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 § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claims 1 and 11, the circumferential groove being inwardly offset from a rear face of the front panel when the LED bulb is extended through the orifice introduces new matter. The original specification does not recite and the original drawings do not show the groove being inwardly offset from a rear face of the front panel when the LED bulb is extended through the orifice.
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 1-6, 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR 20130005122 to Park in view of US 4967317 to Plumly and US 3887803 to Savage.
Regarding claim 1, Park teaches a signboard comprising: a housing comprising rear panel (substrate 21) and a front panel (mirror plate with front panel 11), wherein the front panel (11) comprises a reflective surface (reflection coating layer 12, ¶0016) configured to amplify the brightness of LED bulbs (LED 20) and a plurality of orifices (hole 13); a plurality of LED bulbs (LED 20) projecting out through the orifices (holes 13) and being operatively connected to the wiring assembly.
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Parks does not teach the housing having side panels or a wiring assembly disposed within the housing or each LED bulbs having a dome shape extending from a cylindrical housing having a circumferential groove, said circumferential groove being inwardly offset from a rear face of said front panel when said LED bulb is extended through said orifice.
Plumy teaches an exit sign comprising a housing (frame or housing 14) comprising rear panel (backside 15), side panels (side 22, 24, 26, and 28), and a front panel (clear plastic sheet 34), wherein the front panel comprises a reflective surface (film 32, column 5, line 29-31 and column 5, line 59-column 6, line 18) configured to amplify the brightness of bulbs (bulb 16) and a plurality of orifices (holes 58); a wiring assembly (wires 38 and 40) disposed within the housing (14); and a plurality of bulbs (16) projecting out through the orifices (holes 58) and being operatively connected to the wiring assembly (38 and 40).
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Savage teaches a LED bulb (light emitting diode device A) comprising a dome shape (lens cap 32) extending from a cylindrical housing (body 10 with a cylindrical section 12) having a circumferential groove (serrated section 18 with a plurality of wedge shaped ridges 20 defining a plurality of grooves), the circumferential groove being inwardly offset from a rear face of a panel (circuit board, not labeled) when said LED bulb (A) is extended through said orifice (aperture, not labeled). See column 5, line 8-18).
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct signboard taught by Park with housing having side panels or a wiring assembly disposed within the housing as taught by Plumy with a reasonable expectation of success to provide a means to protect the components of the signboard from damage and the provide a means to electrically connected the components of the signboard and to provide power to the signboard (column 3, line 54-56).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct the LED’s of the signboard taught by Parks with at least one groove as taught by Savage with a reasonable expectation of success to provide a means to secure the LED, by snap fit, within the aperture of a panel such as circuit board.
Regarding claim 2, Park teaches the reflective surface comprises a mirror (mirror plate 10 including a front panel 11 made of a light transmitting material and a reflection coating layer 12 coated on the rear surface of the front panel 11; ¶0016).
Regarding claims 3 and 5, Park teaches the orifices (holes 13) are arranged to present a recognizable image (¶0022 and figure 1).
Regarding claims 4 and 6, Park does not teach the orifices are arranged to present alphanumeric characters. Park teaches the orifices (holes 13) are arranged to present alphabetic characters. However, It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct holes of the signboard taught by Park with alphanumeric characters with a reasonable expectation of success to provide a means to display a message comprising both letters and numbers as a matter of design choice to convey a desired message to the viewer.
Regarding claim 9, Plumy teaches the wiring assembly (38 and 40) comprises power wiring configured to be connected to a power supply (column 4, line 62-column 5, line 21).
Regarding claim 10, Plumy teaches the LED bulbs (16) are configured to present at least one color (red, column 3, line 18-24).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR 20130005122 to Park in view of US 4967317 to Plumly and US 3887803 to Savage as applied to claim 1 above, and in further view of US 4355479 to Thornton.
Plumly teaches the exit sign can be mounted to the ceiling or a wall. However Plumly does not teach a mounting assembly attached to the rear/back panel.
Thornton teaches an exit sign comprising a mounting bracket generally indicated at 58 and including a first sign part 60 attached to the back panel of the sign and a second mounting surface part 62 attached to the vertical surface of a wall (column 5, line 47-66).
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct sign taught by Park and Plumly with a mounting bracket of the rear panel as taught by Thornton with a reasonable expectation of success to provide a means to selectively mount the sign to wall.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR 20130005122 to Park in view of US 4967317 to Plumly and US 3887803 to Savage as applied to claim 1 above, and in further view of US 20170301268 to LaForce.
