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 .
Application Status
Claims 1-12 are pending and have been examined in this application.
This communication is the first action on the merits.
As of the date of this action an information disclosure statement (IDS) has been filed on 7/9/2025 and reviewed by the Examiner.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The two US documents that were listed on the IDS appear to be missing a “0” after the backslash in the number and the numbers have been amended on the IDS to reflect the correct document numbers.
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: Line 6 of claim 3 currently reads “the first connection circuit,”, the examiner believes that this should read “the first connection circuit, and”. 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 3-9 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.
Claim 3 states “the intermediate circuit extending facing the at least one first piece of furniture”, this current wording is confusing and it is not clear what exactly is intending to be claimed here. The examiner believes that this is meant to mean “the intermediate circuit extending to the at least one first piece of furniture” and the claim will be examined in this manner.
Claims 4-9 are rejected due to their respective dependencies on claims rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b). Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Keleher et al. (PGPub #2014/0248827).
Regarding claim 1, Keleher teaches an aircraft portion comprising: a fuselage (100 as seen in figure 1) delimiting a cabin extending according to a longitudinal axis (100, and 122 as seen in figure 1), the cabin comprising a first cabin portion (604) and a second cabin portion (The exterior around the suite walls as seen in figure 6); a partition wall (134) mounted on the fuselage (134, and 136 as seen in figures 1, 6, and 12, as can be seen the system can be placed against the wall of the fuselage), extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (134 as seen in figures 1, and 6) and separating the first cabin portion and the second cabin portion (134 as seen in figures 1, and 6, as can be seen the wall helps separate the suite interior from the rest of the cabin); at least one first piece of furniture (800, and 902) arranged against the fuselage in the first cabin portion (132 as seen in figure 1, and 132, 604, and 800 as seen in figure 8) and offset longitudinally from the partition wall (700, 800, and 902 as seen in figure 9); and at least one air circulation system (606) for air circulation between the first cabin portion and the second cabin portion (132, 604, and 606 as seen in figure 7, and the Abstract), the at least one air circulation system comprising: at least one first connection device in aeraulic communication with a first ambient air volume of the first cabin portion (604, and 906 as seen in figure 9), delimiting a first connection circuit (604, and 906 as seen in figure 9); at least one second connection device in aeraulic communication with a second ambient air volume of the second cabin portion (132, 606, and 612 as seen in figure 7), delimiting a second connection circuit (132, 606, and 612 as seen in figure 7); and an intermediate circuit connecting the first connection device and the second connection device in aeraulic communication (612, 906, and 1002 as seen in figure 10); the at least one first connection device being included in the at least one first piece of furniture (Paragraph 76).
Claims 1-3, 11, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Space et al. (PGPub #2022/0135235).
Regarding claim 1, Space teaches an aircraft portion comprising: a fuselage (418) delimiting a cabin extending according to a longitudinal axis (430 as seen in figure 7A, and Paragraph 68), the cabin comprising a first cabin portion (440) and a second cabin portion (442); a partition wall (446) mounted on the fuselage (446 as seen in figure 7A), extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (446 as seen in figure 7A) and separating the first cabin portion and the second cabin portion (440, 442, and 446 as seen in figure 7A); at least one first piece of furniture (130) arranged against the fuselage in the first cabin portion (440, and the chairs in that section as seen in figure 7A) and offset longitudinally from the partition wall (440, 446, and the chairs in that section as seen in figure 7A); and at least one air circulation system (100) for air circulation between the first cabin portion and the second cabin portion (Paragraphs 48, and 49, this teaches that the system can deliver and circulate air through every cabin portion), the at least one air circulation system comprising: at least one first connection device in aeraulic communication with a first ambient air volume of the first cabin portion (138, 324, and 326 as seen in figure 5, and Paragraph 49, this teaches that each seat on the aircraft, including those in the first portion can have the circulation system), delimiting a first connection circuit (138, 324, and 326 as seen in figure 5); at least one second connection device in aeraulic communication with a second ambient air volume of the second cabin portion (138, 324, and 326 as seen in figure 5, and Paragraph 49, this teaches that each seat on the aircraft, including those in the second portion can have the circulation system), delimiting a second connection circuit (138, 324, and 326 as seen in figure 5); and an intermediate circuit connecting the first connection device and the second connection device in aeraulic communication (110, 114, and Paragraph 49); the at least one first connection device being included in the at least one first piece of furniture (130, 138, 324, and 326 as seen in figure 5).
