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 A in the reply filed on 07/14/2025 is acknowledged.
However, upon further consideration claims 4-6,16-17 are also believed to be directed towards non-elected species C for reciting at least “further comprising a base floor, a first side wall, a second side wall, and a ceiling of the rodent enrichment device” and “wherein the nesting compartment further comprises the loft floor, a first side wall, a second side wall, and a ceiling of the rodent enrichment device”.
Claims 4-6,16-17 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group or/and species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
line 6 “an at least one nesting compartment” should be changed to read—and at least one nesting compartment--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim(s) 3,9,10,11 is(are) rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 3 recites “the rodent's foot”. There is a lack of antecedent basis.
Claim 3 further recites “wherein the evenly spaced holes are no larger than the rodent’s foot to prevent rodent appendages from being caught in the loft floor.” However, one of ordinary skill in the art is not able to ascertain the size of such hole since it is not clearly defined in the specification.
Claim 9 recites “wherein the at least one nesting compartment comprises a second access point that allows the rodent to enter and exit the at least one nesting compartment.” However, it is unclear if this is different from the second access point previously recited in claim 1 or not.
Claim 10 recites “the rodent cage floor”. There is a lack of antecedent basis.
Claim 10 further recites “a base of the rodent enrichment device”. However, it is unclear if this is different from the base floor recited in claim 1 or not.
Claim 11 recites “the rodent cage”. There is a lack of antecedent basis.
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) 1,9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Brown et al. herein Brown (US 5881676 A).
Regarding claim 1:
Brown discloses:
A rodent enrichment device comprising: (abstract and figs 1-2, 8b when used with the embodiment of fig 1-2, can be used with a rodent)
an at least one exercise compartment for a rodent to engage in exercise; (31, col 4 ln 55-59, fig 2)
the exercise compartment comprising a first access point, (right steps between 30+31, fig 2)
and a running wheel, wherein: (32, fig 2)
the running wheel is connected to the exercise compartment; (32 connected to 31, fig 2)
and the first access point allows the rodent to enter and exit the exercise compartment; (see how the access proximate to 31 allows the rodent to enter and exit the exercise compartment)
an at least one nesting compartment, connected to the exercise compartment, for the rodent to perform nesting behaviors, (30, col 4 ln 55, connected to 31 for rodent to nest in)
the nesting compartment comprising a loft floor (numeral 25 on left of fig 2)
and a second access point, (see access to 30, left steps between 30+31)
wherein the loft floor is elevated from a base floor of the rodent enrichment device. (25 is elevated from base floor of 14)
Regarding claim 9:
Brown further discloses:
wherein the at least one nesting compartment comprises a second access point that allows the rodent to enter and exit the at least one nesting compartment. (see access to 30, left steps between 30+31)
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) 2-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brown, as applied to claim 1 above, and in view of Gabriel (US 20040231611 A1).
Regarding claim 2:
Brown discloses claim 1 but doesn’t disclose:
wherein the loft floor of the at least one nesting compartment comprises evenly spaced holes.
Gabriel discloses:
wherein the loft floor of the at least one nesting compartment comprises evenly spaced holes. (86 floor comprises 88, Fig 13, para0077)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the loft floor of Brown such that it comprises evenly spaced holes as taught by Gabriel to protect the floor from chewing and gnawing from animals (Gabriel).
Regarding claim 3:
Brown as modified, as best understood due to the 112 rejection above in regards to the size being underminable per se, discloses claim 2 and Gabriel further discloses:
wherein the evenly spaced holes are no larger than the rodent's foot to prevent rodent appendages from being caught in the loft floor. (para0077, “between 0.1 and 0.3 inches, preferably 0.21 inches” as best understood due to the 112 rejection above in regards to the size being underminable per se, it is noted that most species of mice/rodents have a foot size greater than .5 inches)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the loft floor of Brown such that it comprises evenly spaced holes no larger than a rodent’s foot size as taught by Gabriel to protect the floor from chewing and gnawing from animals (Gabriel).
Claim(s) 12,14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brown, as applied to claim 1 above, and in view of Donohoe (US 7114463 B2).
Regarding claim 12:
Brown discloses claim 1 but doesn’t disclose:
wherein the at least one exercise compartment and the at least one nesting compartment are made of an autoclavable and cage-wash temperature-tolerant material.
Donohoe disclose:
an autoclavable and cage-wash temperature-tolerant material for an enrichment device (col 4 ln 6-17)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify material of the exercise compartment and nesting compartment of Brown such that it was comprised of an autoclavable and cage-wash temperature-tolerant material as taught by Donohoe to provide for a material that is lightweight, transparent, provide ease of manufacture, and be of relatively low cost (Donohoe).
Regarding claim 14:
Brown as modified discloses claim 12 and Donohoe further discloses:
wherein the material is made of polycarbonate. (col 4 ln 6-17)
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brown in view of Donohoe, as applied to claim 12 above, and in further view of Laurent et al. herein Laurent (WO 2010089220 A1).
Regarding claim 13:
Brown as modified discloses claim 12 but doesn’t explicitly disclose:
wherein the material comprising the at least one exercise compartment and the at least one nesting compartment is red and translucent.
Laurent discloses:
wherein the material comprising a rodent housing is red and translucent. (“The housing 94 may advantageously be formed in a material that is transparent to humans but opaque for the vision of rodents. The housing 94 may for example be made of translucent red plastic materials, which are opaque for the vision of rats.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify material of the exercise compartment and nesting compartment of Brown as modified such that it was comprised a red and translucent material as disclosed by Laurent to provide for a configuration that is transparent to humans but opaque for the vision of rodents (Laurent).
Claim(s) 10,11,15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Brown.
Regarding claim 10:
Brown discloses claim 1 but doesn’t explicitly disclose:
wherein an area of a base of the rodent enrichment device is between 10% and 50% of an area of the rodent cage floor. (Fig 8b, see how area of base 14 of 10 is smaller than an an area of the rodent cage floor)
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the area of a base of the rodent enrichment device such that it was between 10% and 50% of an area of the rodent cage floor as claimed since the specification fails to disclose any criticality for such range to ensure that enough space is present for the animal in the rodent cage to move freely, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 11:
Brown discloses claim 1 but doesn’t explicitly disclose:
wherein a volume of the rodent enrichment device is between 10% and 50% of an interior volume of the rodent cage. (Fig 8b, see how volume of 10 is smaller than an interior volume of the rodent cage)
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the volume of the rodent enrichment device such that it was between 10% and 50% of an interior volume of the rodent cage floor as claimed since the specification fails to disclose any criticality for such range to ensure that enough space is present for the animal in the rodent cage to move freely, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 15:
Brown discloses claim 1 but doesn’t explicitly disclose:
wherein the running wheel is detachable from the rodent enrichment device.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the running wheel of Brown such that it was detachable as claimed to allow for the area behind the running wheel to be easily accessible for cleaning, since it has been held that if it were considered desirable for any reason to obtain access to a first component to which a second component is applied, it would be obvious to make the second component removable for that purpose. In re Dulberg, 289 F.2d 522, 523, 129 USPQ 348, 349.
Conclusion
The cited prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHADA M ALGHAILANI whose telephone number is (571)272-8058. The examiner can normally be reached M-F (7:30am - 4:30pm EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Peter Poon can be reached on 571-272-6891. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHADA MOHAMED ALGHAILANI/ Examiner, Art Unit 3643
/PETER M POON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3643