DETAILED ACTION
This final Office action is in response to the claims filed March 16, 2026.
Status of claims: claims 12 and 13 are cancelled; claims 10 and 11 are withdrawn; claims 1-9 and 14 are hereby examined below.
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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 3, line 3 – shouldn’t “cylinder” be amended to “the cylinder”
Claim 3, line 4 – shouldn’t “the knitted barrier material” be amended to “the cylinder of knitted barrier material”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
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 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by FR 2886362.
FR 2886362 discloses a door seal system, the system comprising:
a door seal for spanning a gap between a door 9 and a ground surface adjacent to the edge of the door to prevent passage of rodents, the door seal arranged to be mounted on an edge of the door, (see FIGS. 2 and 3a-3c)
(Note: the recitation of “for spanning a gap between a door and a ground surface adjacent to the edge of the door to prevent passage of rodents, the door seal arranged to be mounted on an edge of the door” has been interpreted as an intended use recitation.)
the door seal comprising:
a flexible hollow cylinder 5 formed of an elastomeric material; (see FIG. 2; see page 3 of translation – “tubular sealing part 5 elastically deformable and non-metallic which is produced in a polymer material (elastomer or thermoplastic)”)
a cylinder 10 of knitted barrier material (see FIG.2; see page 3 of translation – “tubular insert made of knitted metal wire”) positioned inside the flexible hollow cylinder, wherein an exterior surface of the cylinder of knitted barrier material is in contact with an interior surface of the flexible hollow cylinder. (see FIGS. 2, 3a-3c) (claim 1)
FR 2886362 further discloses wherein the cylinder of knitted barrier material is formed of metal wire. (see FIG.2; see page 3 of translation provided by the applicant – “tubular insert made of knitted metal wire”) (claim 2)
FR 2886362 further discloses wherein the door seal further comprises a first strip 3 positioned on an exterior surface of the flexible hollow cylinder, (see FIGS. 3a-3c) and wherein the door seal is arranged to be fixed to the edge of the door by the first strip. (Note: “arranged to be fixed to the edge of the door by the first strip” constitutes an intended use recitation.) (claim 5)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
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, 2 and 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 1671349 to Crist in view of FR 2886362.
Crist discloses a door seal system, the system comprising:
a door seal for spanning a gap between a door and a ground surface adjacent to an edge of the door to prevent passage of rodents, the door seal arranged to be mounted on an edge of the door,
(Note: the recitation of “for spanning a gap between a door and a ground surface adjacent to the edge of the door to prevent passage of rodents, the door seal arranged to be mounted on an edge of the door” has been interpreted as an intended use recitation.)
the door seal comprising:
a flexible hollow cylinder 21 formed of an elastomeric material; (see FIGS. 3-4; col. 1).
Crist fails to disclose a cylinder of knitted material positioned inside the flexible hollow cylinder.
FR 2886362 teaches of a door seal comprising: a flexible hollow cylinder 5 formed of an elastomeric material; (see FIG. 2; see page 3 of translation – “tubular sealing part 5 elastically deformable and non-metallic which is produced in a polymer material (elastomer or thermoplastic)”) and
a cylinder 10 of knitted barrier material (see FIG.2; see page 3 of translation – “tubular insert made of knitted metal wire”) positioned inside the flexible hollow cylinder, wherein an exterior surface of the cylinder of knitted barrier material is in contact with an interior surface of the flexible hollow cylinder. (see FIGS. 2, 3a-3c)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the flexible hollow cylinder of Crist with the cylinder of knitted barrier material taught in FR 2886362 with a reasonable expectation of success in order to provide the Crist door seal with “a reinforcement in the form of an elastically deformable insert capable of compensating over time for the relaxation of the sealing part of the seal.” (see page 3 of the translation of FR 2886362 provided by the applicant). (claim 1)
Crist, as applied above, further discloses wherein the cylinder of knitted barrier material is formed of metal wire. (see FIG.2; see page 3 of translation provided by the applicant – “tubular insert made of knitted metal wire”) (claim 2)
Crist, as applied above, further discloses wherein the door seal further comprises a first strip 23 positioned on an exterior surface of the flexible hollow cylinder, (see FIGS. 3 and 4) and wherein the door seal is arranged to be fixed to the edge of the door by the first strip. (Note: “arranged to be fixed to the edge of the door by the first strip” constitutes an intended use recitation.) (claim 5)
Crist, as applied above, further discloses comprising a fixing strip 22,24,26 fixed to the first strip. (see FIGS. 2-4) (claim 6)
Crist, as applied above, further discloses wherein the first strip is clamped between two surfaces 24,26 of the fixing strip. (see FIGS. 3 and 4) (claim 7)
Crist, as applied above, further discloses wherein the fixing strip comprises an area 22 through which the door seal can be screwed to the door. (see FIG. 3 and col. 1) (claim 8)
Claims 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Crist in view of FR 2886362, as applied to claim 1 above, in view of GB 2238069 to Paget.
