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 .
Claim Status
Claims 1-8 are rejected.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102/103
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.
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) 1-8 are finally rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102((a)(1)) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Wong (US 6,657,205).
With respect to claim 1, Wong discloses a fluid processor (apparatus), as shown in Fig. 2, having: a tube unit 1 (cylindrical housing), as shown in Fig. 2; an ultraviolet-radiation lamp 21 (light source), being attached to a first end or a second end of the housing 1, as shown in Fig. 2, and having a longitudinal axis parallel to a longitudinal axis of the housing 1, as shown in Fig. 2; an inlet being attached to the first end or the second end of the housing 1, as shown in the figure below, flow of fluid entering the apparatus through the inlet, as shown in Fig. 2; a diversion mechanism 3 (inlet diffusion tube) that is attached to the inlet and receives the flow of fluid from the inlet, as shown in the figure below, the inlet diffusion tube 3 including one or more channels 33 (slots) that the flow of the fluid travels through into the housing 1, as shown in Fig. 2; and an outlet being attached to the first end or the second end of the housing 1, as shown in the figure below, flow of the fluid out of the housing 1 flowing through the outlet, as shown in Fig. 2, wherein: the inlet is located in an outer half of a radius of the housing 1, as shown in the figure below, the outlet and the light source 21 are located in an inner half of the radius of the housing 1, as shown in Fig. 2, and the one or more slots 33 of the inlet diffusion tube 3 face a direction tangential to the housing 1 and are configured such that the flow of the fluid out of the one or more slots 33 creates a spiral flow path of the fluid in the housing 1 extending from the inlet diffusion tube 3 (see col. 3, lines 51-67 and col. 4, lines 1-2).
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Wong does not disclose the one or more slots creating a spiral flow path of the fluid in the housing extending from the inlet diffusion tube, the spiral flow path having a decreasing radius of curvature along the spiral flow path. However, this limitation has been considered to be a functional recitation of the claimed invention which must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the function, then it meets the claim. In this case, Wong teaches slots 33 configured such that the flow of the fluid out of the one or more slots 33 creates a spiral flow path of the fluid in the housing 1 extending from the inlet diffusion tube 3 (see col. 3, lines 51-67 and col. 4, lines 1-2), as claimed by applicant. That is all the recited structure necessary to create the spiral flow. Since Wong teaches all the claimed structure, therefore, it is inherent and/or obvious that it is capable of performing the intended use, i.e., the spiral flow path having a decreasing radius of curvature along the spiral flow path.
With respect to claim 2, Wong discloses a fluid processor (apparatus), as shown in Fig. 2, having: a cylindrical housing 1 that has a cylindrical wall, a first end wall, and a second end wall, as shown in Fig. 2, the cylindrical housing 1 comprising: (i) an inlet 11 that is configured to direct the fluid flowing into the cylindrical housing 1 in a generally circumferential direction with respect to the cylindrical wall, as shown in Fig. 2 and create fluid flow along a spiral flow path extending from the inlet (see col. 3, lines 51-67); (ii) a mechanism 3 (outlet) through which the fluid exits the cylindrical housing 1, as shown in Fig. 2; and a light source 21 that extends along a longitudinal axis of the cylindrical housing 1 and is configured to direct light into the fluid when it is within the cylindrical housing 1 (see col. 3, lines 51-67 and col. 4, lines 1-2).
Wong does not disclose the inlet creating fluid flow along a spiral flow path extending from the inlet the spiral flow path having a decreasing radius of curvature along the spiral flow path. However, this limitation has been considered to be a functional recitation of the claimed invention which must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the function, then it meets the claim. In this case, Wong teaches an inlet 11 that is configured to direct the fluid flowing into the cylindrical housing 1 in a generally circumferential direction with respect to the cylindrical wall, as shown in Fig. 2 and create fluid flow along a spiral flow path extending from the inlet (see col. 3, lines 51-67), as claimed by applicant. That is all the recited structure necessary to create the spiral flow. Since Wong teaches all the claimed structure, therefore, it is inherent and/or obvious that it is capable of performing the intended use, i.e., the spiral flow path having a decreasing radius of curvature along the spiral flow path.
With respect to claim 3, Wong discloses wherein the outlet 3 is located at the first end wall of the housing 1, as shown in Fig. 2.
With respect to claim 4, Wong discloses wherein the light source 21 is located at the center of the housing 1 and extends from the first end wall of the housing 1 to the second end wall of the housing 1, as shown in Fig. 2.
With respect to claim 5, Wong discloses wherein the light source 21 includes one or more channels 33 (apertures) that are connected to the outlet 3 so that the fluid flows through the apertures 33 and out of the outlet 3, as shown in Fig. 2.
With respect to claim 6, Wong discloses wherein the one or more slots 33b are formed in an outer wall of the inlet diffusion tube 3, 3a, as shown in Fig. 10.
With respect to claim 7, Wong discloses wherein the one or more slots 33 are a plurality of slots spaced apart from one another along a length of the inlet diffusion tube 3, as shown in Figs. 1-4.
With respect to claim 8, Wong discloses wherein the one or more apertures 33 of the light source 21 include a slot extending along a longitudinal direction of the light source 21, said slot being the center aperture of element 3, as shown in Figs. 1-2.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on May 19, 2026, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The declaration under 37 CFR 1.132 filed on May 19, 2026, is insufficient to overcome the rejection of claims 1-8 based upon 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as set forth in the last Office action because: It refer(s) only to the system described in the above referenced application and not to the individual claims of the application. Thus, there is no showing that the objective evidence of nonobviousness is commensurate in scope with the claims. See MPEP § 716.
In response to applicant’s argument and declaration that Wong provides no mechanism for the flow to follow a path of a decreasing radius of curvature from the diversion mechanism: Claim 1 requires the slots to create the spiral flow and claim 2 requires the inlet to create a spiral flow. Wong teaches the claimed structure, and therefore, it is inherent and/or obvious that it is capable of performing the intended use, i.e., create a spiral flow, the spiral flow path having a decreasing radius of curvature along the spiral flow path.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 MADELINE GONZALEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-5502. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5:30.
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/MADELINE GONZALEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1773
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