DETAILED ACTION
The communication dated 06/28/2024 has been entered and fully considered.
Claims 1-11 and 18-20 are currently pending. Claims 12-17 are cancelled.
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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the other component" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim KR20110006254 (henceforth referred to as Kim).
As to claim 1, (Original) Kim teaches an apparatus for cleaning a component, the apparatus comprising:
a cleaning fluid supply source (page 9 the boiler reads on the claimed cleaning fluid supply source);
a supply line for receiving cleaning fluid from the cleaning fluid supply source and connected with a first port of the component (FIG. 2 page 9 fluid inlet pipe 101 is connected to a first port of a component (inflow direction switching valve 209));
a discharge line connected with a second port of the component (FIG. 2 pipe 110 and drain port 208, which read on the claimed discharge line, is connected with a second port of the component (inflow direction switching valve 209)); and
a circulation line branched from the discharge line and connected with a third port of the component (See annotated Figure 2).
[AltContent: textbox (Circulation line branched from discharge line and connected with third port of inflow direction switching valve 209)]
[AltContent: arrow]
PNG
media_image1.png
368
456
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Examiner regards the operation of the claimed apparatus as intended use of the apparatus’ structure. The pipe layout as described would be capable of cleaning components. Apparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does. An apparatus claim may be unobvious even if it operates in the same way as the prior art, as long as there are structural differences. Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Bausch & Lomb Inc. 15 USPQ 2d 1525 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
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.
The factual inquiries 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 2-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim KR20110006254 (henceforth referred to as Kim) in view of Amamiya et al. JP2017200683 (henceforth referred to as Amamiya).
As to claim 2, (Original) Kim further teaches a supply valve installed in the supply line (FIG. 2 page 11 opening/closing valve 101a).
Kim differs from the instant claim in failing to teach a regulating valve unit provided for selectively regulating drainage from the discharge line to the outside and circulation to the circulation line.
Amamiya teaches an apparatus with a circulation line branched from the discharge line (FIG. 1). Amamiya teaches regulating valve unit provided for selectively regulating drainage from the discharge line to the outside and circulation to the circulation line (FIG. 1 paragraph [0024] a drain pipe 18 for discharging water outside the system is connected to the circulation pipe 19 via a three-way valve V2).
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 the apparatus as taught by Kim with a regulating valve unit as taught by Amamiya. It is known in the art to have a regulation valve to control the flow direction of a fluid to either discharge or to recirculate.
As to claim 3, (Original) Amamiya further teaches the regulating valve unit includes a three-way valve installed at a point where the circulation line is branched from the discharge line (FIG. 1 paragraph [0024] a drain pipe 18 for discharging water outside the system is connected to the circulation pipe 19 via a three-way valve V2).
As to claim 4, (Original) Kim further teaches a controller for controlling the supply valve and the regulating valve unit (page 6 a controller that logicizes the operation sequence linking the aforementioned pump, directional valve, and timer),
wherein the controller controls the supply valve and the regulating valve unit so that cleaning fluid supplied from the supply line passes sequentially through the first port, the second port, the discharge line, the circulation line, the third port, the second port, and the discharge line (FIGS. 2a-2b pages 10-12 fluid can be supplied through fluid inflow pipe 101. The valves 102a and 101a are closed so that the flow path is directed as shown in Figure 2a. When cleaning is finished, valve 207 is opened to discharge the dirty fluid mixed with scale and rust.).
Claims 5-6 and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim KR20110006254 (henceforth referred to as Kim) in view of Yoneda U.S. Patent 5,896,875 (henceforth referred to as Yoneda).
As to claim 5, (Original) Kim differs from the instant claim in failing to teach the cleaning fluid supply source includes: a cleaning solution supply unit that supplies a cleaning solution to the supply line; and a rinse solution supply unit that supplies a rinse solution to the supply line.
Yoneda teaches an apparatus that cleans (FIG. 1 column 7 line 18 an equipment for cleaning). Yoneda teaches a cleaning solution supply unit that supplies a cleaning solution to the supply line; and a rinse solution supply unit that supplies a rinse solution to the supply line (See following annotated Figure 1).
