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 .
Specification
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
Claims 3, 5 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 3 and 5 are rejected because there is no antecedent support in claim 1 for “the concave surface”.
Claim 19 is rejected because there appears to be some missing terms in line 3 of the claim. The limitation ‘The center axis of the of the center groove” is not understood.
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.
Claims 1, 6, 7,15 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Husbands (US Reissue 6,246- appears on PTO-892).
Husbands teaches a fire kindler formed from a block of wood and constructed with a series of draft flues or openings (see page 1, col. 1, third paragraph). Figures 1 and 2 of Husbands has a structure substantially as claimed by Applicant
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In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the fire-kindler, illustrating the air-passages or draft-flues (slats and grooves). Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of fire-kindler. Referring to the drawings, the letter A designates the fire- kindler, consisting of a solid head or body, B, with which is constructed with a series of partitions, C, formed in such a manner, and in such respect to each other, as to create air-passages or draft-flues D. The fire-kindler may be rotated such that the solid portion of the block is placed uppermost. If desirable, the head or body may be centrally formed or located, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, or a crosshead may be constructed or formed at each end, as illustrated by the dotted lines at A1', Fig. 2 (see page 1, col. 2, paragraph 3; page 2, col. 1, first paragraph). Husbands meets the limitation of the claims other than the differences that are set forth below.
Husbands does not specifically teach which sides are top, bottom, first, second, front or back. However, Husbands does teach that the block may be arranged such that the solid portion is placed uppermost and that an additional crosshead may be formed at each end. Thus, shifting the sitting position of Husbands’ fire-kindler such that the sides would match up with those of Applicant would not have modified the operation of the device. In re Kuhle, 526 F.2d 553, 188 USPQ 7 (CCPA 1975). Such shifting of the sitting position is held to be an obvious matter of design choice.
Claims 2 ,4, 8-14, 16-18 and 21-23 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 prior art fails to teach or suggest wherein the top wall extends between a top surface of the top side and a concave surface located between the top side and the bottom side, the concave surface is a top wall bottom surface, each groove of the plurality of grooves extending from the top wall bottom surface to the outermost bottom surface.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CEPHIA D TOOMER whose telephone number is (571)272-1126. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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, Prem Singh can be reached at 571-272-6368. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CEPHIA D TOOMER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1771 19083731/20260221