The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The claim is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ascent Microset 4 Controller by Alerton (2015) in view of Baumgartner et al. (D744, 433) and Di et al. (D975, 031).
Although the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in 35 U.S.C. 102, the invention is not patentable if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a designer having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, the invention is not patentable.
The Ascent Microset 4 Controller has an overall appearance with design characteristics that are visually similar to those of the claimed design in that it shows a rectangular shaped controller consisting of two components separated by a thin channel running on all sides of the controller, the from surface has a rectangular display area enclosed within a frame, and a rectangular shaped backplate (note drawing below). The proportions of the height, width, and depth of the controller are very similar in both designs. The claimed design and the Microset 4 Controller are compared below. The claimed design is different from Ascent Microset 4 Controller in that the display area is longer, the frame around the front portion of the housing is wider, the channel is narrower, the back portion of the housing is slightly shorter and plain.
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518
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333
684
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35524136-ALERTON-2015-790002-NPL.pdf
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436
235
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Baumgartner et al. shows a display area that is long.
Di et al. shows the frame around the front portion of the housing to be wider, narrow channel, and the back frame of the housing to be slightly shorter and plain.
It would have been obvious to a designer of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Microset 4 Controller with Baumgartner by substituting the display area of Microset 4 Controller with the display area of Baumgartner and by substituting the frame, the channel, and the rear frame of Microset 4 Controller with the frame, channel, and rear frame of Di et al. because such modifications are no more than simple substitutions of one know design element for another. Moreover, such a substitution of one known design element for another known design element in the same filed would have been within the skill of an ordinary skilled designer. Thus, the claimed design would have no patentable distinction over the examiner’s combination of references.
The claim stands rejected for the reasons set forth above.
The references cited, but not applied, are considered cumulative art related to the claimed design.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Selina Sikder whose telephone number is 571-272-2627. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM.
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/SELINA SIKDER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2912
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