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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 5/5/2026 has been entered.
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, 4, 5, 11-13, 15, 16, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kwon (2022/0259842).
Regarding claim 1, Kown shows A sanitary insertion cartridge, comprising: a cartridge housing (100, 300, 200) formed of two or more housing portions which is insertable in a water line or the water outlet of a sanitary outlet fitting, the cartridge housing having at least one water inlet (top) and at least one water discharge (bottom) at least two components (300, 200, 100) which at least one of abut each other or are connected to each other and of which at least two adjacent ones of said components are fixed in a relative position thereof relative to each other in a circumferential direction by a rotation prevention member (231 and 233 are the rotation prevention member); at least one of said adjacent components (220) comprises an insertion part (210, 220) that is inserted into the cartridge housing (100), wherein front sides of the at least two adjacent ones of said components have axially mutually engaging front tooth arrangements (the front side of 220 is the top and it has tooth 233, the front side of 210 is the bottom and it has teeth on either side of recess 231) arranged adjacent to each other to form the rotation prevention member (the combination of 233 and 231 is the rotation prevention member), a first one of the front tooth arrangements (233) disposed on a first front side of a first one of the at least two adjacent ones of said components facing a second one of the at least two adjacent ones of said components (fig 5, 233 is on the front side of 220), and a second one of the front tooth arrangements (the teeth on either side of 231) disposed on a second front side of the second one of the at least two adjacent ones of said components facing the first one of the at least two adjacent ones of said components (fig 5. 231 is on a front side of 210).
Regarding claim 4, further comprising a plurality of projections (730) which are spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction at an adjacent front side of a second one of the at least two adjacent ones of said components (fig 3).
Regarding claim 5, further comprising a counter- profiling (231) of the rotation prevention member that engages in the front tooth arrangement (233) on the first one of the adjacent components, and the counter-profiling is provided at the adjacent front side of the second one of the adjacent components (fig 5).
Regarding claim 11, wherein the second one of the adjacent components comprises one of the housing portions (fig 3) and the projection (730) is provided on a front edge, facing a housing interior, of said housing portion (fig 3)
Regarding claim 12, wherein the projection (730) is rounded not rectangular at a free end thereof (fig 3)
Regarding claim 13, wherein the cartridge housing has at least one inflow-side housing opening (inlet to 100) as the water inlet and the at least one housing opening is closeable by a second component formed as a jet fractionator (300) which has jet fractionator openings (301), said jet fractionator is lockable at an internal housing circumference of the cartridge housing (fig 4).
Regarding claim 15, wherein a circumferential external ring (outer surface of 210, 220) which carries the first one or the second one of the front tooth arraignments is provided on at least one of the insertion parts (231 and 233) and is displaceable guided along an internal housing circumference in the cartridge housing (100).
Regarding claim 16, wherein an annular shoulder (111) is provided on an internal housing circumference of the cartridge housing, and the annular shoulder acts as a sliding stop during insertion of the at least one component which is in the form of the insertion part into the housing interior of the cartridge housing (fig 4).
Regarding claim 18, wherein the sanitary insertion cartridge includes an aerator [0049].
Claim(s) 1, 4, 5, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Birmelin (DE 102015017207 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Birmelin shows A sanitary insertion cartridge (1), comprising: a cartridge housing (11) formed of two or more housing portions (there are multiple portions of element 11) which is insertable in a water line or the water outlet of a sanitary outlet fitting, the cartridge housing having at least one water inlet (top) and at least one water discharge (bottom) at least two components (10, 8) which at least one of abut each other or are connected to each other and of which at least two adjacent ones of said components are fixed in a relative position thereof relative to each other in a circumferential direction by a rotation prevention member (17); at least one of said adjacent components (8) comprises an insertion part (18) that is inserted into the cartridge housing (11), wherein front sides of the at least two adjacent ones of said components have axially mutually engaging front tooth arrangements (the front side of 10 is the bottom and it has tooth show in fig 4 that is inserted between element 17, the front side of 8 is the top and it has teeth 17) arranged adjacent to each other to form the rotation prevention member (fig 5), a first one of the front tooth arrangements disposed on a first front side of a first one of the at least two adjacent ones of said components facing a second one of the at least two adjacent ones of said components (fig 5, the teeth on 10 is on the front side of 10), and a second one of the front tooth arrangements disposed on a second front side of the second one of the at least two adjacent ones of said components facing the first one of the at least two adjacent ones of said components (fig 5. 17 is on a front side of 8).
Regarding claim 4, further comprising a plurality of projections (18) which are spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction at an adjacent front side of a second one of the at least two adjacent ones of said components (fig 3).
Regarding claim 5, further comprising a counter- profiling (space between 17) of the rotation prevention member that engages in the front tooth arrangement on the first one of the adjacent components, and the counter-profiling is provided at the adjacent front side of the second one of the adjacent components (fig 5).
Regarding claim 11, wherein the second one of the adjacent components comprises one of the housing portions (fig 5) and the projection (18) is provided on a front edge, facing a housing interior, of said housing portion (fig 5)
Regarding claim 13, wherein the cartridge housing has at least one inflow-side housing opening (inlet to 10) as the water inlet and the at least one housing opening is closeable by a second component formed as a jet fractionator (10) which has jet fractionator openings (6), said jet fractionator is lockable at an internal housing circumference of the cartridge housing (fig 5).
Regarding claim 15, wherein a circumferential external ring (outer surface of 10 and 8) which carries the first one or the second one of the front tooth arraignments is provided on at least one of the insertion parts and is displaceable guided along an internal housing circumference in the cartridge housing (fig 5).
Regarding claim 16, wherein an annular shoulder (fig 5, shoulder on 11 is provided on an internal housing circumference of the cartridge housing, and the annular shoulder acts as a sliding stop during insertion of the at least one component which is in the form of the insertion part into the housing interior of the cartridge housing (fig 5).
Regarding claim 18, wherein the sanitary insertion cartridge includes an aerator (fig 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.
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon (2022/0259842) in view of Birmelin (2018/0148913)
Regarding claim 14, Kwon shows all aspects of the applicant’s invention as in claim 13, including wherein at least one projection (730) projects on the jet fractionator (300), the at least one projection is orientated axially parallel with the longitudinal housing axis
But fails to disclose that the projection cooperates with a front tooth arrangement on an adjacent front edge of an external ring of an adjacent component that comprises the insertion part.
However, Birmelin shows an aerator with at least one projection (bottom of 6) projects on the jet fractionator (6), the at least one projection is orientated axially parallel with the longitudinal housing axis, the projection cooperates with a front tooth arrangement (17) on an adjacent front edge of an external ring of an adjacent component that comprises the insertion part (fig 5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was effectively filed to add a front tooth arrangement (or cover walls 17) to the upper most insertion part, in order to partially block the aeration opening as taught by Birmelin [0057].
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/5/2026have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant argues that Kwon since the teeth 233 are located on the outer periphery of element 220, they are not on the front side of 220.
The examiner notes that teeth 233 are located on a front side of element 220. The claim does not say that the teeth cannot be on the outer periphery, just that the teeth have to be on the front side. Fig 5 shows elements 233 on the front side or top of 220. The teeth 133 are the front side of 220, they are the forward most surface of 220.
The same argument can be made for element 210 and the teeth on either side of 231. These teeth are flush with the front side of 210, but they have a surface that is on the front side of 210.
The above rejections are being maintained.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON J BOECKMANN whose telephone number is (571)272-2708. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am to 5pm.
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/JASON J BOECKMANN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3752 7/29/2026
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