Ex Parte Kentner et al

Patent Trial and Appeal BoardSep 18, 2012

10544285 (P.T.A.B. Sep. 18, 2012)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE 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 APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 10/544,285 08/03/2005 Wolfgang Kentner 2003P00255WOUS 1328 7590 09/19/2012 John T Winburn BSH Home Appliances Corporation 100 Bosch Blvd New Bern, NC 28562 EXAMINER NORMAN, MARC E ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 3744 MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE 09/19/2012 PAPER 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. PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ____________ BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD ____________ Ex parte WOLFGANG KENTNER and HARALD KRAUSS ____________ Appeal 2010-006891 Application 10/544,285 Technology Center 3700 ____________ Before JENNIFER D. BAHR, GAY ANN SPAHN, and JAMES P. CALVE, Administrative Patent Judges. CALVE, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL STATEMENT OF THE CASE Appellants appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 from the rejection of claims 14-27. App. Br. 3. Claims 1-13 have been cancelled. Id. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We AFFIRM. Appeal 2010-006891 Application 10/544,285 2 CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER Claim 14 is representative of the claimed subject matter on appeal: 14. A refrigeration appliance, comprising: an insulated housing; said insulated housing enclosing an inner area; said inner area enclosed by a door; a carrier module located on said insulated housing; and said carrier module including a control circuit for controlling the refrigerating capacity of the refrigeration appliance in said inner area depending on a temperature measuring signal related to the temperature in said inner area, at least one of an operating element for adjusting an operational parameter of said refrigeration appliance and a display element for displaying an operational parameter of said refrigeration appliance, and at least one illuminating agent for illuminating at least some of said inner area. REJECTIONS Claims 14-17, 21, and 24-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) as being anticipated by, or alternatively under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over, Miozza (US 6,880,949 B2; iss. Apr. 19, 2005). Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Miozza and Bourner (US 4,285,391; iss. Aug. 25, 1981). Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Miozza and Graf (DE 3404256 A1; pub. Aug. 8, 1985). Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Miozza, Graf, and Meuer (US 2,206,102; iss. Jul. 2, 1940). Claims 22 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Miozza and Lee (US 2002/0071903 A1; pub. Jun. 13, 2002). App App Clai with and i illus Ans. cons quick the s it wo redu Ans. anno eal 2010-0 lication 10 ms 14-17, The Exa a carrier m s located o trated thes 3, 5. The idered an “ chill com urroundin uld have b ce heat exc 12. The E tations on Figure 2 06891 /544,285 21, and 24 miner foun odule (m n a housin e findings Examiner insulated partment g refrigera een obvio hange bet xaminer’ Figure 2 o shows the AN -27 as ant d that Mi ullion 124 g of a qui on Figure also foun housing” w to operate tor. Ans. us to furth ween the s s findings f Miozza quick chi 3 ALYSIS icipated by ozza disclo , fig. 7) tha ck chill/th 2 of Mioz d that the q ith insula in a therm 10-11. Th er insulate ystem and are best un in the Ans ll/thaw sys Miozza ses a refri t includes aw system za at page uick chill ting prope ally differ e Examine the quick the rest o derstood f wer as rep tem with geration a a control . The Exa 5 of the A /thaw syst rties that a ent enviro r also con chill/thaw f the refrig rom the E roduced b insulated h ppliance circuit 174 miner nswer. em can be llow the nment than cluded tha system to erator. xaminer’s elow: ousing. t Appeal 2010-006891 Application 10/544,285 4 Appellants argue claims 14-26 as a group and present separate arguments for independent claim 27. App. Br. 7-14. We select claim 14 as representative and address Appellants’ arguments as to claim 27 infra. See 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(vii). Claims 15-26 stand or fall with claim 14. Appellants argue that the present application discloses a carrier module located on the insulated housing 1 as illustrated in Figure 1. App. Br. 