Jonas, Kenneth J. et al.

Patent Trials and Appeals Board

Dec 26, 2019

14593883 - (D) (P.T.A.B. Dec. 26, 2019)

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.
14/593,883 01/09/2015 Kenneth J. Jonas 76406-283050 4869
147451 7590 12/26/2019
Barnes and Thornburg LLP (Broan-NuTone LLC)
P.O. Box 2786
Chicago, IL 60690
EXAMINER
NIEVES, NELSON J
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
3763
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
12/26/2019 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):
patent-ch@btlaw.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte KENNETH J. JONAS and BENJAMIN THORPE PUFFER
Appeal 2019-003993
Application 14/593,883
Technology Center 3700
Before STEFAN STAICOVICI, MICHAEL J. FITZPATRICK, and
RICHARD H. MARSCHALL, Administrative Patent Judges.
MARSCHALL, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 134(a), Appellant1 appeals from the
Examiner’s decision to reject claims 1–3, 6–14, and 17–30. We have
jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We REVERSE.

1 We use the word “Appellant” to refer to the “applicant” as defined in 37
C.F.R. § 1.42(a), namely Broan-NuTone LLC. Appellant identifies itself as
the sole real party in interest. Appeal Br. 1.
Appeal 2019-003993
Application 14/593,883

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CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER
The invention relates to “humidity wall controls having a sensor for
measuring ambient humidity.” Spec. 1:4–5. Claims 1, 12, and 23 are
independent. Claim 1, reproduced below, is illustrative of the claimed
subject matter:
1. A humidity monitoring system mountable to a wall,
comprising:
a housing comprising a housing wall defining an internal
space and a front opening;
a face plate comprising a base portion and an extended
portion extending outward from the base portion to define a
secondary space, the extended portion comprising:
a primary face defining at least one inlet opening for
receiving an inlet humid airflow into the secondary space,
the primary face angled along a primary axis configured to
be oriented transverse to a vertical axis when the face plate
is mounted to the housing such that the primary face is
oriented downward such that rising humid air enters the at
least one inlet opening to create a humid airflow along the
airflow path in the secondary space; and
a secondary face angled along a secondary axis
transverse to the primary axis, the secondary face defining
at least one outlet opening for passing an outlet humid
airflow from the secondary space; and
a humidity sensor positioned within the internal space
proximate the front opening, the base portion of the face plate
being mountable to the housing wall to obstruct at least a portion
of the front opening and to arrange the secondary space outside
of the internal space and adjacent the humidity sensor.
Appeal Br. 12 (Claims App.).
Appeal 2019-003993
Application 14/593,883

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REJECTIONS ON APPEAL
1. Claims 1–3, 6–11, 23–26, 29, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103 as being unpatentable over Eckel2 and Back.3,4
2. Claims 12–14, 17–22, 27, and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103 as being unpatentable over Eckel, Back, and Acker.5,6
ANALYSIS
Independent claims 1 and 12 require “a housing comprising a housing
wall defining an internal space” and “a humidity sensor positioned within
the internal space.” Appeal Br. 12–13 (Claims App.). Independent claim 23
contains nearly identical limitations. Id. at 14–15 (claiming a “sensor”
rather than “humidity sensor”). For each of these limitations, the Examiner
finds that Eckel discloses a humidity sensor 48 positioned within an internal
space formed by housing wall 50. Final Act. 2, 6, 9. The Examiner further
finds that Eckel’s Figure 8 shows sensor 48 within the internal space
because it depicts sensor 48 “within . . . space/hole” of wall 50 that
accommodates sensor 48. Ans. 5 (emphasis removed).
Appellant argues that Eckel fails to disclose its sensor within the
housing’s internal space because Eckel’s sensor 48 protrudes outside of the
housing. Appeal Br. 7 (citing Eckel Fig. 4A). Appellant further argues that
Eckel’s Figure 8 shows, at most, that sensor 48 resides within an aperture

2 US 6,122,678, issued September 19, 2000 (“Eckel”).
3 US 7,262,705 B2, issued August 28, 2007 (“Back”).
4 We view the Examiner’s omission of claims 29 and 30 from the heading of
this rejection as a typographical error. See Final Act. 2, 8.
5 US 6,935,570 B2, issued August 30, 2005 (“Acker”).
6 We view the Examiner’s inclusion of claims 15 and 16 in the heading of
this rejection as a typographical error because these claims are canceled. See
Final Act. 8; Appeal Br. 14.
Appeal 2019-003993
Application 14/593,883

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defined by “housing wall 50, which does not place it within the housing
defined by that housing wall.” Reply Br. 4. Appellant also relies on
portions of Eckel stressing that sensor 48 resides in a space separated from
the space behind wall 50. Id. at 4–5 (citing Eckel, 13:51–55, 14:11–13,
15:22–25, 15:28–29).
We agree with Appellant that the Examiner erred in finding that Eckel
discloses a sensor “positioned within the internal space.” Both the Examiner
and Appellant appear to agree that Eckel discloses sensor 48 that is seated
within an aperture of wall 50. See Ans. 5 (finding that sensor 48 is within
“space/hole of 50 that accommodates the sensor 48” (emphasis removed));
Reply Br. 4 (“At best, the figure shows that the sensor is within an aperture
defined by the housing wall 50.”). We do not read the claimed “internal
space” so broadly that it includes the thickness of the “wall defining an
internal space.” Instead, we construe the “internal space” as beginning at the
interior face of the wall that defines the internal space, which does not
include apertures in the wall. Such a construction comports with the
ordinary meaning of the claim language—the “internal space” of a room
having walls that define the internal space generally does not include the
thickness of a doorway as part of that internal space. The Specification also
supports this reading of the claim language, as it discloses humidity sensor
26 completely within the internal space of housing 22 defined by wall 32.
See Figs. 7, 10A, 10B, 4:26–29.
Based on the proper construction of the claim, the humidity sensor
must be positioned within at least a portion of the internal space defined by
the interior face of the housing wall. Eckel discloses humidity sensor 48
positioned partially within an aperture in its housing wall 50. See Eckel Fig.
Appeal 2019-003993
Application 14/593,883

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8. We do not view Eckel as disclosing a sensor positioned past the interior
face of its housing wall and therefore within the internal space defined by
the housing wall. Based on the foregoing, the Examiner erred in finding that
Eckel discloses “a humidity sensor positioned within the internal space.”
The same reasoning applies to each of independent claims 1, 12, and 23
because they employ virtually identical language as to the “within the
internal space” limitation, the Examiner relies on the same findings based on
Eckel in support of the rejections, and Appellant raises the same arguments
as to each claim. See Final Act. 2, 6, 9; Appeal Br. 7, 9–10. Accordingly,
and because the Examiner does not rely on Back and Acker in a manner that
remedies the deficiency of Eckel, we do not sustain the rejections of
independent claims 1, 12, and 23, or claims 2, 3, 6–11, 13, 14, 17–22, and
24–30 that depend from those claims.
CONCLUSION
We reverse the Examiner’s rejection of claims 1–3, 6–14, and 17–30.
DECISION SUMMARY
Claims
Rejected
35 U.S.C. § Reference(s)/Basis Affirmed Reversed
1–3, 6–11,
23–26, 29,
30
103 Eckel, Back 1–3, 6–11,
23–26, 29,
30
12–14, 17–
22, 27, 28
103 Eckel, Back, Acker 12–14, 17–
22, 27, 28
Overall
Outcome
1–3, 6–14,
17–30
REVERSED