DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 7/1/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
This is an office action in response to Applicant's arguments and remarks filed on 7/1/2026. Claims 7-14 are pending in the application and are being examined herein.
Status of Objections and Rejections
All rejections from the previous office action are maintained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (US 20060024197 A1) (cited in Applicant’s IDS of 11/01/2023) in view of Kim (US 20180361009 A1) and Martin (US 5730781 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Park teaches a method for sterilizing filter media in an air purifier (Fig. 6, [abstract] method for sterilizing air purifier 10, see Figs. 1-4) comprising steps:
(A) subjecting a filter media to an airflow (Fig. 6, 31, air blast fan 15 exposes filter media 14 to an air flow, [0041])
(B) subjecting a filter media to an ion cloud (Fig. 5, steps 33-39, ion generator 17 is operated independently of fan 15 and outlet channel 16 is closed = Fig. 4, ions and ozone generated from the ion generator understood to descend downwardly and removes the bacteria remaining in the filter unit, para [0042], [0049]);
where steps (A) and (B) are, in no particular order, and are carried out exclusively (Fig. 6, steps 31 and steps 33-39 are carried out exclusively)
Park teaches closing the discharge channel (Fig. 4, 16) with a damper (Fig. 4, 18) so that the ozone generated from the ion generator remains within the air purifier.
However, Park does not teach wherein sterilizing the filter media comprises subjecting said filter media to a sterilization air flow with a speed of from 0.1 to 2.5 cm/s which correlates with sterilization of the filter media, since the air blast fan is turned off during the filter sterilization step.
One having ordinary skill in the art would be concerned with improving the circulation of ozone within the air purifier motivating one to turn towards Kim. Kim teaches an indoor air purification apparatus [abstract] comprising a filter unit (Fig. 1, 200), a discharge electrode unit (300) positioned upstream of the filter, and an inductive electrode unit (400) positioned downstream of the filter. Kim teaches the discharge electrode unit to generate ions that move through the pores of the filter towards the inductive discharge unit and generate ozone that sterilizes the filter [0027-0030], wherein the ions and ozone are propelled towards the filter via an air stream (Fig. 1, see air vector) provided by a fan ([0037] = understood to expose filter to a sterilizing air flow).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the air purifier as taught by Park to include the electrode discharge unit upstream of a filter media and an inductive as taught by Kim since Kim teaches the discharge unit to generate ions and ozone that sterilize a filter media and this involves the combination of elements to yield a predictable result with a reasonable expectation of success. See MPEP 2143(I)(A).
Further, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to actuate the air blast fan as taught by Park during the actuation of the electrode discharge unit upstream of the filter media and the inductive electrode unit downstream of the filter unit as taught by Kim to circulate the ozone within the air purifier and increase the contact time with the filter and this involves the combination of elements to yield a predictable result with a reasonable expectation of success. See MPEP 2143(I)(A).
Modified Park teaches step (A): subjecting said filter media to a sterilization air flow (Kim, [0027-0030], [0037]) but does not teach wherein the air flow is within a speed of 0.1 to 2.5 cm/s. One having ordinary skill in the art would contemplate optimal flow rates to discharge contaminants entrained within the filter media, motivating one to turn towards Martin.
Martin teaches a regeneration process for an absorbent media [abstract] comprising flowing a carrier gas through filtering media 14 to absorb contaminants [col 4, lines 34-42] and regenerating the filer media by flowing a regeneration gas through the filtering media [col 4, lines 39-44] wherein the regeneration gas is flowed at a rate between 0.5 and 2 cm/s [col 7, lines 5-10].
Martin is considered analogous to the claimed invention since both are drawn to methods for removing contaminants from a filter media. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the filter sterilization air flow as taught by Modified Park to include a regeneration flow rate between 0.5-2 cm/s as taught by Martin since Martin teaches this flowrate as effective for unclogging accumulated contaminants on a filter media [col 7, lines 1-10] and this involves the combination of elements to yield a predictable result with a reasonable expectation of success. See MPEP 2143(I)(A) and 2143(I)(G).
Further, one having ordinary skill in the art would recognize the sterilization air flow rate to be a result-effective variable (i.e. a variable which achieves a recognized result) proportional to the contamination of the filter media (a dirtier filter would result in a higher flow rate due to the pressure drop across the media).Since this particular parameter is recognized as a result-effective variable the determination of the optimum or workable ranges of said variable can be characterized as routine experimentation. See MPEP 2144.05 (II)(A). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the sterilization air flow rate as taught by Modified Park to be within 0.1 to 2.5 cm/s.
