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 .
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 4 August 2025 has been entered. Claims 1-4, 6-16, and 21-25 are pending in the application. Claims 21-25 are newly added, claims 5 and 17-20 have been canceled, and claims 9-16 were previously withdrawn as being directed to a nonelected invention. Applicant's amendments to the Claims have overcome the 112(f) interpretations and each and every rejection previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action dated 8 May 2025; however, upon further consideration new rejections are set forth as explained below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1-4 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Timmes et al. (US 2003/0038182).
Regarding claim 1, Timmes teaches a foam sprayer (par. 2) comprising:
a body (1) defining a fluid pathway (4, see fig. 1); a nozzle (14) attached to the body (fig. 1) and configured to emit foam (par. 12; fig. 1);
an adapter (3) configured to releasably attach to a first fluid source (2) that provides a first fluid at a first pressure (par. 12; fig. 1);
a connector (5) attached to the body (fig. 1) and configured to releasably connect the body to the adapter (fig. 1) or to a second fluid source (25/26) that provides a second fluid at a second pressure that is substantially greater than the first pressure (par. 14; fig. 3);
a mixing chamber (9) in the fluid pathway configured to mix a cleaning agent and the first fluid or the second fluid into a mixture (fig. 1); and
a valve (8) in the fluid pathway between the connector and the mixing chamber (fig. 1), the valve configured to switch the foam sprayer between a low-pressure mode and a high-pressure mode (par. 12 – the amount that valve 8 is rotated will determine the amount of flow that is allowed and the pressure that will result), wherein the foam sprayer is configured to generate foam from the first fluid when the foam sprayer is in the low-pressure mode, and to generate foam from the second fluid when the foam sprayer is in the high-pressure mode (par. 12 – by adjusting the position of the valve 8 the amount of fluid that is drawn from the reservoir is controlled, which allows foam to be produced with a low-pressure fluid by opening the valve more).
Regarding claim 2, Timmes teaches the foam sprayer described regarding claim 1, and further wherein the nozzle comprises a foam generating chamber (17) between the fluid pathway and an outlet of the nozzle (16, fig. 1).
Regarding claim 3, Timmes teaches the foam sprayer described regarding claim 2, and further wherein the foam generating chamber (17) is configured to cause a decrease in pressure for the mixture (fig. 1 – as fluid flows through the chamber its pressure will decrease due to frictional losses).
Regarding claim 4, Timmes teaches the foam sprayer described regarding claim 1, and further comprising a reservoir (11) attached to the body (fig. 1), the reservoir configured to dispense the cleaning agent (par. 12).
Regarding claim 8, Timmes teaches the foam sprayer described regarding claim 1, and further comprising a switch (fig. 1 – interpreted to be the trigger) connected to the valve, the switch being configured to cause the valve to set the foam sprayer in one of the low-pressure and the high-pressure mode (fig. 1; par. 12).
Claims 1-4 and 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gilmour (US 3,207,443).
Regarding claim 1, Gilmour teaches a foam sprayer (12, see col. 1,ln. 10-15) comprising:
a body (16) defining a fluid pathway (fig. 2); a nozzle (18, 20) attached to the body (fig. 2) and configured to emit foam (figs. 1, 2 – the sprayer can mix a secondary fluid with water and air);
an adapter (10) configured to releasably attach to a first fluid source (42) that provides a first fluid at a first pressure (col. 2, ln. 53-55);
a connector (22) attached to the body (fig. 1) and configured to releasably connect the body to the adapter (fig. 1) or to a second fluid source that provides a second fluid at a second pressure that is substantially greater than the first pressure (col. 2, ln. 43-50 – the connector is a conventional female coupling with a resilient washer 34; therefore, it is capable of being connector to a second fluid source having a pressure greater than the first);
a mixing chamber (fig. 2 – interpreted to be the portion of 54 at 56 and 58) in the fluid pathway configured to mix the cleaning agent and the first fluid or the second fluid into a mixture (fig. 2); and,
a valve (26) in the fluid pathway between the connector and the mixing chamber (fig. 1), the valve configured to switch the foam sprayer between a low-pressure mode (fig. 2 – “up” position shown in dashed) and a high-pressure mode (fig. 2 – position shown), wherein the foam sprayer is configured to generate foam from the first fluid when the foam sprayer is in the low-pressure mode (fig. 2 – water flows through lower nozzle 20 and can mix with secondary fluid and air to form a foam), and configured to generate foam from the second fluid when the foam sprayer is in the high-pressure mode (fig. 2 – water flows through the upper nozzle 18 and mixes with air from 48 to form a foam).
Regarding claim 2, Gilmour teaches the foam sprayer described regarding claim 1, and further wherein the nozzle comprises a foam generating chamber between the fluid pathway and an outlet of the nozzle (fig. 2 – interpreted to be the left portion of 54).
Regarding claim 3, Gilmour teaches the foam sprayer described regarding claim 1, and further wherein the foam generating chamber is configured to cause a decrease in [pressure for the mixture (fig. 2 – as fluid flows through the chamber its pressure will decrease due to frictional losses).
