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 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
Claim(s) 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lax – US 20070285262 and in view of Niedermeyer – US 4228428.
As per claim 1, Lax teaches a cover 22 for a gas detector 26 ([0024]: smoke and carbon monoxide detector 10 includes outer case 22 that house carbon monoxide detector circuitry 26) attached to a ceiling surface (fig.4 and [0023, 0030]: smoke and carbon monoxide detector 10 is attached/mounted to ceiling via light fixture 15; thus “a cover for a gas detector attached to a ceiling surface”), the cover 22 comprising: a flat plate portion that is disposed along the ceiling surface (see described fig.4); and a collar portion that extends to surround the gas detector 26 on the flat plate portion and is inclined downward away from the gas detector 26.
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Lax does not explicitly teach a flat plate portion to which the gas detector 26 is fixed.
Niedermeyer teaches a flat plate portion 12 to which a smoke detector 18 is fixed (see fig.3).
It would thus have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify flat plate portion of Lax with teachings of Niedermeyer to include a flat plate portion to which the gas detector is fixed, for general mounting aspect between sensor and frame that is fixed to ceiling (fig.3).
As per claim 2, Lax further teach at least either of the flat plate portion and the collar portion has a plurality of through holes 32, 33 (fig.3: apertures 32, 33 in the outer case 22 of the smoke and carbon monoxide detector 26); and the through holes 32,33 are arranged to surround the gas detector 26 (figs.3-4).
As per claim 3, Lax does not explicitly teach a lower surface of the flat plate portion includes a wall portion that protrudes downward and extends to surround the gas detector.
Niedermeyer teaches a lower surface of flat plate portion 12 includes a wall portion that protrudes downward and extends to surround smoke detector 18 (described fig.3).
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It would thus have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify flat plate portion of Lax with teachings of Niedermeyer to include a lower surface of the flat plate portion includes a wall portion that protrudes downward and extends to surround the gas detector, because this is a known way to mount sensor to a lower surface of a flat plate portion fixed to a ceiling via a frame.
As per claim 4, while Lax teach a certain inclination angle of the collar portion 22 with respect to the flat plate portion, Lax does not explicitly teach an inclination angle of the collar portion with respect to the flat plate portion is 30 degrees to 60 degrees.
It would thus have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify a certain inclination angle of the collar portion 22 with respect to the flat plate portion to any desired inclination angle which include i.e. 30 degrees to 60 degrees, while still ensure providing an entrance for potential smoke or carbon monoxide hazards to be sufficiently detected by smoke or carbon monoxide detector, since where the general conditions of a claim (i.e. a certain inclination angle of the collar portion 22 with respect to the flat plate portion) are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
As per claim 5, Lax further teaches a tip end of the collar portion 22 is positioned farther from the ceiling surface than the gas detector 26 (described fig.4).
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Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRUONG D PHAN whose telephone number is (571)272-8883. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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/TRUONG D PHAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2855
/JOHN E BREENE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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