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 .
Election/Restriction
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group IA (claims 1-10) in a reply filed on 5/26/2026 is acknowledged. Applicant has amended claims 11-19 to depend from claim 1 and has requested examination of claims 1-19. In view of the amendment, claims 11-19 now require the limitations of claim 1. Accordingly, claims 11-19 are examined with the elected claims 1-10.
Claim 20 has been canceled.
Claims 1-19 are presently under examination.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the rim wash water outlet below the extended bidet wand must be shown or the feature canceled from the claim. Figure 4 appears to show the bidet wand in an extended position; however, it is apparent that the wand extends below the rim channel and thus below the rim wash water outlet. Figure 9 depicts the location rim wash channel relative to the bidet wand, however it appears that the bidet wand is in its retracted position. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hall et al (US 20180002911).
Regarding claim 1, Hall discloses;
A toilet (Fig. 1, 100) comprising:
a bowl (Fig. 2, 201) including a rim defining a bowl opening (see annotated Fig. 1 below) and a sump defining a bottom of the bowl (see annotated Fig. 1 below);
a surface plate covering the rim and the bowl opening and extending to a rear edge of the toilet (See annotated Fig. 1 below);
a bidet engine (Fig. 2, 204) coupled to the surface plate and mounted below the surface plate (Fig. 2 depicts the bidet engine 204 coupled to the surface plate and is recessed under the surface plate);
and a plurality of apertures configured to mount a toilet seat (see annotated Fig. 1 depicting the apertures), wherein at least one of the plurality of apertures is directly above the bidet engine (since the bidet engine 104 is recessed into the surface plate, if viewed from the side elevation, the apertures are in a plane directly above the bidet engine. The term directly is being interpreted as meaning no intermediary structure between the two elements. See annotated Figs. 1 & 2).
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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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hall et al (US 20180002911) in view of Salazar (US 20210140161).
Regarding claim 2, in addition to the limitations in claim 1, Hall does not disclose;
a deoderizing unit configured to treat air from the toilet, wherein at least one of the plurality of apertures is directly above the deoderizing unit.
However, Salazar teaches;
a deoderizing unit (Fig. 19, 218) configured to treat air from the toilet, wherein at least one of the plurality of apertures is directly above the deoderizing unit (Fig. 20 depicts the deodorizing unit 218 directly under element 204 which is attached directly under through holes 40 that are used to secure the toilet seat; [0057]).
The advantage of having a deodorizing unit that is placed under an aperture used to mount a toilet seat is to provide a deodorizing system that is compact and does not take up extra space. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date, to incorporate the teachings of Salazar with the invention of Hall to provide a deodorizing unit that is under a toilet seat mounting aperture.
Claim 3 – 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hall et al (US 20180002911) in view of Halloran et al (US 20200277775).
Regarding claim 3, in addition to the limitations in claim 1, Hall does not disclose;
a rim channel formed in the bowl below the surface plate.
However, Halloran teaches,
a rim channel (Fig. 1, 45) formed in the bowl (Fig. 1, 20) below the surface plate (Fig. 1, 10)
The advantage of having a rim water channel formed in the bowl and below the surface plate is to aid in controlling the splash of the flush water. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to have incorporated the teachings of Halloran with the invention of Hall to provide a rim channel formed in the bowl and below the surface plate.
Regarding claim 4, in addition to the limitations in claim 3, Hall discloses;
a bidet wand (Fig. 2, 202) configured to extend from the bidet engine (Fig. 2, 204) below the surface plate and behind the bowl into the bowl (Fig. 2 depicts the bidet wand extending from the bidet engine from below the surface plate and behind the bowl).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hall et al (US 20180002911) in view of Halloran et al (US 20200277775) and in further view of Kim et al (US 20160215489).
Regarding claim 6, in addition to the limitations in claim 4, Hall does not disclose;
wherein the bidet wand is curved.
However, Kim teaches;
wherein the bidet wand is curved (Fig. 2 depicts the bidet wand being curved).
The advantage of having a bidet wand that is curved is that the area the bidet wand occupies may be reduced. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to have incorporated the teachings of Kim with the invention of Hall to provide a bidet wand with a curved shape.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hall et al (US 20180002911) in view of Halloran et al (US 20200277775) and in further view of Mielke et al (US 20220018105).
Regarding claim 7, in addition to the limitations in claim 4, Hall does not disclose;
wherein the rim of the bowl has a concave portion aligned with the bidet wand.
However, Mielke teaches;
wherein the rim of the bowl has a concave portion aligned with the bidet wand (Fig. 1 depicts the rim of the bowl having hole in which the bidet can retract into. The hole has a concave portion which is aligned with the bidet wand; see annotated Fig. 1 below).
The advantage of having a rim with a concave portion aligned with the bidet wand is so that the wand can easily extend and retract through the rim. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to have incorporated the teachings of Mielke with the invention of Hall to provide a toilet with the rim of the bowl having a concave portion aligned with the bidet wand.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 8-10 & 11-19 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: None of the references, alone or in combination, teaches the missing limitation, wherein the rim channel includes a rim wash water outlet below the extended bidet wand. The closest reference would Hall et al (US 20180002911), which teaches a bidet system but does provide any teachings of the rim channel including a rim wash water outlet below the extended bidet wand. To modify this reference to include the missing limitation would be hindsight reconstruction based on Applicant disclosure.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's
disclosure. US Patent 20190093329 AI is directed to the state of retractable bidet wands.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRYANT K HUYNH whose telephone number is (571)272-8630. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30-5:00.
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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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/B.K.H./Examiner, Art Unit 3754
/DAVID P ANGWIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3754
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