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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-2, 7-8, 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Irwin [4000779], further in view of Rios [20070169498].
With respect to claim 1, Irwin discloses: A system for use in a ventilation cabinet about a furnace, the system comprising: a heat exchanger coil (A, 32) configured to received air from the furnace (10) [see FIG 1, col 2, line 41-53]; a drip pan (48) disposed below the heat exchanger coil and configured to catch condensed water from the heat exchanger coil [col 3, line 28-33]; and a heat shield (72) configured to be inserted between the drip pan and the furnace [col 5, line 25-33].
Irwin, however, does not disclose the material of the heat shield.
Rios makes up for these deficiencies by teaching: a heat exchanger coil (6) for use in a furnace [paragraph 0005] having a drip pan (58) and
{cl. 1, cont’d} a heat shield (58) comprising a unitary sheet metal body [see FIG 1B, paragraph 0081].
Rios further teaches:
{cl. 2} The system of claim 1, wherein the heat shield has a top surface, a bottom surface, an airflow hole (88), a rear edge, a right side edge, a left side edge opposite to the right side edge, and a normal break opposite to the rear edge, wherein the airflow hole is located in the unitary sheet metal body to enable air to flow from the furnace to the heat exchanger coil when the unitary sheet metal body is inserted between the drip pan and the furnace, wherein the top surface is configured to cover the drip pan when the unitary sheet metal body is inserted between the drip pan and the furnace, and wherein the right side edge and the left side edge are configured to slide between the drip pan and the furnace when the unitary sheet metal body is being inserted between the drip pan and the furnace [see FIGs 1B, 7A, paragraph 0052].
With respect to claim 7, Irwin discloses: A heat shield for use with a furnace (10) and a heat exchanger coil (A, 32) unit having a drip pan (48), the heat shield comprising: a body configured to be inserted between the drip pan and the furnace, wherein the heat shield (72) is spaced apart from the drip pan [see FIG 1, col 2, line 41-53, col 3, line 28-33, col 5, line 25-33].
Irwin, however, does not disclose the material of the heat shield.
Rios makes up for these deficiencies by teaching: a heat exchanger coil (6) for use in a furnace [paragraph 0005] having a drip pan (58) and
{cl. 7, cont’d} the heat shield (58) comprising: a unitary sheet metal body [see FIG 1B, paragraph 0081].
Rios further teaches:
{cl. 8} The heat shield of claim 7, wherein the unitary sheet has a top surface, a bottom surface, an airflow hole (88), a rear edge, a right side edge, a left side edge opposite to the right side edge, and a normal break opposite to the rear edge, wherein the airflow hole is located in the unitary sheet metal body so as to enable air to flow from the furnace to the heat exchanger coil when the unitary sheet metal body is inserted between the drip pan and the furnace, wherein the top surface is configured to cover the drip pan when the unitary sheet metal body is inserted between the drip pan and the furnace, and wherein the right side edge and the left side edge are configured to slide between the drip pan and the furnace when the unitary sheet metal body is being inserted between the drip pan and the furnace [see FIGs 1B, 7A, paragraph 0052].
With respect to claim 13, Irwin discloses: A method of replacing a heat shield in a system for use in a ventilation cabinet about a furnace, the method comprising: opening an access panel on the ventilation cabinet housing a heat exchanger coil (A, 32) disposed above the furnace (10) and being configured to received air from the furnace [see FIG 1, col 2, line 41-53]; removing a first heat shield (72) from the ventilation cabinet (20); and inserting a second heat shield (72) into the ventilation cabinet, wherein a drip pan (58) is disposed below the heat exchanger coil to catch condensed water from the heat exchanger coil [col 3, line 28-33]; and wherein the first heat shield comprises body configured to be disposed between the drip pan and the furnace [col 5, line 25-33].
Irwin, however, does not disclose the material of the heat shield.
Rios makes up for these deficiencies by teaching: a heat exchanger coil (6) for use in a furnace [paragraph 0005] having a drip pan (58) and
{cl. 13, cont’d} wherein the first heat shield (58) comprises a unitary sheet metal body configured to be disposed between the drip pan and the furnace [see FIG 1B, paragraph 0081].
Rios further teaches:
{cl. 14} The method of claim 13, wherein the first heat shield a top surface, a bottom surface, an airflow hole (88), a rear edge, a right side edge, a left side edge opposite to the right side edge, and a normal break opposite to the rear edge, wherein the airflow hole is located in the unitary sheet metal body so as to enable air to flow from the furnace to the heat exchanger coil when the unitary sheet metal body is disposed between the drip pan and the furnace, wherein the top surface is configured to cover the drip pan when the unitary sheet metal body is disposed between the drip pan and the furnace, and wherein the right side edge and the left side edge are configured to slide between the drip pan and the furnace when the unitary sheet metal body is being removed from between the drip pan and the furnace [see FIGs 1B, 7A, paragraph 0052].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention of Irwin with the teachings of Rios because Rios provides a known material for use as a heat shield that is easily formed and constructed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6, 9-12, 15-20 are 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 details of the claims would not have been met by the prior art applied, and impermissible hindsight reasoning is required to arrive at the design of the claimed invention.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AVINASH A SAVANI whose telephone number is (571)270-3762. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday 8am-4pm.
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, Michael Hoang can be reached at 571-272-6460. 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.
/AVINASH A SAVANI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
9/26/2026
