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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-2 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 14-15 and 20 of copending Application No. 18/833,183 (reference application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because:
Regarding claim 1, Claim 14 of ‘183 claims a toilet system comprising a wall mounted bracket and a toilet bowl with a rotary sewage discharge pipe as claimed.
Regarding claim 2, Claim 15 of ‘183 claims the further limitations of the drain box.
Regarding claim 2, Claim 20 of ‘183 claims the further limitations of the drain box.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
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:
The expansion region of the drain box being “raised in a direction close to the wall mounted bracket”
must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). 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 Objections
Claims 6 and 10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 6 requires the provision of an expansion region on the drain box which is “raised in a direction close to the wall-mounted bracket”. From Applicant’s disclosure the expansion region has an interior which is inclined downwardly toward the sewage outlet however this is defined differently in the specification. From the figures the expansion region ‘expands’ or ‘extends’ rearwardly from the first/transition region towards the wall mounted bracket resulting in a larger volume area expanding from the depth/thickness of the transition region..
For the purpose of examination the claim is being interpreted as requiring:
the expansion region extending rearwardly from the transition region towards the wall-mounted bracket
Claim 10 requires that the bottom wall of the extension pipe is “provided to be inclined downwardly in a direction close to the in-wall drain pipe”. From Applicant’s disclosure the extension pipe is inclined downwardly in a direction toward/to the in-wall drain pipe however it is not clear what additional limitations, if any, “a direction close to the in-wall drain pipe” imparts on the claim.
For the purpose of examination the claim is being interpreted as requiring:
provided to be inclined downwardly in a direction towards the in-wall drain pipe
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-2, 11-16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2010150920 (Murayama) in view of EP 2642034 (Parker).
Regarding claims 1 and 14-16, Murayama discloses a wall mounted (couples to a waste pipe in the wall) toilet comprising:
an in-wall drain pipe (73);
a toilet body (10) which is provided with a bowl (40) and a mounting cavity (Fig. 4, rear area behind bowl); and
a drain device (11/20/30), which is connected to the toilet body, communicates with the in-wall drain pipe (Fig. 4), and comprises a rotary drain pipe (20) provided within the mounting cavity, wherein one end (23) of the rotary drain pipe is configured to rotate relative to the toilet body between an initial position (Fig. 4 – upward facing configuration) and a drain position (Fig. 4 – downward facing orientation in outline/dashes), such that when the rotary drain pipe rotates to the initial position a water seal is formed in the bowl, and when the rotary drain pipe rotates to the drain position sewage in the bowl is discharged into the in-wall drain pipe.
Murayama, however, does not disclose that the toilet body is mounted to the wall through an adjustable wall bracket comprising a moving frame mounted to a fixing frame for height adjustment and multiple toilet connecting portions.
Parker teaches a wall mounted bracket (1) configured for mounting (43a/43b) a toilet bowl to a wall (Para. 0014, 0024). The bracket comprising a bracket body provided with floor connection portions (apertures for bolts 82) and toilet connecting portions (43a/43b). The floor connection portions are provided to be connected to a floor so that the bracket body is fixed to the floor (Fig. 3 – receive bolts 82; Para. 0026) and the toilet connection portions are provided to be connected to the toilet body so that the toilet body is fixed to the bracket body (Para. 0024). The bracket body further comprises a fixing frame (8), wherein the floor connecting portion are provided at a bottom of the fixing frame and a movable frame (4) connected to the fixing frame and capable of moving up and down relative to the fixing frame (Para. 0026, 0028 – parts 8 are telescopically received within the movable frame), wherein the toilet connecting portions are provided on the movable frame (Fig. 2). A locking member (13) is provided to be fixedly connected to the movable frame and the fixing frame to fix the movable frame to the fixing frame (Para. 0028). Wherein the movable frame comprises a first vertical support arm (40a) provided opposite a second vertical support arm (40b) (Fig. 2), and a transverse support arm (41) which is located between the first and second vertical support arms (Fig. 2) and is fixedly connected to the first vertical support arm and the second vertical support arm (Para. 0021). The toilet connecting portions are provided on the transverse support arm (Fig. 2). The fixing frame comprises a third vertical support arm, a fourth vertical support arm (Para. 0026 – vertical portions not shown but telescoping with the moveable frame), a first support plate (81), and a second support plate (81) (Fig. 3 – one per side). The third vertical support arm is provided opposite the fourth vertical support arm (Figs. 2, 3) the first support plate is connected to a lower end of the third vertical support arm and the second support plate is connected to a lower end of the fourth vertical support arm (Fig. 3, Para. 0026) and the support plates are provided with the floor connecting portions (Figs. 2, 3 – form the apertures for floor fasteners 82). The first vertical support arm is movable up and down relative to the third vertical support arm, and is connected to the third vertical support arm by the locking member; and the second vertical support arm is movable up and down relative to the fourth vertical support arm, and is connected to the fourth vertical support arm by the locking member (Para. 0024, 0026, 0028).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize an adjustable wall mounted bracket such as that taught by Parker, so as to provide a mounting/installation structure in locations where existing mounting points are not provided and/or to facilitate mounting the toilet bowl at different heights/positions other than directly on the floor for various design reasons such as facility requirements or facilitating easier cleaning of a floor.
