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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
A Finnish document has been crossed-off the IDS listing by the examiner because only a summary of the document in Finnish and in Swedish was provided and no English brief statement of relevance was provided.
A Japanese document has been crossed-off the IDS listing by the examiner because the drawings of the document were not provided.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 and 10-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wheatley (US 2016/0159632):
Regarding claim 1, Wheatley discloses a system comprising a user actuated additive control (103, 105 and/or 1945) configured to control an amount of additive; and a modular flow monitoring package comprising a flow sensor (see [0123]: "an in-line flow-meter"); a position sensor (1950; see also [0163]), the position sensor being configured to sense a position of the user actuated additive control (see Fig. 19 and [0163]); and a visual indicator (see [0157]).
Regarding claim 2, the visual indicator comprises at least one LED (see [0157]).
Regarding claim 3, and end of life indicator is disclosed (see [0129]).
Regarding claim 10, base fluid container (100 or one of 104) is disclosed.
Regarding claim 11, cartridge (one of 104 and/or 100, and optionally 107) is disclosed.
Regarding claim 12, the cartridge has a path from an inlet (a portion upstream of (901, 1003, or 1403) to and an outlet (901, 1003, or 1403).
Regarding claim 13, the cartridge includes a container (see Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 14, the flow sensor is attached to the additive container (see [0123]).
Regarding claim 15, the additive cartridge includes a mixing zone (an interior zone of 100).
Regarding claim 16, spout (107) is disclosed.
Claim 17 fails to further structurally limit the claimed structure.
Regarding claim 18, the intake port (a portion of one of 901, one of 1003, or one of 1403) is formed on an intake tube in fluid communication with the additive cartridge.
Regarding claim 19, the additive is not a required element of the system; nonetheless liquid is disclosed (see [0053]).
Regarding claim 20, the visual indicator is capable of indicating an amount remaining (see [0065]).
Regarding claim 21, an intake tube (one of 901; or 1250, 107 or 108) is capable of conveying the base fluid through the additive cartridge.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wheatley (US 2016/0159632) in view of Jeukendrup et al. (US 2016/0143583). The system of Wheatley was discussed above. A magnetic turbine and Hall effect sensor are not disclosed. Jeukendrup teach a magnetic turbine (502) and Hall effect sensor (520). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have provided a magnetic turbine and Hall effect sensor as the flow sensor, because Jeukendrup explains that such a flow sensor provides compactness and accuracy benefit (see [0040] and [0041]).
Response to Arguments
Contrary to applicant’s remarks, in Wheatley the flowmeter is capable of measuring the flow of base fluid during an intended operation, for example if base fluid is in “100”.
Intake tube (one of 901; or 1250, 107 or 108) is capable of conveying the base fluid through the additive cartridge.
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 DAVID L SORKIN whose telephone number is (571)272-1148. The examiner can normally be reached 7am-3:30pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Claire X Wang can be reached at (571) 270-1051. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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DAVID L. SORKIN
Examiner
Art Unit 1774
/DAVID L SORKIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1774
