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 3/27/25 has been considered by the examiner.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5 and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Inoue [US 2018/0216799].
As to claim 1, Inoue discloses a lighting apparatus [1, figure 2], comprising a flexible profile [3a, 3b, 29a, 29b, figure 2] made of thermoplastic [paragraph 141] material and provided with a first seating for housing a light source [at 23a] and a second seating for housing an electronic device for piloting and/or controlling said light source [at 19 and 7, figure 2], wherein said first seating is positioned under a covering element [15] made in said profile and suitable to shield direct light [see figure 2].
As to claim 2, Inoue discloses the lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first seating is split into a first housing [29a] for an installation of a first type of light source [23a] and into a second housing [31a] for the installation of a second type of light source [23b].
As to claim 3, Inoue discloses the lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein said thermoplastic material is a recyclable and easily paintable PVC compound [see paragraph 141].
As to claim 4, Inoue discloses the lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein said lighting apparatus comprises one or more systems for attachment to an installation surface [7].
As to claim 5, Inoue discloses the lighting apparatus as in claim 4, wherein said profile comprises a seating for housing said one or more attachment systems [this is the gap in 29b where 7 is, figure 2].
As to claim 6, Inoue discloses wherein the seating comprises an impression for the correct positioning of said one or more attachment systems [see figure 2, the impression is the interior surfaces of the gap in 29b].
As to claim 8, Inoue discloses the lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein said profile comprises a lightening slot [25a].
As to claim 9, Inoue discloses the lighting assembly of claim 1, comprising two or more lighting apparatuses [see figure 3, left and right side are each an apparatus] joined by means of one or more connection devices [27a or 29c/29d].
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.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inoue in view of Greene [US 2016/0138768].
As to claim 7, Inoue fails to explicitly disclose wherein said light source is an LED strip, able to be inserted by interlocking or snap-in into said first seating. Greene teaches implementing light sources as a light strip [see figures 5, 6] which is inserted into a housing with interlocking configurations [via J1, J5, figure 7] was well known. It would have been obvious to implement the light strip as taught by Greene with the lighting unit in Inoue, in order to provide more light and more even illumination for the lighting units as taught by Inoue, as may be desired by a user [see Inoue, paragraph 323].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Quaal [see PTO-892 for reference numbers], Isaac, Yu, Cleaver, Wu, Trundle, Labas, Whittaker, and Groves all teach alternative embodiments of lighting apparatuses which comprise flexible materials, house multiple light sources, and include covering elements and second seatings within the housing for electronic devices to power the light sources.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRYON GYLLSTROM whose telephone number is (571)270-1498. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jong-Suk Lee can be reached at 571-272-7044. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRYON T GYLLSTROM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
