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 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Libreiro et al. (US2016/0298338) in view of Lynch et al. (US2006/0179744).
For claim 1, Libreiro et al. discloses a wall panel assembly (fig. 1) comprising a wall panel (108) with a bottom side portion and a frame (112) coupled to the bottom side portion of the wall panel.
Libreiro et al. does not disclose one or more apertures extending through a bottom side portion of the wall panel and the frame having one or more apertures in fluid communication with the one or more apertures and an inner side of the wall panel.
Lynch et al. discloses a wall panel assembly (fig. 2) and the obviousness of adding one or more drainage apertures to a bottom side portion of a panel (14) of the assembly, and adding one or more apertures (fig. 1, 16) to the frame (10) of the assembly, the one or more apertures of the frame in fluid communication with the apertures of the panel to facilitate drainage/ventilation [0030].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to modify the wall panel assembly of Libreiro et al. and add apertures extending through a bottom side portion of the wall panel and the frame having one or more apertures in fluid communication with the one or more apertures and an inner side of the wall panel as made obvious by Lynch et al. to provide drainage within the wall panel assembly and increase the durability and ventilation of the wall panel assembly.
Claim(s) 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Libreiro et al. (US2016/0298338) in view of Dye (US2020/0173173).
For claim 1, Libreiro et al. discloses a wall panel assembly (fig. 1) comprising a wall panel (108) with a bottom side portion and a frame (112) coupled to the bottom side portion of the wall panel.
Libreiro et al. does not disclose one or more apertures extending through a bottom side portion of the wall panel and the frame having one or more apertures in fluid communication with the one or more apertures and an inner side of the wall panel.
Dye discloses a wall panel assembly (fig. 6c) and the obviousness of adding one or more drainage apertures to a bottom side portion of a panel (40a) of the assembly, and adding one or more apertures (fig. 6c, 68) to the frame (40b) of the assembly, the one or more apertures of the frame in fluid communication with the apertures of the panel to facilitate drainage [0083].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to modify the wall panel assembly of Libreiro et al. and add apertures extending through a bottom side portion of the wall panel and the frame having one or more apertures in fluid communication with the one or more apertures and an inner side of the wall panel as made obvious by Dye to provide drainage within the wall panel assembly and increase the durability of the wall panel assembly.
For claim 2, the combination discloses that the frame (Libreiro et al. fig. 1, 112) is configured to couple the wall panel (108) to a wall or wall substrate and wherein the inner side of the wall panel is configured to face the wall or wall substrate.
For claim 3, the combination discloses that the one or more apertures of the wall panel will be longitudinally spaced from the one or more apertures of the frame (Dye fig. 6c, upper and lower 68).
For claim 4, it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to laterally offset and align longitudinally the one or more apertures of the wall panel with the apertures of the frame since this merely involves a rearrangement of already disclosed elements to redirect the drained water to desired outlets.
For claim 5, the modified combination discloses that each aperture of the frame will be an inner-facing aperture (when the aperture is placed on fig. 2, 204 of Libreiro et al.).
For claim 6, the combination discloses that the one or more apertures of the wall panel and the one or more apertures of the frame are arranged to inhibit wind driven rain from entering through the wall panel assembly (intended use recitation treated in accordance with MPEP 2114, the apertures of the combination are capable of inhibiting wind driven rain).
For claim 7, the combination discloses that the one or more apertures of the wall panel and the one or more apertures of the frame are arranged to promote pressure equalization (intended use recitation treated in accordance with MPEP 2114).
For claim 8, the combination discloses that the one or more apertures of the wall panel and the one or more apertures of the frame will be in fluid communication via a longitudinally extending channel (Libreiro et al. fig. 2, 216) of the frame when the aperture is placed on (204).
For claim 9, the combination discloses that the longitudinally-extending channel of the frame is a fastener or screw chase (Libreiro et al. fig. 2, 216).
For claim 10, the combination discloses that the longitudinally extending channel (Libreiro et al. fig. 2, 216) of the frame is configured to selectively threadably couple with one or more fasteners (148), with the frame and the bottom side portion of the wall panel coupling together via the one or more fasteners.
For claim 11, it would be obvious to centrally position one said aperture (Dye fig. 6c, 68) of the wall panel since this merely involves rearranging already disclosed elements to provide drainage at the center of the panel.
For claim 12, the combination discloses that the wall panel includes left and right-side portions between which extends the bottom side portion thereof (inherent) and it would be obvious to position a first said aperture near or adjacent the left side portion and a second said aperture near or adjacent the right-side portion thereof since this merely involves rearranging already disclosed claimed elements taught in the prior art (Dye fig. 1a, 18).
For claim 13, the combination discloses that the wall panel assembly and/or components thereof are configured to function as a rainscreen since the structural limitations claimed are taught by the combination.
For claim 14, the combination discloses that each aperture extends about an axis substantially parallel to a front face of the wall panel (Dye fig. 6c, 68).
For claim 15, the combination discloses that each aperture (Dye fig. 6a-b, 68) extends about an axis and wherein the axes of the apertures extend substantially in parallel with each other.
For claim 16, it would be obvious to make the elements of the combination comprising the plurality of frames and wall panels of claim 1 into a kit having a plurality of clips (Libreiro et al. fig. 1, 104) via which the frames couple the wall panels to a wall or wall substrate for ease of assembly and transportation.
For claim 17, Libreiro et al. discloses a wall panel assembly (fig. 1) comprising a frame (112) having a drainage gutter cavity (164) and a wall panel (108).
Libreiro et al. does not disclose that the frame has one or more weep holes and a drainage gutter cavity in fluid communication with the one or more weep holes or that the wall panels have one or more weep holes offset from the one or more weep holes of the frame and in fluid communication with the drainage gutter cavity.
Dye discloses the obviousness of adding weep holes (fig. 5c, 68) to a frame (40a) and wall panel (40b), whereby the weep holes of the frame and wall panel are offset from one another (upper and lower weep holes).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to add weep holes to the frame of Libreiro et al. in fluid communication with the drainage gutter cavity and add weep holes to the wall panels offset from the weep holes of the frame and in fluid communication with the drainage gutter cavity as made obvious by Dye to increase the drainage and ventilation of the assembly.
For claim 18, it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to align the drainage gutter cavity and the weep holes longitudinally so that the drainage gutter cavity can serve as a drainage channel in the wall panel assembly of Libreiro et al.
For claim 19, Libreiro et al. discloses a wall panel assembly comprising a wall panel and a frame configured to couple the wall panel to a wall or wall substrate, the frame including a channel, the channel including a pair of side portions with longitudinally extending ridges and grooves thereon, the channel including a closed end portion extending between the side portions thereof.
Libreiro et al. does not disclose apertures extending through a bottom side portion of the wall panel and apertures extending through the closed end portion of the frame.
Dye discloses the obviousness of adding apertures to a bottom side portion of a wall panel and a closed end portion of a frame (fig. 5c, 68).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to add apertures extending through a bottom side portion of the wall panel and apertures extending through the closed end portion of the frame as made obvious by Dye to increase the ventilation and drainage of the wall panel assembly of Libreiro et al.
For claim 20, the combination discloses one or more fasteners selectively engageable with the ridges and grooves of the frame, with the frame and the bottom side portion of the wall panel coupling together via the one or more fasteners (Libreiro et al. fig. 2 and 3b, 148).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSHUA K IHEZIE whose telephone number is (571)270-5347. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5pm.
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.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brian Glessner can be reached at 571-272-6754. 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.
/JOSHUA K IHEZIE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3633