DETAILED ACTION
1. The Applicant’s amendment filed on 05/20/2026 was received. Claim 1 was amended. Claims 8 and 18 were canceled
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 .
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/07/2023, 07/01/2024, 05/20/2026, 06/22/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
2. The drawing objections are withdrawn as new drawings were received on 05/20/2026. These drawings are accepted.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. Claim 1 was rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yongtong (CN206631413U).
The rejection is withdrawn as claim 1 was amended.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. Claims 2, 3, and 4 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yongtong (CN206631413U) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of DE202020104163U1
Claims 5, 6, and 7 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yongtong (CN206631413U) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kippel et al. (CN108979863B)
Claim 9 was rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yongtong (CN206631413U)
Claims 11 and 19 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yongtong (CN206631413U) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Jian (CN110904429A)
Claims 12, 13, and 14 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yongtong (CN206631413U) in view of Jian (CN110904429A) as applied to claim 11 above and further in view of (DE202020104163U1)
Claims 15, 16, and 17 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yongtong (CN206631413U) in view of Jian (CN110904429A) as applied to claim 11 above and further in view of Kippel et al. (CN108979863B)
The rejections are withdrawn as claim 1 was amended
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yongtong (CN206631413U) as applied to claim 1 above, and in view of DE202020104163U1 and further in view of Fumiyuki et al. (EP0815919A2)
The rejection of claim 8 is withdrawn as claim 8 was canceled
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yongtong (CN206631413U) in view of Jian (CN110904429A) as applied to claim 11 above and in view of DE202020104163U1 and further in view of Fumiyuki et al. (EP0815919A2)
The rejection of claim 18 is withdrawn as claim 18 was canceled
Updated Rejections to address the amendments:
5. Claims 1, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yongtong (CN206631413U) in view of Fumiyuki et al. (EP0815919A2)
Regarding Claim 1: Yongtong teaches an organic waste gas purifying equipment which is comprised of a gas inlet 1, and gas outlet 2 and a gas channel labeled as AB as shown in the annotated diagram below. Gas channel AB is a space within the purifying equipment. The claimed “first mounting unit” and the claimed “second mounting unit” correspond to housings that are connected to an outlet and inlet, respectively, where gas passes through and is shown in the annotated diagram below. The annotated diagram also shows the claimed “second mounting unit” is in communication with gas inlet and the claimed “first mounting unit” is in communication with gas outlet. Multiple filtering units (42, 43, 44, 45) are shown as well and they are detachably connected with one other and located between the first mounting unit and the second mounting unit [para 017].
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Claim 1 is directed to an apparatus and parts of claim 1 recite limitation, “an exhaust gas is adapted to be guided into the second mounting unit from the air inlet, then through the filtering unit from the first mounting side and to move towards the second mounting side, and finally, sequentially through the first mounting unit and the air outlet to leave the exhaust gas filtering apparatus” is directed to intended use, which depicts the function of the apparatus and thus not given patentable weight.
Yongtong does not teach “and the second mounting unit is located below the first mounting unit and has a liquid outlet formed therein, the liquid outlet is configured near a pooled liquid condensed from cooled exhaust gas and to be adapted to discharge the pooled liquid in situ.”
Fumiyuki teaches an apparatus comprised of the claimed “second mounting unit” and “first mounting unit”. The claimed “second mounting unit” is located below the claimed “first mounting unit” and is shown below in an annotated figure.
Additionally, the apparatus is comprised of a discharge valve 32 that discharges fluid from filter unit 17 (pooled liquid) and the discharge valve is placed on the bottom of the filter unit 17 as shown in fig 8 [column 9, lines 1-17].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the claimed mounting unit and liquid outlet configuration because the discharge valve provides easy replacement of the filter (column 1, lines 30-35) and assists in flowing out solution [column 9, lines 1-17].
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Regarding Claim 9: Yongtong teach an air purifying apparatus as described in claim 1 above but does not teach a sealing ring.
However, Yongtong teaches flanges 46, that are used to connect outer shells 41 of filtering units 42, 43, 44, and 45. Two adjacent shells 41 are connected by bolts 47 passing through the connecting flanges 46. A sealing gasket 48 (sealing ring) is also provided between the connecting flanges 46 of two adjacent outer shells 41. By setting the sealing gasket 48, the sealing between two adjacent housings 41 can be increased, which is safer and would reduce gas leakage [para28].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to add the flange and gasket combination between a mounting unit and filter unit for communication and seal-ability because Yongtong teach that having a gasket reduces exhaust gas leakage and improves safety of the equipment [para 028].