Regarding claim 4, Gilmour teaches the foam sprayer described regarding claim 1, and further comprising a reservoir (14) attached to the body (fig. 1), the reservoir configured to dispense the cleaning agent (col. 2, ln. 32-33).
Regarding claim 6, Gilmour teaches the foam sprayer described regarding claim 1, and further wherein the body includes an air intake (56/92/94) configured to allow air to flow into the mixing chamber (fig. 2), wherein the air is mixed with the cleaning agent and the first fluid or the second fluid to generate foam (col. 4, ln. 50-51).
Regarding claim 7, Gilmour teaches the foam sprayer described regarding claim 6, and further comprising a knob (96) configured to regulate the air that is allowed into the mixing chamber through the air intake (col. 4, ln. 65-71).
Regarding claim 8, Gilmour teaches the foam sprayer described regarding claim 1, and further comprising a switch (68) connected to the valve (fig. 2), the switch being configured to cause the valve to set the foam sprayer in one of the low-pressure mode and the high-pressure mode (fig. 2).
Claims 1 and 21-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Laible (US 2010/0213280).
Regarding claim 1, Laible teaches a foam sprayer (10, see par. 2) comprising:
a body (12) defining a fluid pathway (fig. 3); a nozzle attached to the body (fig. 2 – “tube 24 may have any type of discharge nozzle”) and configured to emit foam (figs. 1, 2 – the sprayer can mix a secondary fluid with water and air);
an adapter (22) configured to releasably attach to a first fluid source (42) that provides a first fluid at a first pressure (par. 30; fig. 2);
a connector (20) attached to the body (fig. 2) and configured to releasably connect the body to the adapter (fig. 2) or to a second fluid source that provides a second fluid at a second pressure that is substantially greater than the first pressure (par. 30 – the connector is a conventional female coupling for connecting to a fluid source “under pressure”; therefore, it is capable of being connector to a second fluid source having a pressure greater than the first);
a mixing chamber (fig. 3 – interpreted to be the portion of 34 at 70 and 72) in the fluid pathway configured to mix the cleaning agent and the first fluid or the second fluid into a mixture (par. 34, fig. 3); and,
a valve (64) in the fluid pathway between the connector and the mixing chamber (fig. 3), the valve configured to switch the foam sprayer between a low-pressure mode (par. 34; fig. 3 – when bore 66 is aligned with fluid pathway) and a high-pressure mode (fig. 3 – position shown), wherein the foam sprayer is configured to generate foam from the first fluid when the foam sprayer is in the low-pressure mode, and configured to generate foam from the second fluid when the foam sprayer is in the high-pressure mode (par. 34; fig. 3).
Regarding claim 21, Laible teaches the foam sprayer described regarding claim 1, and further wherein the valve positions one of a first channel (66) or a second channel (70) in the fluid pathway (par. 34; fig. 3).
Regarding claim 22, Laible teaches the foam sprayer described regarding claim 21, and further wherein the valve contains the first channel and the second channel and is rotatable to position one of the first channel or the second channel in the fluid pathway (par. 34; fig. 3).
Regarding claim 23, Laible teaches the foam sprayer described regarding claim 22, and further wherein the first channel is perpendicular to the second channel (fig. 3).
Regarding claim 24, Laible teaches the foam sprayer described regarding claim 21, and further wherein the first channel has a first cross-sectional area and the second channel has a second cross-sectional area, the first cross-sectional area being larger than the second cross-sectional area (par. 34; fig. 3).
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 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Laible.
Regarding claim 25, Laible discloses the foam sprayer described regarding claim 24, and further wherein the bores of the first channel and the second channel may be variously sized in order to control the flow rate (par. 34), but not explicitly wherein the first channel has a first diameter greater than 1.5 mm and the second channel has a second diameter no more than 1.5 mm.
Therefore, the diameters of the first channel and the second channel are both recognized as result-effective variables, i.e. a variable which achieves a recognized result. In this case, the recognized result is that the diameter controls the flow rate. Since the general conditions of the claim were disclosed in the prior art by Laible, it is not inventive to discover the optimum workable range by routine experimentation, and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to provide the first channel with a first diameter greater than 1.5 mm and the second channel with a second diameter no more than 1.5 mm. See MPEP 2144.05 II.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to Timmes have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the valve 13 of Timmes to teach the “mode selection device” of claim 1, as applied in the prior rejection of record.
Applicant's with respect to Gilmour have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. When valve member 26 is in the “down” position (as shown in fig. 2), the fluid is directed to barrel 18 at a high pressure (since the fluid pathway is larger bore, see fig. 2), draws in air at 48, and mixes with the air to form a foam. When valve member 26 is in the “up” position, the fluid is directed to barrel 20 at a low pressure (since the fluid pathway is restricted at 60, see fig. 2), draws in air and a secondary fluid, and mixes with the air and secondary fluid to form a foam in passageway 54.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CODY J LIEUWEN whose telephone number is (571)272-4477. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8-5, Friday varies.
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/CODY J LIEUWEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3752