Ex Parte FRANSON et al

Patent Trial and Appeal BoardJan 4, 2019

14303133 (P.T.A.B. Jan. 4, 2019)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE 14/303,133 06/12/2014 27572 7590 01/08/2019 HARNESS, DICKEY & PIERCE, P.L.C. P.O. BOX 828 BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI 48303 UNITED ST A TES OF AMERICA FIRST NAMED INVENTOR Scott T. FRANSON UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www .uspto.gov ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 6065-000003-US-DV A 4336 EXAMINER CERNOCH, STEVEN MICHAEL ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 3752 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 01/08/2019 ELECTRONIC Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the following e-mail address(es): troymailroom@hdp.com sto-ptomail@hdp.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Ex parte SCOTT T. FRANSON, THOMAS E. WINEBRENNER, and SHAWN G. ORR Appeal2018-002739 1 Application 14/3 03, 13 3 2 Technology Center 3700 Before HUBERT C. LORIN, NINA L. MEDLOCK, and BRADLEY B. BAY AT, Administrative Patent Judges. LORIN, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL STATEMENT OF THE CASE Scott T. Franson et al. (Appellants) appeal under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 134(a) from the Examiner's Final Rejection of claims 10-13. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 6(b ). We REVERSE. 1 Our Decision references Appellants' Appeal Brief ("App. Br.," filed September 12, 2017) and Reply Brief ("Reply Br.," filed January 17, 2018), the Examiner's Answer ("Ans.," mailed January 10, 2018), and Final Office Action ("Final Act.," mailed April 20, 2017). 2 Appellants identify "The Viking Corporation" as the real party in interest. App. Br. 2. Appeal2018-002739 Application 14/303,133 THE INVENTION Claim 10, the sole independent claim on appeal, is reproduced below with added emphasis and indentation, and is representative of the claimed subject matter. 10. A sprinkler assembly compression member comprising: an elongated member with [(a)] means for holding an end of a heat sensitive member on one side of the elongated member at a center thereof and [(b)] a pair of means for receiving the tips of a pair of compression screws therein on an opposite side of the elongated member at opposite ends thereof App. Br. 8 (Claims Appendix). THE REJECTION Claims 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. Â§ I02(b) as being anticipated by Winebrenner (US 6,367,559 Bl, iss. Apr. 9, 2002). ANALYSIS Claim Interpretation Independent claim 10 requires, in part, "an elongated member" with "a pair of means for receiving the tips of a pair of compression screws therein on an opposite side of the elongated member at opposite ends thereof." See App. Br. 8 (Claims Appendix). The parties agree that the limitation "a pair of means for receiving" invokesÂ§ 112 ,r 6. See Final Act. 2-3 and Reply Br. 4--5. The parties also appear to be in agreement that the "elongated member" of claim 10 corresponds to yoke 343 described in the Specification. Id. However, the 2 Appeal2018-002739 Application 14/303,133 parties disagree as to the structure in the Specification that corresponds to "a pair of means for receiving." The Examiner takes the position that "a pair of means for receiving" corresponds to transverse recesses or openings 346 provided in transverse member 323. Final Act. 3; Ans. 3. The Appellants, however, identify elements 343h as the corresponding structure. App. Br. 3; Reply Br. 4--5 ( citing Spec. para. 105 and Figs. 16A, 16B, 16E). As shown in Figure 16 and described in paragraph 105, openings 346 are located in transverse member 323 and are not located in yoke 343. Thus, the Examiner erred in construing "a pair of means for receiving" as corresponding to transverse recesses or openings 346 provided in transverse member 323. Paragraph 105 of the Appellants' Specification also discloses that yoke 343 comprises an upper wall 343a that "includes a pair of recesses 343h for receiving the ends of compression screws 348." As shown in Figures 16A, 16B, 16E, and described in paragraph 105, the pair of recesses 343h correspond precisely with the location and function of the claimed "pair of means for receiving." Anticipation In rejecting claim 10 as anticipated by Winebrenner, the Examiner finds that lever support 7 4 of Winebrenner meets the claimed "elongated member" of claim 10. And, according to the Examiner, webbed portion 82 of Winebrenner meets the claimed "pair of means for receiving." Final Act. 4; Ans. 3--4. The Appellants argue, inter alia, argue that "elongated member [lever support] 7 4 of Winebrenner does not have means for receiving tips of a pair of compression screws, as claimed." App. Br. 6. 3 Appeal2018-002739 Application 14/303,133 We are persuaded by the Appellants' arguments because the Examiner does not explain or show how Winebrenner explicitly describes "a pair of means for receiving the tips of a pair of compression screws therein on an opposite side of the elongated member at opposite ends thereof," as called for in independent claim 10. Lever support member 74, including webbed portion 82, is shown in Figures 3 and 13 and described at column 8, lines 20-54 of Winebrenner. In particular, Winebrenner, column 8, lines 20-30 discloses (with emphasis added): Lever support 74 is positioned beneath levers 72 and biases levers 72 outwardly from cavity 20. As best seen in FIG. 3, lever support 74 is generally channel-shaped and includes a webbed portion 82 and a pair of opposed flanges 84 and 86 which define side walls. Extending upwardly from web portion 82 are a pair of lever support members 88 and 90 which are preferably punched out from web portion 82 to define openings 82b. As shown in FIG. 13, lever support members 88 and 90 provide support for levers 72 when trigger assembly 24 is mounted to groove 80 of sprinkler head body 12a. As shown in Figure 3 of Winebrenner, webbed portion 82 is a flat portion that forms the bottom of the "channel" of the channel-shaped lever support 74. The Examiner does not adequately explain how, and we do not see how, webbed portion 82 receives a tip of a compression screw. We further note that webbed portion 82 comprises a pair of lever supports 88 and 90 that are "punched out from web portion 82 to define openings 82b." However, we see no indication that openings 82b receive a tip of a compress10n screw. 4 Appeal2018-002739 Application 14/303,133 For the forgoing reasons, the Examiner's finding that Winebrenner's webbed portion 82 is "a pair of means for receiving" is not supported by the evidence. Accordingly, we do not sustain the Examiner's rejection of independent claim 10 under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 102(b) as being anticipated by Winebrenner, including dependent claims 11-13. DECISION The Examiner's rejection under 35 U.S.C. Â§ 102(b) is reversed. REVERSED 5