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 disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: in Paragraph 0037, the term “high metting point” is misspelled and should be written as “high melting point”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1, 3, 4, and 8 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as failing to set forth 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.
Regarding claims 1, 4, and 8, it is unclear whether the placard is claimed in combination with the backing plate. The preamble recites a "backing plate for a hazardous material placard", which implies the placard is not part of the claimed invention. The applicant is required to clarify whether the claim is drawn to the placard in combination with the backing plate or if the claim is drawn only to the backing plate. For examination purposes, the examiner contends the claims are drawn to the backing plate only.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the sequence of letters" in lines 1-2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 4 recites the limitation "the type of hazard associated with the hazardous material" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Regarding claim 4, it is unclear whether the “hazard cutout portion” on line 4 is the same as the N cutout portions recited in claim 1, line 5.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the other diagonal is vertical" in line 4-5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 11 recites the limitation "the other diagonal is vertical" in line 4-5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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, 3, 4, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20100154261 A1 to Bozlo.
Regarding claim 1, Bozlo teaches an Illuminated Trim Panel (backing plate for a hazardous material placard), the hazardous material placard (transparent layer 210, paragraph 0026, Figure 2) comprising a hazardous material indicator (design piece 230, see paragraph 0026) that is a sequence of N characters indicating a type or limited class of hazardous material, N being a natural number, the backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) being a metal plate having a size and shape approximately the same as the placard (opaque layer 220 is same size and shape as transparent layer 210 and is made of metal, see Figure 2, paragraph 0027), and having N cutout portions (omitted regions 222) that have been cut out from the backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) corresponding to the sequence of N characters on the placard, the N cutout portions (omitted regions 222) being positioned and sized so that the backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) is behind the placard so that the N cutout portions (omitted regions 222) align with the N characters on the placard.
[AltContent: textbox (Hazard material placard)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Hazard material indicator)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Omitted regions)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Backing plate)][AltContent: arrow]
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Regarding claim 3, Bozlo teaches that each character is a letter or and the sequence of letters forms a word that specifies the hazardous material (design includes lettering and/or logo, see Abstract, line 1).
Regarding claim 4, Bozlo teaches that the placard further comprises a hazard indicator that indicates the type of hazard associated with the hazardous material indicated by the hazardous material indicator (design piece 230, see paragraph 0026), and the backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) further comprises a hazard cutout portion (omitted regions 222) corresponding to the hazard indicator being positioned and sized so that the backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) is behind the placard so that the hazard cutout portion (omitted regions 222) aligns with the hazard indicator on the placard.
Regarding claim 8, Bozlo teaches an Illuminated Trim Panel (backing plate for a hazardous material placard), the hazardous material placard (transparent layer 210, paragraph 0026, Figure 2) comprising a hazardous material indicator (design piece 230, see paragraph 0026) that is a sequence of N characters, N being a natural number, located in a rectangular material indication portion of the placard having 1 a length and a width, the N characters forming a code indicating a type or class of hazardous material, the backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) being a rectangular metal plate having a length and width at least as large as the length and width of the material indication portion respectively, and having N cutout portions (omitted regions 222) that have been cut out from the backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) corresponding to the sequence of N characters on the placard, the N cutout portions (omitted regions 222) being positioned and sized so that the backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) is behind the placard so that the N cutout portions (omitted regions 222) align with the N characters on the placard.
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 2 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20100154261 A1 to Bozlo in view of Welcome to SAAB9000.com; (April 1, 2022) SAAB9000.COM: An online resource for Saab 9000 owners and enthusiasts.
Bozlo teaches the indicia comprising letterings or logo. Bozlo does not teach the indicia on the backing plate comprising four-digit numbers.
The “Welcome to SAAB9000.com” page teaches a logo comprising alphanumeric characters, specifically four-digit numbers.
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Since the applicant does not disclose that the indicia depicting a four-digit number that indicates the hazardous material indicator (design piece 230, see paragraph 0026) solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose, it appears that constructing a backing plate taught by Bozlo with any suitable indicia would perform equally well to convey a message to the viewer.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct the indicia (logo or lettering) on the backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) taught by Bozlo with a logo comprising a four-digit number as taught by the “Welcome to SAAB9000.com” page with a reasonable expectation of success as a matter of design to convey a desired message to the viewer.
