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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 12/15/2025 has been received and claims 1-19 and 21 are pending.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/27/2026 has been entered.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-12 and 21 are objected to because of the following informalities:
in line 7 of Claim 1, insert --the-- before “UV radiation”;
in line of Claim 21, insert --the-- before “UV radiation”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 13-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoshikawa (20050260786).
As to Claims 13-14, Yoshikawa (‘786) discloses an object (i.e. wall material) capable of being an interior object in the form of an interior/indoor wall comprised of:
a polymer substrate (21; 39A; 41a; 41b; 40A; 40B); and
a continuous inorganic film (22; 39C; 39E) on the polymer substrate (21; 39A; 41a; 41b; 40A; 40B), the continuous inorganic film (22; 39C; 39E) having a property of absorbing UV radiation at a UVC wavelength (intrinsically present in sunlight) suitable for disinfection;
wherein the continuous inorganic film (22; 39C; 39E) comprises a semiconductor comprising tin oxide, fluorinated tin oxide and mixtures thereof (see entire document, particularly p. 20 [0319] and [0321], p. 25 [0404] and [0420]).
As to Claim 15, Yoshikawa (‘786) discloses that the polymer substrate (21; 39A; 41a; 41b; 40A; 40B) comprises a polymer chosen from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethanes, polyethylene, or any combination thereof (see entire document, particularly p. 16 [0247], p. 18 [0296], p. 25 [0404] and [0420]).
As to Claim 16, the semiconductor of Yoshikawa (‘786) intrinsically (due to possessing the same/as claimed semiconductor material) comprises a bandgap that is greater than 3.1 eV and less than or equal to 6.9 eV.
As to Claim 17, Yoshikawa (‘786) discloses that the semiconductor further comprises a material chosen from titanium dioxide, anatase, indium tin oxide and mixtures thereof (see entire document, particularly p. 20 [0319] and [0321]).
As to Claims 18-19, Yoshikawa (‘786) discloses that the continuous inorganic film (22; 39C; 39E) is an insulator in the form of indium oxide (see entire document, particularly p. 20 [0321]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-12 and 21 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the primary reason for allowance of the claims is due to amendment of the claims which overcomes the prior art of record (i.e. Honda (20130236710) in view of Noda (Cn101148099). In addition, while prior art of Yoshikawa (20050260786) discloses an object capable of being an interior object such as a wall comprised of a continuous inorganic semiconductor film (22; 39C; 39E) comprising a material such as fluorine-doped tin oxide (see rejection of claim 13 in paragraph 5 above) on a polymer substrate (21; 39A; 41a; 41b; 40A; 40B), Yoshikawa (‘786) discloses that s source of UV radiation is from a natural UV source (i.e. sun) rather than from an artificial UV source; thus, it would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the object of Yoshikawa along with an artificial ultraviolet source as is in the claimed invention for a UV radiation disinfection system as set forth in claims 1 and 21.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following references relate either to the field of the invention or subject matter of the invention, but are not relied upon in the rejection of record: 20170358771 and WO2012003449 (an interior object comprised of a polymer substrate and a film containing at least one inorganic component).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REGINA M YOO whose telephone number is (571)272-6690. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm EST.
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/REGINA M YOO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1758