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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 5-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on January 28, 2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species I, claims 1-4, in the reply filed on January 29, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 6,244,527 B1(Ferrazza et al) in view of US 7,036,749 B1(Steerman).
Ferrazza et al ‘527 discloses a spray washer nozzle 10 comprising an upper housing 12; a lower housing 11 including a head 18 assembled with the upper housing and a nozzle body extending downwardly from the head, see Fig, 3, the nozzle body having a fluid channel 20 extending therethrough to supply fluid to the upper housing; a fastening device having fastening clips 25 formed on the head of the lower housing, and retaining members 40 formed in the upper housing and engaging the fastening clips to connect the upper and lower housings together; a nozzle portion arranged in the upper housing, see Fig. 3, and having a plurality of fluid chambers 30 and 31 and a fluid exit 34 to spray the fluid passing through the fluid channel and the fluid chambers from the fluid exit, and a seal 14 arranged between the upper housing and the lower housing to seal therebetween, except for retaining clips configured to attach the lower housing to a portion to be installed. See Figures 1-13 and col. 3, line 45 through col. 8, line 30. Steerman ‘749 discloses a spray washer nozzle 3 with a lower housing/nozzle body 11 having retaining clips “SF” to attach the lower housing/nozzle body 11 to a portion to be installed. See Figures 4B and 4C and col. 3, lines 19-48. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the nozzle body with retaining clips configured to attach the lower housing to a portion to be installed, in the apparatus of Ferrazza et al ‘527, as taught by Steerman ‘749, since with such a modification the spray washer nozzle lower housing could be locked in a fixed position for spraying.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Morgan et al ‘860, Morgan et al ‘630, and O’Brien ‘884 show various types of spray washer nozzles.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN J GANEY whose telephone number is (571)272-4899. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Arthur Hall can be reached at (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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STEVEN J. GANEY
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3752
/STEVEN J GANEY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3752