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 .
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 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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1-7) in the reply filed on 03/04/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 8-9 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “noise suppressor” of claim 4 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "said seal material" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For examination purposes, Examiner will interpret this as referring to the material of the stopper, which in claim 1 is disclosed as a “stopper operable to seal”.
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.
Claims 1-2 and 4-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lavanchy et al (U.S. 2015/0313279) in view of Kirk (U.S. 4,052,179) and Counts et al (KR 0178388 B1). Note: references made with regards to Counts are referencing the translation provided by Examiner herewith.
Regarding claim 1, Lavanchy teaches an extinguisher(seen in Figs 2-4) comprising:
a housing (defined by outer vessel 211, 227 and 223) with a first end (lower end) and a second end (upper end);
a hinge (defined at pin 221) movably connected to said second end of said housing (pin 221 is at the second/upper end of the housing, see Fig 4);
a lid (cap 205) connected to said hinge (see Fig 4), wherein said lid includes a recess (recess defined by space that houses the stopper defined by o-ring 209 and plug 207) operable to locate a stopper (stopper defined by o-ring 209 and plug 207);
a tube (defined by vessel 213 and 215) with a first end (lower end of 213), a second end (upper end of 213), an interior chamber (interior volume of vessel 213), wherein said first end is sealed (the first/lower end is sealed by inner sleeve 215) and said second end is open (the second/upper end is open at lip 219), and said tube is removably mounted inside said housing (the tube is removable as seen in Fig 4) such that said lid covers said tube (lid 205 cover the tube, as seen in Fig 3); said stopper is operable to seal said tube second end (stopper 207 seals the second/upper end of the tube, as seen in Figs 2 and 4);
However, Lavanchy does not teach the extinguisher being a vacuum extinguisher comprising a pump attached to said housing that is operable to create a vacuum in said tube by removing air from said tube interior chamber; a battery operable to power said pump; a controller operable to allow charging of said battery and controlling the power supplied by said battery to said pump; a back cover that removably attaches to said housing such that an enclosed space is created between said housing and said back cover that encloses said pump, said battery, and said controller; and a button operable to activate and deactivate said pump.
Kirk teaches a portable container for extinguishing an item (see abstract) comprising a pump (defined by fan 72 and motor 74) attached to a housing (12) that is operable to create a vacuum in said housing by removing air from an interior chamber (compartment 14) (col 3, lines 51-63: the fan and motor create a suction force that forces air out of the compartment, i.e. it creates a vacuum to a degree); a battery (76) operable to power said pump (col 3, lines 64+); a controller (control circuit 78) for controlling the power supplied by said battery to said pump (as disclosed in col 3, lines 64+); a back cover (42) that removably attaches to said housing (as seen in Fig 1, back 42 opens or closes, i.e. is detachable from the housing 12) such that an enclosed space (16) is created between said housing and said back cover that encloses said pump, said battery, and said controller (as seen in Fig 1, 16 houses all equipment related to the operation of the pump); and a button operable to activate and deactivate said pump (the controller 78, which controls the pump, is operated by a switch, i.e. button – see col 4, line 10).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lavanchy to incorporate the teachings of Kirk to provide a vacuum pump into the housing in order to exhaust smoke from the tube through a filter (see abstract of Kirk), which would purify and deodorize the air (see col 1, lines 6-11 of Kirk).
Counts teaches a smoking mechanism (95), wherein the mechanism includes rechargeable battery (power supply 16), wherein a controller (control circuitry) is operable to allow charging of said battery (as disclosed in the paragraphs highlighted in the translation provided by Examiner).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lavanchy and Kirk to incorporate the teachings of Counts to provide the battery as a rechargeable battery in order to have the capability of using the same battery multiple times over the lifespan of the device without having the need to replace it. This would render the device cheaper to use and more environmentally friendly by reducing battery disposals.
Regarding claim 2, Lavanchy, Kirk and Counts teach an apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controller has an adaptive charger operable to vary charging speed based on battery charge level (as disclosed in the highlighted section of the translation of Counts, charging speed is tailored by the controller based on characteristics of the unit being charged).
Regarding claim 4, Lavanchy, Kirk and Counts teach an apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a noise suppressor operable to reduce the noise generated by said pump (as disclosed in col 3, lines 58-61 of Kirk: By shock mounting fan 72, housing 12 does not act as a resonator and the noise level from fan 72 can be reduced. Thus a noise suppressor of sorts is disclosed. Examiner notes that the “noise suppressor” is broadly disclosed without particular structure. As such, the sound suppressing means of Kirk read on claim language).
Regarding claim 5, Lavanchy, Kirk and Counts teach an apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said battery is a battery or capacitor (Kirk teaches a battery 76).
Regarding claim 6, Lavanchy, Kirk and Counts teach an apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said tube material is glass, aluminum, titanium, plastic, or ceramic (tube 213 of Lavanchy is disclosed as made of polypropylene, see Par 0064; wherein polypropylene is a plastic).
Regarding claim 7, as best understood, Lavanchy, Kirk and Counts teach an apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said seal material is one of a group consisting of rubber, Polytetrafluoroethylene, Fluorosilicone, Polyurethane, silicone, nitrile, or latex (as best understood, the stopper which is defined by o-ring 209 of Lavanchy is disclosed as comprising rubber, see Par 0064).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lavanchy et al (U.S. 2015/0313279) in view of Kirk (U.S. 4,052,179) and Counts et al (KR 0178388 B1); further in view of Arsin (WO 2018/114856 A1). Note: references made with regards to Arsin are referencing the translation provided by Examiner herewith.
Regarding claim 3, Lavanchy, Kirk and Counts teach an apparatus according to claim 1. However, they do not teach the apparatus wherein said controller is operable to vary vacuum generation speed.
Arsin teaches a fire extinguishing apparatus by suction (see abstract) comprising a vacuum pump (defined by vacuum generator 26, which consists of a motor 28 and rotor blades 30), wherein a controller is operable to vary vacuum generation speed of the vacuum pump (as disclosed in the highlighted section seen in the translation of Arsin provided by Examiner).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lavanchy and Kirk to incorporate the teachings of Arsin to provide means to control vacuum speed in order to adjust the vacuum force based on need (as disclosed in the highlighted section of the translation of Arsin).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUAN C BARRERA whose telephone number is (571)272-6284. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F Generally 10am-4pm and 6-8pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ARTHUR O. HALL can be reached on 571-270-1814. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JUAN C BARRERA/
Examiner, Art Unit 3752
/ARTHUR O. HALL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3752