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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 1/10/25 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fleck, DE 20 2004 017 502 in view of Mueller, DE 44 39 958.
Regarding claim 16:
Fleck discloses a gutter guard comprising:
an elongate body (15) to be located adjacent a gutter (5) on a roof of a building;
one or more guard panels (4) having openings therein and being secured along a first edge of the body; and
an undulating strip (10) secured to a second edge of the body such that when the body is secured to the roof, the undulating strip engages with a lower surface of the roof;
wherein a hinge (central creased portion of 15 along A1/A2) is provided adjacent the first edge portion of the body such that each of the guard panels are pivotably connected to the body to be movable between a lowered position, in which the guard panel extends across the top of the gutter, and a raised position, in which the guard panel is moved upwardly to allow access to the gutter.
Fleck discloses an undulating strip but does not disclose a bristle strip.
Mueller discloses a gutter guard having a bristle strip (14) such that when the body is secured to the roof, the bristles engage with an upper surface of the roof (11).
Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) to substitute the undulating strip of Fleck with a bristle strip as suggested by Mueller in order to prevent ingress of leaves or tree needles but allow water through without requiring cleaning (6th paragraph of the translation).
Regarding claim 17:
Fleck discloses wherein the hinge comprises a flexible strip of material (predetermined bending line 35 along A1/A2) integrally formed into the body adjacent the first edge along the length of the body.
Regarding claim 18:
Fleck does not, but Mueller discloses wherein the bristle strip is connected to the body at an angle such that when the body is located adjacent and parallel to the roof, distal ends of the bristles angle downwardly towards the surface of the roof.
Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a PHOSITA to have the downward angling suggested by Mueller in the gutter guard of Fleck in order to allow fallen leaves and tree needles to blow away by the wind while also allowing rainwater through (9th paragraph of the Mueller translation).
Regarding claim 19:
Fleck discloses a plurality of guard panels each comprising a rectangular planar panel, such that each of the guard panels includes first and second side and first and second ends (refer to Fig. 6).
Claims 16, 19-21, 23-24 and 27-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pfeifer, US 4,959,932 in view of Mueller, DE 44 39 958.
Regarding claim 16:
Pfeifer discloses a gutter guard comprising:
an elongate body (9) to be located adjacent a gutter on a roof (11) of a building;
one or more guard panels (1) having openings therein and being secured along a first edge of the body (at 9, Fig. 2); and
a strip (4) secured to a second edge of the body such that when the body is secured to the roof, the strip engages with a lower surface of the roof;
wherein a hinge (8) is provided adjacent the first edge portion of the body such that each of the guard panels are pivotably connected to the body to be movable between a lowered position, in which the guard panel extends across the top of the gutter, and a raised position, in which the guard panel is moved upwardly to allow access to the gutter.
Pfeifer discloses a strip but does not disclose a bristle strip.
Mueller discloses a gutter guard having a bristle strip (14) such that when the body is secured to the roof, the bristles engage with an upper surface of the roof (11).
Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) to incorporate a bristle strip as suggested by Mueller onto the strip of Pfeifer in order to prevent ingress of leaves or tree needles but allow water through without requiring cleaning (6th paragraph of the translation) and to protect the edge of the roof.
Regarding claim 19:
Pfeifer discloses a plurality of guard panels each comprising a rectangular planar panel, such that each of the guard panels includes first and second side and first and second ends (refer to Fig. 3, connecting pins 12 are for connecting adjacent panels).
Regarding claim 20:
Pfeifer discloses wherein the first side of each of the guard panels (left side in Fig. 2) includes a flange (14) extending outwardly therefrom to be received in a first channel in the first edge portion of the body.
Regarding claim 21:
Pfeifer discloses wherein the cross-sectional shape of the flange corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the first channel such that the flange can be received within the first channel by sliding (refer to Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 23:
Pfeifer discloses wherein the first end of each of the guard panels includes a channel member (the converse of the pins 12) such that the second end (12) of the adjacent guard panel engages into the channel member when the guard panels are slid into the first channel.
Regarding claim 24:
Pfeifer discloses the use of a channel in receiving a flange of a guard panel and Mueller discloses a bristle strip affixed to a body at the front of a gutter.
Pfeifer does not expressly disclose wherein a second edge of the body includes a second channel for receiving a base portion of the bristle strip.
Based on the teaching of Pfeifer in using a channel on the body to receive a flange of the guard panel, it is considered standard design for the provision of a receiving channel in the body of Pfeifer. A second channel on the second edge of the body is an obvious arrangement for fixing the bristle strip as suggested by Mueller in order to provide a sounds means of attachment.
Regarding claims 27 and 28:
Pfeifer discloses wherein the second side of each of the guard panels includes a lip (beyond hinge 8) extending outwardly to engage an upper edge of the gutter, wherein the second side of each of the guard panels is provided with a downward projection (10) along the length thereof to engage with an inner edge of the gutter.
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pfeifer, US 4,959,932 in view of Mueller, DE 44 39 958 as applied to claim 21, further in view of Lenney, US 2017/0204612.
Regarding claim 22:
Pfeifer does not expressly disclose the claimed shape of the first channel.
Lenney discloses a gutter guard having a flange attached to a first channel of a body (refer to Figs. 1A-1D) wherein the first channel includes a widened inner portion (1) corresponding in shape to a rib (2) located on a distal edge of the flange.
Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a PHOSITA to provide the mating rib structure as suggested by Lenney to the connection of Pfeifer in order to prevent unintentional pulling out of the gutter guard from the flange and to ensure a snug fit.
Claims 29 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pfeifer, US 4,959,932 in view of Mueller, DE 44 39 958 as applied to claim 16, further in view of Rozenberg, US 5,322,722.
Regarding claims 29 and 30:
Pfeifer discloses nail holes/grooves but does not expressly disclose an adhesive strip.
Rozenberg discloses the use of grooves with an adhesive strip (20) placed therein for adhering water deflecting panel liners.
Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a PHOSITA to substitute adhesive strips as suggested by Rozenberg for the nailing strip of Pfeifer in order to provide a waterproof adhesive seal devoid of holes that could compromise waterproofing.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 25 and 26 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The secondary reference to Mueller, DE 44 39 958 discloses wherein the bristle strip is angled on the roof. And Pfeifer, US 4,959,932 teaches the use of channels in the body for receiving a gutter screen such that providing a channel on the body for receiving the bristle strip is a reasonable modification. However, the prior art does not reasonably suggest the combination of the second edge portion having the second channel for receiving the bristle strip being angled relative to the elongate body such that when the body is parallel to the surface of the roof, the second edge portion extends upwardly away from the roof. Making such a modification to the elongate bodies of the prior art would require improper hindsight reasoning and reconstruction.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRENT W HERRING whose telephone number is (571)270-3661. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:30a-6:00p MT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brian Glessner can be reached at (571)272-6754. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRENT W HERRING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3633
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