DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is responsive to application number 18/701,849 - FLUSH SWITCH FOR AIRCRAFT LAVATORY UNIT, filed on 4/16/24. Claims 7-17 are pending.
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
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.
Claim(s) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Toto, Ltd (JP H04 85631 U) in view of Snyder et al. (US Pub. 2017/0362808).
Regarding Claim 7 Toto shows a flush switch (Fig. 3) for a lavatory unit provided at a wall portion (B, D; Fig. 4), the flush switch comprising: a first flush switch of a contact type (at 5) configured to be actuated by a push button (5); and a second flush switch of a non-contact type comprising a human body sensor (4); the first flush switch and the second flush switch being attached to a single base member (15) and covered with a single cover (12). But Toto fails to show the lavatory unit is provided on a wall of a lavatory of an aircraft. However, Snyder shows an aircraft toilet in which the flush switches are located on a wall of the lavatory (¶ [0053]). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Toto to include using the contact and sensor flush switch on the lavatory wall of an aircraft lavatory for the purpose of using another known method for actuating a flush in an aircraft toilet and lavatory as shown by Snyder.
Regarding Claim 8 Toto shows the flush switch for an aircraft lavatory unit according to claim 7, Toto shows the first flush switch to be provided around a half portion vertically and the second flush switch is provided around a remaining half portion of the base member vertically, but fails to show wherein the first flush switch is provided around a half portion of the base member in a horizontal direction, and the second flush switch is provided around a remaining half portion of the base member (Fig. 3). However, this is a design consideration within the level of ordinary skill in the art as a mere rearrangement of parts or rotation of the device would lend predictable results and the claimed orientation. The instant specification does not show the orientation to be critical. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to orientate the flush switch horizontally or vertically as desired.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-17 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Gurvich (US Pub. 2021/0388217) shows an aircraft lavatory with a switch; https://www.tap-sensor.com/products/automatic-toilet-flusher/keg-gb-8300adm.html dated 10/5/22 shows an automatic toilet flushing wall device with both a press button and a sensor.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTINE J SKUBINNA whose telephone number is (571)270-5163. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Thursday, 9:30 AM to 6PM EST.
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/CHRISTINE J SKUBINNA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754 9/10/2025
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