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
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.
Claims 1-4, 7-11, and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Evans et al. (US 20210085436 A1; hereinafter “Evans”).
Regarding claim 1, Evans discloses an oral health device (100; Fig. 1D), comprising:
an oral insert (180; Fig. 1D) including a plurality of manifolds for conveying fluid to orifices in the oral insert (“The oral insert (180) may also comprise one or more fluid manifolds, which may be a series of branched and/or networked internal fluid channels that distribute the fluid from the handle to the individual fluid nozzles. The fluid manifolds may terminate at a series of manifold openings in a manifold connector port (194) of the oral insert”, see [0105]); and
a fluid delivery system (1200; Fig. 12A) including a manifold disc (1206; Fig. 12A) and a manifold selector disc (1214; Fig. 12A) to selectively deliver pressurized fluid to a manifold selected from the plurality of manifolds (“The flat plate (1214) may have one or more fluid slots or apertures (not shown) that aligns with different fluid manifold openings as the flat plate is rotated by the motor ... The fluid (which may be pressurized) may be provided to the fluid switcher assembly via a fluid line (1215)”, see [0160]).
Regarding claim 2, Evans discloses the invention as set forth in claim 1, wherein the fluid delivery system (1200) further includes an axial seal (1204, see Fig. 12A).
Regarding claim 3, Evans discloses the invention as set forth in claim 1, wherein the fluid delivery system (1200) includes a fluid reservoir (fluid reservoir 103, see Fig. 1D; fluid line 1215 connects to fluid reservoir that is not shown in Fig. 12A; “The fluid (which may be pressurized) may be provided to the fluid switcher assembly via a fluid line (1215)”, where fluid (which may be pressurized) is from the fluid reservoir, see [0158] and [0160]) and a handle (1201; Fig. 12A), wherein the fluid reservoir (103) includes the fluid and is coupled to the handle (“The base station may also comprise a fluid pump in communication with the fluid reservoir and a handle dock. The handle may comprise a fluid regulator in fluid communication with the fluid pump, and the fluid regulator may be configured to deliver and/or distribute pressurized fluid to the fluid manifolds in the oral insert. For example, the fluid regulator may comprise a fluid switcher assembly…”, see [0093], where 103 is connected to handle 1201 via one or more fluid tubes, see [0103] and Fig. 1D), wherein the handle includes the manifold disc and the manifold selector disc (handle 1201 includes 1206 and 1214, see Fig. 12A).
Regarding claim 4, Evans discloses the invention as set forth in claim 1, wherein the fluid delivery system includes a bias mechanism (spring 1714, where spring 1714 securely engages the oral insert 108 with the handle 1201 and provides a water-tight engagement between the fluid switcher assembly 1200 and the manifold connector 1202 of the oral insert 108, see [0156]; Fig. 17) that applies a force to the manifold selector disc (“the fluid switcher assembly may comprise a spring (1714) that is located about a shaft of the rotor (1712). In the variation of FIG. 17, the rotor is a flat plate rotor attached to a vertical shaft. The spring (1714) may be disposed between the flat plate of the rotor and a rotatable bearing (not shown) that allows the spring (1714) to rotate with the rotor. When the oral insert is engaged with the handle, the manifold connector pushes against and compresses the spring (1714), i.e., with a downward force. The spring exerts an opposite force, i.e., an upward force,”, see [0156]).
Regarding claim 7, Evans discloses the invention as set forth in claim 1, wherein the manifold disc includes a first plurality of holes (manifold block 1300 has a first plurality of openings 1301, see Fig. 13A; where "FIGS. 13A-13G depict variations of a manifold connector and a rotor comprising a flat plate mounted on a shaft that may be rotated by a motor, which may be used with any of the fluid switcher assemblies described herein. It should be understood that while these examples depict the interaction between a manifold connector of an oral insert and a rotor of a fluid switcher assembly, similar structures and interactions may also apply to the interface between a manifold block of the handle and a rotor of the fluid switcher assembly”, see [0162]).
