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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 1-7 are objected to because of the following informalities: The Examiner objects to “at least one mounting brackets” on Line 3 of Claim 1. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 4-7 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 [as well as 2-3” are for “a method for” but these claims are for “a method of”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 5 objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate of claim 4. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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.
Claim 4 recites the limitation "the front solid acrylic surface". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the front solid acrylic surface". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the first mounting bracket". 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2, 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by GB 2401388 to Ford.
Regarding claim 1, Ford teaches in Figure 1, a method [a simple set of steps comprising forming (Page 1, Lines 18-19) and attaching (Page 3, Line 2)] for forming a hollow [having a transparent section (Abstract)] man [commercial and domestic use (Page 1, Lines 3-4)] door (1) (Page 3, Line 1), comprising: forming a core (4a-4d) [frame (Page 3, Line 2)] of metallic material [aluminum (Page 3, Line 2)]; attaching at least one mounting brackets (5a-5d) [corner pieces (Page 3, Lines 2-3)] to the core (4a-4d); forming at least one conduit (13) [electrical connection point (Page 3, Lines 8-9)] through the core (4b); and seaming together a plurality of solid acrylic (Page 1, Line 23) outer surfaces (6 and 7) [plastic sheet (Page 3, Line 3)] such that the core (4a-4d) is disposed within the plurality of solid acrylic outer surfaces (6 and 7).
Regarding claim 2, Ford teaches in Figure 1, installing door hardware (9) [handles and associated mechanism (Page 3, Lines 7-8)] to the mounting brackets (5a-5d) [via the frame] such that the door hardware (9) is prevented from direct contact with the plurality of sold acrylic outer surfaces (6 and 7) [see Figure 1B where there is a plate beneath the handle to prevent direct contact].
Regarding claim 6, Ford teaches in Figure 1, the at least one conduit (13) provides an electrical path (Page 3, Lines 8-9) between a first mounting bracket (5b) of the at least one mounting brackets and a second mounting bracket (5c) of the at least one mounting bracket.
Regarding claim 7, Ford teaches installing the hollow man door in a facility [commercial (Page 1, Line 4)].
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 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GB 2401388 to Ford in view of US Patent Application Publication # 2004/0172914 to Lancia.
Regarding claim 3, Ford teaches a method for forming the hollow man door with a front solid acrylic surface but does not teach at least one side acrylic surface. However, Lancia teaches in Figures 1 and 3, seeming (Abstract) together a plurality of surfaces (60, 62, 72 and 76) comprises seeming together a front surface (60) to at least one side surface (72/76), such that the front surface (60) and the at least one side surface (72/76) are visually seamlessly joined together (Abstract). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ford with Lancia and have a reasonable expectation of success because Lancia teaches a seamless door is not susceptible to damage due to climatic changes (Paragraph 0011).
Regarding claim 4, Ford teaches a method of forming the hollow man door with a back solid acrylic surface but does not teach at least one side acrylic surface. However, Lancia teaches in Figures 1 and 3, seeming (Abstract) together a plurality of surfaces (60, 62, 72 and 76) comprises seeming together a back surface (62) to at least one side surface (72/76), such that the front surface (60) and the at least one side surface (72/76) are visually seamlessly joined together (Abstract). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ford with Lancia and have a reasonable expectation of success because Lancia teaches a seamless door is not susceptible to damage due to climatic changes (Paragraph 0011).
Regarding claim 5, Ford teaches a method of forming the hollow man door with a back solid acrylic surface but does not teach at least one side acrylic surface. However, Lancia teaches in Figures 1 and 3, seeming (Abstract) together a plurality of surfaces (60, 62, 72 and 76) comprises seeming together a back surface (62) to at least one side surface (72/76), such that the front surface (60) and the at least one side surface (72/76) are visually seamlessly joined together (Abstract). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Ford with Lancia and have a reasonable expectation of success because Lancia teaches a seamless door is not susceptible to damage due to climatic changes (Paragraph 0011).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW J TRIGGS whose telephone number is (571)270-3657. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 6am-2pm EST.
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, Brian Mattei can be reached at (571) 270-3238. 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.
/ANDREW J TRIGGS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3635
Prosecution Insights