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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12 February 2026 has been entered.
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 10-20 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 upstream of (901, 1003, or 1403) to and an outlet (901, 1003, or 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]).
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.
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
Applicant’s arguments are moot due to the new grounds for rejection.
Conclusion
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
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