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 Claims 1-7 in the reply filed on 02/09/2026 is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/03/2024 was considered by the examiner.
Claim objection: Claim 1, line 6, “from outer end” should be “from the/said outer end” because an outer end was introduced at line 5.
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, 2, 5, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wendt US4255910.
Claim 1. Wendt discloses a tile clip (16) for use in retaining a tile on a support frame of a wall panel, the tile clip comprising: a base (20) extending between a first end (denoted 30 below) and a second end (denoted 32 below) and having first and second sides (denoted 33 and 35 below); an end wall (19) integrally formed with the base and extending from the second end (32 below) of the base to an outer end; an engagement tip (17) extending from outer end of the end wall; an attachment arm (23) extending from the base in a direction opposite the end wall (as illustrated in extract of Fig.4 below), wherein the attachment arm is configured to engage the support frame of the wall panel to securely hold the tile clip on the support frame.
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Claim 2. Wendt discloses the end wall extends perpendicular from the base and the engagement tip (17) extends from the end wall (19) toward the first end (30) of the base (as illustrated in extract of Fig.4 above).
Claim 5. Wendt discloses the attachment arm (23) includes a body that extends between a first end (denoted 36 above) and a second end (denoted 34 above), wherein the first end is attached to the base and the second end is spaced from the base (as illustrated in extract of Fig.4 above).
Claim 6. Wendt discloses attachment of the body to the base is flexible to allow a spacing between the second end and the base to change (such that flange of 33 can be accommodated as shown in Fig.5).
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 3, 4, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wendt US4255910 as applied to claim 1 above.
Claim 3-4. Wendt fails to disclose the tile clip is formed from a clear plastic material, however it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant invention to form the tile clip from a clear plastic material with the motivation of providing relatively cheaper yet equally rigid clips as those made from metal with it being clear for aesthetic feature since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice.
Claim 7. Wendt discloses the base includes a central opening (24) aligned with the attachment arm (23) but is silent that the attachment arm extends into the central opening when the tile clip is not installed on the support frame of the wall panel. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the instant invention to form the attachment arm such that it extends into the central opening to provide a spring like effect such that when installed the arm is pressed firmly against the flange of the stud (33, Fig.1). Furthermore, it has been held that a person with ordinary skill has good reason to pursue known options within his or her technical grasp.
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