Claims 8, 11, and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (US 20060024197 A1) in view of Kim (US 20180361009 A1) and Martin (US 5730781 A1), as applied to claim 7 above, further in view of Adair (US 20070034082) (cited in Applicant’s IDS of 08/25/2023).
Regarding claim 8, Modified Park teaches the method according to claim 7 wherein the speed of the air flow during step (A) measured at the filter media is from 0.1 to 1.2 cm/s (Martin, col 7, lines 5-10) but does not teach wherein the air purifier comprises removable filter media. One having ordinary skill in the art would be concerned with determining how many times the filter can be regenerated before needing to be replaced to optimize performance, motivating one to turn towards Adair.
Adair teaches an air purifier (Fig. 1, 100) with a fan (Fig. 3, 216), an ionizing assembly (Fig. 3, 170), and a filter (Fig. 4, filter 162 housed inside tray 154 which is downstream of ionizing assembly 170, para 0046) wherein the filter comprises removable filter media (Fig. 4, filter 162 is removable from tray 154, paras 0047-0048) based on contamination or airflow data from a sensor [0048].
Adair is considered analogous to the claimed invention since both are drawn to air sterilization devices and methods. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the air purifier as taught by Modified Park with the sensors and removable filter media as taught by Adair since Adair teaches the sensor to indicate when the filter needs changing based on air flow/contamination data detected by the sensor and this involves the combination of elements to yield a predictable result with a reasonable expectation of success. See MPEP 2143(I)(A) and 2143(I)(G).
Regarding claim 11, Modified Park teaches the method according to claim 7 wherein the air purifier comprises a particulate or gas filter (Park, Fig. 1, 14), an air flow generator (Park, Fig. 1, 15), a means for controlling said air flow generator (Park, controller 19, [0046]), a first air flow setting with a first air filtration air flow speed (Park, air sterilization mode, Fig. 5, S33, [0048]) and a second air flow setting with a speed of from 0.1 to 2.5 cm/s (Martin, col 7, lines 5-10) which correlates with sterilization of an internal surface of the air purifier and/or a particulate or gas filter (Kim, [0027-0030], [0037]). Modified Park does not teach wherein the air purifier comprises removable filter media. One having ordinary skill in the art would be concerned with determining how many times the filter can be regenerated before needing to be replaced to optimize performance, motivating one to turn towards Adair.
Adair teaches an air purifier (Fig. 1, 100) with a fan (Fig. 3, 216), an ionizing assembly (Fig. 3, 170), and a filter (Fig. 4, filter 162 housed inside tray 154 which is downstream of ionizing assembly 170, para 0046) wherein the filter comprises removable filter media (Fig. 4, filter 162 is removable from tray 154, paras 0047-0048) based on contamination or airflow data from a sensor [0048].
Adair is considered analogous to the claimed invention since both are drawn to air sterilization devices and methods. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the air purifier as taught by Modified Park with the sensors and removable filter media as taught by Adair since Adair teaches the sensor to indicate when the filter needs changing based on air flow/contamination data detected by the sensor and this involves the combination of elements to yield a predictable result with a reasonable expectation of success. See MPEP 2143(I)(A) and 2143(I)(G).
Regarding claim 12, Modified Park teaches the method of claim 7 comprising an air purifier (Park, Fig. 1,) but does not wherein the air purifier contains removable filter media. One having ordinary skill in the art would be concerned with determining how many times the filter can be regenerated before needing to be replaced to optimize performance, motivating one to turn towards Adair.
Adair teaches an air purifier (Fig. 1, 100) with a fan (Fig. 3, 216), an ionizing assembly (Fig. 3, 170), and a filter (Fig. 4, filter 162 housed inside tray 154 which is downstream of ionizing assembly 170, para 0046) wherein the filter comprises removable filter media (Fig. 4, filter 162 is removable from tray 154, paras 0047-0048) based on contamination or airflow data from a sensor [0048].
Adair is considered analogous to the claimed invention since both are drawn to air sterilization devices and methods. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the air purifier as taught by Modified Park with the sensors and removable filter media as taught by Adair since Adair teaches the sensor to indicate when the filter needs changing based on air flow/contamination data detected by the sensor and this involves the combination of elements to yield a predictable result with a reasonable expectation of success. See MPEP 2143(I)(A) and 2143(I)(G).
Regarding claim 13, Modified Park teaches the method according to claim 7 wherein the speed of the air flow during step (A) measured at the filter media is from 0.8 to 1.2 cm/s (Martin, col 7, lines 5-10). Modified Park also teaches an air purifier (Park, Fig. 1,) but does not wherein the air purifier contains removable filter media. One having ordinary skill in the art would be concerned with determining how many times the filter can be regenerated before needing to be replaced to optimize performance, motivating one to turn towards Adair.
