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 . 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.
DETAILED NON-FINAL ACTION
This is the initial Office Action (OA), on the merits, based on the 18/564,612 application filed on November 28, 2023. Claims 1-11, 13-20 and 23 are pending. Claims 1-11 and 13 are examined, on the merits, in this Office action. The examined claims are directed to an apparatus.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-11 and 13, in the reply filed on March 10, 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 14-20 and 23 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Examiner has considered the information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 12/18/2023 and 09/02/2024. Please refer to the signed copy of the PTO-1449 form attached herewith.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fengfeng (CN109619996)(IDS of 12/18/2023)(Applicant’s English machine translated document and Examiner’s clearer supplemental version are referenced below).
Regarding claims 1 and 2, Fengfeng discloses a top cover assembly (Abstract, Figs. 1-12), comprising:
a first frame body 4, formed with a first opening ([0043], [0073-[0089]; Figs. 8 & 9);
a first top cover component 21, wherein the first top cover component is connected to the first frame body through a flexible member 22, and is switchable between an open state and a closed state (Id.); and
a second top cover component 2 (Id.),
wherein the second top cover component is connected to the first frame body and located on a side of the first opening (Id.),
wherein in the closed state, the first top cover component covers the first opening (Id.); and
in the open state, the first top cover component is located above the second top cover component, and an included angle between the first top cover component and the second top cover component is less than a predetermined angle (Id.).
Additional Disclosure Included: Claim 2: The flexible member is detachably connected to at least one of the first frame body or the first top cover component (Figs. 8, 9).
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JinJu et al. (CN214258963, JinJu)(IDS of 12/18/2023)(Applicant’s English translated document and Examiner’s clearer supplemental version are referenced below).
Regarding claims 1-4, JinJu discloses a top cover assembly (Abstract, Figs. 1-15), comprising:
a first frame body, formed with a first opening ([0038]-[0061]; Figs. 8, 11 & 12; claims 1-10);
a first top cover component, wherein the first top cover component is connected to the first frame body through a flexible member, and is switchable between an open state and a closed state (Id.); and
a second top cover component,
wherein the second top cover component is connected to the first frame body and located on a side of the first opening (Id.),
wherein in the closed state, the first top cover component covers the first opening; and
in the open state, the first top cover component is located above the second top cover component, and an included angle between the first top cover component and the second top cover component is less than a predetermined angle (Id.).
Additional Disclosures Included: Claim 2: The flexible member is detachably connected to at least one of the first frame body or the first top cover component (claims 4 and 10; figs. 8, 11 & 12); Claim 3: The at least one of the first frame body or the first top cover component is provided with a snap-fit slot, and the flexible member is connected within the snap-fit slot by a snap-fit (p. 11 of 33; figs. 8, 11 & 12); and Claim 4: A limit block is provided at an end of the flexible member snap-fitted with the snap-fit slot, and the limit block is matched with the snap-fit slot limitedly (figs. 8, 11 & 12).
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. The inventive entity for a particular application is based on some contribution to at least one of the claims made by each of the named inventors. MPEP §2137.01.
Claims 5-11 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JinJu (CN214258963), as applied to claims 1 and 4 above.
Regarding claims 5-11 and 13, JinJu discloses the top cover assembly of claim 4, wherein the first top cover component comprises: a first housing; a second housing provided at a first side of the first housing (claim 1),
wherein a receiving cavity is formed inside the second housing, and a side of the second housing towards the first housing has an opening (claim 1); and
a first seal, formed with at least two sealing surfaces (claim 8), except
wherein the first seal is provided at the first side of the first housing, and a side edge of the opening is matched hermetically with the sealing surfaces of the first seal; or the first seal is provided at a side edge of the opening and the first side of the first housing are matched hermetically with the sealing surfaces of the first seal.
However, as an obvious matter of design and engineering choice, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include traditional positioning and supporting accessories, with additional sealing locations, at desired and suitable assembly positions, and to appropriately hermetically match the sealing surfaces, and to arrange the seals in any suitable location including a side edge of the first opening to improve the sealing and long term viability of the cover assembly.
