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 § 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 4 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.
The term “close” in claim 4 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “close” 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. Closeness is not a quantifiable value; what one user considers ‘close’ another might not. The specification gives no range or value as to what constitutes “close.” Accordingly, it is unclear when infringement would occur. Clarification is required.
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) 1-8, 11, and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KR 2020-0085576 A (hereinafter Lee) using attached machine translation.
Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses a sewage discharge device of a toilet (10), comprising a pipeline assembly (30, 40) and a switching assembly (50), wherein the pipeline assembly comprises a water seal channel (32) and a sewage discharge channel (40), the sewage discharge device has a sewage discharge state (when passage 55 is parallel to channel flow) and a water seal state (“The auxiliary flow passage 40 is configured to discharge water and feces contained in the water storage unit 12 when the upper portion of the arc portion 32 of the siphon trap 30, that is, the siphon trap 30 is blocked by tissue paper or the like.”), and in the water seal state, the water seal channel is configured to water-seal the toilet (fig. 4); and the switching assembly is configured to control the sewage discharge device to switch between the sewage discharge state and the water seal state (“The opening and closing means 50 is configured to allow the user to open the closed auxiliary flow path 40 when the siphon trap 30 is blocked.”).
Regarding claim 2, Lee discloses wherein a matching part (54) is provided in the sewage discharge channel (40), and the switching assembly (50) is configured to cooperate with the matching part to control communication or discommunication of the sewage discharge channel (“the upper portion of the auxiliary flow path 40 has a convex portion 54 having an inner diameter larger than the inner diameter of the auxiliary flow path 40, the convex portion (54) a rotatable ball 56 which is rotatably installed inside and is provided with a hollow 55,”); an inlet end of the water seal channel is communicated with a portion of the sewage discharge channel located upstream of the matching part (at leader line 40 in fig. 4), and a highest point of the water seal channel (at 32) is higher than a highest point of the sewage discharge channel (fig. 4); wherein when the sewage discharge channel is discommunicated, the water seal channel is configured to water-seal the toilet (fig. 4), and when the sewage discharge channel is communicated, the sewage discharge channel is configured for discharging sewage from the toilet (“The opening and closing means 50 is configured to allow the user to open the closed auxiliary flow path 40 when the siphon trap 30 is blocked”).
Regarding claim 3, Lee discloses wherein an outlet end (near 31) of the water seal channel is communicated with a portion of the sewage discharge channel located downstream of the matching part (note connection of auxiliary passage 40 and vertical part 31 which is downstream of opening and closing means 50 in fig. 4).
Regarding claim 4, Lee discloses wherein the outlet end of the water seal channel is provided close to an outlet end of the sewage discharge channel or close to the matching part (note location of connection of auxiliary passage 40 and vertical part 31 which is close to opening and closing means 50 in fig. 4).
Regarding claim 5, Lee discloses wherein the pipeline assembly comprises a pipeline main body and a U-shaped tube, wherein the pipeline main body is provided with the sewage discharge channel, and a first port and a second port, the first port and the second port are communicated with the sewage discharge channel, the first port and the second port are respectively located upstream and downstream of the matching part, two ends of the U-shaped tube are respectively communicated with the first port and the second port, and a channel in the U-shaped tube forms the water seal channel (note annotated fig. 4 below).
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Regarding claim 6, Lee discloses wherein the sewage discharge channel comprises a first sewage discharge sub-channel provided transversely and a second sewage discharge sub-channel provided vertically, the first sewage discharge sub- channel and the second sewage discharge sub-channel are connected in an inverted L-shape, and both the first port and the second port are communicated with the first sewage discharge sub- channel (note annotated fig. 4 below).
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Regarding claim 7, Lee discloses wherein the pipeline assembly comprises a pipeline main body and a U-shaped tube, wherein the pipeline main body is provided with the sewage discharge channel, a first water seal sub-channel, a first port, and a second port, wherein the first port is communicated with a portion of the sewage discharge channel located upstream of the matching part, the second port is communicated with a portion of the sewage discharge channel located downstream of the matching part through the first water seal sub-channel, two ends of the U-shaped tube are respectively communicated with the first port and the second port, and a channel in the U-shaped tube and the first water seal sub- channel form the water seal channel (note annotated fig. 4 below).
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Regarding claim 8, Lee discloses wherein the sewage discharge channel comprises a first sewage discharge sub-channel provided transversely and a second sewage discharge sub-channel provided vertically, the first sewage discharge sub- channel and the second sewage discharge sub-channel are connected in an inverted L-shape, the first port is communicated with the first sewage discharge sub-channel, and the first water seal sub-channel is communicated with the second sewage discharge sub-channel (via other leg of the U-shaped portion) (note annotated fig. 4 below).
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Regarding claim 11, Lee discloses wherein the switching assembly comprises a switching component (50), the switching component is configured to be able to rotate or translate to switch between a first position and a second position (rotate); when the switching component is in the first position, the sewage discharge channel is discommunicated (fig. 4), and when the switching component is in the second position, the sewage discharge channel is communicated (“The auxiliary flow passage 40 is configured to discharge water and feces contained in the water storage unit 12 when the upper portion of the arc portion 32 of the siphon trap 30, that is, the siphon trap 30 is blocked by tissue paper or the like.”; “the upper portion of the auxiliary flow path 40 has a convex portion 54 having an inner diameter larger than the inner diameter of the auxiliary flow path 40, the convex portion (54) a rotatable ball 56 which is rotatably installed inside and is provided with a hollow 55,” ).
