DETAILED ACTION
This is responsive to the amendment dated 11/20/25.
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.
Claims 1 - 10, 12, and 18 - 28 are pending.
Claim Objections
Claims 22 and 24 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 22, either insert --to-- in between “heater” and “maintain” or amend the claim such that it is in alignment with claim 1.
In claim 24, delete “eater” and replace it with –water--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 6, 8, 9, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Deleu (BE 1002543) in view of Gallob (US 11,047,119).
Regarding claim 1, Deleu discloses a fluid volume containing system (fig. 2) comprising: a clean water volume container (20), an outlet (3) fluidly connected to the container; a heater assembly (33) positioned within the clean water volume container and operable to transfer thermal energy to water placed in the clean water volume container (para. [0029]); a pump assembly (29) operable to pump water past the heater (32 to 33 to 7); and a controller (4, 5) configured to operate the pump in order to pump water out of the outlet and to operate the heater (para. [0036]). But Deleu does not show that the controller has a processor module configured to execute instructions and to maintain a set temperature of water within the clean water volume. Attention is turned to Gallob which teaches a similar hand washing station including a clean water volume (27) which contains a heating element (22) and a controller (101) with a processing module (103) that executes instructions to operate the heater to maintain a set temperature of the water (col. 23, ln. 25-36) along with other functions of the hand washing station. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to have provided the hand washing station of Deleu with the processor of Gallob to computerize the control functions of the pump and heater in order to keep the water at a comfortable hand washing temperature and make the station more functional.
Regarding claim 2, Deleu shows all of the instant invention as discussed above, and further shows a portable sink assembly containing all of the clean water volume container (fig. 2), the outlet (3), the heater (33), the pump (29), and under the proposed modification, the controller. See fig. 2.
Regarding claim 3, Deleu shows all of the instant invention as discussed above, and further provides a gray water volume container (13) contained within the portable sink assembly (fig. 2) and water is contained in the clean water volume container and is operable to be selectively transferred to the gray water volume container (via 8 after being pumped through the faucet 2).
Regarding claim 6, Deleu shows that the heater assembly is configured to be at least partially submerged (below water line 27, see fig. 2) in water in the clear water volume container to transfer thermal energy to the water.
Regarding claims 8 and 9, Deleu as modified shows all of the instant invention as discussed above and Gallob further teaches a temperature sensor (91, 92, 93) operable connected to the controller to sense a temperature of the water within the clean water tank and transmit a signal related thereto to the controller, such that the controller operates the heater based on the signal to achieve the set temperature (col. 11, ln. 54-60)(fig. 20).
Regarding claim 12, Deleu shows that the portable sink is configured to be moved to a selected location (via wheels 15) and operated without being connected to a source separate from the clean water volume container (para. [0021], the container is filled and sealed at 21 and 23 enabling standalone use).
Claim 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Deleu and Gallob, as applied to claim 2, in view of Dombrowski et al. (US 2022/0290418 hereinafter Dombrowski).
Regarding claim 10, Deleu shows all of the instant invention as discussed above, but does not show a sanitation system that the pump passes water through. Attention is turned to Dombrowksi which teaches that it is known to enclose an outlet pipe (332) in UV lights (370) in order to sanitize the water in advance of it entering a faucet. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to have provided UV lights on the outlet conduits (7, 6) of Deleu as modified in order to sanitize the water prior to a user washing their hands. Under the proposed combination, the pump will pass water through the sanitation system.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 28 is allowable. The restriction requirement as set forth in the Office action mailed on 6/9/25 as been reconsidered in view of the allowability of claims to the elected invention pursuant to MPEP § 821.04(a).
In view of the above noted withdrawal of the restriction requirement, applicant is advised that if any claim presented in a divisional application is anticipated by, or includes all the limitations of, a claim that is allowable in the present application, such claim may be subject to provisional statutory and/or nonstatutory double patenting rejections over the claims of the instant application.
Once a restriction requirement is withdrawn, the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 121 are no longer applicable. See In re Ziegler, 443 F.2d 1211, 1215, 170 USPQ 129, 131-32 (CCPA 1971). See also MPEP § 804.01.
Accordingly, Claims 18 - 28 are allowed.
Claims 4, 5, and 7 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed with respect to claim 1 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant's argument that Gallob is not properly combinable with Deleu, the test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary reference; nor is it that the claimed invention must be expressly suggested in any one or all of the references. Rather, the test is what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981). The rejection contemplates providing the existing control keys of Deleu, which are already electrical, with a computer operated controller/processor, like that taught by Gallob. The rejection does not contemplate substituting the low-pressure system for a pressurized one, but merely that computerizing the control of the pump and heater as taught to be desirable by Gallob. Applicant is reminded that a “ person of ordinary skill in the art is also a person of ordinary creativity, not an automaton.” KSR, 550 U.S. at 421, 82 USPQ2d at 1397. “[I]n many cases a person of ordinary skill will be able to fit the teachings of multiple patents together like pieces of a puzzle.” Id. at 420, 82 USPQ2d at 1397. Office personnel may also take into account “the inferences and creative steps that a person of ordinary skill in the art would employ.” Id. at 418, 82 USPQ2d at 1396. See MPEP 2141(II)(C).
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 ERIN L DEERY whose telephone number is (571)270-1928. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Thur, 7:30am - 4:30pm; Fri 8:00am-12:00pm.
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/ERIN DEERY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754