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 .
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, 2, 12 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2018-198641 A (Morita Holdings Corporation) (hereinafter: D1) in view of CN 109046814 A (Wang Tiezhong) (hereinafter: D2).
Regarding claims 1 and 12, D1 (see, in particular, Paragraph [0038] and Figures 1 and 2) describes a cleaning foam supply device 1 (bathroom foam supply device) comprising a housing 60 (case) with a water supply inlet 23 (corresponding to the water inlet of the present application; the same applies hereinafter in parentheses) and a discharge outlet 24 (foam outlet), a flow path connecting the water supply inlet 23 and the discharge outlet 24, and a compressed gas supply unit 40 (compressor) that delivers compressed air to the flow path.
Comparing the invention of claim 1 of the present application with the invention described in D1, the invention of claim 1 differs in that the compressor that delivers compressed air to the flow path and the battery that powers the compressor are built into the case, while the invention described in D1 has them externally located, but otherwise they are identical.
D2 (see, in particular, paragraph [0016] and Figure 2) describes a bathroom foam dispenser in which an air compressor pump 13 (compressor) that delivers compressed air to the flow path and a power module 12 (battery) that powers the air compressor pump 13 are built into the host housing 7 (case).
Both D1 and D2 disclose a compressor is built into the case but neither specify that the compressor is located in a central portion of the case in the horizontal or vertical direction; however, since applicant has not provided any indication that the location of the compressor has any criticality, and it appears that the device of D1 or D2 would function equally well with a location of the compressor as disclosed or located centrally, horizontally or vertically.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to adapt the configuration of the invention described in D2, in which the compressor and battery are built into the case, to the invention described in D1, and the compressor located centrally horizontally or vertically, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950) MPEP 2144.04 VI. C.
Regarding claims 2 and 13, D1 (particularly paragraphs [0038] and [0039], Figure 1, and 2C) describes a cleaning agent storage tank 30 (tank) for storing liquid cleaning agent; a cleaning agent pipe 12 (first connecting passage) connected to the cleaning agent storage tank 30 and to an aspirator 17 (first junction) of the flow path; a gas pipe 13 (second connecting passage) connected to a compressor and to a gas pipe connection 11a (second junction) of the flow path downstream of the aspirator 17; and an agitator 19 (foamer) built into the case and provided in the flow path downstream of the gas pipe connection 11a. Furthermore, D2 (particularly paragraphs [0016] and Figure 2) describes a liquid storage tank 16 (tank) built into the housing.
Claim(s) 3-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of WO 2010/016091 Al (Hayakawa Valve Manufacturing Co., Ltd.) (hereinafter D3) and JP 2007-90182 A (Panasonic Electric Works, Ltd.) (hereinafter D4).
Regarding claim 3, D1 (see, in particular, paragraph [0043], Figures 1 and 7) describes a three-way valve 18 (switching mechanism) built into the case that switches the form of the foam outlet between water and foam, and a selector lever 70 (operating mechanism) that operates the three-way valve 18, but doesn’t specify a gripping portion.
For example, as described in D3 (paragraphs [0047]-[0050], see Figure 5e) and D4 (paragraphs [0012], see Figure 8), a configuration in which the operating unit of a flow path switching means has a gripping portion that can move back and forth between a position above the top surface of the case and a position forward of the front surface of the case is well-known technology. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to borrow the teachings of D3 and D4 to reorient the lever to a convenient location and to add a gripping portion for user comfort.
Regarding claims 4 and 5, Figures 5 and 6 of D3 and Figure 1 of D4 reveal that the operating unit has a pair of arms extending from both ends of the gripping portion, the pair of arms are pivotally supported at both left and right ends of the main body so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis extending in the left-right direction of the main body, and the boundary between the gripping portion and the arms is curved. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to borrow the teachings of D3 and D4 to reorient the lever to a convenient location and to add a gripping portion for user comfort.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 6 requires “a storage unit that is built in the case and stores the battery, wherein in the case, a first opening is formed through which the battery passes when the battery is taken in and out of the storage unit, and the case has a first lid member that closes the first opening, and in the storage unit, a second opening through which the battery is taken in and out is formed, and the storage unit has a second lid member that closes the second opening in a watertight manner.” These features would not have been easily arrived at by a person skilled in the art, even in light of the common general technical knowledge at the time of filing. Claims 7 and 8 depend from claim 6. Claims 6-8 are allowed.
Claims 9-10 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.
In particular, the following features are neither described nor suggested in any of the documents cited in the international search report: "a battery compartment housed in a case, the case having a first opening through which the battery passes when inserting or removing the battery into or from the compartment, and a first cover member closing the first opening; the compartment having a second opening through which the battery is inserted or removed, and a second cover member closing the second opening in a watertight manner" (claim 6-10); and "a compressor housed in the lateral center of the case" (claim 11-13). These features would not have been easily arrived at by a person skilled in the art, even in light of the common general technical knowledge at the time of filing.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See form PTO-892, attached.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL J MELARAGNO whose telephone number is (571)270-7735. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri: 8 am - 5 pm +/- flex.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Paul Durand can be reached at (571) 272-4459. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL J. MELARAGNO/Examiner, Art Unit 3754
/PAUL R DURAND/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3754 March 13, 2026