Regarding claim 2, Murayama further states that the bowl is provided with a first sewage outlet (44/45), and one end (24) of the rotary drain pipe communicates with the first sewage outlet (Fig. 4). Murayama states that the drain device further comprises a drain box (30) at least partially located within the mounting cavity (Fig. 4) and fixedly connected to the toilet body (Fig. 2 – connects to the toilet through flanges 36/41 coupling), wherein the drain box is provided with a rotary connection hole (Figs. 1, 2 – opening formed through flange 31 which pipe 20 rotates about) and a second sewage outlet (32). The drain box is provided with a drain cavity (Figs. 1, 4 - interior of drain box 30) communicating with the rotary connection hole, and the rotary drain pipe is at least partially located within the drain cavity and rotates about the rotary connection hole (Specification; Figs. 1-2, 4) and the second sewage outlet communicates with the in-wall drain pipe (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 11, Murayama states the inclusion of a driving device (11) connected to the rotary drain pipe and configured to drive the rotary drain pipe to rotate (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 12, Murayama states that the mounting cavity is located between the bowl and the wall (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 13, Murayama states that a top portion of the bowl is provided with a water outlet (42 – rim outlets) and the water outlet is configured to connect to an external water source (16 – water inlet valve; H – water supply pipe).
Regarding claim 20, Murayama in view of Parker teaches a wall mounted toilet system with a wall mounted bracket as previously discussed. Parker further teaches that the toilet connection portions comprise at least two second connection holes (43a/43b) provided at intervals in a width direction of the bracket body (Fig. 2) to facilitate installation of different types of toilets bowls and/or mounting positions.
Claims 3-5 and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Murayama in view of Parker as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of CN 114411909 (Lin).
Regarding claims 3-5, Murayama states that the rotary pipe rotates about an axis within the drain cavity as previously discussed but states that the pipe is axis is centered in the drain box instead of being offset.
Lin teaches a flush toilet comprising a rotary drain pipe (2) within a drain box (11/12) which rotates about a rotary connection hole (204/221; Figs. 5, 9). Lin further teaches that the drain box comprises a drain cavity (interior of drain box) and that an inner wall surface of the drain cavity is divided into a first region and a second region by taking a vertical plane where a central axis of the rotary connection hole is located as an interface (annotated figure below).
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430
534
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Lin further teaches that the rotary drain pipe rotates from a side where the second region is located to a side where the first region is located during a rotary drain process (Figs. 5 and 9) and wherein the second region and the first region are asymmetrically provided with respect to the interface, and a space enclosed by the first region is larger than a space enclosed by the second region (annotated figure above).The first region comprises a transition region configured such that during a rotary drain process of the rotary drain pipe relative to the drain box, a sewage outlet (221) of the rotary drain pipe faces the transition region (annotated figure below) and wherein a distance between a central axis of the rotary connection hole and the transition region is gradually increased in a direction from top to bottom (Figs. 5 and 11 – distance from sewage outlet to transition region increases as the sewage outlet rotates downwards) and wherein the rotational angle of the rotary drain pipe is less than 180 degrees when rotating from the initial position to the drain position (Figs. 5, 9, 11 – rotary drain pipe can’t rotate 180 degrees within the drain cavity/box).
