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 § 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 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 1, and 12-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tipton (US 10,029,561). Tipton discloses a tank (10) for liquids comprising side walls, a bottom wall and a suction system (100) arranged at said bottom wall inside the tank, the suction system comprising: - a permeable layer having perimetral edges fixed to said bottom wall thereby forming a volume between said permeable layer and said bottom wall body placed inside said volume, (Tipton discloses a permeable layer(100) supported by the wire mesh (120) to form a volume.)
the suction body (140) comprising a plurality of suction ducts/port formed therein, (Tipton does not discloses that each one having a terminal engaging a respective suction tube projecting from the suction body through said volume, however, the prior art does not expressly teach applicants' extended tube, these limitation is are because the mere change in size/length has been held to be within the bounds of ordinary experimentation in all arts and therefore establishes a prima facie case of obviousness.)
the suction body (140) further comprising a central suction duct collecting all the ducts of said plurality of suction ducts, and forming a central port (142) connected to a flexible pipe (210) extending outside the tank to a suction terminal.
Regarding claim 12, the claimed particular material for the connection between the perimetral edges of the permeable layer and the bottom wall by a gasket made of a synthetic material or an NBR mixture of vulcanized rubber is considered a matter of the design choice to a known material for its known function.
Regarding claim 13, the claimed particular connection between the perimetral edges of the permeable layer and the bottom wall by waterproof sealed zip is considered a matter of the design choice to a known material for its known function.
Regarding claim 14, the claimed particular connection of the central port forms a threaded terminal cooperating with a locking element placed outside the volume, the permeable layer being placed between the threaded terminal and the locking element, the locking element being disc-shaped (See Fig. 10, Col. 9, lines 29-38).
Regarding claim 15, Tipton discloses the provision of a gasket/seal is provided between the permeable layer and the locking element (Col. 9, lines 29-38).
Regarding claim 16, the claimed particular allocation of ducts which extends diagonally to corners of the bottom wall is considered a matter of the design choice for the purpose of sucking the vest area.
Regarding claim 17, the selection of the particular material for the permeable layer such as a fabric having a predetermined established permeability to a liquid to be aspirated is considered a matter of the design choice to a known material for its known function.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed August 12, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. See the detailed explanation of the rejection supra.
Regarding the meaning of the suction body, Tipton shows a suction body (140) within the volume (120) with the openings (146).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 JOHN KWON whose telephone number is (571)272-4846. The examiner can normally be reached M-F; 9A-5P. EST.
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/JOHN KWON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747 October 18, 2025