlapped on the energy storage steel sheet, and the bimetallic sheet abuts against the temperature sensing cover, wherein two ends of the action rod respectively abut against the energy storage steel sheet of the temperature sensing piece and the action mechanism (see Fig 1-2; Li).
As to claim 4, Li in view of Yang discloses:
wherein the ceramic box is a cavity structure with an opening in a bottom surface (opening in 1 at 11, corresponding to a top surface in Fig 1-2; Li), and the action mechanism further comprises:
two power connection terminals 31 (Li), wherein two ends of the cavity of the ceramic box are provided with limiting columns 16 (Li), and the power connection terminals are provided with locking holes 32, wherein the two power connection terminals are led out from the two ends of the ceramic box, and the power connection terminals and the ceramic box are connected by means of the limiting columns and the locking holes in an interacting manner, wherein a connecting elastic piece (electrical sheet – must flex for cutoff/contact and to reverse/reset; par. 24-25; Li) is movably connected between the two power connection terminals, and an action point (recurved/u-shaped portion at 21 in Fig. 1; Li) for abutting against the action rod 21 is provided on the connecting elastic piece.
As to claim 5, Li in view of Yang discloses:
wherein two sides of the base are symmetrically provided with fixing plates (sides of cover 13 may be considered fixing plates which are fixed to base 11; Li).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (CN 211045340 U) in view of Yang (US 20130106563 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Mertler (US 5973586 A).
As to claim 6, Li in view of Yang does not disclose:
wherein the action rod is internally provided with a fine adjustment mechanism capable of finely adjusting the motion of the action rod.
However, Mertler discloses:
wherein the action rod 101 (Fig. 2) is internally provided with a fine adjustment mechanism 105, 107 (within 103) capable of finely adjusting the motion of the action rod (adjusts the length);
in order to provide an adjustable action rod/shaft assembly for providing both manual snap-action and temperature responsive interruption (col. 7, lines 6-25).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Li in view of Yang as suggested by Mertler, e.g., providing:
wherein the action rod is internally provided with a fine adjustment mechanism capable of finely adjusting the motion of the action rod;
in order to provide an adjustable action rod assembly for providing both manual snap-action and temperature responsive interruption.
Additionally, all claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined/modified the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination/modification would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S.___, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-13 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
As to claims 7-13, the allowability resides in the overall structure and functionality of the apparatus as recited in the dependent claims 7 and 9, including all of the limitations of their base claims and intervening claims, and at least in part, because they recite the following limitations:
7. The closed-type temperature control device of claim 6, wherein the fine adjustment mechanism further comprises: a contact rod, a support plate, a guide rod, a magnetic plate, a first electromagnet and a second electromagnet, wherein the support plate is fixed on an inner wall of the action rod, a lower end of the guide rod is fixed on the magnetic plate, and an upper end of the guide rod passes through the support plate and the second electromagnet and is fixed on an inner wall of the action rod, wherein the second electromagnet is arranged above the magnetic plate, and the first electromagnet is arranged below the magnetic plate, wherein a clamping mechanism is arranged between an outer wall of the contact rod and an inner wall of the action rod, and an upper end of the contact rod is capable of extending out from the action rod to abut against the action mechanism.
9. The closed-type temperature control device of claim 5, wherein a mounting mechanism is provided on an outer wall of the fixing plate, wherein the mounting mechanism further comprises: a mounting plate, a backing ring and a bolt, wherein the mounting plate is fixed on the fixing plate, and the mounting plate is provided with a waist hole, wherein a threaded rod of the bolt passes through the backing ring and the waist hole and then is fixed on a mounting member, wherein the mounting plate is provided with a first limiting mechanism for limiting the bolt, and a protective cover is arranged to cover the exterior of the cap of the bolt.
Place (US 4843364 A), Bayer (US 4825186 A), and Hickling (US 4495481 A) disclose conventional thermal switch devices.
None of the prior art, either alone or in combination, can be reasonably construed as adequately teaching the above claimed elements, in combination with the remaining claim limitations.
Further, Examiner has not identified any double patenting issues.
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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACOB R CRUM whose telephone number is (571)270-7665. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/JACOB R CRUM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835