Regarding claim 2, Space teaches the aircraft portion according to claim 1, wherein the fuselage comprises a lateral skirt (132) extending according to the longitudinal axis between the first cabin portion and the second cabin portion (440, 442, and the floor as seen in figure 7A), the at least one first piece of furniture being arranged against the lateral skirt (130, and 132 as seen in figure 5), the lateral skirt delimiting at least partially the intermediate circuit (114, and 132 as seen in figure 5).
Regarding claim 3, Space teaches the aircraft portion according to claim 2, wherein the at least one first piece of furniture comprises at least one outer wall delimiting at least partially a first interior space of piece of furniture (130 as seen in figure 5), the at least one outer wall further delimiting at least partially: at least one air inlet opening of the first connection device aeraulically connecting the first connection circuit and the first ambient air volume of the first cabin portion (130, 138, 324, and 326 as seen in figure 5); and the first connection circuit (130, 324, and 326 as seen in figure 5), the lateral skirt comprising at least one air inlet of the intermediate circuit extending to the at least one first piece of furniture and being aeraulically connected to the first connection circuit (114, 140, 324, and 326 as seen in figure 5).
Regarding claim 11, Space teaches the aircraft portion according to claim 1, further comprising at least one second piece of furniture arranged against the fuselage in the second cabin portion (442, and the chairs in that section as seen in figure 7A) and offset longitudinally from the partition wall (442, 446, and the chairs in that section as seen in figure 7A), the at least one second connection device being included in the at least one second piece of furniture (138, 324, and 326 as seen in figure 5, and Paragraph 49, this teaches that each seat on the aircraft, including those in the second portion can have the circulation system).
Regarding claim 12, Space teaches the aircraft portion according to claim 11, wherein the fuselage comprises a lateral skirt (132) extending according to the longitudinal axis between the first cabin portion and the second cabin portion (440, 442, and the floor as seen in figure 7A), the at least one first piece of furniture being arranged against the lateral skirt (130, and 132 as seen in figure 5), the lateral skirt delimiting at least partially the intermediate circuit (114, and 132 as seen in figure 5) and wherein the at least one second piece of furniture is arranged against the lateral skirt (130, and 132 as seen in figure 5, the chair shown in figure 5 is used in both the first and second portions), the intermediate circuit extending according to the longitudinal axis between the at least one first connection device and the at least one second connection device (Paragraphs 48, and 49, this teaches that the system can deliver air two both longitudinally offset portions using a single intermediate circuit).
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 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keleher et al. (PGPub #2014/0248827) in view of Maben et al. (PGPub #2020/0056727).
Regarding claim 10, Keleher teaches the aircraft portion according to claim 1, but does not teach that surfaces of the first connection device and/or the at least one first piece of furniture delimiting the first connection circuit are at least partially covered by an acoustic insulation coating. However, Maben does teach that surfaces of the first connection device and/or the at least one first piece of furniture delimiting the first connection circuit are at least partially covered by an acoustic insulation coating (114, and Paragraphs 40, and 47, this teaches that the connection circuit can have a layer of acoustic insulation). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the connection device has an acoustic insulation layer because Keleher and Maben are both environmental control systems for aircraft with ducts. The motivation for having the connection device has an acoustic insulation layer is that it helps to minimize the noise that can be heard by the passengers while the system is in use.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Space et al. (PGPub #2022/0135235) in view of Maben et al. (PGPub #2020/0056727).
Regarding claim 10, Space teaches the aircraft portion according to claim 1, but does not teach that surfaces of the first connection device and/or the at least one first piece of furniture delimiting the first connection circuit are at least partially covered by an acoustic insulation coating. However, Maben does teach that surfaces of the first connection device and/or the at least one first piece of furniture delimiting the first connection circuit are at least partially covered by an acoustic insulation coating (114, and Paragraphs 40, and 47, this teaches that the connection circuit can have a layer of acoustic insulation). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the connection device has an acoustic insulation layer because Space and Maben are both environmental control systems for aircraft with ducts. The motivation for having the connection device has an acoustic insulation layer is that it helps to minimize the noise that can be heard by the passengers while the system is in use.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-9 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM LAWRENCE GMOSER whose telephone number is (571)270-5083. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Thu 7:00-5:00.
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/WILLIAM L GMOSER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3647