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 1-5 are rejected.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by 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 11 is located in an outer half of a radius of the housing 1, as shown in Fig. 2, 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 faces a direction tangential to the housing 1 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 to the outlet (see col. 3, lines 51-67 and col. 4, lines 1-2).
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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 directs the fluid flowing into the cylindrical housing 1 in a generally circumferential direction with respect to the cylindrical wall, as shown in Fig. 2; (ii) an 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).
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.
Conclusion
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