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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the lines and numbers are not sufficiently dark and well defined, which makes it difficult to distinguish the claimed features. Applicant is requested to provide replacement drawings of a substantially better quality.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the following must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
guide pins (claim 1)
a fitting structure or screw fastener that detachably couples the manifold to the hull (claim 4)
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
On line 13, change “bobbles” to –bubbles–.
Appropriate correction is requested.
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 1-5 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 (line 11), the limitation “guide pins which protrudes along a length direction” (emphasis added) renders the claim indefinite. It is noted that the dictionary defines a “pin” as a slender, rod-shaped elongated article such as a metal nail or wire. However, it is not sufficiently clear from the disclosure as to which specific structure of the instant invention qualifies as a pin. Did the applicant instead intend this limitation to be “guide fin”?
Applicant is requested to provide a clarification and/or appropriate correction to the claims as well as the specification.
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.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Wilson (US 3191572 A).
Wilson shows a ship resistance reduction apparatus using air, comprising: air intake ports [36, 37; or 39, 40] that are symmetrically provided at left and right sides of a bow of a ship (Fig 3) to suck air generated during the sailing; an air intake duct (see Fig 5) which is connected to each of the air intake ports to induce the sucked air to a lower side of a hull; a manifold [28, 29, 30 of 31] which is connected to each air intake duct to be supplied with air and discharge the air to generate air bubbles on a bottom surface of a ship bottom, the ship bottom configured by an inner buoyant unit [15] disposed at a center part of a ship bottom and an outer buoyant unit [14, 16] disposed along an edge of the ship bottom at an outside of the inner buoyant unit; and a plurality of guide pins [17-22] protruding along a length direction of a hull on a bottom surface of the ship bottom with an interval and suppressing the flow of the air bubbles generated in the inner buoyant unit and the outer buoyant unit along a width direction of the hull.
Re claim 2, a passage is formed in the manifold through which sucked air flows, and discharge holes [28, 29, 30 of 31] are formed on a bottom surface of the passage with a predetermined interval through which the sucked air is discharged to the outside (see Fig 5). Flaps [31] formed on a bottom surface of the passage, and disposed at one side of the discharge holes, are broadly considered to be discharge guide plates that, at slower speeds, protrude toward the passage to generate a resistance against the flow direction of the sucked air to guide the sucked air to the discharge hole to be discharged to the outside of the ship bottom.
Re claim 3, an air blower [38] is provided at one side of the air intake port to be applied with a power to perform ventilation action.
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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wilson (US 3191572 A).
Wilson shows a ship resistance reduction apparatus using air, comprising manifolds connected to air intake ducts, as described above. Wilson however fails to expressly disclose the manifold as being detachably coupled to the ship hull with a fitting structure or a screw fastening structure.
It is noted that detachably coupling structural components to a ship hull is notoriously old and well known in the art. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use a fitting structure or a screw fastening structure to detachably couple the manifold of Wilson to the ship hull. Having such an arrangement would have allowed the manifold to be easily removed for repair or replacement in the event it was damaged.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wilson (US 3191572 A) in view of JP 01009059 A (‘059)
Wilson shows a ship resistance reduction apparatus attached to a ship hull, but fails to disclose the hull having lifting blades at both sides of the stern to suppress the bow lifting phenomenon.
JP ‘059 shows a ship hull with lifting blades [7] at both sides of the stern to suppress pitching motion, which also includes suppressing the bow lifting phenomenon.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide the hull of Wilson with lifting blades at both sides of the stern, as taught by JP ‘059. Having such an arrangement would have decreased pitching motion, including a suppression of lifting of the bow, thereby stabilizing the hull for increased safety and comfort.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Wheeler (US 6957620), Hubley (US 6250246), Williams (US 2842084), Baldwin (US 1656411) and JP-01009059 each shows a system for generating air bubbles on a bottom surface of ship hull and having a plurality of guide fins on the hull.
Burgin (US 3893406), Ganahl (US 1894256), GB 189703728, JP-2012011898 each shows each shows a manifold passage with a discharge guide plate.
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/AJAY VASUDEVA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615