Adair teaches an air purifier (Fig. 1, 100) with a fan (Fig. 3, 216), an ionizing assembly (Fig. 3, 170), and a filter (Fig. 4, filter 162 housed inside tray 154 which is downstream of ionizing assembly 170, para 0046) wherein the filter comprises removable filter media (Fig. 4, filter 162 is removable from tray 154, paras 0047-0048) based on contamination or airflow data from a sensor [0048].
Adair is considered analogous to the claimed invention since both are drawn to air sterilization devices and methods. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the air purifier as taught by Modified Park with the sensors and removable filter media as taught by Adair since Adair teaches the sensor to indicate when the filter needs changing based on air flow/contamination data detected by the sensor and this involves the combination of elements to yield a predictable result with a reasonable expectation of success. See MPEP 2143(I)(A) and 2143(I)(G).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (US 20060024197 A1) (cited in Applicant’s IDS of 11/01/2023) in view of Kim (US 20180361009 A1) and Martin (US 5730781 A1), as applied to claim 7 above, further in view of Fresnet (US 20090308057).
Regarding claim 9, Modified Park teaches the method according to claim 7 including step (A): subjecting said filter media to a sterilization air flow (Kim, [0027-0030], [0037]) but does not teach wherein step (A) has a duration from 1 minute to 10 hours.
Fresnet teaches a method for purifying an exhaust stream [abstract] comprising flowing exhaust through a particulate filter 8 [0030] and regenerating the filter by injecting a reforming stream [0010] through the particle filter for 20 minutes [0033].
Fresnet is considered analogous to the claimed invention since both are drawn to methods for regenerating a filter media. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the duration of the filter sterilization step as taught by Modified Park to be 20 minutes as taught by Fresnet to allow for adequate contact time between the filter media and the regenerating gas and promote desorption of contaminants from the filter and this involves the combination of elements to yield a predictable result with a reasonable expectation of success. See MPEP 2143(I)(A).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (US 20060024197 A1) (cited in Applicant’s IDS of 11/01/2023) in view of Kim (US 20180361009 A1) and Martin (US 5730781 A1), as applied to claim 7 above, further in view of Takeda (US 20030072675).
Regarding claim 10, Modified Park teaches the method according to claim 7 including step (B) subjecting said filter media to an ion cloud (Park, [0041]) but does not teach wherein step (B) has a duration from 1 minute to 10 hours.
Takeda teaches a sterilization method for air (para 0006), including an experiment in a test space wherein an air purifier (300) comprising an ion generating device (201) was operated for thirty minutes, ions were generated in the space, and the concentration of contaminants in the air were tested (para 0285).
Takeda is considered to be analogous to the claimed invention since both are drawn to apparatuses and methods for sterilizing air and filters. Therefore, it would have also been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the step (B), subjecting the media filter to an ion cloud, as taught by Modified Park to be carried out for a duration of 30 minutes as taught by Takeda to achieve the result of a desired air filter sterilization threshold and this involves the combination of elements to yield a predictable result with a reasonable expectation of success. See MPEP 2143(I)(A).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (US 20060024197 A1) (cited in Applicant’s IDS of 11/01/2023) in view of Kim (US 20180361009 A1) and Martin (US 5730781 A1), as applied to claim 7 above, further in view of Fox (US 20050031503) and Furuhashi (US 20060233660) (cited in Applicant’s IDS of 11/01/2023).
Regarding claim 14, Modified Park teaches the method according to claim 7 including a controller configured to automatically operate a fan (Park, 0048-0049]) but does not teach wherein the method further comprises sending an alert by way of an electronic signal to a mobile device to alert a user that conditions are favorable to micro-organisms and permitting an option for the user to actuate a fan in the air purifier; recommending to the user to actuate the fan or an impeller, or ionizer in the air purifier. One having ordinary skill in the art would be concerned with knowing when conditions inside the air purifier would promote the growth of micro-organisms, which would motivate one to turn to Fox.
Fox discloses an air ionizer control system (para 0015) with an ionization device (200) and a control unit (212) that receives air quality data from a plurality of sensors and displays the data on an operator interface (216), wherein the operator interface allows an operator to control ionization intensity and airflow volumes (para 0029). Fox further teaches the control unit to allow the ionization device (200) to be remotely monitored and controlled via a network, wherein the control unit can send information over the network regarding system detection data (para 0033, understood to be capable of sending electric signal to mobile device). Accordingly, Fox teaches the claimed elements of alerting a user by way of an electronic signal to a mobile device and permitting an option for the user to actuate a fan in the air purifier.
