DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Response to Amendment
This office action is responsive to the preliminary amendment filed on December 6, 2023. As directed by the amendment: no claims have been amended, claim 1 has been canceled, and new claims 2-17 have been added. Thus, claims 2-17 are presently pending in the application.
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 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 pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 2- 5, 10, 11, 14, and 16 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Steg (US 2011/0156289), in view of Zollinger (US 2011/0108028).
As to claim 2, Steg discloses a humidification system 10 (Fig. 1) comprising:
a humidification chamber (container 13, Fig. 1, paragraph [0038]) comprising:
a wall (top wall of container 13) defining a cavity 23 to hold liquid (Fig. 1, paragraph [0038]);
an inlet port 15 extending from the wall (Fig. 1, paragraphs [0038]-[0039]);
an outlet port 15 extending from the wall (Fig. 1, paragraph [0038]-[0039]); and
at least one float 22 positioned within the cavity 23 (Fig. 1, paragraph [0042]); and
a port cap (shipping cap 32, Fig. 5) removably coupled to the humidification chamber 13, the port cap 32 comprising:
a float retainer 33, 34 having a first leg (rod-like projection 33) configured to extend into at least one of the inlet port or the outlet port, the first leg 33 configured to contact the at least one float 22 to restrain the at least one float in a fixed position; and
a cap body 32 configured to cover at least one of the inlet port or the outlet port (see Fig. 5, paragraph [0055]).
Steg does not disclose a winder, the winder configured to retain a liquid conduit thereabout. However, Zollinger teaches a humidifier chamber 16 (Fig. 2, Fig. 3) including a port cap (locking assembly 72) having a winder (at 70) configured to retain a liquid conduit 70 thereabout (Fig. 2, Fig. 3, paragraph [0017]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the humidification system of Steg to include a winder, as taught by Zollinger, in order to facilitate storage of a water supply conduit in a neat and convenient manner.
As to claim 3, modified Steg discloses the humidification system of Claim 2, wherein the float retainer 33, 34 further comprises a second leg 34 configured to extend into the other of the inlet port 15 or the outlet port 17, wherein the cap body 32 is configured to cover the inlet port 15 and the outlet port 17 (see Fig. 5 of Steg, paragraph [0055]).
As to claim 4, modified Steg discloses the humidification system of Claim 2, wherein the float retainer (projections 33 and/or 34) is separate from the cap body 32 (the projections 33,34 are connected to the cap body 32 but are a separate part of the shipping cap than the top cap body part 32; thus, they are considered “separate”, see Steg, Fig. 5, paragraph [0055]).
As to claim 5, modified Steg discloses the humidification system of Claim 2, wherein the float retainer 33, 34 is coupled to the cap body 32 (Steg, Fig. 5, paragraph [0055]).
As to claim 10, modified Steg discloses the humidification system of Claim 2, further comprising the liquid conduit (tubing 70, see Zollinger, Figs. 2-4, paragraph [0017]), a first end of the liquid conduit 70 configured to connect to an opening in the humidification chamber (see water inlet 80 of Zollinger, Fig. 5, paragraph [0018], which corresponds to Steg’s water inlet 19, Fig. 1, paragraph [0055]).
As to claim 11, modified Steg discloses the humidification system of Claim 10, wherein the liquid conduit 70 is configured to extend from the opening in the humidification chamber and around the winder 72 (see Figs 2-5 of Zollinger, paragraphs [0017]-[0018]).
As to claim 14, modified Steg discloses the humidification system of Claim 2, further comprising a tubing holder 62 configured to secure the liquid conduit 70 to a portion of the winder 72 or to a top of the humidification chamber 16 (retaining element 62 holds end of tubing 70 in the inlet 80 at the top of the humidification chamber 16, see Zollinger, Fig. 5, paragraph [0016]).