[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: roundedrect][AltContent: arrow]
PNG
media_image2.png
660
458
media_image2.png
Greyscale
[AltContent: textbox (Ultrapure water supply, which reads on the rinse solution)][AltContent: textbox (Any one of these lines read on the cleaning solution supply unit)]
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 the apparatus as taught by Kim with a cleaning and rinsing fluid as taught by Yoneda. It is known in the art to use cleaning solutions to address different types of contamination and then rinse a component to flush out spent cleaning solution.
As to claim 6, (Original) Yoneda teaches the cleaning solution supply unit includes: a first supply unit that supplies a rinse solution at a first temperature (column 10 line 63 ultrapure water is set at 40°C by the inline heater filter block 26); and a second supply unit that supplies a rinse solution at a second temperature lower than the first temperature (column 11 lines 7-8 inline heater block 26 is changed to 25°C).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as taught by Kim with a way to control the temperature as taught by Yoneda. It is known in the art to control temperature to change/enhance the cleaning effects of a fluid.
As to claim 10, (Original) Kim differs from the instant claim in failing to teach the supply line includes: a first line connected with a first port of the other component; and a second line connected with a second port of the other component, and the second line is connected with the first port of the component.
Yoneda teaches an apparatus that cleans (FIG. 1 column 7 line 18 an equipment for cleaning). Yoneda teaches the supply line includes: a first line connected with a first port of the other component (FIG. 1 filter blocks 21, 22, 23, 24, or 25 read on the claimed other component); and a second line connected with a second port of the other component, and the second line is connected with the first port of the component (FIG. 1 a line is coming out of filter blocks 21-25 and connects with a port of the three-way valve 33, which reads on the component).
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 the apparatus as taught by Kim with another component as taught by Yoneda. Adding another component with ports, would result in a more efficient cleaning process as the components are being cleaned in a series and would not need to be cleaned separately.
As to claim 11, (Original) Kim and Yoneda further teach the other component is a filter (Yoneda column 8 line 11 filter block 21, 22, 23, 24, or 25), and the component is a three-way valve (Kim page 9 inflow direction switching valve 209 or Yoneda column 8 line 46 three-way valve 33).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as taught by Kim with a filter as taught by Yoneda as it can filter out contaminants before it reaches the component.
Claims 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim KR20110006254 (henceforth referred to as Kim) and Yoneda U.S. Patent 5,896,875 (henceforth referred to as Yoneda) as applied to claim 5 above, in further view of Higuchi et al. U.S. Publication 2017/0014873 (henceforth referred to as Higuchi).
As to claim 7, (Original) Kim and Yoneda differ from the instant claim in failing to teach the cleaning fluid supply source further includes a gas supply unit that supplies drying gas to the supply line.
Higuchi teaches a processing system (paragraph [0064] processing liquid supply units 2). Higuchi teaches the cleaning fluid supply source further includes a gas supply unit that supplies drying gas to the supply line (FIG. 19 paragraph [0070] pipe P12 supplies nitrogen).
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 the apparatus as taught by Kim and Yoneda with a gas supply unit as taught by Higuchi. It is known in the art to supply gas in order to increase the flow speed of the cleaning liquid (paragraph [0131]). Additionally, it is known in the art to supply gas to a fluid line in order to dry the fluid within the line.
As to claim 8, (Original) Yoneda further teaches the gas supply unit includes: a first supply unit that supplies drying gas at a first temperature (column 13 line 22-28 nitrogen gas is supplied to the nitrogen gas supply line 17 at 20°C by inline heater filter block 41); and a second supply unit that supplies drying gas at a second temperature higher than the first temperature (column 13 lines 43-44 mixture of gas and nitrogen is about 25°C).
As to claim 9, (Original) Higuchi further teaches the gas supply unit includes: a first gas line that is connected to the supply line and provides drying gas to the supply line (FIG. 19 paragraph [0070] pipe P12 supplies nitrogen); and
a second gas line that is connected to the circulation line and provides drying gas to the circulation line (FIG. 19 paragraph [0157] supplier S41 provides nitrogen gas to circulation pipe P13).
Claims 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yun et al. U.S. Publication 2021/0197237 (henceforth referred to as Yun) in view of Yoneda U.S. Patent 5,896,875 (henceforth referred to as Yoneda).
