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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 2/4/2026 has been entered.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. FR2207073, filed on 7/11/2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 2/17/2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Status
Claim 1 has been amended.
Claims 1-10 are pending and examined as follows:
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) 1,3-8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kohl et al (US 10,818,419) in view of Kachelhoffer et al (DE102019211569A1).
With regards to claim 1, Kohl et al discloses an electric heating device (tempering device 1, Title), for a motor vehicle (tempering device 1 is of a vehicle 19, Fig. 1), said electric heating device comprising an electrical connection box (electric supply, col 6, lines 53-55) and a heating body (PTC thermistor module 2, Fig. 2) comprising: a plurality of heating elements intended to be supplied with current (PTC thermistor elements 6, Fig. 2) transmitted by two electrodes (electrodes 9, Fig. 2), a plurality of metal tubes (sheathing elements 12 produced from metal, col 7, lines 13-15, Fig. 1), at least some of which comprise said heating elements and a plurality of metal heat sinks (rib structures 5 on each side of sheathing elements 12, Fig. 1), wherein the metal tubes and the metal heat sinks forming a conductive frame at a same electrical potential (sheathing elements 12 and rib structures 5 form the tempering device 1 to be heated uniformly, Fig. 1), wherein at least one tube of said plurality of tubes comprises a conductive element which protrudes from said at least one tube and is in electrical contact with said at least one tube (line 8 and electrode 9 are inside sheathing element 12 and protrudes outside towards connector 10, Fig. 2,3),wherein said element protruding from said at least one tube is a metal bar disposed longitudinally in said at least one tube (lines 8 have a bar like shape and are made of metal, col 7, lines 7-9, Fig. 2) and wherein the conductive element is electrically insulated from the two electrodes that supply the current for the plurality of heating elements (lines 8 are electrically isolated by conductor plates 11 from electrode 9, Fig. 2).
Kohl et al does not disclose wherein said conductive element that protrudes from said at least one tube is connected to a ground connector of said electrical connection box, wherein said metal bar comprising at least one metal tab in contact with an inner surface of said at least one tube and wherein said at least one tube further comprises another metal bar comprising one or more metal tabs in contact with said inner surface of said at least one tube, wherein said metal bar and said another metal bar are secured to one another and disposed on either side of a median plane longitudinally intersecting a width of said at least one tube, and wherein said one or more metal tabs of said another metal bar and said at least one metal tab of said metal bar protrude in a same direction and from a same plane.
Kachelhoffer et al wherein said conductive element that protrudes from said at least one tube is connected to a ground connector of said electrical connection box, wherein said metal bar comprising at least one metal tab in contact with an inner surface of said at least one tube (heater housing 44 is made of an extruded profile of metal and has sections 50 having projections 6 which contacting housing 100 where ground pole is formed and protrudes into pocket 24,Fig. 8-11), wherein said metal bar comprising at least one metal tab in contact with an inner surface of said at least one tube (heater housing 44 has deformation projections 6 which contact an inner surface of receiving pocket 24, Fig. 8-11) and wherein said at least one tube further comprises another metal bar comprising one or more metal tabs in contact with said inner surface of said at least one tube ,wherein said metal bar and said another metal bar are secured to one another and disposed on either side of a median plane longitudinally intersecting a width of said at least one tube, and wherein said one or more metal tabs of said another metal bar and said at least one metal tab of said metal bar protrude in a same direction and from a same plane (heater housing has two sections 50 connected by bottom section 48 and extend in the same direction when in contact of receiving pocket 24, Fig. 8-11).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Kohl et al and Kachelhoffer et al before him or her, to modify the metal strip of Kohl et al to include the projections of Kachelhoffer et al because the combination allows for form fitting of heating elements in a heating system for enhanced securing.
With regards to claim 3, Kachelhoffer et al teaches wherein the metal tab is a lateral position of the metal bar, articulated on a body of the metal bar at a base of the metal tab (metal strip 4 has deformation projections 6 are at a series of lateral positions of metal strip 4 are articulated upward against pocket 23, Fig. 7).