Fox does not teach wherein the alert by electronic signal would alert a user that conditions are favorable to micro-organisms and recommend to the user to actuate the fan or an impeller, or ionizer in the air purifier.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be concerned with knowing when the potential for microbial growth inside the filter is high and automatically actuating the filter sterilizing process which would motivate one to turn to Furuhashi.
Furuhashi teaches an ion generating air conditioning apparatus for sterilizing air (para 0001), wherein the apparatus comprises a control unit 150 (Fig. 6, para 0101) connected to a humidity sensor 152, temperature sensor 15, and an ion generator (10) that senses conditions favorable to microorganism growth (para 0187, 0189-0190) and alerts a user to select an operational mode (understood to be a warning, Fig. 19, illustrates operational mode and process steps, user is notified and manipulates process, para 0191-0192) to adjust ions generated by said ionizer (understood to be recommending user to actuate ionizer, para 0196, 0198).
One having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would recognize the controllers of Modified Park, Fox, and Furuhashi could be combined through electrical coupling as well as the humidity and temperature sensors as taught by Furuhasi. Further, the controllers could be electrically connected to a mobile device via larger network as disclosed Fox by the network interface (Fox, network interface 218 para 0033).
Both Fox and Furuhashi are considered analogous to the claimed invention as both are drawn to methods and apparatuses for air sterilization. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the controller as disclosed by Modified Park with the controller disclosed by Fox, and the controller and humidity/temperature sensors disclosed by Furuhashi to yield a predictable result with a reasonable expectation of success. See MPEP 2143(I)(A).
The combination above would yield the results of alerting a user by way of an electronic signal to a mobile device that conditions are favorable to micro-organisms, warning the user that micro-organism growth is likely, permitting an option for the user to actuate a fan in the air purifier, and recommending to the user to actuate the fan or an impeller, or ionizer in the air purifier would be predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Response to Arguments
On page 6-7 of Applicant's arguments filed 7/1/2026, Applicant argues that Kim does not disclose operating the fan without the plasma generator to sterilize the air filter with respect to the rejection of independent claim 7 under 35 U.S.C. 103.
The argument has been fully considered but is unpersuasive. The Examiner respectfully asserts that Kim teaches (A) subjecting said filter media to a sterilization airflow (Fig. 6, step 31, air blast fan exposes filter media 14 to an air flow, [0041]) and (B) subjecting a filter media to an ion cloud (Fig. 5, steps 33-39, ion generator 17 is operated independently of fan 15 = Fig. 4, ions and ozone generated from the ion generator descend downwardly and remove bacteria remaining in filter unit, [0042, [0049]), where steps (A) and (B) are carried out exclusively (Fig. 6, steps 31 and steps 33-39 are carried out exclusively, see also [0042]). Therefore, the rejection
On page 7-8 of Applicant's arguments filed 7/1/2026, Applicant argues that one having ordinary skill in the art would not look to a flow rate of a regeneration gas to declog filtering elements when selecting a flow rate for an air flow to sterilize filter media in an air purifier with respect to the rejection of independent claim 7 under 35 U.S.C. 103.
The argument has been fully considered but is unpersuasive. The Examiner respectfully asserts that Martin teaches the air flow to remove an absorbent cake (understood to be a contaminant) deposited on a filter media (col. 7, Ins. 1-13), which is reasonably pertinent to the instant claims since Martin discusses methods to removes contaminants from air purification filters via a regenerating air flow (col. 4, lns. 39-44).
The Examiner further points to the instant specification, which discloses that the "air flow" as recited in claim 7 must be "commensurate with sterilization of an internal surface of the air purifier" and that the method teaches wherein the filter media "is first subjected to an air draft and then where the air draft is stopped, the surface is exposed to a burst of ionization" (page 4, lines 25-31). The specification does not describe what exactly makes this air draft a commensurate with sterilization, especially since the air flow is deployed independent of the sterilization mechanism (the ion generator). Therefore, the Examiner respectfully asserts that under broadest reasonable interpretation in light of the specification, one having ordinary skill in the art would recognize the "sterilization air flow" to be an ordinary burst of air, identify the primary problem faced by the inventor to be the removal of contaminants from the filter media through mechanical/chemical means in conjunction with the biological removal of contaminants (via the ion cloud), and consider the disclosure of Martin reasonably pertinent to the aforementioned problem.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
WO 2011159593 A2 teaches a microwave filter purification system with an air flow passing through a filter at 1 cm/s.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Nebyate Seged whose telephone number is (703)756-4611. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5:00 pm (EST).
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/N.S.S./Examiner, Art Unit 1758
/MARIS R KESSEL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1758
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