Where the only difference between a prior art product and a claimed product is printed matter that is not functionally related to the product, the content of the printed matter will not distinguish the claimed product from the prior art. In re Ngai, 367 F.3d 1336, 1339, 70 USPQ2d 1862, 1864 (Fed. Cir. 2004). (See MPEP 2112.01).
Claims 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20100154261 A1 to Bozlo in view of US 20210264824 A1 to Schmidling.
Regarding claims 5 and 6, Bozlo teaches that the backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) is made of metal (not show, see paragraph 0027). Bozlo does not teach that the metal component is a type of galvanized steel.
Schmidling teaches a stop sign made from metal that is a type of steel (sign body 20, paragraph 0024, figure 7). Schmidling teaches “the sign body 20 can be comprised of a rigid metallic material, such as aluminum, steel, etc.”
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Since the applicant does not disclose that galvanized steel solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose, it appears that using any suitable steel material as taught by Schmidling would perform equally well in supporting a sign.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct a backing plate as taught by Bozlo to include the metal to be made out of a type of galvanized steel as taught by Schmidling with a reasonable expectation of success to provide backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) that can withstand the elements of rusting and weather damage since it combines the structural strength of steel with a protective zinc coating.
The selection of a known material based upon its suitability for the intended use is a design consideration within the skill of the art. In re Leshin, 227 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960).
Regarding claims 5 and 7, Bozlo teaches that the backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) is made of metal (not show, see paragraph 0027). Bozlo does not teach that the metal component is a type of stainless steel.
Schmidling teaches a stop sign made from metal that is a type of steel (sign body 20, paragraph 0024, figure 7).
Since the applicant does not disclose that stainless steel solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose, it appears that using any suitable steel material as taught by Schmidling would perform equally well in supporting a sign.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct a backing plate as taught by Bozlo to include the metal to be made out of a type of stainless steel as taught by Schmidling with a reasonable expectation of success to provide backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) that can offer an unmatched durability, be resistant to corrosion, and it also would provide a professional appearance.
The selection of a known material based upon its suitability for the intended use is a design consideration within the skill of the art. In re Leshin, 227 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20100154261 A1 to Bozlo in view of US 20170193883 A1 to Pal.
Regarding claim 10, Bozlo teaches that the hazardous material placard (transparent layer 210, paragraph 0026, Figure 3), the backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220), and the code (design piece 230) are square and parallel to each other when placed on top. Bozlo does not teach that the hazardous material placard (transparent layer 210, paragraph 0026, Figure 3) and the backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) are square with the code (design piece 230) being oriented parallel to a first diagonal of the hazardous material placard (transparent layer 210, paragraph 0026, Figure 2) to facilitate reading the code (design piece 230) when the hazardous material placard (transparent layer 210, paragraph 0026, Figure 2) is mounted on a container so that the first diagonal is horizontal and the other diagonal is vertical.
Pal teaches the hazardous material placard and the backing plate are square with the code being oriented parallel to a first diagonal of the hazardous material placard to facilitate reading the code when the hazardous material placard is mounted on a container so that the first diagonal is horizontal and the other diagonal is vertical (see Figure 3).
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct a backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) as taught by Bozlo to include a code (design piece 230) parallel to the diagonal of a corresponding placard as taught by Pal with a reasonable expectation of success to provide a means to alert a viewer of the sign to dangerous or unusual conditions.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20100154261 A1 to Bozlo in view of “Welcome to SAAB9000.com; (April 1, 2022) SAAB9000.COM: An online resource for Saab 9000 owners and enthusiasts” as applied to claim 9 and in further view of US 20170193883 A1 to Pal.
Pal teaches the hazardous material placard and the backing plate are square with the code being oriented parallel to a first diagonal of the hazardous material placard to facilitate reading the code when the hazardous material placard is mounted on a container so that the first diagonal is horizontal and the other diagonal is vertical (see Figure 3).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct a backing plate (opaque layer of illuminated trim panel 220) as taught by Bozlo in view of SAAB9000.com to include a code (design piece 230) parallel to the diagonal of a corresponding placard as taught by Pal with a reasonable expectation of success to provide a means to alert a viewer of the sign to dangerous or unusual conditions.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ISHFAR AHMED whose telephone number is (571)270-3775. The examiner can normally be reached 9 am to 5 pm.
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, Jonathan Liu can be reached at 5712728287. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ISHFAR AHMED/Examiner, Art Unit 3631
/CASSANDRA DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3631
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