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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 3/14/2024 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, and 7-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bovill et al. [Bovill] (US PGPub 2022/0154720).
As to claim 1
Bovill discloses a fluid pump system (pump system 10, see Fig. 1) comprising:
an adjustable pump (bilge pump 12, see Fig. 1) configured to expel fluid (water; see paragraph 0018, line 6) at a plurality of flow rates (different flow rates; see paragraph 0041, lines 10-11) (see paragraph 0018, lines 5-7 and paragraph 0041, lines 10-12);
at least one current measurement device (current sensor 18, see Fig. 1) communicatively coupled to the pump and configured to measure an electrical current applied to the pump (see paragraph 0020, lines 8-9); and
a controller (controller 16, see Fig. 1) communicatively coupled to the pump and the at least one current measurement device (see Fig. 1 and paragraph 0020, lines 1-9),
wherein the controller is configured to adjust an operating parameter (duration; see paragraph 0026, line 10/flow rate; see paragraph 0041, line 11/speed of the motor; see paragraph 0043, line 6) of the pump based at least in part on a measurement of the electrical current (current) measured by the at least one current measurement device (see paragraph 7-11; paragraph 0041, lines 4-13; and paragraph 0043, lines 3-7).
As to claim 2
Bovill discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the operating parameter is an operating speed of the pump (see paragraph 0043, lines 1-7).
As to claim 3
Bovill discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the operating parameter is a duration of pump operation (see paragraph 0042, lines 3-10).
As to claim 4
Bovill discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the operating parameter is a duration of pump operation and operating speed of the pump (see paragraph 0042, lines 3-10 and paragraph 0043, lines 1-7).
As to claim 7
Bovill discloses the system of claim 1, further comprising, at least one air displacement measurement device communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to adjust an operating parameter of the pump based at least in part on air displacement measured by the at least one air displacement measurement device (see paragraph 0039, lines 8-21 and paragraph 0042, lines 1-11).
As to claim 8
Bovill discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to cause the pump to expel fluid over a period of time at a substantially uniform volume flow rate based at least in part on the current measurement (paragraph 0042, lines 1-11).
As to claim 9
Bovill discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to dynamically adjust the electrical load applied to the pump during operation of the pump (see paragraph 0021, lines 4-9 and paragraph 0025, lines 1-6).
As to claim 10
Bovill discloses a method of pumping fluid (water; see paragraph 0018, line 6) comprising:
sending a control signal (signal) to a pump (bilge pump 12, see Fig. 1) (see paragraph 0022, lines 1-11);
monitoring an electrical current (current) supplied to a motor (electric motor 14, see Fig. 1) of the pump (see paragraph 0020, lines 8-9);
modifying an operating parameter (duration; see paragraph 0026, line 10/flow rate; see paragraph 0041, line 11/speed of the motor; see paragraph 0043, line 6) of the pump in response to a change in the electrical current supplied to the motor of the pump (see paragraph 7-11; paragraph 0041, lines 4-13; and paragraph 0043, lines 3-7).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 5 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bovill et al. [Bovill] (US PGPub 2022/0154720) in view of Schneider (US PGPub 2016/0177958).
As to claim 5
Bovill discloses the system as cited in claim 1; however, Bovill fails to specifically disclose the system, further comprising at least one pressure measurement device communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to adjust an operating parameter of the pump based at least in part on a pressure measured by the at least one pressure measurement device.
Schneider discloses a system (apparatus; see paragraph 0044, line 2) comprising at least one pressure measurement device (first pressure sensor 11 and second pressure sensor 12, see Fig. 1) communicatively coupled to a controller (control device 3, see Fig. 1), wherein the controller is configured to adjust an operating parameter (frequency) of the pump based at least in part on a pressure (pressure) measured by the at least one pressure measurement device (see paragraph 0050, lines 1-8).
Bovill and Schneider are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor which is pump control. At the time of invention it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Bovill’s invention with Schneider’s in order to include fluid pressure measurements to Bovill’s pump system 10, since doing so would indicate unique relationship between the operating parameter and a pressure difference (see Schneider paragraph 0068, lines 1-7).
As to claim 6
Schneider discloses the system of claim 5, wherein the at least one pressure measurement device comprises at least one of an inlet pressure sensor and an outlet pressure sensor (see paragraph 0049, lines 1-6).
Claim(s) 11 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bovill et al. [Bovill] (US PGPub 2022/0154720) in view of Mayleben et al. [Mayleben] (US PGPub 2011/0110794).
As to claim 11
Bovill discloses the method as cited in claim 10; however, Bovill fails to specifically disclose the method, further comprising, determining a working fluid viscosity based at least in part on the electrical current of the motor.
Mayleben discloses a method comprising, determining a working fluid viscosity (fluid density; see paragraph 0129, line 21) based at least in part on the electrical current of the motor (see paragraph 0129, lines 12-21).
Bovill and Mayleben are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor which is pump control. At the time of invention it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Bovill’s invention with Mayleben’s in order to use density of Bovill’s water/fluid to determine when to reduce load on the electric motor 14 (see Mayleben paragraph 0129, lines 20-21), since doing so would help determine when a low fluid level or position has been reached (see Mayleben paragraph 0129, lines 21-24).
As to claim 12
Mayleben discloses the method of claim 11, wherein determining the working fluid viscosity comprises correlating the electrical current of the motor to at least one fluid viscosity (see paragraph 0129, lines 18-24).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Michael J. Brown whose telephone number is (571)272-5932. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday from 5:30am-4:00pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kamini Shah can be reached at (571)272-2279. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Michael J Brown/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2115