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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-9 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-8 of U.S. Patent No. 12035857 in view of Enguyen (CN 211066435).
Regarding claim 1, ‘857 teaches of (claim 1) an extraction cleaner comprising:
a cleaner body including a pump and a suction motor;
a supply tank configured to be removably coupled to the cleaner body, the supply tank including a relatively basic first aqueous based cleaning solution;
the additive tank including a relatively acidic second aqueous based oxidizing solution;
a recovery tank configured to be removably coupled to the cleaner body; and
a cleaning tool configured to be fluidly coupled to the supply tank, the additive tank, and the recovery tank; and
wherein the first aqueous based cleaning solution and second aqueous based oxidizing solution are mixed prior to application to a surface to be cleaned to form an aqueous based cleaning composition comprising water, peroxygen compound at a molar concentration of 5.0 x 10-2 to 2.1 x 10-1, metal chelating agent at a molar concentration of 1.70 x 10-3 to 5.2 x 10-3, carbonate anion (CO32-) at a molar concentration of 1 x 10-2 to 5.0 x 10-2, free-radical scavenger at a molar concentration of 2.0 x 10-3 to 1.1 x 10-1 and wherein the composition has a pH of 9.0 to 10.0.
‘857 does not appear to teach of a flexible hose including a fluid delivery pathway fluidly coupled to the pump and a recovery pathway fluidly coupled to the suction motor;
a supply tank being configured to be fluidly coupled to the fluid delivery pathway;
an additive tank configured to be fluidly coupled to the fluid delivery pathway;
a recovery tank configured to be fluidly coupled to the recovery pathway.
Enguyen teaches of (fig. 4) a flexible hose (conduit 143, hose conduit 161) including a fluid delivery pathway fluidly coupled to the pump (fig. 1, pump 40) (fig. 1, p.8-9, pathway seen from pump 40 to the flexible hose 143 in the fluid dispenser 38. Any pumps may form part of the conduit 143) and a recovery pathway fluidly coupled to the suction motor (fig. 1, suction source 18) (fig. 1, p. 8-9, pathway from suction motor 18 to the flexible hose 143 in the fluid dispenser 38);
a supply tank (fluid container 34) being configured to be fluidly coupled to the fluid delivery pathway (seen in fig. 1);
an additive tank (additional container 52) configured to be fluidly coupled to the fluid delivery pathway (seen in fig. 1);
a recovery tank (recovery tank 214) configured to be fluidly coupled to the recovery pathway (seen in fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified ‘857 to incorporate the teachings of Enguyen of a flexible hose including a fluid delivery pathway fluidly coupled to the pump and a recovery pathway fluidly coupled to the suction motor;
a supply tank being configured to be fluidly coupled to the fluid delivery pathway;
an additive tank configured to be fluidly coupled to the fluid delivery pathway;
a recovery tank configured to be fluidly coupled to the recovery pathway in order to use a flexible conduit for delivering the cleaning fluid from the fluid supply tank to the fluid dispenser to the surface as motivated by Enguyen on p. 2.
Regarding claim 2, ‘857 teaches of (claim 1) an aqueous based carpet or fabric cleaning composition, comprising water, peroxygen compound at a molar concentration of 5.0 x 10-2 to 2.1 x 10-1, metal chelating agent at a molar concentration of 1.70 x 10-3 to 5.2 x 10-3, carbonate anion (CO32-) at a molar concentration of 1 x 10-2 to 5.0 x 10-2, free-radical scavenger at a molar concentration of 2.0 x 10-3 to 1.1 x 10-1 and wherein the composition has a pH of 9.0 to 10.0.
Regarding claim 3, ‘857 teaches of claim 2, and wherein (claim 2) the peroxygen compound comprises hydrogen peroxide.
Regarding claim 4, ‘857 teaches of claim 2, and wherein (claim 3) the peroxygen compound comprises sodium peroxide or urea hydrogen peroxide.
Regarding claim 5, ‘857 teaches of claim 2, and wherein (claim 4) the peroxygen compound comprises an alkyl hydroperoxide or an aryl hydroperoxide.
Regarding claim 6, ‘857 teaches of claim 2, and wherein (claim 5) the free radical scavenger is selected from the group consisting of glycine, sarcosine, lysine, serine, glutamic acid, and mixtures thereof.
Regarding claim 7, ‘857 teaches of claim 2, and wherein (claim 6) the free radical scavenger is selected from the group consisting of 2-methoxyethylamine, glucosamine, morpholine, piperdine, ethylamine and 3-amino-1-propanol, and mixture thereof.
Regarding claim 8, ‘857 teaches of claim 2, and wherein (claim 7) the metal chelating agent has relatively higher binding affinity to transition metals than to calcium and magnesium divalent ions.
Regarding claim 9, ‘857 teaches of claim 2, and wherein (claim 8) the metal chelating agent comprises ethylenediamine-N,N’-disuccinic acid.
Claims 10-19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-8 of U.S. Patent No. 12035857 in view of Enguyen (CN 211066435) and Santiago et al. (US 7631386), hereinafter Santiago.
