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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 6/15/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-8, 10, 18-20, and 35-42 are pending in the Application. Claims 21-23, 25, 26, and 32-34 have been canceled by the Applicant. New claims 35-42 have been added by the Applicant.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 21-23, 25, 26, and 32-34 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 6/15/2026. Additionally, claims 21-23, 25, 26, and 32-34 have been canceled by the Applicant.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: MODULAR LADDER LIGHTING SYSTEM
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.
Claim 10, 36-39 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 10 recites the limitation "the first intermediate segment" in line 1 and “the second intermediate segment” in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purposes of claim Examination, the Examiner will interpret claim 10 as dependent on claim 6, which contains the first recitation of the first/second intermediate segments, instead of claim 1.
Claims 36-39 are rejected due to their dependence on claim 10.
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.
(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(s) 1-5, 18-20 40-42 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Niedermeyer et al., US 20190007662 A1.
Regarding claim 1, Niedermeyer discloses “A ladder lighting system (106, Fig. 1-2) comprising:
a first printed circuit board (110, Fig. 1-2, detailed in Fig. 3) , comprising: a first group of light emitting diodes (115, Fig. 1-3); a first control circuit configured to control the first group of light emitting diodes (¶ [0027] “ circuit board utilizing one or more data wires to control individual pixel lights”); a first power terminal (input part of 120 on board 110, Fig. 1-3) in electrical communication with the first control circuit (¶ [0027]); a first data input terminal in electrical communication with the first control circuit (the part of 110 that is connected to data wire 111 or controller 150, Fig. 1-3); and a first data output terminal (the part of 110 that is connected to data wire 111 opposing the input terminal, Fig. 1-3);
a second printed circuit board (another 110 of the array of PCBs, Fig. 1-3), comprising: a second group of light emitting diodes (the 115 LEDs of the second board, Fig. 1-3); a second control circuit configured to control the second group of light emitting diodes (¶ [0027] “ circuit board utilizing one or more data wires to control individual pixel lights”); a second power terminal (input part of 120 on board 110, Fig. 1-3) in electrical communication with the second control circuit (¶ [0027]); a second data input terminal in electrical communication with the second control circuit (the part of 110 that is connected to data wire 111 or controller 150, Fig. 1-3); and a second data output terminal (the part of 110 that is connected to data wire 111 opposing the input terminal, Fig. 1-3);
a power line (122, Fig. 1-3) connected to the first power terminal and the second power terminal; and a data line (111, Fig. 1-3), comprising: a first data line segment connected to the first data input terminal (one of the 111, Fig. 1-3); a second data line segment connected to the first data output terminal and the second data input terminal (another of the 111, Fig. 1-3); and a third data line segment connected to the second data output terminal (a third one of the 111, Fig. 1-3).
Regarding claim 2, Niedermeyer discloses the invention of claim 1, as cited above, and further discloses “the first printed circuit board further comprises a first ground terminal, wherein the second printed circuit board further comprises a second ground terminal, and wherein the ladder lighting system further comprises a ground line connected to the first ground terminal and the second ground terminal (seen in Fig. 1-2, there are two power lines and two connections for each PCB, one is the ground line).
Regarding claim 3, Niedermeyer discloses the invention of claim 1, as cited above, and further discloses “the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board comprise parallel rungs (seen in Fig. 1-2, the PCBs are arranged in parallel and spaced apart, resembling the rungs of a ladder).”
Regarding claim 4, Niedermeyer discloses the invention of claim 3, as cited above, and further discloses “the first printed circuit board comprises a first input end segment and a first output end segment, wherein the first input end segment comprises the first data input terminal, wherein the first output end segment comprises the first data output terminal, wherein the second printed circuit board comprises a second input end segment and a second output end segment, wherein the second input end segment comprises the second data input terminal, and wherein the second output end segment comprises the second data output terminal (seen in Fig. 2A, the data terminals are on opposite ends of the PCBs).”
Regarding claim 5, Niedermeyer discloses the invention of claim 4, as cited above, and further discloses “the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board are arranged such that: the first input end segment of the first printed circuit board is aligned with the second output end segment of the second printed circuit board; and the first output end segment of the first printed circuit board is aligned with the second input end segment of the second printed circuit board (seen in Fig. 2A, the one output terminal is aligned with the input data terminal of the following printed circuit board).”
Regarding claim 18, Niedermeyer discloses the invention of claim 1, as cited above, and further discloses “the first printed circuit board is identical to the second printed circuit board (seen in Fig. 1-2, the boards are the same size and have the same number of light sources ).
