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 .
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 1-3, 6-7, 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yeung (2013/0198947).
Regarding claim 1, Yeung discloses a height adjustable bathtub comprising: a housing 200 extending from a first longitudinal end to a second longitudinal end and extending from a first lateral end to a second lateral end, the housing 200 having an interior wall defining a cavity therein; an expandable basin 300 positioned within the cavity and secured to the interior wall of the housing; and an extendable base 500a, 500b secured to a bottom surface of the housing 200 (Figs. 13, 14, 15a-15b, 16A, 16B).
Regarding claim 2, the expandable basin 300 (Fig. 4) comprises a perimeter wall and a floor 110, the perimeter wall comprising: an upper wall portion 221 secured to the interior wall of the housing; a bottom wall portion 120 integrally formed with the floor 110; and a flexible intermediate wall portion secured to the upper wall portion and the bottom wall portion 110 (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 3, the height adjustable bathtub further comprising a drainage hole 111 in the floor of the expandable basin and a removable plug 112 positioned in the drainage hole 111.
Regarding claim 6, the extendable base 500a comprises at least one extendable leg 510 (Fig. 15a).
Regarding claim 7, the at least one extendable leg 510 is configured to pivot about a connection point 540 on the bottom surface of the housing 200 such that the at least one extendable leg 510 is movable between an active position (Fig. 13) and a storage position (14).
Regarding claim 9, the height adjustable bathtub further comprises an opening (where member 216 is located, in Figs. 1, 5) in the housing 200 positioned between the interior wall and the first longitudinal end.
Regarding claim 10, the height adjustable bathtub further comprises a pocket 216 positioned within the opening and secured to the housing 200.
Regarding claim 13, Yeung discloses an expandable washbasin 300 (Figs. 2 and 3) comprising: a floor 110 and; a perimeter wall comprising: a first end wall portion 221; a second end wall portion 120; and an expandable intermediate wall portion (300 with creases 301) positioned between and secured to the first end wall portion221 and the second end wall portion 120.
Regarding claim 14, the expandable washbasin further comprising a drainage hole 111 in the floor and a removable plug 112 positioned in the drainage hole 111.
Regarding claim 15, the expandable intermediate wall portion 300 is formed of a flexible material (paragraph [0045]).
Regarding claim 16, the second end wall portion 120 is integrally formed with the floor 110.
Regarding claim 17, the perimeter wall 211 is positioned within a cavity of a housing 200 and the first end wall portion 221 is secured to an interior wall of the housing 200 defining the cavity.
Regarding claim 18, the expandable washbasin further comprises an extendable base 500a secured to a bottom surface of the housing 200.
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.
Claims 4-5 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yeung (2013/0198947) in view of Kilion (7,032,259).
Regarding claims 4-5 and 8, Yeung (2013/0198947) does not specifically disclose the extendable base 500a comprises an inner member that slidingly engages an outer member, the inner member configured to lock at a plurality of positions within the outer member. Attention is directed to Kilion which teaches a height adjustable bathtub comprising extendable base 51 comprises an inner member 55 that slidingly engages an outer member 50, the inner member 55 having a locking pin 56 configured to lock at a plurality of positions within the outer member 50. It would have been obvious to one of skill in the art to modify the extendable base of Yeung in view of the teaching Kilion to have an inner member that slidingly engages an outer member, the inner member having a locking pin to lock at a plurality of positions within the outer member as at a desired height or length.
Claims 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yeung (2013/0198947) in view of Kilion (7,032,259) and further in view of Sundberg et al. (6,507,959).
Yeung does not disclose a handlebar having a first end attached to the first lateral end of the housing and a second end attached to the second lateral end of the housing. Attention is directed to Sundberg et al. which teaches a bathtub comprising handlebar 42 (Figs. 3, 6, 13, 14) having a first end attached to the first lateral end of a housing 21 and a second end attached to the second lateral end of the housing 21, each end having a clip to snap-fit over a perimeter lip of the housing 21. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of skill in the art to modify Yeung bathtub in view of the teaching of Sundberg et al. to include a handle bar with a clip snap-fit over a perimeter lip of the housing to allow a child to hold on while bathing.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 26 is 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
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/HUYEN D LE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754