Additional Disclosures Included: Claim 6: A positioner is provided at the first side of the first housing or a side edge of the opening, and the first seal is provided within the positioner (claim 5 analysis); Claim 7: The positioner is a snap-fit slot, and the first seal is snapped in the snap slot (claim 5 analysis); Claim 8: The first seal is formed with two sealing surfaces, and the first seal comprises a first sealing portion and a second sealing portion connected to a side of the first sealing portion, a first sealing surface is formed at a side of the first sealing portion towards the side edge of the opening or the first side of the first housing, and a second sealing surface is formed at a side of the second sealing portion towards the side edge of the opening or the first side of the first housing (claim 5 analysis); Claim 9: (Previously Presented) The top cover assembly of claim 8, wherein the first seal is formed with three sealing surfaces, and comprises a first sealing portion, a second sealing portion disposed opposite to the first sealing portion and a third sealing portion connected to the first sealing portion and the second sealing portion respectively; the side edge of the opening or a protruding ridge formed at the first side of the first housing is embedded between the first sealing portion and the second sealing portion, a first sealing surface is formed at a side of the first sealing portion towards the side edge of the opening or the side of the protruding ridge, a second sealing surface is formed at a side of the second sealing portion towards the side edge of the opening or the side of the protruding ridge, and a third sealing surface is formed at a side of the third sealing portion towards the side edge of the opening or the side of the protruding ridge (Claim 5 analysis); Claim 10: The top cover further comprises: a light-transmitting panel provided at a second side of the first housing, and matched hermetically with the second side of the first housing (it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention been to employ suitable lighting means for observing components contained within the cover assembly); Claim 11: A side edge of the second side of the first housing is formed with a raised edge surrounding a periphery of the light-transmitting panel, and a height of the raised edge is the same as a thickness of the light-transmitting panel, wherein a side of the raised edge towards the center of the first housing is formed with a round of grooves, and the grooves are configured to receive colloid for bonding the light-transmitting panel to the first housing (claim 5 analysis); and Claim 13: A water softening device, comprising a machine body and a top cover assembly of claim 1, wherein the machine body is connected to a first frame body (it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the cover assembly in any suitable environment).
Conclusion
Examiner recommends that Applicant carefully review each identified reference and all objections/rejections before responding to this office action to properly advance the case in light of the pertinent objections/rejections and the prior art. With respect to the patentability analysis, Examiner has attempted to claim map to one or more of the most suitable structures or portions of a reference. However, with respect to all OAs, Examiner notes that citations to specific pages, columns, paragraphs, lines, figures or reference numerals, in any prior art or evidentiary reference, and any interpretation of such references, should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably disclosed and/or suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. The use of publications and patents as references is not limited to what one or more applicant/inventor/patentee describes as their own inventions or to the problems with which they are concerned. They are part of the literature of the art, relevant for all they contain. MPEP §2123.
Examiner further recommends that for any substantive claim amendments made in response to this Office Action, or to otherwise advance prosecution, or for any remarks concerning support for added subject matter or claim priority, that Applicant include either a pinpoint citation to the original Specification (i.e. page and/or paragraph and/or line number and/or figure number) to indicate where Applicant is drawing support for such amendment or remarks, or a clear explanation indicating why the particular limitation is implicit or inherent to the original disclosure.
Electronic Inquiries
Any inquiry concerning this communication or an earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Hayden Brewster whose telephone number is (571) 270-1065. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9 AM - 4 PM.
Alternatively, to contact the examiner, Applicant may send a communication, via e-mail or fax. Examiner’s direct fax number is: (571) 270-2065. Examiner's official e-mail address is: "Hayden.Brewster@uspto.gov." However, since e-mail communication may not be secure, Examiner will not respond to a substantive e-mail unless Applicant’s communication is in accordance with the provisions of MPEP §502.03 & related sections that discuss the required Authorization for Internet Communication (AIC). Nonetheless, all substantive communications will be made of record in Applicant’s file.
To facilitate the Internet communication authorization process, Applicant may file an appropriate letter, or may complete the USPTO SB439 fillable form available at https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf, preferably in advance of any substantive e-mail communication. Since one may use an electronic signature with this particular form, Applicant is encouraged to file this form via the Office’s system for electronic filing of patent correspondence (i.e., the electronic filing system (Patent Center)). Otherwise, a handwritten signature is required. In addition to Patent Center, Applicant can submit their Internet authorization request via US Postal Service, USPTO Customer Service Window, or Central Fax. Examiner can also provide a one-time oral authorization, but this will only apply to video conferencing. It is improper to request Internet Authorization via e-mail.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and via 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) form available at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice, or Applicant may call Examiner, if preferable. Applicant can access a general list of patent application forms at either https://www.uspto.gov/patent/forms/forms-patent-applications-filed-or-after-september-16-2012 (applications filed on or after September 16, 2012) or https://www.uspto.gov/patent/forms/forms (applications filed before September 16, 2012). Note that the language in an AIR form is not a substitute for the requirements of an AIC, where appropriate. The mere filing of an Applicant Initiated Interview Request Form (PTOL-413A) or a Letter Requesting Interview with Examiner, in EFS-Web, may not apprise Examiner of such a request in a timely manner.
If attempts to reach the Examiner are unsuccessful, Applicant may reach Examiner’s supervisor, Bobby Ramdhanie at 571-270-3240. The central 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.
/HAYDEN BREWSTER/Examiner, AU 1779
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