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 .
Status of the Claims
The status of the claims as filed in the reply dated 4/16/2026 are as follows:
Claims 1, 3, 4, 6, and 11 are amended,
Claims 1-14 are currently pending.
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) 1-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by GU (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2020/0338961, previously cited) in view of Kawahara (Japanese Patent Publication JP2001246921A, previously cited).
Regarding claim 1, Gu discloses a vehicle heating device (fig 11 and fig 12) connected to an air conditioning unit to radiate heat (¶0002), the device comprising:
a heating module (100, 200, 300, 400, 600); and
a cover (500), wherein the cover comprises a cover body (see annotated fig 11a below) and guides (see annotated fig 11a below) configured to direct air passing through the cover body,
wherein the guides are arranged to having a predetermined separation (see annotated fig 11a below) distance from the heating module in the airflow direction (as air would travel in that direction due to cover body).
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However, Gu does not explicitly disclose a housing connected to the air conditioning unit, wherein the heating module is arranged inside the housing. Kawahara, however, discloses a heating device for a vehicle (fig 9 and fig 10) wherein a heating module (42) is arranged inside a housing (41). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Gu to provide the housing of Kawahara in order to direct air through the heating module. This would result in the cover being coupled to the housing and wherein an airflow is formed inside the housing in the direction of air flowing through a hole of the heating module (see annotated fig 11 above).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Gu and Kawahara discloses all previous claim limitations. Gu further discloses wherein the guides comprise a first guide (see annotated fig 12 below) and a second guide (see annotated fig 12 below), the second guide being arranged at a predetermined inclination angle (as there is an angle of 0º between the two guides) relative to the first guide.
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Regarding claim 3, the combination of Gu and Kawahara discloses all previous claim limitations. Gu further discloses wherein the heating module comprises:
a heating unit (200); and
a frame (600) configured to support the heating unit,
wherein the heating unit comprises a planar body with a hole (see annotated fig 11 below) of the heating module formed therein, a first electrode (50, see fig 2) and a second electrode (52) arranged on the body, and a heating element (40) arranged between the first and second electrodes, and the separation distance is equal to or smaller than the shortest width (W) of the hole (at least for the guide shown below in annotated fig 11 below, as there is no separation distance).
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Regarding claim 4, the combination of Gu and Kawahara discloses all previous claim limitations. Gu further discloses wherein the separation distance is formed within a range of 0.5 to 0.75 times the shortest width (W) of the hole (see annotated fig 11 above, as there would have to be a separation distance within this range due to the guides angles relative to the heating module).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Gu and Kawahara discloses all previous claim limitations. Gu further discloses wherein the shortest width (W) of the hole is formed to be larger than the shortest width of a guide hole formed in the cover body (as evident in annotated fig 11 below).
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Regarding claim 6, the combination of Gu and Kawahara discloses all previous claim limitations. Gu, as modified, further discloses wherein the housing (41, Kawahara) comprises an inlet (between dampers 45, see annotated fig 10 below, Kawahara) formed to allow air to flow into an interior (see annotated fig 10 below, Kawahara), and the second guide (see annotated fig 12 below, Gu), which is positioned farther from the interior than the first guide (see annotated fig 12 below), is arranged at a predetermined inclination angle relative to the first guide (as there would be angle between the two guides).
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Regarding claim 7, the combination of Gu and Kawahara discloses all previous claim limitations. Gu, as modified, further discloses wherein the distance between an inner surface of the housing (41, Kawahara) and the heating module (100, 200, 300, 400, 600, Gu) decreases as the distance from the inlet increases (as shown below in annotated fig 10 of Kawahara).
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Regarding claim 8, the combination of Gu and Kawahara discloses all previous claim limitations. Gu, as modified, further discloses wherein the first guide is arranged to overlap with the inlet in the vertical direction (see annotated fig 10 below of Kawahara).
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Regarding claim 9, the combination of Gu and Kawahara discloses all previous claim limitations. Gu, as modified, further discloses wherein the housing comprises an inlet (see annotated fig 10 below of Kawahara) formed to allow air to flow into the interior (see annotated fig 10 below of Kawahara), and the guides have a larger inclination angle (as shown in annotated fig 10 below of Kawahara) as the distance from the inlet increases.
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Regarding claim 10, the combination of Gu and Kawahara discloses all previous claim limitations. Gu further discloses wherein the cover comprises a plurality of guide holes formed to have a first width and a second with, the first width being smaller than the second width (see annotated fig 12 below).
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Regarding claim 11, the combination of Gu and Kawahara discloses all previous claim limitations. Gu further discloses wherein the heating module is a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heater (¶0012).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Gu and Kawahara discloses all previous claim limitations. Gu further discloses wherein the guides comprise a first group comprising a plurality of first guides (see annotated fig 12 below), a second group comprising a plurality of second guides (see annotated fig 12 below), and a third group comprising a plurality of third guides (see annotated fig 12 below), the second and third guides being arranged to have a predetermined inclination angle relative to the first guides, the inclination angle of the second guides (0º) smaller than the inclination angle of the third guides (see annotated fig 12 below).
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Regarding claim 13, the combination of Gu and Kawahara discloses all previous claim limitations. Gu further discloses wherein the cover further comprises a ventilation hole (see annotated fig 12 below) formed on a side of the cover body (500).
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Regarding claim 14, the combination of Gu and Kawahara discloses all previous claim limitations. Gu, as modified, further discloses wherein the housing (45, 46) is rotatably connected to a floor duct (54) of the air conditioning unit.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/16/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues (pages 6-7) that Gu fails to teach air passing through a hole of the heating module. The Examiner respectfully disagrees; as shown below in annotated fig 8 below, airflow would pass through the hole of Gu.
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Applicant argues (page 7) that Gu fails to teach wherein the guides are arranged to having a predetermined separation distance from the heating module in the airflow direction. The Examiner respectfully disagrees; as shown below in annotated fig 11, air would flow in the separation direction due to the cover body.
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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 HARRY E ARANT whose telephone number is (571)272-1105. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10-6 ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jianying Atkisson can be reached at (571)270-7740. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HARRY E ARANT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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