Regarding claim 10, ‘857 teaches of (claim 1) providing an aqueous based cleaning solution and an aqueous based oxidizing solution wherein the aqueous based cleaning solution is at a pH of > 7.0 (basic solutions have a pH > 7.0) and comprises water, metal chelating agent and a carbonate anion (CO32-) (aqueous based cleaning composition has water, a metal cleating agent, and carbonate anion) and
the aqueous based oxidizing solution is at a pH of < 7.0 (acidic solutions have a pH of < 7.0) and comprises water and a peroxygen compound (aqueous based cleaning composition has water and a peroxygen compound from the acidic solution);
a free-radical scavenger present in the aqueous based cleaning solution and/or the aqueous based oxidizing solution;
mixing and dispensing the aqueous based cleaning solution with the aqueous based oxidizing solution on a surface;
mixing and dispensing the aqueous based cleaning solution with the aqueous based oxidizing solution (the first aqueous based cleaning solution and second aqueous based oxidizing solution are mixed prior to application to a surface to be cleaned to form an aqueous based cleaning composition)
wherein the mixed composition is at a pH of 9.0 to 10.0 and comprises water, peroxygen compound at a molar concentration of 5.0 x 10-2 to 2.1 x 10-1, metal chelating agent at a molar concentration of 1.70 x 10-3 to 5.2 x 10-3, carbonate anion (CO32-) at a molar concentration of 1 x 10-2 to 5.0 x 10-2, free-radical scavenger at a molar concentration of 2.0 x 10-3 to 1.1 x 10-1 and wherein the composition has a pH of 9.0 to 10.0.
‘857 does not appear to teach of a method for cleaning carpet or fabric, a water soluble source of carbonate anion (CO32-), and mixing and dispensing the aqueous based cleaning solution with the aqueous based oxidizing solution on a carpet or fabric.
Enguyen teaches of a method for cleaning carpet or fabric (p. 1, suction cleaner is a well known cleaning apparatus for deep cleaning of the carpet and other fabric surfaces),
mixing and dispensing the aqueous based cleaning solution on a carpet or fabric (p. 2 and 6, dispensing aqueous based solutions of detergent on a carpet or fabric).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified ‘857 to incorporate the teachings of Enguyen of a method for cleaning carpet or fabric, mixing and dispensing the aqueous based cleaning solution with the aqueous based oxidizing solution on a carpet or fabric in order to use a solution for deep cleaning of carpets and other fabric surfaces as motivated by Enguyen on p. 2.
Santiago teaches of a water soluble source of carbonate anion (CO32-) (col. 8 lines 47-67, composition D has sodium carbonate, which is a water soluble source of carbonate anion).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified ‘847 to incorporate the teachings of Santiago of a water soluble source of carbonate anion (CO32-) in order to use a well-known cleaning agent that can be soluble in water for easy application and spread.
Regarding claim 11, ‘857 as modified teaches of claim 10, and wherein (claim 2) the peroxygen compound comprises hydrogen peroxide.
Regarding claim 12, ‘857 as modified teaches of claim 10, and wherein (claim 3) the peroxygen compound comprises sodium peroxide, urea hydrogen peroxide, or mixtures thereof.
Regarding claim 13, ‘857 as modified teaches of claim 10, and wherein (claim 4) the peroxygen compound comprises an alkyl hydroperoxide or an aryl hydroperoxide.
Regarding claim 14, ‘857 as modified teaches of claim 10, and wherein (claim 5) the free radical scavenger is selected from the group consisting of glycine, sarcosine, lysine, serine, glutamic acid, and mixtures thereof.
Regarding claim 15, ‘857 as modified teaches of claim 10, and wherein (claim 6) the free radical scavenger is selected from the group consisting of 2-methoxyethylamine, glucosamine, morpholine, piperdine, ethylamine and 3-amino-1-propanol, and mixture thereof.
Regarding claim 16, ‘857 as modified teaches of claim 10, and wherein (claim 7) the metal chelating agent has relatively higher binding affinity to transition metals than to calcium and magnesium divalent ions.
Regarding claim 17, ‘857 as modified teaches of claim 10, and wherein (claim 8) the metal chelating agent comprises ethylenediamine-N,N’-disuccinic acid.
Regarding claim 18, ‘857 as modified teaches of claim 10, and Santiago further teaches of wherein the water soluble source of carbonate anion comprises an alkali metal carbonate or alkali metal bicarbonate (col. 8 lines 47-67, composition D has sodium carbonate, which is an alkali metal carbonate).
Regarding claim 19, ‘857 as modified teaches of claim 10, and Santiago further teaches of wherein the source of carbonate anion is selected from the group consisting of sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate (col. 8 lines 47-67, composition D has sodium carbonate).
Conclusion
The cited references made of record in the contemporaneously filed PTO-892 form and not relied upon in the instant office action are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, and may have one or more of the elements in Applicant’s disclosure and at least claim 1.
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/ZOE TAM TRAN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3647
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