6. Claims 2, 3, and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yongtong (CN206631413U) in view of Fumiyuki et al. (EP0815919A2) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of DE202020104163U1
Regarding Claim 2, 3 and 4: Yongtong teaches a purifying apparatus that is comprised of multiple filter units 42, 43, 44, 45 covered by shell 41 (claim 3). Filter inlet and filter outlet (claim 2, 3) is shown in the annotated diagram below. Yongtong further teaches that the filtering unit and first mounting unit(as shown above in the annotated diagram in paragraph 1) are attached in manner where the filter outlet is aligned with the mounting opening so that when air flows through the filter and outlet, no air is hitting any barriers.
Fumiyuki teaches a filter unit apparatus. However, both Yongtong and Fumiyuki specifically do not teach limitations of the first mounting unit, mounting component, mounting part, and mounting accessory as described in claims 2, 3, and 4.
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DE202020104163U1 teach an air filter device which is comprised of multiple filtering units that are detachably connected through fastening unit 50 which consists of fastening elements 51 (mounting accessory/permanent seat; claim 4), and 52 (mounting part/hook; claim 4) as shown in the annotated diagram below [fig 2]. A mounting opening, mounting component, mounting accessory is shown below in the annotated diagram. Fastening element 51 has a structure similar to the claimed mounting accessory [fig 2]. The fastening member 52 has a structure similar to a hook (claim 4). Fastening element 51 extends from the housing and is detachably hung over element 52 [fig. 1, 2, 3, 4].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the fastening unit into the combination of Yongtong and Fumiyuki because DE202020104163U1 teach that fastening unit provides connection between filters and between filter and air bubble box which is quick and simple [para 20].
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7. Claims 5, 6, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yongtong (CN206631413U) in view of Fumiyuki et al. (EP0815919A2) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kippel et al. (CN108979863B)
Regarding Claim 5, 6, and 7: Yongtong teaches an air purifying apparatus. Fumiyuki teaches a filter unit but both Yongtong and Fumiyuki do not teach a monitoring unit comprised of multiple modules.
However, Kippel et al. teach an intake system which is comprised of a strain gauge 23. The strain gauge (detecting module) is connected to a computer 26, display 39 (observation window) for visual indicators such as filter status and filter state logic 28 (indicating module) that shows the state of the filter meaning whether the filter is clean or needs replacement by receiving signals from strain gauge. [para 66-72]. The computer has processors 36 and/or 38 (processing module) which executes filter state logic 28. The overall combination corresponds to the monitoring unit. The gauge can be placed with the filter or near the filter (e.g., in the filter, before the filter, in the middle of the filter, and/or after the filter) [para 021-022; para 066].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to include the invention of Kippel et al. into the combination of Yongtong and Fumiyuki because Kippel et al. teach that the gauge along with the components assists in knowing the filter status on whether the filters are working or in proper condition [para 68-71].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to place the gauge behind a filtering unit of the combination of Yongtong and Fumiyuki because Kippel et al. teach that the gauge assists in reading pressure drop and assists in observing degradation of individual filters [para 0059].
8. Claims 11 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yongtong (CN206631413U) in view of Fumiyuki et al. (EP0815919A2) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Jian (CN110904429A)
Regarding Claim 11: The combination of Yongtong and Fumiyuki teach an apparatus as described in claim 1 above but does not teach a coating equipment.
However, Jian teaches a coating device with a coating body having a coating chamber (1110) as shown in figure 3 and 4.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to include a coating equipment within the combination of Yongtong and Fumiyuki because Jian teaches that the coating device provides sealed coating space for a product to be coated, which avoids instability and enhances quality of the product to be coated [para 012-014].
Regarding Claim 19: The combination of Yongtong and Fumiyuki teach an air as described in claim 1 above but does not teach a sealing ring.
However, Yongtong teaches flanges 46, that are used to connect outer shells 41 of filtering units 42, 43, 44, and 45. Two adjacent shells 41 are connected by bolts 47 passing through the connecting flanges 46. A sealing gasket 48 (sealing ring) is also provided between the connecting flanges 46 of two adjacent outer shells 41. By setting the sealing gasket 48, the sealing between two adjacent housings 41 can be increased, which is safer and would reduce gas leakage [para28]
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to add the flange and gasket combination between a mounting unit and filter unit for communication and seal-ability because Yongtong teach that having a gasket reduces exhaust gas leakage and improves safety of the equipment [para 028].