Regarding claim 19, Lee discloses wherein the switching assembly comprises a ball valve (56) (fig. 4), the ball valve comprises a flow passage (55) and a rotatable valve core (56), and the valve core is configured to control communication and discommunication of the flow passage through rotation (”a rotatable ball 56 which is rotatably installed inside and is provided with a hollow 55,”); the matching part (54) is a mounting part for the ball valve, and portions of the sewage discharge channel located on two sides of the matching part are respectively communicated with two ends of the flow passage (““the upper portion of the auxiliary flow path 40 has a convex portion 54 having an inner diameter larger than the inner diameter of the auxiliary flow path 40,” fig. 4) .
Regarding claim 20, Lee discloses wherein the toilet body has a sewage discharge port (11), and an inlet end of a sewage discharge channel of the sewage discharge device and an inlet end of a water seal channel of the sewage discharge device are both communicated with the sewage discharge port (fig. 4).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of US Patent 6,668,391 (hereinafter Lee et al.).
Regarding claim 9, Lee is silent as to the particulars of how the apparatus is assembled and thus fails to show wherein the U-shaped tube is a hose, and two ends of the U-shaped tube are respectively sleeved outside the first port and the second port and are interference-fitted with the first port and the second port. Attention is turned to Lee et al. in the same field of endeavor of flushing toilets which shows configuring a U-shaped tube as a hose (210) with two ends interference fitted into first and second ports (120, 220). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to assemble the U-shaped tube as a hose with ends interference-fitted into the first and second ports to ensure an easy to assemble product as is known in the art and evidenced by the teachings mentioned above.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of US Patent 3,154,795 (hereinafter Burn).
Regarding claim 10, Lee fails to show wherein an inlet end of the water seal channel is provided with a filter screen. Attention is turned to Burn in the same field of endeavor of flushing toilets which shows including a filter screen (31) at the inlet of a water channel (27). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to include a filter screen at the inlet end of the water seal channel to prevent undesirable debris from entering the channel as is known in the art and evidenced by the teachings above.
Claim(s) 12-14 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of CN 113550395 A (hereinafter Lu) using attached machine translation.
Regarding claim 12, Lee shows the matching part is an annular sealing part (54) and the switching component is a ball valve (56) and thus fails to show the switching component comprises a sealing piston which is movable reciprocally, the sealing piston is configured to be capable of abutting against the annular sealing part to discommunicate the sewage discharge channel, or capable of separating from the annular sealing part to communicate the sewage discharge channel. Attention is turned to Lu in the same field of endeavor of flushing toilets which teaches a switching component (9) for a flush toilet as a sealing piston (9-2,9-5) that abuts against an annular sealing part (9-1) to open and close a sewage discharge channel (10-3, 10-2, 9-4). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to substitute the ball valve switching component of Lee for the switching component configured as a piston as described above by Lu since the substitution of one functionally equivalent structure for another that produces the same expected result involves only routine skill in the art.
Regarding claim 13, under the modification in view of Lu as set forth above regarding claim 12, Lu shows wherein a mounting cavity (9-4) for mounting the switching assembly is provided in the pipeline assembly (10-3, 10-2), the mounting cavity is communicated with the sewage discharge channel (10-2, 10-3), and a communication part (opening above 10-2; fig. 5) between the mounting cavity and the sewage discharge channel is located downstream of the annular sealing part (9-1); and the sealing piston (9-2, 9-5) is configured to seal the mounting cavity when separated from the annular sealing part so as to disconnect the mounting cavity from the sewage discharge channel (fig. 5).
Regarding claim 14, under the modification in view of Lu as set forth above regarding claim 12, Lu shows wherein the switching assembly further comprises a drive assembly (9-7, 9-8, 9-11, 9-12, 9-9, 9-10), and the drive assembly is connected to the sealing piston and capable of driving the sealing piston to reciprocate (fig. 5).
Regarding claim 16, under the modification in view of Lu as set forth above regarding claim 12, Lu shows wherein the switching assembly further comprises a cylinder body (9-3, 9-9) and an elastic element (9-10), the cylinder body is cooperated with the sealing piston to form a sealing cavity, the sealing cavity is configured for accommodating fluid and has a fluid inlet-outlet (air), and the elastic element is provided between the cylinder body and the sealing piston (fig. 5); the sealing piston is configured to be in one of abutting against and separating from the matching part under an action of the elastic element, and further configured to overcome an elastic motion of the elastic element and be in the other of abutting against and separating from the matching part under an action of fluid that enters the sealing cavity (“the outer end of the piston rod 9-5 is fixed with a sliding block 9-11, the 9-11 block is sleeved on the fixed rod 9-12, and can slide back and forth along the fixed rod 9-12, two respectively of the reset spring 9-10 is fixed on the opposite surface of the fixed seat 9-9 and slide block 9-11 9-11.”).
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee and Lu as applied to claim 14 above, and further in view of CN 112459189 A (hereinafter Tang) using attached machine translation.
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Lee and Lu fails to show wherein the drive assembly comprises an electric telescopic rod, and a telescopic end of the electric telescopic rod is connected to the sealing piston; or the drive assembly comprises a drive element, a gear, and a rack, the drive element is connected with the gear and configured to drive the gear to rotate, the gear is meshed and mated with the rack, and the rack is connected to the sealing piston. Attention is turned to Tang in the same field of endeavor of flushing toilets which shows a switching assembly controlled by an electronic telescopic rod (402) and a sealing piston (401). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the claimed invention to modify the drive assembly of Lee in view of Lu to utilize an electric telescopic rod, and a telescopic end of the electric telescopic rod is connected to the sealing piston to allow for automatic electronic control as evidenced by the teachings above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17 and 18 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US Patent 12,478,226 is directed to the state of the art of flushing toilets.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JANIE M LOEPPKE whose telephone number is (571)270-5208. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM-5PM ET.
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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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/JANIE M LOEPPKE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754