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 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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hoke et al. (US 2008/0221507).
Regarding claim 1, Hoke et al. (henceforth Hoke) discloses (Figure 9) a human nasal cleaner, comprising a bottom tank (formed as bottle 12” and effluent receptacle 14”; or simply as element 14”); wherein a cleaning assembly (top of housing 98 comprising nozzles 40, 42 and associated conduits as seen in Figure 5) is arranged above the bottom tank (Figure 9) to be in contact with a nasal cavity, and a central control assembly (controller 16) is arranged between the bottom tank (see e.g., Figure 1 which locates the controller 16 in the handle and upper housing 22; ¶ [0037]) and the cleaning assembly (positive pump and conduits 102, 104 for generating positive pressure in the source bottle 12”; ¶ [0046]) for transmitting a cleaning liquid (saline solution); the central control assembly (16) comprises a water supply module (positive pressure pump and conduits) and a negative pressure generator module (negative pressure pump and waste line connected to reservoir 14”; ¶ [0046]), the water supply module comprising a pumping pipeline (e.g., the pump pressurizes 12” through line 102 which drives saline through conduit 104 into the wash nozzle 40; see also supply conduit 46 in Figure 5), a water pump (positive pressure pump connected to reservoir 12”), and a delivery pipeline (through conduit 104 and out nozzle 40), and the negative pressure generator module comprising a wastewater pipeline (drain conduit into reservoir 14”; see also effluent conduit 50 in Figure 5) and a vacuum pump (¶ [0046] discloses the use of a negative pressure pump for generating negative pressure in the reservoir 14”).
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.
Claim(s) 2-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hoke in view of Whaley (US 7,717,891).
Regarding claim 2, Hoke discloses the claimed invention substantially as set forth above for claim 1, but depicts the bottom tank as two separate tank portions rather than a single partitioned tank.
Whaley teaches (Figure 2) an irrigation/aspiration device (10) comprising a bottom tank (Figure 2) which is divided into a irrigation side (supply tank 61) and a waste side (collecting reservoir 40) by a partition (23A; see Col. 5, lines 5-20 and Col. 6, lines 1-20).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the two separate tank portions of Hoke into a single assembly as taught by Whaley to provide a means of storing the waste fluid apart from the cleaning fluid to prevent contamination during use as taught by Whaley (Col. 5, lines 5-20).
Regarding claim 3, Hoke further discloses wherein the cleaning assembly (supply conduit from pump to nozzle 40, and waste conduit connected to nozzle 42) comprises a water supply hole (nozzle 40) and a drainage hole (nozzle 42); an output end of the delivery pipeline (supply conduit 46, Figure 5) is connected to the water supply hole (40) for discharging the clean cleaning liquid into the nasal cavity for the nasal cleaning (e.g., ¶ [0039]), and the wastewater bin (14”) is connected to the wastewater pipeline (50, Figure 5) for conveying the waste liquid after the nasal cleaning (¶ [0039]); an input end of the wastewater pipeline (50) is connected to an output end of the drainage hole (42; Figure 5; ¶ [0039]).
Regarding claim 4, Hoke/Whaley further teach wherein the wastewater bin (12”, 14” as modified into a single tank) is sealed and fixed with a pumping end of the vacuum pump (¶ [0046]; the tank must be sealed in order to generate negative pressure in the reservoir 14”) for changing a pressure inside the waste water bin (the negative pressure pump generates vacuum in reservoir portion 14”).
Regarding claim 5, Hoke/Whaley teach the drainage hole (42), the waste water bin (portion 14” of combined reservoir), and the wastewater pipeline (50) are connected, but fail to disclose the connection via hot-melt adhesion as claimed. However, in accordance to MPEP § 2113, the method of forming the device is not germane to the issue of patentability of the device itself. Therefore, this limitation has not been given patentable weight. Please note that even though product-by-process claims are limited by and defined by the process, determination of patentability is based on the product itself. The patentability of a product, i.e., the nozzle, conduit, and tank connection, does not depend on its method of production, i.e., sealed via hot-melt adhesion. See In re Thorpe, 227 USPQ 964, 966 (Federal Circuit 1985).
Regarding claim 6, Hoke/Whaley further teach wherein an inner cavity of the clean water bin (12” in the combined tank) is placed with the pumping pipeline (21) for conveying the clean cleaning liquid, the water pump (22) is connected to an output end of the pumping pipeline (e.g., conduit 102), and an outlet end of the water pump (¶ [0046] the positive pressure pump pressurizes the supply side of the tank via conduit 102) is connected to an input end of the water supply hole (40) through the delivery pipeline (supply conduit 46).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN L ZAMORY whose telephone number is (571)270-1238. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30am-4:30pm ET.
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/JUSTIN L ZAMORY/Examiner, Art Unit 3783
/MICHAEL J TSAI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3783