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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species II in the reply filed on 12/9/25 is acknowledged.
Claim 7 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/9/25.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the:
Radial reinforcing rib on a top surface of the sealing ring
must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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.
Figure 9 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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:
It is noted that ‘bouncing drainer’, ‘bouncing machine’ and ‘bouncing machine core’ are not art recognized terms and should either be replaced with appropriate terminology or be explicitly defined.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 9 requires “the sleeve and the bouncing machine core are assembled and matched through lapped joint”. It is noted that claim 9 is an apparatus claim and this limitation could be interpreted as a product by process claim.
For the purpose of examination claim 9 is being interpreted as requiring:
wherein the sleeve and the bouncing machine core are shaped such that they are configured to be securely coupled together through a lapped joint without other fastening structures
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
Claim 1 is directed at “A bouncing drainer, comprising a bouncing machine core”, the claim appears to additionally refer to the “bouncing machine core” as a “bouncing machine”.
The phrases/terminology “bouncing drainer” and “bouncing machine core” are not recognized terms in the art.
A “bouncing machine core” is not an art recognized term and as such does not define or otherwise invoke a specific structure or functionality. As such the claim limitation requiring that “the bouncing machine core is inverted” is indefinite. The limitation is indefinite as a user would first be required to determine what a “bouncing machine core” is to determine what would satisfy the requirement of ‘inverting’ said core. It is also unclear as to whether the claim requires an existing “bouncing machine core” structure/design be taken and inverted or if the limitation is otherwise defining some rearrangement of existing structures/features of an existing “bouncing machine core”.
The structures claimed and described of the “bouncing machine core” also fail to further define/limit the structure. Applicant requires one end having a ‘protruding tip’ while the other end is “the other end of the bouncing machine” however as there is no further definition for these structures or what form they take it is unclear as to what requirements must be met for the structure.
Furthermore, regarding the preamble, as a “bouncing drainer” is not an art recognized term it is unclear what structural or functional limitations the term would impart upon the claimed invention. It is unclear if the terminology requires a stationary drainer that can be deflected/’bounced’, if it requires a vertically adjustable drainer, if it requires a spring-biased drainer, if it requires a spring at all or something else entirely. As such the preamble does not inform or otherwise assist in defining the indefinite term “bouncing machine core”.
For the purpose of examination the phrase ‘bouncing drainer’ is being interpreted as a drain plug assembly.
For the purpose of examination the phrase ‘bouncing machine core’ is being interpreted based upon Applicant’s disclosure as requiring:
a drain stem comprising at least two telescoping parts which are coupled by a coupling element which couples one part to a ‘protruding tip’ at an opposite/external end of the other part and which utilizes a spring as part of its operation
Claim 1 requires that “the bouncing machine core is inverted”. As discussed above the structure of the bouncing machine core is not explicitly defined by Applicant and as such what would be considered ‘inverting’ the bouncing machine core is not clear either.
For the purpose of examination the phrase ‘the bouncing machine core is inverted’ is being interpreted based upon Applicant’s disclosure as requiring:
a ‘protruding tip’ of the bouncing machine core which is connected to the spring of the bouncing machine core is oriented upward/toward the drain opening while the opposite end of the bouncing machine core facing downward/into the drain is configured to couple to the drain
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.
Claims 1-2, 6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2006/0195976 (McAlpine) in view of WO 2014/138783 (Tim).
Regarding claim 1, Donahue discloses a drain plug assembly (Fig. 2) comprising a bouncing machine core and a water filter basket assembly, wherein:
a bouncing machine core (20a/20b; Para. 0028– two telescoping parts with a spring) and a water filter basket assembly (26/28/30/32) are provided;
one end of the bouncing machine core comprises a protruding part (20a; Fig. 2) and faces upwards and;
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the other end of the bouncing machine (20b) faces downwards (Fig. 2);
the water filter basket assembly comprises a sleeve (32), a water filter basket (30), and a sealing ring (28);
the sleeve is mounted at a top of the bouncing machine core in a ‘sleeving manner’, and wraps the protruding tip of the bouncing machine core (Fig. 2; the sleeve covers the top and wraps the sides of the protruding tip and end of the bouncing core); and
the water filter basket and the sealing ring are mounted on the sleeve in sequence from top to bottom (Fig. 2 – the basket is secured to the sleeve by a pressing ring 26, the pressing ring carries the seal and wraps around/over the sleeve and as such mounts the seal onto the sleeve).
Regarding the requirement that “the bouncing machine core is inverted”, it is noted that Donahue discloses in the first embodiment (Fig. 2) that the bottom of the bouncing machine core can be connected to a mounting protrusion (22) while in a second embodiment (Fig. 3) Donahue details how the protrusion (122) can be detached from a threaded bottom (140) of the bouncing machine drain. As such Donahue establishes a bouncing machine core with a bottom end configured for direct attachment to the drain.
Likewise Donahue discloses the inclusion of a spring and other components within the core for its operation (Para. 0028) but doesn’t disclose details of a coupling member securing the parts of the bouncing core together and coupled to the protrusion at the ‘top’/upper end of the bouncing machine core.
