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 .
Status of Claims
Currently claims 1-19 are pending, claims 1-8 and 12-13 are amended, claims 16-19 are new, and claims 9-11 and 14-15 are withdrawn.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 9-11 and 14-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 10/29/2025.
Applicant's election with traverse of invention I in the reply filed on 10/29/2025 is acknowledged. Applicant makes no arguments towards why the restriction was with traverse. This is not found persuasive because of the lack of arguments.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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, 3-8, 12, 16, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nurkiewicz (U.S. 3,330,527) in view of Mauney (U.S. 2013/0186655).
With respect to claim 1, Nurkiewicz discloses a hose connector (figure 1, #19) for a cartridge-operated fire extinguisher (100), the hose connector comprising:
a valve body connection tube (tube of 19 going into 15) for connecting the hose connector to a valve body of the fire extinguisher (as seen in figure 1);
a hose connection tube (section of 19 that 20 is about) for connecting a hose (20) to the hose connector (19); and
a fixing plate (the plate of 19 that 20 abuts against)) for fixing the hose connector to the valve body of the fire extinguisher (shown in figure 1). Nurkiewicz fails to disclose , wherein the valve body connection tube is non-threaded.
Mauney, figures 2-5 discloses the inserted nozzle portion of a fire extinguisher connected to the valve body via a non-threaded tube 33, allowing for the nozzle assembly to be force fit or snap fit via ridges 48 within the extinguishers head to secure it to the fire extinguisher, paragraph 0021.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the non-threaded connection as disclosed by Mauney into the system of Nurkiewicz, allowing for the nozzle to be secured to the fire extinguisher in a known fashion via ridges in a snap fit or force fit manner.
With respect to claim 3, Nurkiewicz as modified discloses the fixing plate (shown in figure 1) comprises an aperture (being the aperture within 19).
With respect to claim 4, Nurkiewicz as modified discloses the aperture (within 19) is non-threaded (as shown in figure 1).
With respect to claim 5, Nurkiewicz as modified discloses the hose connection tube (19’s tube that is within 20) extends from a first side (shown in figure 1, being the hose side) of the fixing plate (being the plate between 20 and 15) and wherein the valve body connection tube (tube within 15) extends from a second side (the side facing 15) of the fixing plate, wherein the second side is opposite to the first side (as shown in figure 1).
With respect to claim 6, Nurkiewicz as modified discloses the fixing plate comprises a fixing plate plane, wherein hose connection tube (332) extends in a first direction perpendicular to the fixing plate plane, and wherein the valve body connection tube(330) extends in a second direction perpendicular to the fixing plate plane, wherein the second direction is opposite to the first direction.
With respect to claim 7, Nurkiewicz as modified discloses an opening (opening in the connection tube) extends through the valve body connection tube, the fixing plate, and the hose connection tube (being the hole through 19).
With respect to claim 8, Nurkiewicz as modified discloses wherein fixing plate (what is the middle part of 19 between 20 and 15 comprises one or more reinforcing ribs (being the ribs where the visible O-ring seal is placed against).
With respect to claim 12, Nurkiewicz as modified discloses a cartridge-operated fire extinguisher (figure 1), the fire extinguisher comprising: the hose connector (shown in the rejection of claim 1) according to claim 1; a valve body (15); and a cylinder (10) with an opening (at 12) at the top of the cylinder,
wherein the valve body is fixed to the cylinder to seal the opening at the top (as shown in figure 1, at 12), and the hose connector is mounted on the valve body such that the fixing plate (between 20 and 15) of the hose connector is supported on a hose connector support surface (the surface of 15 that that 19 is supported on with the O-rings) of the valve body and the valve body connection tube (as shown in figure 1) of the hose connector is received in a hose connector receiving hole of the valve body (hole within 15 that 19 goes within).
With respect to claim 16, Nurkiewicz as modified discloses the hose connector receiving hole is a non-threaded hose connector receiving hole (as disclosed in the modification of claim 1, where the end of 19 was made barbed or for a snap fit, the corresponding hole would then be made to fit said connection and not be threaded).
With respect to claim 19, Nurkiewicz as modified discloses the hose connector is configured to be connected to the valve body by pushing the valve body connection tube into the hose connector receiving hole (as shown in figure 1, where 19 is pushed into the hole of 15 that receives it) such that the fixing plate of the hose connector is supported on the hose connector support surface of the valve body )as the fixing plate is then supported on the hose connector surface of the valve body).
Claim(s) 2 and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nurkiewicz (U.S. 3,330,527) in view of Mauney (U.S. 2013/0186655) as applied to claims 1 and 16 above, and further in view of Rousseau (U.S. 2015/0367154).
With respect to claims 2 and 17, Nurkiewicz as modified discloses the hose connector, but fails to disclose the hose connector is made of plastic.
Rousseau, paragraph 0032, discloses making the top housing (on which the hose is affixed) out of plastic as it is a lightweight and resilient material.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize plastic as the hose connector, as such a material is lightweight and resilient.
With respect to claim 18, Nurkiewicz as modified discloses the hose connector support surface comprises a fixing point (being the surface of 15 which 20 is pressed against), and wherein the fixing point comprises an aperture (as the fixing point has a gap about it, beneath and above where 19 is located, the gap being taken as an aperture at and about the fixing point).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 13 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The subject matter of claim 13 “the cylinder comprises a fixing bolt, and wherein the fixing bolt passes through the hose connector and the valve body” as it further modifies claims 12 and 1 from which it depends has not been found in the prior art. Specifically all the fixing plates which have the noted valve body and hose connection tubes do not incorporate a bolt, as they are fixed to the valve body directly without any further means of connection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH A GREENLUND whose telephone number is (571)272-0397. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Arthur Hall can be reached at 571-270-1814. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JOSEPH A GREENLUND/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3752