DETAILED ACTION
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 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goulet USPN 4,885,015 in view of Frohmader USPN 4,042,358.
Regarding claim 1, Goulet discloses an air filter that is easy to replace and install (see figure 1), the air filter comprising edge strips (figure 1: casings 18), corner connectors (figure 1: casings 20 connect to edge strips 18 at the corners of the filter media), and a filter element (figure 1: 10), wherein the edge strips and the corner connectors are connected to each other via mortise and tenon structures to form a frame (figure 1; Abstract); and the filter element is fixed within the frame by means of a connection member (Abstract: adhesive connects the filter to the frame), the filter element has a plurality of pleats parallel to each other (see figure 1).
In the alternative, casings 20 can be considered the edge strips and casings 18 can be considered the corner connectors.
Goulet does not disclose that a flexible cord is provided between adjacent pleats on at least one of an air intake side and an air discharge side. Frohmader discloses a flexible cord provided between adjacent pleats on at least one of an air intake side and an air discharge side for the purpose of properly spacing the pleats (see Frohmader figure 8: cord 16; column 2, lines 64-67: acrylic fiber of yarn has some flexibility; column 3, lines 13-21). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Goulet so that a flexible cord is provided between adjacent pleats on at least one of an air intake side and an air discharge side, as disclosed by Frohmader, for the purpose of properly spacing the pleats.
Regarding claim 2, Goulet discloses that the edge strip is provided with slots at two ends thereof (figure 1: slots in casings 20), and the corner connector is provided with corresponding joints (figure 1: joints 22).
Regarding claim 3, Goulet discloses that the edge strip has a side edge extending to a bottom side (see figure 1; it is noted that “bottom” is a relative term).
Regarding claim 4, Goulet discloses that the side edge has a bottom support extending to an inner side (figure 1).
Regarding claim 5, Goulet discloses that the corner connector has a corner edge extending to a bottom side (figure 1; it is noted that “bottom” is a relative term).
Regarding claim 6, Goulet discloses that the corner edge has a corner support extending to an inner side (figure 1).
Regarding claim 8, Goulet discloses that the pleats are provided with side leakage protection filter layers at two ends thereof (column 2, lines 46-63; sealant prevents leakage).
Regarding claim 9, Frohmader discloses two or more flexible cords (figure 8: cords 16). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to utilize two flexible cords for properly spacing the filter pleats.
Regarding claim 10, Frohmader discloses that the edge strip has an upper edge extending to an inner side (figure 1).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goulet USPN 4,885,015, in view of Frohmader USPN 4,042,358, in further view of Fox USPA 2017/0241192 A1.
Goulet in view of Frohmader is relied upon as above.
Regarding claim 7, Goulet does not disclose that the connection member is selected from a hook-and-loop fastener, a clip or a snap fastener. Fox discloses connecting a pleated air filter media in a frame using hook-and-loop fasteners (see Fox paragraph 49). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Goulet in view of Frohmader so that the connection member is a hook-and-loop fastener, as taught by Fox, since this is a well-known connection means for connecting filter media to a frame. MPEP 2144.03 (A-E).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER P JONES whose telephone number is (571)270-7383. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-6PM EST M-F.
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/CHRISTOPHER P JONES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1776
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