Tim teaches a drain plug assembly comprising a bouncing machine core (22/30) which telescopes up and down and utilizes a spring (32). Tim further teaches that the upper part (30) of the bouncing machine core comprises a protruding tip (33) which secures a coupling element (36) that connects the upper and lower portions of the bouncing machine core while an opposite/bottom end of the bouncing machine core is configured for coupling to the drain body (23; Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide a coupling member connected to the protruding tip at the top of the bouncing machine core and securing the machine core together, as taught by Tim, so that the bouncing machine core is securely assembled and the protruding tip/mounting point of the coupler does not prevent direct connection of the drain plug assembly to a drain.
Regarding claim 2, Donahue states that the water filter basket assembly further comprises a handle arranged at a top end of the sleeve (Fig. 2 – the shape of the top of 32 forms/serves as a ‘knob’ which is a handle as it acts as a structure intended to be gripped for manipulating the drain plug assembly).
Regarding claim 6, Donahue states that a lower part of the sleeve is provided with an annular boss and the water filter basket is arranged on the annular boss and pressed by a pressing ring (26).
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While Donahue states that the pressing ring is installed over and around the sleeve (Fig. 2, also annotated figure below) while being threadedly secured in place to the ‘bouncing core’ it doesn’t depict or detail if the overlapping portion of the pressing ring is secured to the sleeve through threading in the embodiment depicted in Fig. 2.
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Donahue, however, teaches a second embodiment of a drain plug comprising a bouncing core (120a/120b) with a sleeve (132) sleeved over its top end. The second embodiment teaches the sealing ring being mounted on the sleeve directly while the basket is secured by another structure which utilizes threading to secure to both the bouncing core and the sleeve (Fig. 3).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to connect the pressing ring to the sleeve through threads in addition to the bouncing core, as taught by the second embodiment of Donahue, so as to provide a more secure assembly of the drain plug assembly thereby reducing the possibility of slippage or other problems during use.
Regarding claim 8, Donahue states that the sealing ring is arranged in a ring groove on the pressing ring in a sleeving manner (Fig.2; annotated figure below).
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Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Donahue as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 2010/0005581 (McAlpine).
Regarding claim 10, Donahue states the inclusion of a water filter basket as previously discussed however it is silent regarding the construction/material of the water filter basket.
McAlpine teaches a water filter basket (10) for a drain plug assembly (Fig. 16) and teaches that the waste filter basket is manufactured from stainless steel (Para. 0094).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize stainless steel as a manufacturing material for the water filter basket, as taught by McAlpine, so as to form a basket which is durable (resistant to breaking/deformation) and which will not rust when installed in/exposed to a drain/fluid environment.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5, 9 and 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art of record does not disclose a drain plug assembly comprising a bouncing machine core (as defined in the Claim Interpretation section above), a water filter basket and a sealing ring, wherein the bouncing machine core is oriented in the drain with its protruding tip facing upwards and its bottom configured for connection to the drain, with a sleeve wrapping the protruding tip and mounted at the top, the basket mounted on the sleeve and the sealing ring mounted on the sleeve beneath the basket, wherein a boss is provided at a top of the sleeve with both sides of the boss provided with an articulated shaft which are received in strip shaped holes on opposing sides of a U-shaped opening of a handle.
The prior art of record does not disclose a drain plug assembly comprising a bouncing machine core (as defined in the Claim Interpretation section above), a water filter basket and a sealing ring, wherein the bouncing machine core is oriented in the drain with its protruding tip facing upwards and its bottom configured for connection to the drain, with a sleeve wrapping the protruding tip and mounted at the top, the basket mounted on the sleeve and the sealing ring mounted on the sleeve beneath the basket, wherein the sleeve and the bouncing machine core are shaped such that they are configured to be securely coupled together through a lapped joint without other fastening structures.
The prior art of record does not disclose a drain plug assembly comprising a bouncing machine core (as defined in the Claim Interpretation section above), a water filter basket and a sealing ring, wherein the bouncing machine core is oriented in the drain with its protruding tip facing upwards and its bottom configured for connection to the drain, with a sleeve wrapping the protruding tip and mounted at the top, the basket mounted on the sleeve and the sealing ring mounted on the sleeve beneath the basket, wherein the sealing ring comprises a radial reinforcing rib on a top surface of the sealing ring.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
GB 2373182 (McAlpine2) teaches a drain assembly with a bouncing core, a protruding tip at a top end and a sleeve with a seal however it doesn’t teach a water filter basket or a handle.
US 2014/0075662 (Gayoso) teaches a drain plug assembly comprising a sealing ring, a water filter basket, a stem and a handle.
US 2,668,962 (Spector) teaches a drain plug assembly with a water filter basket secured to an annular boss by a retaining ring which is threaded onto a stem and supports a sealing ring however the drain stem is not a ‘bouncing core’ stem.
US 9,027,172 (Fima) teaches a drain plug assembly comprising a sealing ring with a plurality of radial reinforcement ribs (Fig. 8A) however the ribs are explicitly taught as being formed on the bottom surface of the seal instead of a top surface.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS A ROS whose telephone number is (571)270-3577. The examiner can normally be reached Mon.-Fri. 9:00-6:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Angwin can be reached at 571-270-3735. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NICHOLAS A ROS/ Examiner, Art Unit 3754
/DAVID P ANGWIN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3754