Regarding claim 19, Niedermeyer discloses the invention of claim 1, as cited above, and further discloses “the second printed circuit board is rotated 180 degrees relative to the first printed circuit board (seen in Fig. 2A, the input and output data terminals are on opposite sides on sequential PCBs).
Regarding claim 20, Niedermeyer discloses the invention of claim 1, as cited above, and further discloses “a controller (150, Fig. 2A) in electrical communication with the first control circuit and the second control circuit via the data line, and wherein the controller is configured to emit a control signal from which the first control circuit and the second control circuit can extract data to control the first group of light emitting diodes and the second group of light emitting diodes (¶ [0032, 0026]).
Regarding claim 40, Niedermeyer discloses the invention of claim 1, as cited above, and further discloses “the first printed circuit board has a first electrical footprint, wherein the second printed circuit board has a second electrical footprint, and wherein the second electrical footprint is the same as the first electrical footprint (seen in Fig. 1-2A, the PCBs have the same number of LEDs located along the same positions along the board).
Regarding claim 41, Niedermeyer discloses the invention of claim 40, as cited above, and further discloses “the first printed circuit board comprises a first centerline, wherein the first electrical footprint is symmetrical with respect to the first centerline, wherein the second printed circuit board comprises a second centerline, wherein the second electrical footprint is symmetrical with respect to the second centerline, and wherein the first centerline is aligned with the second centerline (seen in Fig. 2A, where the centerline runs in the up down direction on the center of the PCBs, the PCBs are aligned along the up down direction, and the light sources are symmetrical from left to right).”
Regarding claim 42, Niedermeyer discloses the invention of claim 1, as cited above, and further discloses “the first printed circuit board has a first mechanical footprint, wherein the second printed circuit board has a second mechanical footprint, and wherein the second mechanical footprint is the same as the first mechanical footprint (seen in Fig. 2A, the mechanical dimensions of the PCBs are the same)”.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-8, 35 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:
Claim 6 recites, inter alia, A ladder lighting system comprising: a first printed circuit board, comprising: a first group of light emitting diodes; a first control circuit configured to control the first group of light emitting diodes; a first power terminal in electrical communication with the first control circuit; a first data input terminal in electrical communication with the first control circuit; and a first data output terminal; a second printed circuit board, comprising: a second group of light emitting diodes; a second control circuit configured to control the second group of light emitting diodes; a second power terminal in electrical communication with the second control circuit; a second data input terminal in electrical communication with the second control circuit; and a second data output terminal; a power line connected to the first power terminal and the second power terminal; and a data line, comprising: a first data line segment connected to the first data input terminal; a second data line segment connected to the first data output terminal and the second data input terminal; and a third data line segment connected to the second data output terminal, “the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board comprise parallel rungs”, “the first printed circuit board comprises a first input end segment and a first output end segment, wherein the first input end segment comprises the first data input terminal, wherein the first output end segment comprises the first data output terminal, wherein the second printed circuit board comprises a second input end segment and a second output end segment, wherein the second input end segment comprises the second data input terminal, and wherein the second output end segment comprises the second data output terminal.”, “the first printed circuit board further comprises: a first detachment interface intermediate the first input end segment and a first intermediate segment configured to permit the first input end segment to detach from the first intermediate segment; and a second detachment interface intermediate the first output end segment and the first intermediate segment configured to permit the first output end segment to detach from the first intermediate segment.”
The references of record do not teach or suggest the aforementioned limitations, nor would it be obvious to modify those references to include such limitations.
Prior art reference Boros et al., US 2023/0151951 A1 discloses a LED sheet array that has detachable portions (¶ [0035).
However, it would not have been obvious to modify Niedermeyer to have detachable portions, as it would remove the data line connections between the PCBs.
Claims 7-8, 35 are allowed due to their dependence on claim 6
Claim 10, 36-39 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 10 would be allowable due to its dependence on claim 6 (see 112(b) rejection above for claim dependency explanation.
Claims 36-39 would be allowable due to their dependence on claim 10.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Zykin et al., US 10043783 B1, discloses a ladder and rung light array (Fig. 36).
Englaro et al., US 9929486 B2 discloses a ladder arrangement of light boards, and connecter wires between them
Rodriguez et al., US 2017/0118817 A1 discloses a ladder arrangement of light boards and connectors between them
Tappert et al., US 2015/0116997 A1 discloses a group of lighting PCBs arranged 180 degrees from each other (Fig. 33)
Cobb, US 2013/0182438 A1 discloses parallely arranged lighting PCBs with rails on the left and right side
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL CHIANG whose telephone number is (571)270-3811. The examiner can normally be reached M to F, 9am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James R Greece can be reached at 571-272-3711. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL CHIANG/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2875
/JAMES R GREECE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2875