Regarding claim 8, Evans discloses the invention as set forth in claim 7, wherein each hole of the first plurality of holes corresponds to one of the manifolds (“The manifold connector (1300) [or manifold block] may comprise at least one manifold opening (1301) per manifold. In these examples, the oral insert may have eight fluid manifolds that terminate at eight fluid openings in the manifold connector (1300) [or manifold block]”, see [0165]).
Regarding claim 9, Evans discloses the invention as set forth in claim 8, wherein the manifold selector disc includes an opening (flat plate 1304 has one or more fluid apertures 1308, see Fig. 13B).
Regarding claim 10, Evans discloses the invention as set forth in claim 9, wherein the opening (1308) has a shape that exposes one of the first plurality of holes and covers remaining holes of the first plurality of holes during a cleaning phase (see Fig. 13B; “As the flat plate rotor is rotated by a motor (not shown), the fluid aperture (1308) aligns with a subset of the manifold openings of the manifold connector (1300), allowing fluid to flow into those manifolds but not others”, see [0164]).
Regarding claim 11, Evans discloses the invention as set forth in claim 9, wherein the opening has a shape that exposes a first portion of a first hole of the first plurality of holes and a second portion of a second hole of the first plurality of holes during a transition phase (“a fluid aperture may be sized and shaped such that as it transitions from alignment with a first manifold opening to a second manifold opening, it maintains a fluid connection between either or both the first and second manifold openings, i.e., it “makes” a fluid connection with the second manifold opening before it “breaks” its connection with the first manifold opening”, see [0164]).
Regarding claim 13, Evans discloses the invention as set forth in claim 1, wherein the manifold selector disc includes an opening and a cutout portion (manifold block 1400 includes a first opening 1406a and a second opening 1406b, see Fig. 14G, where the rotatable flat plate 1214 can have this configuration, see [0166]).
Regarding claim 14, Evans discloses the invention as set forth in claim 13, wherein a first volume of the opening is substantially equal to a second volume of the cutout portion (“The radial force generated by the first aperture (1406a) aligning with a first manifold opening and the radial force generated by the second aperture (1406b) aligning with a second manifold opening may cancel each other out”, hence a first volume of 1406a and a second volume of 1406b are substantially equal; see Fig. 14B, where 1406a and 1406b are substantially the same size and shape).
Regarding claim 15, Evans discloses the invention as set forth in claim 13, wherein the opening is located diametrically opposite to the cutout portion (see orientation of 1406a with respect to 1406b in Fig. 14G).
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.
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Evans (US 20210085436 A1) in view of Sappenfield (US 20110290052 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Evans discloses the invention as set forth in claim 1, but is silent to a low friction material is located between the manifold disc and the manifold selector disc.
However, Sappenfield teaches rotary mechanisms (Abstract) having a low friction material arranged between a first disc and a second disc (support component 917 has friction reducing materials 919 for reducing friction as adjacent rotational component 902 rotates and/or rotational component 902 including friction reducing material 920 between itself and another rotational component, see [0269]-[0271]; Figs. 9A-9L).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the Evans device to include a low friction material (Sappenfield 919 and/or 920) located between the manifold disc (Evans manifold block 1206) and the manifold selector disc (Evans flat plate 1214), as taught by Sappenfield above, to reduce friction between relatively rotating components (Sappenfield [0270]-[0271]) and prevent wear of said components.
Regarding claim 6, Evans as modified teaches the invention as set forth in claim 5, wherein the low friction material is held in place using one or more anti-rotation keys (see Annotated Sappenfield Fig. 9C below, where roller balls 920 are held in place by retainers; Examiner’s Note: Interpreting “one or more anti-rotation keys” as – one or more components holding the low friction material in place to prevent misalignment of the low friction material with the manifold disc – based on [0045] of Applicant’s specification).
