DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims:
Claims 16-30 are pending.
Claim 16 is amended.
This action is Made Final.
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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment numbers claims 16-30, however the amendment dated 5/28/2024 cancels claims 1-23. A canceled claim cannot be added back into the claim set. It is recommended that the applicant cancel all previously pending claims (1-38) and present new claims beginning with claim 39.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 5/18/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 16-30 (28-38) under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of 35 USC 112 (b).
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 “the channel extends circumferentially around the sieve structure” 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 16-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 16:
The claim states “the unfiltered side, against which, in use, solid material separated…”, “the nozzle assembly being arranged to, un use, direct fluid towards the filtered side…”, “the separator is configured such that, in use, fluid is guided from the inlet to pass circumferentially around…”, and “the channel is arranged to receive filtered debris in use.” The phrase “in use” render the claim indefinite because it is not clear what “use” is being referred to. Some of the uses appear to be occurring at different times such as solid material accumulating on the unfiltered side and the nozzle assembly dislodging material that is accumulated and solid material accumulating on the unfiltered side and the channel arranged to receive filtered debris.
The claim states “the separator is configured such that, in use, fluid is guided from the inlet to pass circumferentially around the channel…” This limitation would appear to require the fluid to pass around the circumference of the channel, which is around the circumference of the sieve, which would therefor result in the fluid not passing over the sieve. It is not clear if this is the intended configuration by the applicant because the claims also require an outlet on the other side of the sieve from the inlet.
The remaining claims are indefinite because they depend from an indefinite claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16-30 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 and renumbered to not include any previously canceled claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The claims would be allowable in view of the closest prior art, Hallman (USPN 7,308,808). Hallman does not teach a channel formed between eh chamber and the inlet side of the sieve structure wherein the channel extends circumferentially around the sieve structure, and wherein the separator is configured such that in use fluid is guided from the inlet to pass circumferentially around the channel…” It would not have been obvious to one skilled the art to configure fluid to be guided circumferentially around a channel because this limitation is not known in this or related prior arts.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CLAIRE A NORRIS whose telephone number is (571)272-5133. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:30-5 F: 8-12.
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 supervisor, Ramdhanie Bobby can be reached at 571-270-3240. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CLAIRE A NORRIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1779 10/5/2026
