Application/Control Number: 18/100,692 Page 2
Art Unit: 3783DETAILED 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 25 May 2026 has been entered.
Drawings
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 combined second drainage channel and partition wall having an inclined surface must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 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) 1-3, 5-12, 13 and 15-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Pre-Grant Publication 2021/0239107 to Zha (Zha hereinafter) in view of US Pre-Grant Publication 2004/0064110 to Forsell (Forsell) and U.S. Patent 3,955,901 to Hamilton (Hamilton).
Regarding claim 1, Zha teaches a pump body structure (Fig. 2) including a housing (1, 8, 11, 12), an inlet valve member (13), an outlet valve member (14) and an elastic diaphragm (9), an inlet (left side of 13) of the inlet valve and a valve sheet (flange at right side and/or any valve member), an inlet of the outlet valve (left side of 14) and a valve sheet (flange at right side and/or any valve member), a water flow cavity (within 11 and 12), and inlet channel (to the left of 13) and an outlet channel (to the right of 14), a transmission assembly (4, 5, 6, 7) and a driving assembly (2, 3), the driving and transmission assemblies operative to drive the pump to pump water. The examiner holds that the water flossing limitations are an intended use limitation which does not constructively limit the claimed invention. Zha further teaches a gear transmission mechanism (gear 5, eccentric gear 6) and a connecting rod (7) and connector (10), as well as a motor (2), an upper pump body (11) and a lower pump body (8) with the diaphragm hermetically connected between, and a drainage channel (center of 11) which may be considered to be divided arbitrarily into first and second drainage channels along any convenient boundary, such as a plane passing through the centerline of the cylindrical passage such that the drainage channels are at least indirectly or fluidly connected to the inlet, diaphragm, and outlet. Zha does not teach a combined partition wall, first drainage channel, and second drainage channel. Hamilton teaches another diaphragm pump generally, and particularly teaches that a membrane (4) is reciprocated relative to a one-piece pump head (2) to cause fluid to flow from an inlet (37) to an outlet (38) where the housing has a partition wall (see below) with a first drainage channel (see below) and a second drainage channel (see below) formed therein. The second drainage channel is defined by a laterally inclined slope of the partition wall as claimed. Hamilton teaches that this head structure is advantageously compact and simple to manufacture (col. 1, ln. 54-64). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious before the effective filing date of the application to substitute the pump head of Hamilton for the upper pump body (8, 11) of Zha in order to simplify construction and reduce costs. In the combination, then, everything from the suction cover (11) and up in the pump of Zha would be replaced with the valve block (2, 7) of Hamilton.
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Zha does not teach the claimed dimensions and relative hardnesses. Forsell teaches another diaphragm for fluid applications, including first (20, 24) and second (22) layers in which the length and thickness of the first layer are greater than those of the second layer (see Fig. 2) and in which the hardness of the first layer is greater than that of the second (see paragraph 22). Forsell teaches that this provides increased strength and sealability of the diaphragm (paragraph 22). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious before the effective filing date of the application to use a diaphragm as taught by Forsell in the pump of Zha in order to obtain improved strength and sealing function.
Regarding claim 2, Zha teaches chamfers at the interface with the diaphragm.
Regarding claim 4, Zha teaches an integral elastic (rubber) diaphragm (paragraph 7).
Regarding claim 8, Zha teaches pumping of water via the reciprocation of the diaphragm (9).
Regarding claim 9, as best understood by the examiner, Zha teaches a maximum intake containment volume of the water flow cavity (for instance, the total working chamber volume defined by 11, 12, 13 and 14).
Regarding claim 10, Zha teaches that both valves and sheets are one-way to establish one directional flow through the pump (see e.g. paragraph 21).
Regarding claim 11, Zha teaches a motor and sealing rings (i.e. flanges of the valves 13 and 14 as illustrated in Fig. 2) of the valve members.
Regarding claims 12 and 16, Zha teaches the limitations of the parent claims as discussed above, but does not teach a limiting groove. Hamilton teaches a groove (30), the lip of which limits the opening degree of a valve (32). Hamilton teaches that this valve assembly is advantageously simple to assembly (col. 7, ln. 1-3). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious before the effective filing date of the application to use a flap valve with a limiting groove as taught by Hamilton in the pump of Zha in order to simplify assembly thereof.
Regarding claim 13, Zha teaches a pump body structure (Fig. 2) including a pump body (1, 8, 11), an elastic diaphragm (9) with a peripheral edge connection portion (axially protruding portions of diaphragm 9 illustrated in Fig. 2), and a central deformation portion, wherein the peripheral edge is annular and is clamped into recesses in the upper and lower end faces of the pump body, an inlet (left side of 13) of the inlet valve and a valve sheet (flange at right side and/or any valve member), an inlet of the outlet valve (left side of 14) and a valve sheet (flange at right side and/or any valve member), a water flow cavity (within 11 and 12), and an inlet channel (to the left of 13) and an outlet channel (to the right of 14). Zha teaches an upper pump body (11) and a lower pump body (8) with the diaphragm hermetically connected between, chamfers at the interface with the diaphragm, and a drainage channel (center of 11) which may be considered to be divided arbitrarily into first and second drainage channels along any convenient boundary, such as a plane passing through the centerline of the cylindrical passage. The examiner holds that the water flossing limitations are an intended use limitation which does not constructively limit the claimed invention. Zha further teaches a gear transmission mechanism (gear 5, eccentric gear 6) and a connecting rod (7) and connector (10), as well as a motor (2), an upper pump body (11) and a lower pump body (8) with the diaphragm hermetically connected between, and a drainage channel (center of 11) which may be considered to be divided arbitrarily into first and second drainage channels along any convenient boundary, such as a plane passing through the centerline of the cylindrical passage such that the drainage channels are at least indirectly or fluidly connected to the inlet, diaphragm, and outlet.
