DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
The applicant’s amendment filed 4/2/2026 has been entered.
Terminal Disclaimer
The applicant’s Terminal Disclaimer filed 3/31/2026 has been entered and accepted.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Baker et al (US 7,055,983 B1).
In regard to claim 1, Baker et al disclose an insect trap, comprising:
a housing (20) having an insect receptacle;
a cover assembly (30) connected to the housing and movable between a closed position and an opened position; and
PNG
media_image1.png
541
431
media_image1.png
Greyscale
a lighting element (50) removably attached to the cover assembly, the lighting element is arranged within an interior of the housing in the closed position of the cover assembly and is removed from the interior of the housing in the opened position of the cover assembly, the lighting element is removable from and attachable to the cover assembly in the opened position. (Figure 1; see at least Col 3 Line 23 onward)
In regard to claim 2, Baker et al disclose the cover assembly includes a lighting base (94) attached to the housing and rotatable between the closed position and the opened position. (Figure 1; see at least Col 3 Line 23 onward)
In regard to claim 3, Baker et al disclose the lighting base has a socket (62) removably receiving the lighting element.
In regard to claim 18, Baker et al disclose the lighting element is an LED lamp (52).
In regard to claim 19, Baker et al disclose an insect trap, comprising:
a housing having an insect receptacle (20) and a support plate (support plate) defining an insect opening communicating with the insect receptacle;
a cover (30) assembly connected to the support plate; and
a lighting element (50) removably attached to the cover assembly, the lighting element is accessible and removable from the cover assembly without disassembling the cover assembly from the support plate. (Figure 1; see at least Col 3 Line 23 onward)
In regard to claim 20, Baker et al disclose the cover assembly is rotatable with respect to the support plate between a closed position and an opened position, the lighting element is removable from and attachable to the cover assembly in the opened position. (Figure 1; see at least Col 3 Line 23 onward)
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(s) 4, 5, and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baker et al (US 7,055,983 B1).
In regard to claim 4, Baker et al fail to disclose the lighting base has a control unit connected to and controlling the lighting element, the control unit is connected to a switch on an outer surface of the lighting base.
However, controllers and switches are notoriously old and well-known, and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to provide a controller in order to control the light source and a switch in order to turn the light source on and off.
In regard to claim 5, Baker et al discloses that the cover assembly includes a cover removably attached to the lighting base and enclosing the socket and the control unit. (Under BRI, this can be read that the cover assembly includes the cover 30, as well as the lighting base 94 and the cover encloses the socket of the lighting base and the control unit, as modified in claim 4.)
In regard to claim 21, Baker et al fail to disclose an intake fan, an insect attracted into the insect trap by the lighting element is further drawn or forced into the insect receptacle by the intake fan.
However, fans on cooling devices are known, and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to provide an intake fan to improve the cooling of the device. The fact that the fan would also capture insects is incidental.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-17 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 prior art taken as a whole does not show nor suggest an insect trap, comprising a housing having an insect receptacle, a cover assembly connected to the housing and movable between a closed position and an opened position, and a lighting element removably attached to the cover assembly, the lighting element is arranged within an interior of the housing in the closed position of the cover assembly and is removed from the interior of the housing in the opened position of the cover assembly, the lighting element is removable from and attachable to the cover assembly in the opened position, the cover assembly includes a lighting base attached to the housing and rotatable between the closed position and the opened position, and the housing has a cover support defining an insect intake opening that communicates with the insect receptacle as specifically called for the claimed combinations.
The closest prior art, Baker et al (US 7,055,983 B1), does not include the housing has a cover support defining an insect intake opening that communicates with the insect receptacle as required by the claim and there is no motivation absent the applicant’s own disclosure, to modify the Baker et al reference in the manner required by the claims.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled "Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance."
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/2/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In regard to applicant’s first argument, the Examiner does not give much patentable weight to a preamble. If you want to press this, please appeal me. I’d prefer the board to tell me that a preamble is important here. But here’s the deal—insects get trapped in coolers all the time. Have you never been camping? There’s food in there—a lure. And insects like food. They get trapped in the ice water in the cooler. But also, what makes an insect trap? A cooler can clearly trap insects, and thus we have an insect trap. These claims are broad—that’s why the Examiner rejected with the reference he did. Undue breadth in claim language leads to silly, but proper, rejections.
In terms of the removability of the light source, clearly Baker et al did not disclose a bulb that lasts forever. That’d be stupid, and naturally impossible. Baker et al knows light sources don’t last forever, and therefore inherently gives some way to replace the bulb. Even if they somehow didn’t intend for replacement, a replaceable bulb is an obvious 103 that the Examiner could make. If the applicant appeals, then the Examiner will reopen just to make that 103 combination, delaying prosecution.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER E DUNAY whose telephone number is (571)270-1222. The examiner can normally be reached 7:00 am - 6:00 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, James (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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CHRISTOPHER E DUNAY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
Prosecution Insights