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Annotated Sappenfield Fig. 9C
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Evans (US 20210085436 A1) in view of Zhang et al. (US 20220079708 A1; hereinafter “Zhang”).
Regarding claim 12, Evans discloses the invention as set forth in claim 1, but is silent to a low friction material is located between the manifold disc and the manifold selector disc.
However, Zhang teaches an oral health device (Abstract; Fig. 1) with a first transmission member (122; Figs. 3-4) which rotates within and with respect to a mating cavity (133; Figs. 4-5; [0065]-[0066]), where a surface of the first transmission member is smoothed to reduce friction between said first transmission member and a corresponding surface of the mating cavity (Fig. 4; [0084]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the Evans device to include a smoothed surface of at least one of the manifold disc and the manifold selector to reduce friction between relatively rotating components (Zhang [0084]) and prevent wear of said components.
It immediately follows, as a result of the above modification of Evans, that the smoothed surface between the manifold disc and the manifold selector disc would have a second plurality of holes equal to a first number of the first plurality of holes on the manifold disc, as the smoothed surface may be a smoothed surface of the manifold disc and thus, will have an equal number of openings.
Claims 16-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Evans (US 20210085436 A1) in view of Jelovac et al. (US 20160023235 A1; hereinafter “Jelovac”).
Regarding claim 16, Evans discloses the invention as set forth in claim 1. Evans further discloses the fluid delivery system (1200) has a motor (1208; Fig. 12A) and a gearbox (1210; Fig. 12A) connected to a rotor (1212; Fig. 12A) with a shaft (1213; Fig. 12A), where a second end of the shaft connects to the manifold selector plate (1214; see Fig. 12A), such that the motor and gearbox drive the rotation of the shaft to rotate the flat plate ([0160]-[0161]), but fails to explicitly disclose a planetary gear carrier coupled to the manifold selector disc.
However, Jelovac teaches a dental device (Abstract) with a planetary gear drive (10; Fig. 2) including a sun wheel (11; Fig. 2), planet gears (12a, 12b, 12c; Fig. 3) arranged on a planet gear carrier (13, see Fig. 3; [0009]), and a drive shaft (20; Figs. 2-3; [0032]). Jelovac further teaches the sun wheel (11) is coupled to a motor ([0025]) to drive the rotation of the sun gear which results in the rotation of the planet gears and the drive shaft ([0006]; [0028]; [0034]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the gearbox Evans device with the planetary gear assembly, as taught above by Jelovac, as it would be well-understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that replacement of the gearbox of the Evans device with the planetary gear assembly of Jelovac would obtain the predictable result of driving the rotation of the shaft (Evans 1213) (see MPEP 2143.I.B).
Regarding claim 17, Evans as modified teaches the invention as set forth in claim 16, wherein the planetary gear carrier (Jelovac 13) includes three planet gears (Jelovac 12a, 12b, and 12c, see Jelovac Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 18, Evans as modified teaches the invention as set forth in claim 16, wherein the planetary gear carrier (Jelovac 13) includes a sun gear (Jelovac 11) that is coupled to a motor via a motor shaft (Jelovac [0025] and [0034], where shaft is Evans 1213).
Regarding claim 19, Evans as modified teaches the invention as set forth in claim 18, wherein an O-ring seal (1224; Fig. 12B) is located on the motor shaft between the sun gear and the motor (“There may be one or more seals or gaskets (1224) disposed about the shaft (1233) to help prevent fluid from flowing into the motor and gearbox compartment”, see [0161]).
Regarding claim 20, Evans as modified teaches the invention as set forth in claim 16, but is silent to the planetary gear carrier (Jelovac 13) having a gear ratio of 7:1.