As to claim 18, (Original) Yun teaches an apparatus for cleaning a first component and a second component each having a first port, a second port, and a third port, the apparatus comprising:
a cleaning fluid supply source (FIG. 3 paragraph [0051] first chemical supply source 4112 reads on the claimed cleaning fluid supply source);
a first supply line for receiving cleaning fluid from the cleaning fluid supply source and connected with the first port of the first component (FIG. 3 paragraph [0054] inlet line 4132);
a first discharge line connected with the second port of the first component (paragraph [0050] drain 4181);
a second supply line for receiving cleaning fluid from the cleaning fluid supply source and connected with the first port of the second component (FIG. 3 paragraph [0054] inlet line 4133);
a second discharge line connected with the second port of the second component (paragraph [0050] drain 4182);
a first circulation line connected with the third port of the second component (FIG. 3 paragraph [0058] second recovery line 4172 connects with the third port of the second component); and
a second circulation line connected with the third port of the first component (FIG. 3 paragraph [0058] first recovery line 4171 connects with the third port of the first component).
Yun differs from the instant claim in failing to teach that the first circulation line is branched from the first discharge line and the second circulation line is branched from the second discharge line.
Yoneda teaches an apparatus that cleans (FIG. 1 column 7 line 18 an equipment for cleaning). Yoneda teaches a circulation line is branched from a discharge line (FIG. 1 column 9 lines 18-23 reference numeral 60 denotes a chemical circulation line for selectively forwarding chemical discharged from a drain).
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 the apparatus as taught by Yun with a circulation line that branches from the discharge line as taught by Yoneda. Branching a circulation line from a discharge line is a cost-effective way to simplify a piping layout.
Although Yoneda only teaches one circulation line and one discharge line, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to have the first and second circulation line branched from the first and second discharge lines, respectively, with a structure as demonstrated by Yoneda.
As to claim 19, (Original) Yoneda further teaches the cleaning fluid supply source includes: a cleaning solution supply unit that supplies a cleaning solution to the supply line; and a rinse solution supply unit that supplies a rinse solution to the supply line (See previously annotated Figure 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as taught by Yun with a cleaning and rinsing fluid as taught by Yoneda. It is known in the art to use cleaning solutions to address different types of contamination and then rinse a component to flush out spent cleaning solution.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yun et al. U.S. Publication 2021/0197237 (henceforth referred to as Yun) and Yoneda U.S. Patent 5,896,875 (henceforth referred to as Yoneda) as applied to claim 18 above, in further view of Higuchi et al. U.S. Publication 2017/0014873 (henceforth referred to as Higuchi).
As to claim 20, (Original) Yun and Yoneda differ from the instant claim in failing to teach the cleaning liquid supply source includes a gas supply unit, and the gas supply unit includes: a first gas line that supplies drying gas to the first supply line and the second supply line; a second gas line that supplies drying gas to the first circulation line; and a third gas line that supplies drying gas to the second circulation line.
Higuchi teaches a processing system (paragraph [0064] processing liquid supply units 2). Higuchi teaches a gas supply unit, and the gas supply unit includes:
a first gas line that supplies drying gas to the first supply line and the second supply line (FIG. 20 paragraph [0167] pipe P12 supplies inert gas to pipe P11 and P14);
a second gas line that supplies drying gas to the first circulation line (FIG. 20 paragraph [0160] Supplier S41 connects to circulation pipe P13 via nitrogen gas supply path 109); and
a third gas line that supplies drying gas to the second circulation line (FIG. 20 paragraph [0160] Supplier S41 connects to circulation pipe P13a via nitrogen gas supply path 110).
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 the apparatus as taught by Yun and Yoneda with a gas supply unit as taught by Higuchi. It is known in the art to supply gas in order to increase the flow speed of the cleaning liquid (paragraph [0131]). Additionally, it is known in the art to supply gas to a fluid line in order to dry the fluid within the line.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAUREN G ORTA whose telephone number is (703)756-5455. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30-5:00.
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 Barr can be reached at 571-272-1414. 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.
/L.G.O./Examiner, Art Unit 1711
/MICHAEL E BARR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1711
Prosecution Insights