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 .
Preliminary amendments are acknowledged. Claims 1-12 and 14-17 are pending.
Claim Objections
Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities: It appears a noun is missing after “an electrical resistance” in lines 2-3. Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1, 2, 4-6, 10, 12, and 14-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Taylor et al. (US 2023/0255188) in view of Perez et al. (WO 2019/243734).
With regards to claim 1, Taylor et al. teaches a diffusing apparatus (abstract; fig 1 and 2A) for dispersing into the air in the vapor state a substance in liquid or solid state at room temperature (abstract), the diffusing apparatus including: a receptacle (duct section 108 that receives the cartridge 200; fig 2A, 4 and 6); a storage container (reservoir 204) for containing the liquid substance and including an orifice (opening at 208 for receiving the wick 206) (para [0124]; fig 4), the container being received in the receptacle (fig 2a and 6); a dispensing member (wick 206) positioned at the outlet of the drain orifice and connected to the drain orifice, the dispensing member comprising a porous body (body of wick) having an evaporation surface (surface of wick) situated in the receptacle and being situated beyond the drain orifice (fig 4 and 6; para [0037]); a heating member (wick heater 211) arranged on or in the porous body (wick 206) so as to control a flow of the substance through the porous body (abstract; fig 4; para [0035]); an aeration system comprising an air intake (inlet 109), at least one fan (inlet fan 110) and at least one air outlet (outlet 221), the aeration system being configured to create a flow of air from the air intake to said at least one air outlet and sweeping the evaporation surface in an upward direction of the diffusing apparatus opposite the downward direction (flow arrows in fig 6), the diffusing apparatus arranged so that the downward direction is toward the bottom and the upward direction is toward the top relative to the acceleration due to gravity (abstract fig 2a and 6).
Taylor et al. teaches the storage container and dispensing member being oriented vertically instead of downward as claimed. Taylor further does not teach wherein the substance is a liquid substance that has a viscosity variable as a function of temperature, said viscosity being such that in the position of use the substance cannot flow through the porous body at any ambient temperature below a first temperature, the first temperature being above 0°C, and the substance flows through the porous body (70) at a second temperature above the first temperature.
Perez et al. teaches a diffuser for emitting a liquid as a vapor (abstract). Perez teaches a porous body (wick 8), a reservoir (storage container 106), and a porous body heater (heater 132) (fig 4). The devices uses the heater to selectively warm the fluid to change its viscosity for dispensing (at least claim 27). This setup allows dispensing the liquid substance with high precision and without loss of substance (background/summary). The temperatures used are above 0C (claims).
A person having ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to have used an upside down wick and reservoir with a heater where the liquid has a viscosity change on temperature as taught by Perez in order to dispense the substance with precision and without loss of substance.
The combination results in the claimed wick and reservoir orientation. The combination also results in Taylor further does not teach wherein the substance is a liquid substance that has a viscosity variable as a function of temperature, said viscosity being such that in the position of use the substance cannot flow through the porous body at any ambient temperature below a first temperature, the first temperature being above 0°C, and the substance flows through the porous body (70) at a second temperature above the first temperature.
With regards to claim 2, the receptacle discharges into the open air via an opening (opening at top) oriented in the upward direction of the diffusing apparatus, the opening forming the air outlet or one of said air outlets of the aeration system (fig 6).
With regards to claim 4, the fan (110) is beyond the porous body in the downward direction of the diffusing apparatus (shown below) (fig 2a).
With regards to claim 5, the air intake (109) is beyond the porous body in the downward direction of the diffusing apparatus (shown below in fig 2a).
With regards to claim 6, the aeration system further includes an air guide member (main body 201), the air guide member including at least one through-hole (plurality of inlets 202) facing the evaporation surface (fig 3 and 6; air is guided through the through holes and across the wick surface).
With regards to claim 10, Taylor teaches a control device configured to control the heating member as a function of a setpoint temperature in the porous body (para [0075]).
With regards to claim 12, the control device is further configured to control an operating speed of the fan (para [0083]).
With regards to claims 14 and 15, the system is used to dispense a variety of liquid substances as vapors including many of those claimed (para [0097]-[0104]).
With regards to claim 16, the combination teaches the method of using the device of claim 1 as claimed.
With regards to claim 17, the device is taught for use in closed environments (at least para [0097]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 7-9, and 11 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:
The closest prior art is Taylor et al. (US 2023/0255188) and Perez et al. (WO2019/243734) as discussed above. It is first noted that Perez et al. cannot be used as the primary reference for claim 1. Perez is a very similar device except that the airflow is reversed (top down instead of upwards as claimed). Perez clearly teaches that the device is designed for sending treated air out downwards (mounted on a pole 112 1.5m above the ground; fig 3, 4). Reversing the airflow would change the function of the device and would not be obvious absent hindsight.
With regards to claim 3, Taylor teaches the opposite arrangement where the flow path converges to accelerate the flow (item 219; para [0128]). A person having ordinary skill in the art would not have found it obvious to make the flow path diverge as claimed as this would lose the benefits of the acceleration that Taylor teaches.
With regards to claims 7 and 8, Taylor specifically teaches a space between the heater and the wick (para [0125]). There is no motivation to remove this space as then the flow would not run along the wick and out the device as taught.
Claims 9 and 11 depend from claim 7 and are indicated for at least the same reasons.
The prior art as a whole does not teach the claimed invention within the claim environment.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DONALD R SPAMER whose telephone number is (571)272-3197. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday from 9-5.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Marcheschi can be reached at (571)272-1374. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DONALD R SPAMER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1799
Prosecution Insights