Crist, as applied above, fails to disclose a plug positioned in an opening at the end of the flexible hollow cylinder.
Paget teaches of a plug 6 (“bung”; see FIGS. 1 and 3) positioned in an opening at an end of the hollow cylinder 4, wherein the corresponding end of cylinder of barrier material 5 is in contact with an exterior surface of the plug so that the barrier material is held in position between the exterior surface of the plug and the interior surface of the hollow cylinder.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the door seal disclosed in Crist in view of FR 2886362 with a plug at each end of the door seal as taught in Paget with a reasonable expectation of success in order to minimize dirt and debris and rodents from entering the door seal as well as to further assist with maintaining the cylinder of knitted barrier material in place within the Crist flexible hollow cylinder. (claim 3)
Crist, as applied above, further discloses a second plug positioned in an opening at an opposite end of the flexible hollow cylinder. (see page 3 of Paget) (claim 4)
Claims 9 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Crist in view of FR 2886362, as applied to claim 8 above, in view of US 4463523 to Mailand et al. (hereinafter “Mailand”).
Crist, as applied above, fails to disclose wherein the fixing strip further comprises a layer of contact adhesive for gluing the door seal to the door.
Mailand teaches of a door seal with a fixing strip17 further comprising a layer of contact adhesive 23 for gluing the door seal to the door 12.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the fixing strip disclosed in Crist with the layer of contact adhesive taught in Mailand with a reasonable expectation of success in order to further assist attaching the door seal to a door. (claim 9)
The apparatus disclosed in Crist, as applied above, inevitably further discloses a method of mounting the door seal as claimed in claim 9 to the edge of the door 13, 15, 16 (see FIGS 1 and 2), comprising: attaching the fixing strip of the door seal to the edge of the door using the layer of contact adhesive; repositioning the fixing strip on the edge of the door; and once the door seal is in a desired position, screwing one or more screws 5 through the area 22 of the fixing strip into the edge of the door. (see FIGS. 1-3 of Crist) (claim 14)
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed March 16, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On page 5 of the applicant’s response filed March 16, 2026, the applicant contends the following:
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However, as noted in the rejections of claim 1 above, the recitation of “for spanning a gap between a door and a ground surface adjacent to the edge of the door” has been interpreted as an intended use recitation. A recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. In this, the examiner submits that the Tavin door seal is certainly capable of performing the intended use.
On page 6 of the applicant’s response filed March 16, 2026, the applicant contends the following:
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However, as noted above, this recitation has been interpreted as an intended use recitation. Please see above.
On page 7 of the applicant’s response filed March 16, 2026, the applicant cites some characteristics of the Crist flexible hollow cylinder 21 in contrast with aspects of the Tavin reference. (see below)
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However, it appears the applicant is referencing the wrong Tavin embodiment. More specifically and as noted in the rejection above, FIGS. 3a-3c, not FIGS. 1a-1c, are cited in the rejection for Tavin. And, contrary to the applicant’s assertions, Tavin FIGS. 3a-3c do in fact illustrate “flexibility and resiliency.”
Therefore, the examiner maintains that it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the flexible hollow cylinder of Crist with the cylinder of knitted barrier material taught in FR 2886362 with a reasonable expectation of success in order to provide the Crist door seal with “a reinforcement in the form of an elastically deformable insert capable of compensating over time for the relaxation of the sealing part of the seal.” (see page 3 of the translation of FR 2886362 provided by the applicant).
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARCUS MENEZES whose telephone number is (571)272-5225. The examiner can normally be reached on M - F 8-5 PST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel Cahn can be reached on 571-270-5616. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Marcus Menezes/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3634