As to claim 16, Steg discloses a humidification system 10 (Fig. 1) comprising:
a humidification chamber (container 13, Fig. 1, paragraph [0038]) comprising:
a wall (top wall of container 13) defining a cavity 23 to hold liquid (Fig. 1, paragraph [0038]);
an inlet port 15 extending from the wall (Fig. 1, paragraphs [0038]-[0039]);
an outlet port 15 extending from the wall (Fig. 1, paragraph [0038]-[0039]); and
at least one float 22 positioned within the cavity 23 (Fig. 1, paragraph [0042]); and
a first port cap (shipping cap 32, Fig. 5) removably coupled to the humidification chamber 13, the first port cap 32 comprising:
a first leg (rod-like projection 33) configured to extend into at least one of the inlet port or the outlet port, the first leg 33 configured to contact the at least one float 22 to restrain the at least one float in a fixed position (see Fig. 5, paragraph [0055]).
Steg does not disclose a winder, the winder configured to retain a liquid conduit thereabout. However, Zollinger teaches a humidifier chamber 16 (Fig. 2, Fig. 3) including a port cap (locking assembly 72) having a winder (at 70) configured to retain a liquid conduit 70 thereabout (Fig. 2, Fig. 3, paragraph [0017]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the humidification system of Steg to include a winder, as taught by Zollinger, in order to facilitate storage of a water supply conduit in a neat and convenient manner.
Claim 6 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Steg (US 2011/0156289), in view of Zollinger (US 2011/0108028), as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Dobson et al. (US 5,564,415).
As to claim 6, modified Steg discloses the humidification system of Claim 2, but does not expressly disclose that the float retainer comprises a tab or a pull loop.
However, Dobson teaches a cap (top member 4) having a tab (flanges 62, as part of a prying arrangement, Figs. 8-11, col. 5, ln. 13-29). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the humidification system of Steg so that the port cap includes a prying arrangement including a tab/flange, as taught by Dobson, in order to facilitate gripping by the user for easy removal of the port cap from the chamber.
Claim 7 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Steg (US 2011/0156289), in view of Zollinger (US 2011/0108028), as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Smith et al. (US 2013/0174843).
As to claim 7, modified Steg discloses the humidification system of Claim 2, wherein the port cap 32 comprises a top surface that is configured to span both a top of the inlet port 15 and a top of the outlet port 17 (see Fig. 5, paragraph [0055]), but does not expressly disclose that the top surface is a flat top surface. However, Smith teaches a cap (lid 16) of a humidifier 2 that has a flat top surface (Figs. 1-4, paragraph [0112]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the humidification system of Steg so that the port cap has a flat top surface, as taught by Smith, in order to provide a smoother, more streamlined appearance to the device.
Claim 17 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Steg (US 2011/0156289), in view of Zollinger (US 2011/0108028), as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Brown et al. (US 4,028,444).
As to claim 17, modified Steg discloses the humidification system of Claim 16, further comprising: a second leg 34 configured to extend into the other of the inlet port 15 or the outlet port 17, the second leg 34 configured to contact the at least one float 22 to restrain the at least one float 22 in the fixed position (see Steg, Fig. 5, paragraph [0055]), but does not disclose that second leg is part of a second port cap removably coupled to the humidification chamber. However, Brown teaches a humidification system having a pair of access ports (Fig. 2), each having its own separate port cap 114, 116 removably coupled to the humidification chamber 12 (see Fig. 2, col. 7, ln. 11-17). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the humidification system of Steg so that the single port cap 32 is instead formed as two separate port caps, one for each of the inlet or outlet, as taught by Brown, in order to allow individual access to the ports.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8, 9, 12, 13, and 15 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Humes et al (US 2012/0312298) discloses a lid having a gripping portion in the form of a loop to facilitate opening of the lid (paragraph [0062]).
Kenyon et al. (US 2009/0301485) discloses a respiratory device having a blower housing/sleeve that includes alignment pins to facilitate alignment of the housing with corresponding holes on a top lid and an alignment rib on the side of the sleeve to assist with correct alignment of the device in assembly (paragraph [0115]).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VALERIE L WOODWARD whose telephone number is (571)270-1479. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, KENDRA CARTER can be reached on 571-272-9034. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/VALERIE L WOODWARD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3785