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 Group I in the reply filed on 1/05/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 6-20 were cancelled from further consideration as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 01/05/2026.
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) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cobb et al. (Pub. No. US 2018/0186655).
Regarding claim 1, Cobb et al. disclose a sink system (Figs. 1-12), comprising: a cabinet module (3); a sink module (2) coupled (Fig. 2) to the cabinet module (3), the sink module (2) including at least one sink basin (paragraph 31); at least one faucet (1) fluidly coupled to a water source (4 and 5), and configured to dispense water from the water source (4 and 5) into the at least one sink basin (paragraph 31); a sensor module (10) including at least one sensor (31, paragraphs 48-49) positioned (Fig. 2) on at least one of the cabinet module (3), sink module (2), or at least one faucet (1), wherein the sensor module (10) is configured to sense at least one characteristic of the dispensed water (paragraphs 48-49), and provide an indication to a user about the at least one characteristic (paragraphs 54-55), wherein the at least one characteristic is selected from the group consisting of water quality, temperature, flow rate, and water usage (paragraphs 48-49).
Regarding claim 2, Cobb et al. disclose the sink system (Figs. 1-12), wherein the sensor module (10) provides a visual, tactic, or audible indication (paragraphs 54-55 and 58) to the user to indicate the relative or actual characteristic measured by the sensor.
Regarding claim 3, Cobb et al. disclose the sink system (Figs. 1-12), wherein the sensor module (10) provides a warning indication (paragraph 55) when a measured characteristic of the fluid exceeds a predetermined threshold, and optionally (“optionally” is not considered further limiting) shuts off the faucet (1).
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(s) 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cobb et al. (Pub. No. US 2018/0186655) in view of Alcorn et al. (U.S. Patent No. 9,928,724).
Regarding claim 4, Cobb et al. disclose the essential features of the claimed invention but lacks disclosure wherein the at least one characteristic comprise water quality, and the at least one sensor comprises a sensor configured to sense total dissolved solids.
Alcorn et al. teach a sensor module (102) for a water flow line (104) comprising a water quality sensor (146) configured to sense total dissolved solids (Column 6 lines 40-48).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the sensor module of Cobb et al. with a quality sensor as taught by Alcorn et al. for the advantage of detecting composition characteristics of fluids within a water supply line (Column 6 lines 40-48).
Regarding claim 5, Cobb et al. disclose the essential features of the claimed invention but lacks disclosure wherein the at least one characteristic comprises water usage, where the water usage is measured daily, weekly, monthly, or annually.
Alcorn et al. teach a sensor module (102) for a water flow line (104) comprising a plurality of sensors (Column 4 lines 50-62) that enable the sensor module (102) to measure water usage (Column 15 lines 26).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the sensor module of Cobb et al. with a water usage measurement as taught by Alcorn et al. for the advantage of determining typical usage patterns and deviations from those patterns to alert users more quicky and easily monitor water usage (Column 3 lines 5-22).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Cortez (U.S. Patent No. 10,060,775) disclose a similar smart system for a fluid device having a plurality of sensors within a sensor module.
Horwitz et al. (Pub. No. US 2017/0260722) disclose a faucet system having a similar smart system with a sensor module.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Reinaldo Sanchez-Medina, telephone number 571-270-5168, fax number 571-270-6168. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (7:30AM-4:00PM EST).
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 supervisors can be reached by phone. Craig Schneider can be reached at 571-272-3607 or Kenneth Rinehart can be reached at 571-272-4881. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/REINALDO SANCHEZ-MEDINA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753