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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/01/2024 and 01/16/2025 was considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 15-17 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 15 recites the limitation "the rear wall" in line 7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 15 recites the limitation "the front wall" in line 8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
Claims 1, 15, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipate by Dean US2120395.
Claim 1. Dean discloses a gutter system comprising: one or more gutters (50, Fig.1), each having a rear wall (14) and a front wall (12); two or more covers (18 of each gutter 50) operatively coupled to the one or more gutters (Fig.3-4), wherein when installed the two or more covers are angled downwardly from the rear wall (14) to the front wall (12, Fig.3); and one or more corner strips (24) comprising: a first slot (28); and a second slot (denoted 28b below); wherein the first slot is angled with respect to the second slot (perpendicular to each other – see below); wherein a first angled end of a first cover is inserted into the first slot and a second angled end of a second cover is inserted into the second slot (as illustrated in the extract of Fig.1 below).
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Claim 15 as best understood. Dean discloses corner strip (24 or 38) for a gutter system, the corner strip comprising: a first slot (28); and a second slot (denoted 28b above); wherein the first slot is angled with respect to the second slot (perpendicular to each other); wherein the corner strip is configured to be installed with two or more covers (18 of each gutter 50) that are operatively coupled to one or more gutters (50); wherein when installed the two or more covers are angled downwardly from a rear wall (14) to a front wall (12) and a first angled end of a first cover is inserted into the first slot and a second angled end of a second cover is inserted into the second slot (as illustrated in the extracted portion of Fig.1 above).
Claim 18. Dean discloses assembling a first cover (18) to a first front wall (12 – Col.2:19-22 discloses a single sheet of metal rolled/assembled to form said elements) or a first front lip of a first gutter portion (50) and to a first rear wall (14) of the first gutter portion or a support member of a structure, wherein when installed the first cover is angled downwardly from the first rear wall to the first front wall (Fig.3); and assembling a corner strip (24) to the first cover, wherein the corner strip comprises a first slot (28) and a second slot (denoted 28b above), wherein the first slot is angled with respect to the second slot (at perpendicular to each other), and wherein a first angled end of the first cover is inserted into the first slot; assembling a second cover to a second front wall or a second front lip of a second gutter portion and to a second rear wall of the second gutter portion or the support member of the structure, wherein when installed the second cover is angled downwardly from the second rear wall to the second front wall; and assembling the second cover to the corner strip, wherein a second angled end of the second cover is inserted into the second slot (as illustrated in the extracted portion of Fig.1 above).
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 2-3, 16-17, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dean US2120395.
Claim 2, 16, and 19. Dean discloses the one or more corner strips comprise an outer corner strip (38, Fig.7), but is silent on when the outer corner strip is installed the first slot and the second slot are angled downwardly from each other. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant invention to angle the slots downwardly from each other to control the flow of the rainwater at the outer corner of the roof.
Claim 3, 17, and 20. Dean discloses the one or more corner strips comprise an inner corner strip (24, Fig.5), but is silent on when the inner corner strip is installed the first slot and the second slot are angled upwardly from each other. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant invention to angle the slots upwardly from each other to control the flow of the rainwater at the inner corners of the roof.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-14 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the closest prior art of record fails to teach or adequately suggest the combination of characteristics specified in the independent claim, especially the requirement of a substance concerning one or more projections on a first opposing end of the covers and one or more cavities formed within a second opposing end of the covers such that projections are configured to be operatively coupled with an adjacent cover to form a cover assembly however since Dean discloses a substantially cylindrical body portion which forms a trough, there is no cogent reasoning that is unequivocally independent of hindsight that would have led one of ordinary skill in the art at the time.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to attached NOTICE OF REFERENCE CITED.
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BABAJIDE A. DEMUREN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3633
/BABAJIDE A DEMUREN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3633