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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Korea on August 17, 2023. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the KR10-2020-0140474 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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, 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KR10-2020-0140474.
As to claim 1, KR10-2020-0140474 discloses an optical atomizer comprising a laser transmitter unit 10 configured to transmit a laser beam oscillated by a laser oscillator to one side; and a sprayer unit 20 connected to the laser transmitter unit, and configured to heat a liquid for spraying received in the sprayer unit by the laser beam transmitted from the laser transmitter unit and spray the evaporated liquid for spraying to outside. See Figure 2 and pages 1-12 of translated reference.
As to claims 4 and 5, see high viscosity liquid B-glycerol. See page 11, lines 14-24 of translated reference.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13-23 are allowed.
Claims 2, 3 and 6-12 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 of claims 2, 3, and 6-12: The closest prior art being KR 10-2020-0140474 did not teach or suggest an optical atomizer as claimed by the applicant, specifically an optical atomizer wherein the sprayer unit includes a spray body having an end portion joined to the laser transmitter unit, and an opposite end portion having an opening of a hollow groove in which the liquid for spraying is received; and a metal foil deposited on the opposite end portion of the spray body, and having a spray hole in communication with the hollow groove, together in combination with the other claimed features of applicant’s invention.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter of claims 13-15: The closest prior art being KR 10-2020-0140474 did not teach or suggest a spraying method using an optical atomizer as claimed by the applicant, specifically a method comprising the steps of a heating and spraying step of heating a metal foil deposited on the spray body and having a spray hole in communication with the hollow groove by the transmitted laser beam, and spraying the liquid for spraying evaporated by the heated metal foil out of the hollow groove; and a condensation step of condensing the evaporated liquid for spraying sprayed out of the hollow groove into droplets, together in combination with the other claimed features of applicant’s invention.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter of claims 16-23: The closest prior art being KR 10-2020-0140474 did not teach or suggest a method for manufacturing an optical atomizer as claimed by the applicant, specifically a method comprising the steps of a joining step of joining a spray body having a hollow groove to a laser transmitter unit, a metal foil deposition step of depositing a metal foil having a spray hole in communication with the hollow groove on the spray body; and a liquid injection step of injecting a liquid for spraying into the hollow groove, together in combination with the other claimed features of applicant’s invention.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure Jones et al ‘298, Ghauri ‘084 and Singh ‘543 disclose atomizers with laser transmitter units and a sprayer units.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN J GANEY whose telephone number is (571)272-4899. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5:30pm.
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, Arthur Hall can be reached at (571)270-1814. 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.
STEVEN J. GANEY
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3752
/STEVEN J GANEY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3752
Prosecution Insights