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
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I in the reply filed on 10/20/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 12-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 10/20/2025.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
in line 7 on p. 16, delete “40in.” and insert --40 in.--;
in line 8 on p. 16, delete “10.4in.” and insert --10.4 in.--;
in line 3 of [0029] on p. 16,
delete “103may” and insert --103 may--,
delete “3in.” and insert --3 in.--;
in line 6 of [0029] on p. 16,
delete “5.5in.” and insert --5.5 in.--,
delete “10in.” and insert --10 in.--,
delete “2in.” and insert --2 in.--;
in line 8 of [0029] on p. 16, delete “1.0to” and insert --1.0 to--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-11 are objected to because of the following informalities:
in line 1 of Claims 2-11, insert --UVC air sanitizing-- before “system”;
in line 1 of Claim 11, delete “a” after “from”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In Claim 1, it is not clear whether/how there is “an air supply” when there is “an air intake vent” which appears to utilize outside/external air as the air supply for sanitizing air. This limitation will be interpreted as an air supply outlet for examination purpose (see Specification, [0028] – lines 15, 17-18 and 21).
In Claim 4, it is not clear whether the limitation “each of said plurality of four bulb pairs is connected to one of a plurality of ballasts” is attempting to set forth that each of the four bulb pairs is connected to one of a plurality of ballasts (i.e. each bulb pair with a ballast so as to provide 4 ballasts for eight bulbs/4 pairs of bulbs as disclosed in last 2 lines on p. 17 of Specification) or that each of the plurality of four bulb pairs is connected to one of a plurality of ballasts (i.e. each array of four bulb pair with a ballast so as to provide 4 ballasts for 4 arrays of four bulb pairs/32 bulbs = 1 ballast for eight bulbs).
Claim 10 recites the limitation "said air intake" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 2-3, 5-9 and 11 are rejected due to dependence on a rejected claim.
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) 1-2, 6 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kirschman (20140157989).
As to Claim 1, Kirschman (‘989) discloses a UVC air sanitizing system (10) capable for a vehicle having a power source (see Figures 1-9) comprising:
a power adapter capable of receiving power from the power source (see entire document, particularly p. 4 [0059] – lines 3-5);
an enclosure (12) having an air intake vent (28, 30) and an air supply outlet (32, 33);
a UVC bulb array (38, 40) within said enclosure (12) and in operable combination to the power adapter (see Figures 1-4), said UVC bulb array (38, 40) disposed between said air intake vent (28, 30) and said air supply (32, 33) (see Figure 1);
a blower (24) in operable combination to the power adapter proximate said air intake vent (28, 30) and within said enclosure (12) (see entire document, particularly Figure 1, p. 2 [0036], p. 4 [0059] – lines 3-5); and
a filtration medium (34, 36) therein said enclosure (12) (see Figure 1).
As to Claim 2, the vehicle in the UVC air sanitizing system of Kirschman (‘989) is capable of being selected from a group and the group consists of a bus, a passenger shuttle, a taxi, a limousine, a ridesharing vehicle, a train, an ambulance, a firetruck, a ferry, a cable car, and an elevator.
As to Claim 6, Kirschman (‘989) discloses that the blower is a fan (24) (see entire document, particularly p. 2 [0036] – line 7).
As to Claim 10, Kirschman (‘989) discloses that the filtration medium (34) is proximate said air intake vent (28, 30) (see Figure 1).
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.
Claim(s) 3-5 and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kirschman (20140157989) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Tufo (WO2004035100).
As to Claims 3-5, Kirschman (‘989) discloses that the UVC air sanitizing system (10) is comprised of one or more UVC bulb array (38, 40) (see entire document, particularly Figure 1, p. 2 [0039] – line 7), wherein each of said UVC bulb array (38) is in a plurality of two bulb pairs (40) (see Figures 2-4), each (38) of said plurality of two bulb pairs (40) is connected to one of a plurality of ballasts (52) (see Figures 2-4).
While Kirschman (‘989) does not appear to specifically teach that the UVC air sanitizing system (10) comprises two UVC bulb arrays providing eight UVC bulbs (40) or one UVC bulb array (38) comprises four bulb pairs each connected to a ballast, it was well known in the art to provide any number of desired UVC bulbs/bulb pairs in an UVC bulb array such as eight UVC bulbs as shown by Tufo (‘100) exemplifying use of eight UVC bulbs (7; 104; 204) provided in pairs of 2 or 4 bulbs (see entire document, particularly Figures 1 and 3A-5A, p. 14 lines 11-21) are provided in an UVC bulb array as a known alternate configuration in order to allow ease of access and maintenance (see entire document, particularly Figures 1 and 3A-5A, p. 14 lines 15-21), It would have been obvious to and well within the purview of one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide any number of desired UVC bulb arrays and/or bulb pairs such as two UVC bulb arrays or four bulb pairs per UVC bulb array in order to provide eight UVC bulbs in pairs as exemplified by Tufo in order to provide ease of access and exchange/maintenance of the UVC bulb array and provide a configuration where each bulb pair is connected to a ballast (see for example. Figure 13) so as to provide four ballasts as an alternate configuration as a matter of engineering choice in the UVC air sanitizing system of Kirschman in order to provide desired quantity of UVC irradiation. Only the expected results would be attained.