8; Reply Br. 8. Appellants also argue that Miozza discloses a quick chill/thaw mullion assembly 124 for an interior of a refrigerator and that it is disposed over a slide-out bottom drawer in the refrigerator compartment and not on the insulated housing of the refrigerator as claimed. App. Br. 8-10. The Examiner’s findings that Miozza has a carrier module located on the insulated housing are supported by a preponderance of evidence. The mullion assembly 124 includes a control interface and circuit 126 located on the mullion assembly 124, which the Examiner reasonably considered to be part of the insulated housing of Miozza’s refrigeration appliance because it thermally insulates the quick chill/thaw inner area from the rest of the refrigerator. The mullion assembly 124 includes an insulating layer 212 for that purpose. Col. 5, ll. 3-8; col. 7, ll. 21-23; fig. 5. The carrier module (control panel interface 126) is mounted on a forward sloped portion 150 of the quick chill/thaw mullion for convenient user access when the door is opened.1 Col. 5, ll. 12-16; figs. 1, 2. The insulated mullion assembly 124 forms part of the insulated housing that encloses an inner area corresponding to the quick chill/thaw system and pan 122. Figs. 1, 2. 1 We note that an ordinary, customary meaning of “on” includes “used as a function word to indicate position in or in contact with an outer surface” and “used as a function word to indicate the location of something.” MERRIAM WEBSTER’S COLLEGIATE® DICTIONARY (11th ed. 2005). Appeal 2010-006891 Application 10/544,285 5 Claim 27 Claim 27 calls for a refrigeration appliance with an “insulated housing enclosing an inner area,” “a compartment formed in an upper cover of said insulated housing” and “a carrier module located in said insulated housing compartment.” The Examiner found that Miozza discloses these features as illustrated in the marked-up version of Figure 2 in the Answer. Ans. 6. Appellants argue that the quick chill and quick thaw pan mullion assembly 124 is disposed over a slide-out bottom drawer or pan 122 in the refrigerator compartment not on the insulated housing of the refrigerator and not in a compartment formed in an upper cover of the insulated housing as recited in claim 27. App. Br. 15; Reply Br. 17-18. Appellants also argue that Miozza does not disclose an illuminating agent and a window on the carrier module through which the inner area can be lit by the illuminating agent as recited in claim 27. App. Br. 15; Reply Br. 19. We agree with the Examiner that Miozza discloses a carrier module (control panel 126) located in an insulated housing compartment formed by the mullion assembly 124 as illustrated by the Examiner on Figure 2 of Miozza at page 5 of the Answer and reproduced above. Mullion assembly 124 forms an upper cover of the insulated housing that it is located above the insulation housing at the bottom of the refrigerator. See Fig. 1 of Miozza. The control panel 126 is located in the mullion assembly 124. See Figs. 2, 4, 5 of Miozza. Miozza also discloses that the mullion assembly/control panel includes a light 206 that illuminates the quick chill/thaw area 122 through a window (light opening 224). Col. 7, ll. 42-50; figs. 5-7. As such, we sustain the rejection of claims 14-17, 21, and 24-27. Appeal 2010-006891 Application 10/544,285 6 Dependent claims 18-20, 22, and 23 The Examiner rejected claims 18-20, 22, and 23 as unpatentable over Miozza and other references. The Examiner relied on Bourner to disclose a pin and socket connector as recited in claim 18. Ans. 7. The Examiner relied on Graf to disclose a strain relief on a carrier module as recited in claim 19. Ans. 8. The Examiner relied on Meuer to disclose a meandering channel as recited in claim 20. Ans. 8. The Examiner relied on Lee to disclose a glass panel to be fixed to the carrier module as recited in claims 22 and 23. Ans. 9. Appellants argue that Bourner, Graf, Meuer, and Lee do not cure the deficiencies of Miozza as to claim 14, from which claims 18-20, 22, and 23 depend. App. Br. 17-20. Because we sustain the rejection of claim 14 as anticipated by Miozza, there are no deficiencies in this regard to be cured by Bourner, Graf, Meuer, or Lee. Accordingly, we sustain the rejections of claims 18-20, 22, and 23. DECISION We AFFIRM the rejections of claims 14-27. No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with this appeal may be extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a)(1)(iv). AFFIRMED mls