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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure.
A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art.
If the patent is of a basic nature, the entire technical disclosure may be new in the art, and the abstract should be directed to the entire disclosure. If the patent is in the nature of an improvement in an old apparatus, process, product, or composition, the abstract should include the technical disclosure of the improvement. The abstract should also mention by way of example any preferred modifications or alternatives.
Where applicable, the abstract should include the following: (1) if a machine or apparatus, its organization and operation; (2) if an article, its method of making; (3) if a chemical compound, its identity and use; (4) if a mixture, its ingredients; (5) if a process, the steps.
Extensive mechanical and design details of an apparatus should not be included in the abstract. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length.
See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts.
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the Abstract includes the legal phraseology “comprises”. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 10 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Budhiraja et al. U.S. Publication No. (20200069904A1).
With respect to claim 1, Budhiraja et al. a humidifier (100, figs.1-15) and [0132], comprising a water tank having a water storage cavity (120), and a water-absorbing and gas-permeable component (wick 131) and [0132]-[0134] arranged in the water storage cavity (120), wherein a part (131b) of the water-absorbing and gas-permeable component (131) is located below a water level of the water storage cavity (as shown in fig.15); and a gas chamber [0143, space or hollow region 131b ]-[0144] is defined inside the water-absorbing and gas- permeable component (wick, 131).
With respect to claim 2, Budhiraja et al. discloses the water tank is provided with a gas inlet tube (104, 136) and [0155]-[0157] and a gas outlet tube (105), a gas outlet end of the gas inlet tube is inserted into the gas chamber and is located above the water level of the water storage cavity (fig.5B) and [0155], and the gas outlet tube (105) is in communication with the water storage cavity outside the water-absorbing and gas-permeable component; the humidified gas exits the wick chamber via a grille-like structure that has multiple openings (as shown in figs.1A and 15) and [0155].
With respect to claim 3, Budhiraja et al. discloses the water-absorbing and gas-permeable component (wick, 131) comprises a hollow cylinder [0142]-[0144], an internal cavity (131a) of the cylinder is the gas chamber gas chamber [0143, space or hollow region 131b ]-[0144], and a top of the cylinder is provided with an opening for inserting the gas inlet tube (104, 136); and/or the humidifier comprises a supporting component (130) and [0132] and [0152]-[0155], which is arranged in the water storage cavity and used for supporting the water-absorbing and gas-permeable component (131).
With respect to claim 4, Budhiraja et al. discloses the supporting component (wick 130) and [0152]-[0155] is provided with a guiding part (134) and [0154] for guiding the supporting component (130) into the water storage cavity; and/or the supporting component (130) comprises a mounting frame (134) and a supporting frame (132, figs.6A-7A) connected above the mounting frame [supporting frame 132 is above mounting frame 134 as shown in fig.6B), the supporting component is mounted at a bottom of the water storage cavity via the mounting frame, and the water-absorbing and gas-permeable component is supported on the supporting frame (figs.6A-6B and 15).
With respect to claim 5, Budhiraja et al. discloses the mounting frame (134) is in a disk shape matching a circumferential profile of the water storage cavity (as shown in fig. 7A), the supporting frame (132) is in a cylindrical shape extending upward from the mounting frame (as shown in fig.7A), and a bottom of the cylinder is open and sleeved outside the supporting frame; the wick (130) is cylindrical and sleeved outside the supporting frame (132) and inside an exterior wall (133).
With respect to claim 10, Budhiraja et al. discloses a gas inlet end of the gas inlet tube (104) and a gas outlet end of the gas outlet tube (105) are located at a top of the water tank and are arranged opposite to each other [0156], and/or the water-absorbing and gas-permeable component is made of a fibrous material, cotton or absorbent paper [0169 wick material].
With respect to claim 12, Budhiraja et al. discloses a ventilation treatment apparatus, comprising the humidifier of claim 1 [0131].
Note: claims 1 and 11 are being rejected using another embodiment for the prior art drawn to Budhiraja et al.
Claim(s) 1 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Budhiraja et al. U.S. Publication No. (20200069904A1).
With respect to claim 1, Budhiraja et al. discloses humidifier (100, figs.16A-21) comprising a water tank having a water storage cavity (120), and a water-absorbing and gas-permeable component (130) arranged in the water storage cavity (120), wherein a part of the water-absorbing and gas-permeable component (130) is located below a water level of the water storage cavity (120, as shown in fig. 20); and a gas chamber [0143, space or hollow region 131b ]-[0144] and [0204, the wick chamber comprises a gas inlet, through which gas can enter the chamber and pass across the wick, and a gas outlet through which humidified gas can exit the wick chamber for delivery to a patient] is defined inside the water-absorbing and gas- permeable component (130).
With respect to claim 11, Budhiraja et al. discloses the water tank comprises a box body (123) with a top opening, a cover body (126) detachably covering the top opening, and a seal [0203] arranged between the cover body (126) and the box body (123).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-9 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.
Reasons for Allowance
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The prior art(s) fails to show or make obvious the claimed combinations of elements particularly the limitations as set forth in dependent claims 6-9 which recite features not taught or suggested by the prior art of record.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OPHELIA ALTHEA HAWTHORNE whose telephone number is (571)270-3860. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00 AM-5:00 PM, EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alireza Nia can be reached at 5712703076. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/OPHELIA A HAWTHORNE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3786
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