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 .
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(s) 1 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Valiyee et al. (5042692).
Regarding claim 1, Valiyee discloses a toolless (manually affixed) splash cover for a post-mix beverages fluid flow controller, said splash cover comprising: an enclosure (263) having a plurality of sides, and a substantially closed bottom; and wherein: a first side of said enclosure includes a first plurality of frictional attachments (264), said first plurality of frictional attachments being configured to frictionally engage a structural feature (Fig. 6) of a post-mix beverages fluid flow controller (92, 254, 250); and a second side of said enclosure includes a second plurality of frictional attachments (castellated edge of 263 shown in Fig. 6), said second plurality of frictional attachments being configured to frictionally engage a structural feature (278) temporarily affixed to said post-mix beverages fluid flow controller.
Regarding claim 5, Valiyee discloses a fluid flow controller, comprising: an assembly body (254), comprising: a multiplicity of discrete fluid flow paths (346) with each discrete fluid flow path being between a single provided fluid inlet port into the assembly body and a single provided outlet port from the assembly body (Fig. 8), and a multiplicity of flow rate controller (350) and shutoff valve (354) pairs with each flow rate controller and shutoff valve pair being disposed within each discrete fluid flow path (Fig. 8); and a splash cover (263), comprising an enclosure having a plurality of sides, and a substantially closed bottom, wherein: a first side of the enclosure includes a first plurality of frictional attachments (264), the first plurality of frictional attachments being configured to frictionally engage a structural feature of the assembly body (Fig. 6), and a second side of the enclosure includes a second plurality of frictional attachments (castellated edge of 263), the second plurality of frictional attachments being configured to frictionally engage a structural feature (278) temporarily affixed to the assembly body.
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) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Valiyee et al. in view of Pellegrini (6286721).
Regarding claim 9, Valiyee discloses a fluid flow controller, comprising: an assembly body (254), comprising: a multiplicity of discrete fluid flow paths (346) with each discrete fluid flow path being between a single provided fluid inlet port into the assembly body and a single provided outlet port from the assembly body, a multiplicity of flow rate controller (350) and shutoff valve (354) pairs with each flow rate controller and shutoff valve pair being disposed within each discrete fluid flow path, and a multiplicity of linear guides (396, 390) with each linear guide being formed about each fluid inlet port into the assembly body (Figs. 6, 8, 9A, and 9B); and a multiplicity of clips (406) with each clip being insertable into each linear guide, whereby each clip is configured to receive therethrough a barbed quick-connect fitting (278) that inserts within one of the fluid inlet ports into the assembly body, further whereby each clip is configured to engage the barbed quick-connect fitting, thereby installing a barbed quick connect fitting within each of the inlet ports into the assembly body (Fig. 8).
Valiyee DIFFERS in that it does not disclose the clips are L-shaped. Attention, however, is directed to the Pellegrini reference, which discloses L-shaped clips (10a-10d). Pellegrini teaches that L-shape clips facilitate gripping (claim 4).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Valiyee reference in view of the teachings of the Pellegrini reference by employing L-shaped clips to facilitate gripping.
Regarding claim 10, each linear guide comprises sidewalls defining a vertical channel of the linear guide (Fig. 8 of Valiyee).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4, 6-8, and 11-15 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
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/DONNELL A LONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754