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 .
Preliminary Amendment
This office action is responsive to the preliminary amendment filed on 1/9/24. As directed by the amendment: claims 2-3, 7, 9-10, 18-21, 24 and 27 have been amended, claims 5-6, 12-15, 23 and 29-35 have been canceled, and no new claims have been added. Thus, claims 1-4, 7-11, 16-22 and 24-28 are presently pending in the application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because reference number 100 in fig. 1, reference number 118 in fig. 2A and 2B are underlined, however they are not within a structure. The underline should be removed and an arrow should be used to point to the corresponding structure. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
“valve inlet 184” in [0071] is suggested to be changed to --valve inlet or reservoir port 188-- for consistency.
“second spring 141” in [0075] is suggested to be changed to --second spring 143-- for consistency.
There is a second period at the end of [0080] suggested to be removed.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 11, 17-18, 20 and 27 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 11 and 17-18 recite “the relief valve” suggested to be changed to --the relief valve assembly-- for consistency.
Claim 20 recites “an oral irrigator” suggested to be changed to --the oral irrigator-- in order to refer back to the oral irrigator of claim 16.
Claim 27 recites “a reservoir” and “a pump assembly” suggested to be changed to --the reservoir-- and --the pump assembly--, respectively, in order to refer back to the reservoir and pump assembly from claim 16. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 8 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 8 recites “the valve housing,” which lacks proper antecedent basis.
Claim 8 recites “the housing” however it is unclear which housing applicant is referring back to.
Claim 11 recites “a relief valve body” however it is unclear if this is the same body as “the valve body” in claim 10.
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, 3-4 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Coleman et al. (2001/0049511).
Regarding claim 1, in fig. 1-3 Coleman discloses an oral irrigator (has the structure that allows for oral irrigation) comprising: a handle (12, fig. 1) including a tip 20; a reservoir 16; a pump assembly 32 fluidly coupled to the reservoir (Fig. 3) and the tip (Fig. 3) and configured to pump fluid from the reservoir to the tip [0034]; and a valve assembly 31A that directs fluid from the pump back to the reservoir when a flow path between the tip and the pump assembly is obstructed (when valve 31B is closed [0042]), wherein the valve assembly is vibrationally isolated from the pump assembly (32 is vibrationally isolated, at least in part, from 31A by pipe 36C).
Regarding claim 3, Coleman discloses that the valve assembly 31A comprises a valve housing (outer wall of valve assembly) defining a pump connector (the portion of the housing that attaches to pipe 36C) in fluid communication with an outlet (outlet of 32) of the pump assembly.
Regarding claim 4, Coleman discloses that the pump connector is coupled to the outlet of the pump assembly via a hose (36C).
Regarding claim 7, Coleman discloses that a housing enclosing the pump assembly (outer wall of 32), wherein the valve assembly 31A is rigidly secured to the housing (the pump assembly and the valve assembly do not move with respect to one another).
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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Colman as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Moret et al. (3,952,736).
Regarding claim 2, Coleman discloses that the valve assembly is fluidly coupled to the pump assembly via one or more connections (36C), but is silent regarding that the one or more connections are flexible. However, Moret teaches a flexible connection (16, flexible hose) between a pump 1 and a valve 18. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Coleman’s one or more connections with a flexible connection, as taught by Moret, for the purpose of providing an alternate connection material having the predictable results of providing water to a handle tip.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-11 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.
Claims 16-22 and 24-28 are allowed.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Boyd et al. (8,408,483) directed towards an oral irrigator with a pump and valve assembly and Sauer et al. (5,993,403) directed towards a pressure relief valve for an oral irrigator.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL T SIPPEL whose telephone number is (571)270-1481. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-5:00 PM.
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, Timothy Stanis can be reached at (571) 272-5139. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RACHEL T SIPPEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3785
