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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Amendment Acknowledgement
Acknowledgement is made of the response submitted by the applicant on February 3, 2026, including Applicant’s Arguments, replacement drawings, amendment to specification and amendment to the claim.
Applicant's arguments and the newly submitted replacement drawing sheets of February 3, 2026, have been fully considered; however, they have not overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b). Therefore, the rejection is made again and the claim stands FINALLY REJECTED under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b).
Objection to Specification
In the amended specification, applicant has removed the “Design No./Product(s):”. For consistency with the original filing and for compliance with the standard formatting used in international design applications, this language should be converted back the description as originally filed. Therefore, for clarity and accuracy, the below correction has been made to the specification prior to the figure descriptions:
-- Design No./Products(s):
1. Smart internet of things temperature controller --
Objection to Specification
The Color Drawing Acknowledgment Statement is inappropriately placed after the reproduction description. For proper form (37 CFR 1.154(b)), the following order or arrangement should be observed in framing a design patent specification:
(1) Preamble if included, should state name of the applicant, title of the design, and can possibly include a brief description of the nature and intended use of the article in which the design is embodied.
(2) Cross-reference to related applications unless included in the application data sheet.
(3) Statement regarding federally sponsored research or development.
(4) Description of the figure or figures of the drawing.
(5) Feature Description, if any.
(6) A single claim.
Therefore, for accuracy and proper form, the current broken line statement, beginning and ending with, "The File of … the necessary fee.", should be deleted and the following statement should be inserted into the first paragraph of the brief description of the drawings section (MPEP § 1503.01 and 37 CFR 1.154(b)):
-- The file of this patent contains at least one drawing/photograph executed in color. Copies of this patent with color drawing(s)/photograph(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.--
Objection to Description of Reproduction
The applicant amended the reproduction description and included a (FIG) prior to the reproduction descriptions. While descriptions are not required to be written in any particular format, the specification must be amended to provide proper descriptions that clearly and accurately describe each drawing view (Hague Rule 7(5)(a), 37 CFR 1.1067, MPEP 2920.04(a)ID). Applicant is advised that for compliance with the Hague requirements, the numbering of the figures must remain as originally filed, consisting only of two separate figures separated by a dot (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc.) and NOT renumbered. (See 37 Hague Rule 9, Administrative Instructions Section 405(a); CFR 1.1026; MPEP 2909.02). In order to overcome the objection, it is suggested the applicant use the original reproduction descriptions:
--1.1 : Front
1.2 : Back
1.3 : Left
1.4 : Right
1.5 : Top
1 .6 : Bottom
1 .7 : Perspective
1 .8 : in use configuration--
Figure Description Objection
Applicant is advised that for compliance with the Hague requirements, the numbering of the figures must remain as originally filed, consisting only of two separate figures separated by a dot (e.g., 1.1,1.2,1.3, etc.) and NOT renumbered. (See 37 Hague Rule 9, Administrative Instructions Section 405(a); CFR 1.1026; MPEP 2909.02).
Rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112 (a) and (b)
The claim is AGAIN AND FINALLY REJECTED under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first and second paragraphs, as the claimed invention is not described in such full, clear, concise and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the same, and fails 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.
The claim is indefinite and non-enabling because the disclosure is unclear, as the exact shape and appearance of the design cannot be determined due to the reasons set forth below:
The exact shape and appearance of the claimed design is inconsistent between Reproductions 1.5 and 1.7. Reproduction 1.7 perspective view shows multiple features and surfaces in the left side of the top of the claimed design, while in new reproduction 1.5 these features cannot be seen, causing inconsonantly in the exact shape and appearance of the claimed design(See Annotated Drawing Letter A.)
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For the above-noted reasons, the exact shape, appearance, and depth of the noted features are open to multiple interpretations and cannot be fully understood without resorting to conjecture. The applicant is advised that due to the limited views included in the disclosure, the clarification of the shape and contours of theses surfaces may likely constitute new matter.
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In order to overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112 (a) and (b), it is suggested that the applicant:
Consistently show the shape of the top side view between Reproduction 1.5 and 1.7. Applicant is advised in the original drawing (reproduction.1.5) the noted features are clearly shown.
Furthermore the applicant provided two sets of the replacement drawings (Replacement Drawing and Alternative Replacement drawing )in response to the prior action. After reviewing both sets of the drawing the examiner strongly suggest to use the Alternate Replacement Drawing set, and correct the inconsistency and the figure legends as noted above.
Applicant is advised that in accordance with Hague Administrative Instruction Section 403, matter excluded from the claim may be indicated:
(a)(i) in the description referred to in Rule 7(5)(a) and/or;
(a)(ii) by means of dotted/broken lines, or coloring.
Per MPEP 2920.05(c), for clarity of the disclosure, Applicant is encouraged not to simply rely on a description to indicate matter shown in a reproduction for which protection is not sought, but rather to also identify the matter for which protection is not sought through the use of broken or dotted lines or coloring.
Reply Reminder
Applicant is reminded that any amendment filed as provided by 37 CFR 1.312 must be signed either by a patent practitioner (i.e., a patent attorney or agent registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office) or by the applicant. If the applicant is a juristic entity, the reply must be signed by a patent practitioner. See 37 CFR 1.33(b).
Discussion of the Merits of the Application
All discussions between the applicant and the examiner regarding the merits of a pending application will be considered an interview and are to be made of record. See MPEP 713. The examiner will not discuss the merits of the application with applicant’s representative if the representative is not registered to practice before the USPTO. Appointment as applicant’s representative before the International Bureau pursuant to Rule 3 of the Common Regulations under the Hague Agreement does NOT entitle such representative to represent the applicant before the USPTO. Furthermore, an applicant that is a juristic entity must be represented by a patent attorney or agent registered to practice before the USPTO. Additional information regarding interviews is set forth below.
Responding to Official USPTO Correspondence
The USPTO transacts business in writing. All replies must be signed in accordance with 37 CFR
1.33(b). Pursuant to 37 CFR 1.33(b)(3), a reply submitted on behalf of a juristic applicant must be
signed by an attorney or agent registered to practice before the USPTO. Applicants may submit
replies to Office actions only by:
Online via the USPTO's Electronic Filing System‐Web (EFS‐Web) (Registered eFilers only) https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply
Mail: Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA, 22313‐1450
Facsimile to the USPTO's Official Fax Number (571‐273‐8300)
Hand‐carry to USPTO's Alexandria, Virginia Customer Service Window
https://www.uspto.gov/patents/maintain/responding-office-actions
Conclusion
The claim stands FINALLY REJECTED under 35 U.S.C. 112 (a) and (b) and under 35 U.S.C. 112 (a).
Contact Information
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Sara S Sahneh whose telephone number is (571)272-9652. The examiner can normally be reached Monday- Friday, 8:30 AM-4:00 PM (MT).
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, Justin M. Jonaitis can be reached at (571) 270-5150. 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.
Sara S Sahneh
Examiner
Art Unit 2923
/JUSTIN M JONAITIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2924
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