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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 9/19/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 9 and 10 are objected to because of the following informalities: claims 9 and 10 recite “the inner conduit” which should be consistent with the previously recited –internal conduit—as recited in claim 8. Appropriate correction is required.
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 9 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "the liquid chemical movement path of the inner conduit". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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)(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 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Lee (KR 102218962 B1, as cited by Applicant).
For claim 8, Lee discloses an agricultural fogging machine configured to heat and spray a liquid chemical (as discussed in the abstract), the agricultural fogging machine comprising: a transfer pump (Fig. 3: 220) configured to transfer the liquid chemical while controlling a flow rate of the liquid chemical; an internal conduit (Fig. 3: 310) configured to pass the liquid chemical transferred from the transfer pump; a heater housing (Figs. 3-4: 330) configured to control a temperature of the liquid chemical passing through the internal conduit and deliver the liquid chemical to the outside (as discussed in the translated description “In addition, the main body 100 may be further provided with a speaker unit 150 for generating an alarm sound when the pesticide stored in the chemical container 210 falls or the heater unit 300 rises above a set temperature.”); and an insertion structure (Fig. 3: 320) inserted into the inside of the internal conduit and configured to generate a vortex in a flow of the liquid chemical (as discussed in the translated description “as the chemical flows along the spiral groove 321 formed in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle pipe 320, the chemical is sprayed through the injection port 313 of the heat dissipating pipe 310 in a vaporized state by the heat generation of the heater unit 330”).
For claim 9, Lee discloses the agricultural fogging machine of claim 8, wherein the inner conduit (Fig. 3: 310) is a straight pipe, and the insertion structure (Fig. 3: 320) is slidably inserted in a direction opposite to the liquid chemical movement path of the inner conduit (straight into conduit 310) and one end portion (Figs. 3-6: flange 323) of the insertion structure is fixed (Figs. 3-6: via 343) is fixed.
For claim 10, Lee discloses the agricultural fogging machine of claim 8, wherein a surface of the inner conduit or the insertion structure (Figs. 3-6 and as discussed in the translated description “A spiral groove 321 through which the liquid chemical injected through is flowed is formed”) is patterned to generate friction with the liquid chemical.
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.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (KR 102218962 B1, as cited by Applicant).
For claim 1, Lee discloses an agricultural fogging machine (as discussed in the abstract) comprising: a liquid chemical storage container (Fig. 3: chemical container 210) installed inside the fogging machine to supply a liquid chemical; a transfer pump (Fig. 3: 220) configured to transfer the liquid chemical, stored in the liquid chemical storage container, through a conduit (Fig. 3: 230) and control a flow rate of the liquid chemical; a heater housing (Fig. 3: 300) configured to control a temperature of the liquid chemical received from the transfer pump through one or more heat exchanger inside the heater housing and control a temperature of the liquid chemical transferred to the outside of the fogging machine (as discussed in the translated description “In addition, the main body 100 may be further provided with a speaker unit 150 for generating an alarm sound when the pesticide stored in the chemical container 210 falls or the heater unit 300 rises above a set temperature.”) through a spray tube (Fig. 3: 313); and a rod (Figs. 3-6: 320) inserted into a movement path (spiraling within the interior of heater housing 300) of the liquid chemical in the heater housing to generate a vortex.
Lee fails to show a steel wire. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the agricultural machine of Lee to include a steel wire for the advantage of effectively mixing warmed liquid chemical with the ambient air of the outside environment to be treated and withstanding high temperatures and pressure.
For claim 2, Lee discloses the agricultural fogging machine of claim 1, wherein the heater housing (Fig. 3: 300) includes a straight conduit (Fig. 6: 310) for passing the liquid chemical (as shown in Fig. 6), and the steel wire (Fig. 6: 320) is inserted into the straight conduit (as shown in Figs. 3-6)
For claim 3, Lee discloses the agricultural fogging machine of claim 1, wherein the steel wire (Fig. 3-6: 320) is inserted in a direction opposite (straight insertion) to the movement path (spiraling within the interior of heater housing 300) of the liquid chemical, one end portion (Figs. 3-6: flange 323) of the steel wire is fixed (Figs. 3-6: via 343), and the other end of the steel wire is not fixed (as shown in Figs. 3-6).
For claim 4, Lee discloses the agricultural fogging machine of claim 1, wherein the movement path (spiraling within the interior of heater housing 300) of the liquid chemical is formed in an inner conduit (Fig. 3: 310) of the heater housing, the steel wire (Fig. 3: 320) is inserted into the inner conduit, and a surface of the steel wire (Figs. 3-6: at spiral groove) is patterned in a spiral shape. Lee fails to disclose an inner wall of the inner conduit are patterned in a spiral shape having opposite direction from the spiral pattern of the steel wire. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the agricultural machine of Lee to include an inner wall of the inner conduit are patterned in a spiral shape having opposite direction from the spiral pattern of the steel wire for the advantage of increasing the vortex effect, since it is has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
For claim 5, Lee discloses the agricultural fogging machine of claim 1, wherein the heater housing (Fig. 3: 300) includes an inner pipe (Figs. 3-6: 330) and an outer pipe (Figs. 3-6: 310), and the inner pipe and the outer pipe separate the movement path of the liquid chemical (as discussed in the translated description “A spiral groove 321 through which the liquid chemical injected through is flowed is formed”, where the inner conduit 330 is housed within the outer pipe 310).
For claim 6, Lee discloses the agricultural fogging machine of claim 1, wherein the steel wire includes the plurality of grooves formed along a spiral pattern (Fig. 4: at 320 and as discussed in the translated description “A spiral groove 321 through which the liquid chemical injected through is flowed is formed”).
For claim 7, Lee discloses the agricultural fogging machine of claim 1, further comprising a support structure configured to support the steel wire (Fig. 6: 314), wherein the support structure further includes an inner ring surrounding the steel wire (as shown in Fig. 6) and an outer ring attached to a surface of the spray tube (Fig. 6 shows a outermost wall surface with an opening, thus defining a ring, that supports the spray tube 313).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Allen (GB 2451308 A) teaches an agricultural fogging machine comprising: a fin (Figs. 1, 2, 3e, 4-6: 10) inserted into a movement path of warmed air to generate a vortex (as discussed in the abstract); States, III et al. (US 2016/0279652) shows a fluid dispensing device for forming fog, includes stationary or movable vanes to create a vortex; and Carlon (US 5,052,618) shows an agricultural fogging machine having two liquid chemical containers, a heater, and a pump.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIELLE A CLERKLEY whose telephone number is (571)270-7611. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30AM-5PM.
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/DANIELLE A CLERKLEY/ Examiner, Art Unit 3643