However, before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the gear ratio of the planet gear carrier in the modified Evans device because Applicant has not disclosed that a planetary gear carrier with a gear ratio of 7:1 provides an advantage, is used for a particular purpose, or solves a stated problem. Specifically, Applicant discloses “[t]he rate at which the manifold selector disc 602 rotates depends on the gear ratio associated with the planetary gear carrier and rotational speed of the motor. In one embodiment, the gear ratio is 7:1 or approximately 7:1,” (see [0051] of Applicant’s specification). One of ordinary skill in the art, furthermore, would have expected the planet gear assembly of the modified Evans device, and Applicant’s planetary gear assembly, to perform equally well because both mechanisms perform the same function of transmitting a driving force from a motor to a shaft to rotate the shaft. Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to further modify the Evans device, as modified by Jelovac above, to obtain the invention as specified in claim 20 because such a modification is considered to be well within the skill level of the ordinary artisan in order to achieve the desired gear ratio of the planetary gear carrier and thus fails to patentably distinguish over the prior art of Evans as modified.
Regarding claim 21, Evans as modified teaches the invention as set forth in claim 16, wherein the planetary gear carrier (Jelovac 13) causes the manifold selector disc to rotate counterclockwise (Jelovac [0032], where planet gear carrier 13 drives Evans shaft 1213 to rotate in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, where the rotation of Evans shaft 1213 causes Evans flat plate 1214 to rotate in the same direction; see Evans Fig. 12A; Evans [0160]).
Regarding claim 22, Evans as modified teaches the invention as set forth in claim 16, wherein the planetary gear carrier (Jelovac 13) causes the manifold selector disc to rotate clockwise (Jelovac [0032], where planet gear carrier 13 drives Evans shaft 1213 to rotate in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, where the rotation of Evans shaft 1213 causes Evans flat plate 1214 to rotate in the same direction; see Evans Fig. 12A; Evans [0160]).
Regarding claim 23, Evans as modified teaches the invention as set forth in claim 16, wherein the planetary gear carrier (Jelovac 13) is coupled to a point contact bearing (Jelovac [0009] and [0028]).
Regarding claim 24, Evans as modified teaches the invention as set forth in claim 16, wherein the planetary gear carrier (Jelovac 13) includes a stub shaft (Evans 1213; Fig. 12A).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 25-26 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 25, Evans et al. (US 20210085436 A1), the closest prior art of record, discloses a gearbox (1210; Fig. 12A) operatively connected to a motor (1208; Fig. 12A) and a shaft (1213; Fig. 12A), but fails to disclose a planetary carrier.
However, Jelovac et al. (US 20160023235 A1), the second closest prior art of record, teaches a dental device (Abstract) with a planetary gear drive (10; Fig. 2) including a sun wheel (11; Fig. 2), planet gears (12a, 12b, 12c; Fig. 3) arranged on a planet gear carrier (13, see Fig. 3; [0009]), and a drive shaft (20; Figs. 2-3; [0032]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the gearbox Evans device with the planetary gear assembly, as taught above by Jelovac, as it would be well-understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that replacement of the gearbox of the Evans device with the planetary gear assembly of Jelovac would obtain the predictable result of driving the rotation of the shaft (Evans 1213) (see MPEP 2143.I.B).
Evans, as modified by Jelovac above, teaches a planetary gear carrier (Jelovac 13) with a stub shaft (Evans 1213). However, Evans as modified by Jelovac fails to teach, render obvious, or suggest the stub shaft is asymmetrical, in addition to other limitations.
Claim 26 depends from claim 25, and thus is found to contain allowable subject matter by virtue of its dependency.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Wagner et al. (US 20180168785 A1): Regarding a handle of an oral irrigator with components that rotate relative to one another being made of a material, or including a material, to reduce friction between said components.
Johnson & Fiers (CN 112569014 A): Regarding an electric toothbrush with a friction reducing component arranged between components rotating relative to one another.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABIGAYLE DALE whose telephone number is (571)272-1080. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brandy Lee can be reached at (571) 270-7410. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ABIGAYLE DALE/Examiner, Art Unit 3785
/MARGARET M LUARCA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3785
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