DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is responsive to application number 18/812,024 - FLUSH TOILET, filed on 8/22/24. Claims 1-14 are pending.
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.
Claims 7-8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 7 and 8, the term “vicinity” in claim 7 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “vicinity” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
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) 1-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shiobara et al. (JP 2020 051053 A).
Regarding Claim 1 Shiobara shows a flush toilet (Fig. 2) for discharging waste with flush water supplied from a flush water supply source (10), the flush toilet comprising: a bowl (at 6) including a bowl-shaped waste receiving surface (6), a rim (18) having an inner circumference surface rising from an outer edge of the bowl-shaped waste receiving surface (Figs. 3& 6; as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the inclined surface S <b> 1 formed obliquely rearward from the second rim water discharge port 22 on the dirt receiving surface 14 in the right rear region RB of the bowl portion 6 extends rearward. The slope is rising), and a well portion (shown at 8a, 12; Fig. 4) that is formed below the bowl-shaped waste receiving surface and inside which a pooled water surface (WL; Fig. 4) is formed; a first spouting port (20) provided on the rim on one side in a left-right direction of the bowl and spouting flush water along the inner circumference surface of the rim to form a circulating flow (Fig. 7); a second spouting port (22) provided on the rim on another side in the left-right direction of the bowl and spouting flush water toward a rear region of the bowl in a same direction as a circulating direction of the flush water that is spouted from the first spouting port (Fig. 7-8); and a discharge conduit (8) connected to a bottom portion of the bowl, wherein the bowl-shaped waste receiving surface and the inner circumference surface of the rim are connected to each other by a connecting portion (18a), and the connecting portion includes, in the rear region of the bowl, an upward sloped portion which is sloped upward in a flow direction of the flush water that circulates along the rim and a downward sloped portion which is positioned on a downstream side of the upward sloped portion and which is sloped downward in the flow direction of the flush water (Fig. 4, see 14, 16a).
Regarding Claim 2 Shiobara shows the flush toilet according to claim 1, wherein the upward sloped portion includes a concave curved portion which is curved so as to be recessed downward (14, 16a; Fig. 4), and the downward sloped portion includes a convex curved portion which is curved so as to protrude upward (Fig. 6 at 22).
Regarding Claim 3 Shiobara shows the flush toilet according to claim 2, wherein the upward sloped portion includes a convex curved portion which is positioned on a downstream side of the concave curved portion and which is curved so as to protrude upward (at 22).
Regarding Claim 4 Shiobara shows the flush toilet according to claim 1, wherein a horizontal portion formed substantially horizontally is provided between the upward sloped portion and the downward sloped portion (at 18b; Fig. 4).
Regarding Claim 5 Shiobara shows the flush toilet according to claim 4, wherein the horizontal portion is provided on one side in the left-right direction of the bowl on an opposite side to the second spouting port (18b; is left of 22; Fig. 4; The edge 14a and the shelf surface 16a of the shelf 16 are inclined upward from the front side toward the rear end of the rim inner wall surface 18a (the rear end 18b of the rim inner wall surface).
Regarding Claim 6 Shiobara shows the flush toilet according to claim 1, wherein in a height position of the bowl-shaped waste receiving surface, the another side in the left-right direction of the bowl is lower than the one side in the left-right direction of the bowl in the rear region of the bowl (Fig. 6).
Regarding Claim 7 Shiobara shows the flush toilet according to claim 1, wherein the upward sloped portion is positioned in a vicinity of the second spouting port (Fig. 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-14 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.
Claims 8-14 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kashirajima et al. (US Pub. 2015/0275494) shows the general state of the art; Hashimoto et al. (US Pub. 2018/0080208) shows a similar flush toilet.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTINE J SKUBINNA whose telephone number is (571)270-5163. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Thursday, 9:30 AM to 6PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, DAVID ANGWIN can be reached at 571-270-3735. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTINE J SKUBINNA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754 7/16/2026
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