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376
555
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to configure the rotary drain device such that the drain pipe is offset within the drain box in a configuration such as that taught by Lin, in order to free space or otherwise facilitate installing additional/different components for the toilet within the mounting cavity and/or to facilitate installing the toilet and drain box in toilet facilities with different plumbing/installation arrangements.
Regarding claim 8, Murayama states that the drain box comprises a box body having an open end and a box cover configured to cover the open end of the box body (Fig. 1) to form the drain cavity and wherein both the box body and box cover are located in the mounting cavity (Fig. 4). Murayama, however, states that the box body and cover are vertically arranged and as such the rotary connection hole is formed at a joining of the box and cover instead of opposite the box opening.
Lin teaches a flush toilet comprising a rotary drain pipe (2) within a drain box (11/12) which rotates about a rotary connection hole (204/221; Figs. 5, 9). Lin further teaches that the drain box comprises a drain box body (11) and a drain box cover (12) which couple to form a drain cavity. The rotary connection hole is provided in one end of the drain box body and the other end of the box body is provided as an open end. The box cover is configured to cover the open end of the box body, encloses and forms the drain cavity with the box body, and is provided with the sewage outlet (121) of the drain cavity/drain box. Both the drain box body and drain box cover are within a mounting cavity of the toilet (Fig. 1).
.
Regarding claim 9, Murayama states that the drain box further comprises an extension pipe (72) located at least partially within the mounting cavity and fixedly connected to the box cover, wherein one end of the extension pipe communicates with the second sewage outlet, and the other end of the extension pipe communicates with the in-wall drain pipe (Fig. 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-7, 10 and 17-19 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:
The prior art of record does not disclose a wall hung toilet comprising a wall mounted bracket, a toilet bowl and a rotary drain device comprising a rotary drain pipe within a drain box in communication with the toilet bowl and an in-wall drain pipe wherein the drain box and rotary drain pipe are configured and arranged as claimed and wherein the drain box further comprises an expansion region located below the transition region which is raised in a direction close to the wall mounted bracket.
The prior art of record does not disclose a wall hung toilet comprising a wall mounted bracket, a toilet bowl and a rotary drain device comprising a rotary drain pipe within a drain box in communication with the toilet bowl and an in-wall drain pipe wherein the drain box and rotary drain pipe are configured and arranged as claimed and wherein the drain box is provided with an extension pipe having a bottom wall which is inclined downwardly in the direction of the in-wall pipe.
The prior art of record does not disclose a wall hung toilet comprising a wall mounted bracket, a toilet bowl and a rotary drain device comprising a rotary drain pipe wherein the wall mounted bracket is configured for adjustability with a movable frame and fixing frame telescopically joined together as claimed and wherein the vertical support arms of the movable frame are hollow tubular structures each comprising an adjustment hole and sleeved outside the vertical support arms of the fixing frame which each comprise a fixing hole in a telescoping manner, the locking member comprises first and second fasteners which are each received through the adjustment hole of one of the vertical support arms of the movable frame and the fixing hole of the fixed frame.
The prior art of record does not disclose a wall hung toilet comprising a wall mounted bracket, a toilet bowl and a rotary drain device comprising a rotary drain pipe wherein the wall mounted bracket is configured for adjustability with a movable frame and fixing frame telescopically joined together as claimed and wherein the movable frame comprises first and second stiffening portions provided on the sides of the vertical supports of the movable frame opposite to the transverse support arm (outer side instead of inside) and are provided with wall connecting portions configured to be connected to the wall to fix the bracket body to the wall.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
EP 1813733 (Moura) teaches a mounting bracket for a toilet system however the mounting bracket is intended to be free standing instead of coupling to a wall, has adjustable legs with a floor connecting portion extending rearward which would prevent attachment to a wall and doesn’t explicitly detail how the telescoping members of the bracket are coupled secured together in a chosen configuration.
US 11,987,970 (Priborsky) teaches a vertically adjustable toilet system comprising an extension pipe connecting the toilet with a drain pipe.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS A ROS whose telephone number is (571)270-3577. The examiner can normally be reached Mon.-Fri. 9:00-6:00.
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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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/NICHOLAS A ROS/ Examiner, Art Unit 3754
/DAVID P ANGWIN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3754
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