DETAILED 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-2, 15 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Knapke (US 4,559,900) in view of Delgado (US 5,368,644).
In regards to claims 1, 15 and 18, Knapke teaches oil strip lubricating device comprising:
a lubricator head assembly (12, housing) includes a sidewall assembly that extends between a bottom end and a top end (fig. 2; col. 5, lines 5-25);
a trough (25, vat body) is located within the sidewall assembly, the trough extends between a bottom side and a top side of the trough, the bottom side is near the bottom end, where the trough form a liquid cavity (fig. 2; col. 5, lines 30-45);
an idler roller (27, applicator roll) is disposed within the trough and rotates about an idler/applicator rotational axis (fig. 2; col. 5, lines 35-45);
a removal roller pair is between the trough and the top end, the removal roller pair comprises a bottom roll (32) and a top roll (33) (first removal roller, second removal roller), the rolls rotates about a removal rotational axis (fig. 2; col. 5, lines 45-60).
Knapke does not explicitly teach the idler roller comprises at least one applicator roller pair includes a first applicator roller and a second applicator roller.
However, Delgado teaches a mechanical solution applicating device (10) comprising a bathing tank (17) which holds a treating solution. Delgado teaches a pair of rollers comprising a drive wheel (22) and an idler roller (23A) which move a stock material (M) through the bathing tank (fig. 1, 3; col. 2, lines 50-60, col. 3, lines 15-25).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the claimed invention, to incorporate the drive wheel and idler roller of Delgado onto the idler roller of Knapke because Delgado teaches it will aid in eliminating hazardous or unsafe conditions caused by the treating solution dripping onto the surrounding floor area (col. 1, lines 50-55).
In regards to claim 2, Knapke and Delgado as discussed, with the stock material representing the center plane, the drive wheel is provided on a first lateral side and the idler roller is at a second lateral side (fig. 1, 3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-14, 16-17 and 19-20 are 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.
Conclusion
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/Binu Thomas/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1717