Zha does not teach a combined partition wall, first drainage channel, and second drainage channel. Hamilton teaches another diaphragm pump generally, and particularly teaches that a membrane (4) is reciprocated relative to a one-piece pump head (2) to cause fluid to flow from an inlet (37) to an outlet (38) where the housing has a partition wall (see above) physically between and partitioning the ports and extending along a length direction (either horizontal or vertical), with a first drainage channel (see above) and a second drainage channel (see above) formed therein and with an inlet side of the slope being closer to the elastic diaphragm than the valve members. The second drainage channel is defined by a laterally inclined slope of the partition wall as claimed. Hamilton teaches that this head structure is advantageously compact and simple to manufacture (col. 1, ln. 54-64). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious before the effective filing date of the application to substitute the pump head of Hamilton for the upper pump body (8, 11) of Zha in order to simplify construction and reduce costs. In the combination, then, everything from the suction cover (11) and up in the pump of Zha would be replaced with the valve block (2, 7) of Hamilton.
Zha does not teach the claimed dimensions and relative hardnesses. Forsell teaches another diaphragm for fluid applications, including first (20, 24) and second (22) layers in which the length and thickness of the first layer are greater than those of the second layer (see Fig. 2) and in which the hardness of the first layer is greater than that of the second (see paragraph 22). Forsell teaches that this provides increased strength and sealability of the diaphragm (paragraph 22). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious before the effective filing date of the application to use a diaphragm as taught by Forsell in the pump of Zha in order to obtain improved strength and sealing function.
Regarding claim 15, Zha teaches an inlet valve member (13), an outlet valve member (14) and an elastic diaphragm (9), an inlet (left side of 13) of the inlet valve and a valve sheet (valve member not separately illustrated), an inlet of the outlet valve (left side of 14) and a valve sheet (valve member), and a sealing ring (flanges at the right side of the valve members 13, 14).
Regarding claim 17, Zha teaches a transmission assembly (4, 5, 6, 7) and a driving assembly (2, 3), the driving and transmission assemblies operative to drive the pump to pump water.
Regarding claim 18, Zha teaches pumping of water via the reciprocation of the diaphragm (9).
Regarding claim 19, Zha teaches pumping of water via the reciprocation of the diaphragm (9) which is integrally formed of an elastic material (see paragraph 21, “elastic diaphragm 9”).
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zha in view of Forsell and Hamilton and US Pre-Grant Publication 2015/0147717 to Taylor et al. (Taylor).
Regarding claim 20, Zha as modified in view of Hamilton and Forsell teaches the limitations of claim 1 as discussed above, but does not explicitly teach a water flosser. Taylor teaches a water flosser (100) which relies on a water pump (see paragraph 3). Taylor teaches that such an apparatus allows a user to clean their teeth (paragraph 4). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious before the effective filing date of the application to use a water flosser as taught by Taylor with the pump of Zha in order to allow a user to clean their teeth.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 7, filed 25 May 2026, with respect to the drawings and indefiniteness under 35 U.S.C. 112 have been fully considered and are persuasive. This objection and these rejections have been withdrawn.
The examiner notes that, as used herein, the inclined surface of the partition wall defines the second drainage channel. That is to say that the channel is a portion of the volume of the working chamber and the inclined surface is the surface of the partition wall facing toward that channel.
Applicant’s remaining arguments, see page 8, have been fully considered and are not persuasive.
With respect to the drainage channels and/or the partition wall, as best as the examiner can determine, these limitations are taught by Hamilton. The examiner particularly notes that the valves of Hamilton extend in both the vertical and the horizontal directions, as does the partition wall, and therefore the orientation limitations of the partition wall are met.
In response to applicant's arguments against the Zha reference individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
With respect to applicant’s allegation that Hamilton cannot be combined with Zha, the applicant has not provided any evidence that the proposed combination is improper. In particular, the examiner notes that the operation of the valve head (2) of Hamilton is in no way dependent on the manner by which the diaphragm is reciprocated. Furthermore, those of skill in the art will plainly appreciate that the proposed combination is nothing more than the wholesale replacement of one valve head with another with absolutely no change in the structure thereof or in the structure or operation of the apparatus of Zha. Finally, applicant has not addressed the substance of the Hamilton reference and as such has not pointed out any way in which the valve head (2) is disclosed as or required to be a multiple piece assembly. Accordingly, the examiner holds that the claimed invention is rendered obvious by the references as discussed above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHILIP E STIMPERT whose telephone number is (571)270-1890. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8a-4p.
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/PHILIP E STIMPERT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746 9 June 2026
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