12807899 (P.T.A.B. Jan. 21, 2016)

Ex Parte McGinnis

Patent Trial and Appeal BoardJan 21, 2016

12807899 (P.T.A.B. Jan. 21, 2016)

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. 12/807,899 09/16/2010 Charles Alan McGinnis JR. MSH-668 4624 8131 7590 01/21/2016 MCKELLAR IP LAW, PLLC 784 SOUTH POSEYVILLE ROAD MIDLAND, MI 48640 EXAMINER BERONA, KIMBERLY SUE ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 3696 MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE 01/21/2016 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 CHARLES ALAN MCGINNIS JR. ____________ Appeal 2013-002216 Application 12/807,8991 Technology Center 3600 ____________ Before WILLIAM A. CAPP, BART A. GERSTENBLITH, and FRANCES L. IPPOLITO, Administrative Patent Judges. IPPOLITO, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL STATEMENT OF CASE Charles Alan McGinnis Jr. (Appellant) appeals under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner’s decision rejecting claims 1–17. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We AFFIRM. 1 Appellant identifies the named inventor, Charles Alan McGinnis Jr., as the real party in interest. Appeal Br. 2. Appeal 2013-002216 Application 12/807,899 2 CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER Claim 1, reproduced below, is illustrative of the claimed subject matter. 1. An automated insect trap, said trap comprising: a. a first housing, said housing having a top, a bottom, a front, two opposing sides and an elevated base; said top having a large intake opening therethrough; b. a second housing located within the first housing comprising an open-ended conduit beginning at the top of the intake opening and extending to an exit opening in the bottom of the first housing; c. said intake opening having a bait insert area located therein, said bait insert area allowing for the positioning of insect bait therein, said bait insert area allowing the passage of air therethrough; d. fixedly attached to the interior of the open ended conduit, an electric fan positioned such that any air moved by the fan is pulled through the top of the first housing and exits below the fan; e. a means of electrically powering the electric fan; f. electrically connected to said electrical fan, a repeating cycle timer; g. a means of electrically powering the repeating cycle timer; h. a collection area at the exit opening of the first housing and within the elevated base. REJECTIONS I. Claims 1–6 and 8–17 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Cody (US 5,167,090, iss. Dec. 1, 1992) in view of Mah (US 6,134,826, iss. Oct. 24, 2000). II. Claim 7 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over Cody, Mah, and McKay (US2009/0071060 A1, pub. Mar. 19, 2009). Appeal 2013-002216 Application 12/807,899 3 ANALYSIS Rejections I and II After considering Appellant’s assertions on pages 3–7 of the Appeal Brief concerning the rejections of claims 1–17, we are persuaded that the Examiner’s findings and rationales on pages 3–5 of the Answer are fully responsive to Appellant’s assertions. Accordingly, we adopt them as our own. We further note that Appellant acknowledges in its Reply brief that it mistakenly asserted that the Mah timer is not connected to the fan; however, Appellant argues that the “major difference is that in the instant invention, the timer is connected only to the fan.” Reply Br. 1. Appellant’s argument is not commensurate with the scope of the claims, which do not require that the timer is only connected to the fan. Rather, independent claim 1, which uses the open transition, “comprising,” recites “electrically connected to said electrical fan, a repeating cycle timer.” Likewise, dependent claims 2–17 do not require that the recited timer is only connected to the fan. DECISION The Examiner’s decision rejecting claims 1–17 is affirmed. 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 rvb