DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
Acknowledgements
This office action is in response to the application filed 5/29/2024.
Claims 20-39 are pending and have been examined.
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 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.
(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 20-21, 24-27, 29-33, 35-37 and 39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated Rupnow (US 2015/0033805 A1).
Re claim 20, Rupnow discloses a hydroxyl laundry chemical injection system (¶ [0013]) comprising:
a hydroxyl gas generator (¶ [0013] UV ozone/hydroxyl generator) configured to generate hydroxyl gas;
a flush manifold (ref. 7) configured to receive chemicals via one or more chemical supply lines and configured to receive water from a chemical water supply line;
a wash drum (ref. 1) configured to receive a mixture of only water and chemicals from the flush manifold via a chemical water inlet (ref. 4) during one or more wash cycles of a wash session;
a water fill line (ref. 4, 8) configured to introduce water into the wash drum;
a hydroxyl gas introducer (ref. 23) coupled to the water fill line and the hydroxyl gas generator, the hydroxyl gas introducer configured to receive water from the water fill line and hydroxyl gas from the hydroxyl gas generator to provide a mixture of hydroxyl gas and water to the wash drum via a water fill inlet (ref. 15);
wherein the hydroxyl gas is first introduced to the chemicals in the wash drum (see fig. 2 ref. 15 independent from ref. 4).
Re claim 21, further comprising one or more chemical containers coupled to the one or more chemical supply lines, wherein one of the one or more chemical containers contain detergent (ref. 9 ¶ [0034] detergent).
Re claim 24, wherein the one or more wash cycles include a detergent cycle, a bleach cycle, a rinse cycle, a spin cycle, or any combination thereof (¶ [0033] detergent, bleach, softener).
Re claims 25-27 , further comprising a valve coupling the flush manifold to the chemical water supply line, the valve being configured to control flow of water from the chemical water supply line (¶ [0034] valve (e.g. solenoid)). wherein when the valve is open, water from the chemical water supply line is introduced into the flush manifold (¶ [0034]). further comprising a controller communicatively coupled to the valve, the controller being configured to cause the valve to introduce water from the chemical water supply line into the flush manifold for a predetermined time during at least a portion of at least one of the one or more wash cycles (¶ [0018], [0045] controller).
Re claims 29-30¸ further comprising one or more chemical pumps (¶ [0034] ref. 5 chemical pump) configured to facilitate delivering the chemicals to the flush manifold via the chemical supply lines. wherein the controller is communicatively coupled to the one or more chemical pumps and configured to cause the one or more chemical pumps to deliver a predetermined volume of the chemicals into the flush manifold (¶ [0034]).
Re claim 31, wherein the hydroxyl gas generator is configured to be switched between and on state and off state, and wherein the wash receives the mixture of water and hydroxyl gas from the hydroxyl gas introducer when the hydroxyl gas generator is in the on state (¶ [0030], [0037] generator 3…may be switched on by a flow sensor).
Re claim 32-33, 35-37 and 39, Independent claim 32 defines over claim 20 rejected above only in the recitation “the wash drum configured to receive a mixture of water and chemicals from the flush manifold via a chemical water inlet during one or more wash cycles of a wash session and introduce the mixture of water and chemicals to the hydroxyl gas”. Rupnow further discloses the mixture at ref. 4 introduced to hydroxyl, see fig. 2, at ref. 23). Alternatively, when the mixture enters the drum it is also expected to be introduced to any hydroxyl introduced from the independent hydroxyl generator. Re claims 33, 35-37 and 39, These dependent claims recite limitations rejected over Rupnow above.
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.
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 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.
Claims 22-23, 28, 34 and 38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rupnow (US 2015/0033805 A1).
Re claims 22-23 and 34, Rupnow discloses as shown above. Regarding “wherein the hydroxyl gas generator is configured to generate hydroxyl gas with a concentration of hydroxyl radicals of at least 800 ppm / 900 PPM”, the mere routine optimization of a result effective variable, such as the hydroxyl radical concentration, is prima facie to one of ordinary skill in the art, where it is generally known the concentration of the hydroxyl radicals effects the level and speed of cleaning. See MPEP 2414.05 (II) Routine Optimization within Prior Art Conditions or Through Routine Experimentation. As such, at the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select a hydroxyl gas generator to generate hydroxyl gas with a concentration of at least 800 ppm / 900 ppm, in order to optimize cleaning efficiency.
Re claims 28 and 38¸Regarding “wherein the predetermined time [to introduce water] is between about 60 seconds and about 99 seconds”, Rupnow further discloses a fill time of 1-5 minute (¶ [0005]), and it further being a routine optimization of a result effective variable, where it is known the duration of fill effects wash time and thoroughness of chemical flushing of the manifold (¶ [0034]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 2012/0231549 A1 note hydroxyl radical sensor and concentrations for washing.
US 2012/0094887A1 note method for supply hydroxyl-radical containing water and concentrations.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-7299. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30am to 6:30pm.
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KEVIN G. LEE
Examiner
Art Unit 1711
/KEVIN G LEE/Examiner, Art Unit 1711
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