Neither Park nor Plumly teaches wiring configured to control the operation of the LED bulbs to create a flashing, pulsing, or chaser light effect.
LaForce teaches a light-emitting sign comprising a light source for emitting light, wherein the light emitted by the light-emitting sign 12 is flashing (¶0051).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct light bulbs of the sign taught by Park with the ability to flash as taught by LaForce with a reasonable expectation of success to provide a means to bring attention to the sign.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR 20130005122 to Park in view of US 4967317 to Plumy, US 4355479 to Thornton, US 20170301268 to LaForce and US 3887803 to Savage.
Regarding claim 11, Park teaches a signboard comprising: a housing comprising rear panel (substrate 21) and a front panel (mirror plate with front panel 11), wherein the front panel (11) comprises a reflective surface (reflection coating layer 12, ¶0016) configured to amplify the brightness of LED bulbs (LED 20) and a plurality of orifices (hole 13), wherein the orifices (holes 13) are arranged to present alphabetic characters, the reflective surface comprises a mirror (mirror plate 10 including a front panel 11 made of a light transmitting material and a reflection coating layer 12 coated on the rear surface of the front panel 11; ¶0016) and wherein a plurality of LED bulbs (LED 20) projecting out through the orifices (holes 13) and being operatively connected to the wiring assembly.
Park does not teach alphanumeric characters, the rear panel comprises a wall mount assembly; the wiring assembly (38 and 40) is configured to control the operation of LED bulbs to create a flashing, pulsing, or chaser light effect or each LED bulbs having a dome shape extending from a cylindrical housing having a circumferential groove, said circumferential groove being inwardly offset from a rear face of said front panel when said LED bulb is extended through said orifice.
Plumy teaches an exit sign comprising a housing (frame or housing 14) comprising rear panel (backside 15), side panels (side 22, 24, 26, and 28), and a front panel (clear plastic sheet 34), wherein the front panel comprises a reflective surface (film 32, column 5, line 29-31 and column 5, line 59-column 6, line 18) configured to amplify the brightness of bulbs (bulb 16) and a plurality of orifices (holes 58); a wiring assembly (wires 38 and 40) disposed within the housing (14); and a plurality of bulbs (16) projecting out through the orifices (holes 58) and being operatively connected to the wiring assembly (38 and 40).
Plumy also teaches the wiring assembly (38 and 40) comprises power wiring configured to be connected to a power supply (external power; column 4, line 62-column 5, line 9) and the LED bulbs are configured to present at least one color (red, column 3, line 18-24).
Thornton teaches an exit sign comprising a mounting bracket generally indicated at 58 and including a first sign part 60 attached to the back panel of the sign and a second mounting surface part 62 attached to the vertical surface of a wall (column 5, line 47-66).
LaForce teaches a light-emitting sign comprising a light source for emitting light, wherein the light emitted by the light-emitting sign 12 is flashing (¶0051).
Savage teaches a LED bulb (light emitting diode device A) comprising a having a dome shape (lens cap 32) extending from a cylindrical housing (body 10 with a cylindrical section 12) having a circumferential groove (serrated section 18 with a plurality of wedge shaped ridges 20 defining a plurality of grooves), the circumferential groove being inwardly offset from a rear face of a panel (circuit board, not labeled) when said LED bulb (A) is extended through said orifice (aperture, not labeled). See column 5, line 8-18).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct sign taught by Park and Plumly with a mounting bracket of the rear panel as taught by Thornton with a reasonable expectation of success to provide a means to selectively mount the sign to wall.
With respect to the alphanumeric characters, Park does not teaches the orifices are arranged to present alphanumeric characters. Park teaches the orifices (holes 13) are arranged in alphabetical characters. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct holes of the signboard taught by Park with alphanumeric characters with a reasonable expectation of success to provide a means to display a message comprising both letters and numbers as a matter of design choice to convey a desired message to the viewer.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct light bulbs of the sign taught by Park with the ability to flash as taught by LaForce with a reasonable expectation of success to provide a means to bring attention to the sign.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct the LED’s of the signboard taught by Parks with at least one groove as taught by Savage with a reasonable expectation of success to provide a means to secure the LED, by snap fit, within the aperture of a panel such as circuit board.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-11 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CASSANDRA DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)272-6642. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM.
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/CASSANDRA DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3631