As to Claims 7-9, Kirschman (‘989) does not appear to specifically teach that the enclosure further comprises a service panel, said service panel is configured in an open position and a closed position, or an interruption switch disposed between the power source and said UVC bulb array, wherein said interruption switch terminates power to said UVC bulb array when said service panel is in said open position.
It was known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a service panel and an interruption switch in an UVC air sanitizing system. Tufo (‘100) discloses an UVC air sanitizing system (200) for a vehicle (see entire document, particularly p. 22 lines 18-19) comprising:
a power source (see entire document, particularly p. 23 lines 9-10);
an enclosure (201) having an air intake (i.e. at 210) and an air supply outlet (202) (see entire document, particularly Figures 5A-5C, p. 23 lines 5-7);
an UVC bulb array (1; 51; 101; 101’) comprising eight UVC bulbs (7; 104; 204) within said enclosure (201) (see entire document, particularly Figures 1 and 3A-5A, p. 14 lines 11-21);
a blower in the form of a fan (210); and
a filtration media (9, 12; 55, 56; 105, 106);
wherein the enclosure (201) further comprises:
a service panel (205), said service panel (205) is configured in an open position and a closed position (see entire document, particularly Figures 5A-5C, p. 24 line 13), and
an interruption switch disposed between the power source and said UVC bulb array (see entire document, particularly Figures 5A-5C, p. 24 lines 13-14), wherein said interruption switch terminates power to said UVC bulb array (1; 51; 101; 101’) when said service panel (205) is in said open position (see entire document, particularly Figures 5A-5C, p. 24 lines 14-15);
in order to ensure safety for the personnel accessing the UVC air sanitizing system for maintenance.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a service panel and an interruption switch in the UVC air sanitizing system of Kirschman as known components of a UVC air sanitizing system in order to allow easy access to UVC bulb array for maintenance that is safe for the personnel accessing the system via the service panel as shown by Tufo.
Thus, Claims 3-5 and 7-9 would have been obvious within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. 103 over the combined teachings of Kirschman (‘989) and Tufo (‘100).
Claim(s) 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kirschman (20140157989) as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Zarcone (20200009286).
Kirschman (‘989) is relied upon for disclosure described in the rejection of claim 2 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1).
Kirschman (‘989) does not appear to specifically teach that the filtration medium is physically shielded from radiation of said UVC bulb array,
It was known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a filtration medium is physically shielded from radiation of a UVC bulb array. Zarcone (‘286) discloses a UVC air sanitizing system (101) comprising:
a power adapter capable of receiving power from the power source;
an enclosure (100) having an air intake vent (104) and an air supply outlet (115);
a UVC bulb array (103, 134) within said enclosure (100) (see entire document, particularly p. 3 [0033]) and in operable combination to the power adapter, said UVC bulb array (103) disposed between said air intake vent (104) and said air supply (115);
a blower or a fan (108) in operable combination to the power adapter proximate said air intake vent and within said enclosure; and
a filtration medium (122) therein said enclosure;
wherein the filtration medium (122) is physically shielded (via 109 and 107) from radiation of said UVC bulb array (103) (see entire document, particularly Figure 1, p. 3 [0034] – lines 10-12 and 17-23),
in order to block any internal UV light from entering/exiting into air flow path and into the environment (see entire document, particularly p. 3 [0034] – lines 10-12 and 17-23).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in this art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide physical shield(S) that physically shields the filtration medium from radiation of the UVC bulb array in the UVC air sanitizing system of Kirschman as a known component/configuration in order to block any UV light from exiting/entering the system so as to prevent exposure of any occupant/user/maintenance personnel to damaging UV radiation as shown by Zarcone.
Thus, Claim 11 would have been obvious within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. 103 over the combined teachings of Kirschman (‘989) and Zarcone (‘286).
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: 20020094298, 20020098109, 20070284315, 20110171080, 20190240370, 20140348701, WO2021126459, JP4574799, DE202015105175, CN1462205.
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/REGINA M YOO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1758