With regards to claim 4, Kachelhoffer et al teaches wherein the at least one tube further comprises an electrical connection member protruding from the at least one tube (connection lugs 32 connected to power by electric connection of the housing base 102, paragraph 0042, lines 6-9), wherein a protruding part of the electrical connection member being electrically connected to an electric power supply in the electrical connection box (connection lugs 32 are connected to electric connection of the housing base 102, paragraph 0042, lines 6-9).
With regards to claim 5, Kachelhoffer et al teaches where the electric connection member and the metal bar are at least partially embedded in an insulating polymer material on a longitudinal portion of the electrical connection member and the metal bar (connection lugs 32 and metal strip 4 are embedded in heater housing 12 made of plastic, Fig. 2).
With regards to claim 6, Kachelhoffer et al teaches wherein the metal bar comprises several metal tabs distributed uniformly along the metal bar (metal strip 4 has more than several metal tabs 6 distributed in a uniform way, Fig. 2).
With regards to claim 7, Kachelhoffer et al teaches wherein the at least one tube further comprises another metal bar comprising one or more metal tabs in contact with the inner surface of the at least one tube wherein the metal bar and the other metal bar being disposed on either side of a medial plan longitudinally intersecting a width of the at least one tube, wherein the metal bar and the other metal bar being secured to one another (housing 44 having side sections 50 which each have metal tabs 6 wherein each section is made of a metal strip 4 connected by section 48, Fig. 8).
With regards to claim 8, Kachelhoffer et al teaches wherein the metal tabs of the metal bar and of another metal bar protrude from a same side of the metal bar (housing 44 has metal tabs 6 on the outer side, Fig. 8).
With regards to claim 10, Kohl et al discloses wherein the at least one tube is disposed at a lateral edge of the heating body (tube 12 has a lateral edge outside of rib structures 5, Fig. 1).
Claim(s) 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kohl et al and Kachelhoffer et al as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Taguchi (US 8,338,755).
With regards to claim 9, Kohl et al and Kachelhoffer et al does not teach wherein the at least one tube further comprises one or more temperature sensors disposed on an opposite side from the same side of the metal bar.
Taguchi teaches wherein the at least one tube further comprises one or more temperature sensors disposed on an opposite side from the same side of the metal bar (the side surface 13 of the tube 12 having a temperature sensor attached which would be outside of the tube and therefore opposite of any component inside, col 4, lines 65-67).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Kohl et al, Kachelhoffer et al and Taguchi before him or her, to modify the tube of Kohl et al and Kachelhoffer et al to include the temperature sensor of Taguchi because the combination allows for precise temperature control of a heating device.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 2/4/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicants’ arguments: Applicant argues the prior art does not disclose or teach all of the claimed limitations of claim 1.
Examiners response: Applicant amended claim 1 to include “wherein said at least one tube further comprises another metal bar comprising one or more metal tabs in contact with said inner surface of said at least one tube, wherein said metal bar and said another metal bar are secured to one another and disposed on either side of a median plane longitudinally intersecting a width of said at least one tube, and wherein said one or more metal tabs of said another metal bar and said at least one metal tab of said metal bar protrude in a same direction and from a same plane”. Kachelhoffer et al teaches wherein said at least one tube further comprises another metal bar comprising one or more metal tabs in contact with said inner surface of said at least one tube ,wherein said metal bar and said another metal bar are secured to one another and disposed on either side of a median plane longitudinally intersecting a width of said at least one tube, and wherein said one or more metal tabs of said another metal bar and said at least one metal tab of said metal bar protrude in a same direction and from a same plane (heater housing has two sections 50 connected by bottom section 48 and extend in the same direction when in contact of receiving pocket 24, Fig. 8-11). The previous rejection using Kachelhoffer et al used the first embodiment (Fig. 3) was overcome by the amendment of claim 1. The rejection has been updated and another embodiment (Fig. 8-11) of Kachelhoffer et al has now been used to reject the amended limitations of claim 1.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS JOHN WARD whose telephone number is (571)270-1786. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 7am - 4pm.
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/THOMAS J WARD/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
/EDWARD F LANDRUM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761