9. Claims 12, 13, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yongtong (CN206631413U) in view of Fumiyuki et al. (EP0815919A2) and further in view of Jian (CN110904429A) as applied to claim 11 above and further in view of (DE202020104163U1)
Regarding Claim 12, 13 and 14: Yongtong teaches a purifying apparatus that is comprised of multiple filter units 42, 43, 44, 45 covered by shell 41 (claim 3). Filter inlet and filter outlet (claim 2, 3) is shown in the annotated diagram below. Yongtong further teaches that the filtering unit and first mounting unit(as shown above in the annotated diagram in paragraph 1) are attached in manner where the filter outlet is aligned with the mounting opening so that when air flows through the filter and outlet, no air is hitting any barriers.
Fumiyuki teaches a filter unit apparatus. However, both Yongtong and Fumiyuki specifically do not teach limitations of the first mounting unit, mounting component, mounting part, and mounting accessory as described in claims 2, 3, and 4.
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However, DE202020104163U1 teach an air filter device which is comprised of multiple filtering units that are detachably connected through fastening unit 50 which consists of fastening elements 51 (mounting accessory/permanent seat; claim 4), and 52 (mounting part/hook; claim 4) as shown in the annotated diagram below [fig 2]. A mounting opening, mounting component, mounting accessory is shown below in the annotated diagram. Fastening element 51 has a structure similar to the claimed mounting accessory [fig 2]. The fastening member 52 has a structure similar to a hook (claim 4). Fastening element 51 extends from the housing and is detachably hung over element 52 [fig. 1, 2, 3, 4].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to include the fastening unit into the combination of Yongtong, Fumiyuki, and Jian because DE202020104163U1 teach that fastening unit provides connection between filters and between filter and air bubble box which is quick and simple [para 20].
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10. Claims 15, 16, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yongtong (CN206631413U) in view of Fumiyuki et al. (EP0815919A2) and further in view of Jian (CN110904429A) as applied to claim 11 above and further in view of Kippel et al. (CN108979863B)
Regarding Claim 15, 16, and 17: Yongtong, Fumiyuki, and Jian teaches an apparatus described above in claim 11 but do not teach a monitoring unit comprised of multiple modules.
However, Kippel et al. teach an intake system which is comprised of a strain gauge 23. The strain gauge (detecting module) is connected to a computer 26, display 39 (observation window) for visual indicators such as filter status and filter state logic 28 (indicating module) that shows the state of the filter meaning whether the filter is clean or needs replacement by receiving signals from strain gauge. [para 66-72]. The computer has processors 36 and/or 38 (processing module) which executes filter state logic 28. The overall combination corresponds to the monitoring unit. The gauge can be placed with the filter or near the filter (e.g., in the filter, before the filter, in the middle of the filter, and/or after the filter) [para 021-022; para 066].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to include the invention of Kippel et al. into the combination of Yongtong, Fumiyuki, and Jian because Kippel et al. teach that the gauge along with the components assists in knowing the filter status on whether the filters are working or in proper condition [para 68-71].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to place the gauge behind a filtering unit because Kippel et al. teach that the gauge assists in reading pressure drop and assist in observing degradation of individual filters [para 0059].
Response to Arguments
11. Applicant's arguments filed on 05/20/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues:
The combination of Yongtong, Fumiyuki, and DE202020104163U1 fails to disclose limitations recited in the newly amended 1 claim, specifically the limitations directed to the first and second mounting units, and the liquid outlet.
12. In response to the applicant’s remarks, please consider the following comments:
The combination of Yongtong and Fumiyuki disclose a similar liquid outlet which is stated in the claim 1 rejection above. As indicated in the rejection above, Fumiyuki teach the limitations directed to the claimed second mounting unit, claimed first mounting unit, and the claimed liquid outlet. Fumiyuki teach the claimed mounting units and liquid outlet configuration assists in easy filter replacement and flowing out solution from filtering unit. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have recognized to modify the apparatus of Yongtong et al. to have the same arrangement.
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 Wasiqul Haq whose telephone number is (571)272-9973. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm ET.
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/WASIQUL HAQ/ Examiner, Art Unit 1717
/Binu Thomas/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1717
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