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 § 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Su (KR 20110095072 A) in view of Je (KR 20230075939 A), further in view of Skoch et al (3866950).
Regarding claim(s) 1-3, Su, (Fig. 1b, 2a), discloses drain assembly, comprising: a recessed cylindrical drain conduit (7-5, conical shape at 9 seen as a recessed inward shape) having an inner surface, and an outer surface , wherein the drain conduit comprising a first portion 9, and a second portion comprising a drain opening (5,8) extending along the length of the second portion to define a fluid flow path that allows water to drain through the drain assembly; a grate (3) with a plurality of perforations (fig 1,b) removably disposed above the drain conduit (8,9,5); a ball (2) retained within the first portion of the drain conduit (7-5) over the drain opening (5,8), wherein the ball (2) can lift off from the drain opening (5,8) to allow the water to drain through the drain opening and rest on the opening to create an airtight seal when no water flows through the drain opening ; a first lip (6) disposed at a top peripherally around the drain conduit and extending above the drain conduit, wherein between the top peripherally around the drain conduit (108) and the first lip (111) is a first cut-out ring (vertical cylindrical portion between 6 and 7).
Su fails to disclose prongs in the ball passage for guiding the ball in vertical direction. Je, Fig 8,9, teaches a similar device with four opposite 460 prongs in the ball passage for guiding the ball 500. in vertical direction
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the system disclosed by Je with four evenly spaced prongs in the ball passage for guiding the ball in vertical direction as taught by Je in order to facilitate ball movement.
Su disclose top of drain as an adapter to fit a drain pit opening but fails to disclose multiple lips and recessed portions as rings with progressively increasing diameter. Skoch teaches an adapter 20,22,28 to fit an opening (of 34) with multiple lips (horizontal stepped portions) and recessed portions as rings (vertical stepped sections) with progressively increasing diameter.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the device disclosed by Su with multiple lips and recessed portions as rings with progressively increasing diameter as taught by Skoch in order to fit different sized floor openings. Regarding the term “cut-out” for rings, the patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production If the product in the product-by-process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior product was made by a different process. (MPEP 2113).
As to claims 4,5, Su shows the drain opening 5,8 as volcano shape which extending along the length of the second portion of the drain conduit permits a higher rate of flow of water by directing and maintaining the flow of water toward the outer periphery of the drain assembly (by curved surface).
As to claim 6, the plurality of perforations (in 3) are in fluid communication with the fluid flow path of the drain conduit.
As to claim 7, the plurality of prong members (in view of Je, Fig 9, 460) extends towards the center of the drain conduit.
As to claim 8, the plurality of prong members (in view of Je, Fig 9, 460) the plurality of prong members configured around the ball allows the ball to move vertically up and down and prevent the ball from moving sidewise.
As to claims 9-12, Su as modified disclose the drain assembly adapted to fit a drain hole (translation page 3, Para 3) but fails to disclose assembly or rings (which are seen as capable of being cutout) adapted to fit drain holes of claimed optimal diameters. Thus as the general conditions of the claim are disclosed it is not considered inventive to disclose optimum or workable values of the drain assembly or ring sizes to fit claimed drain holes diameters. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have used the claimed values of the drain assembly or ring sizes to fit claimed drain holes diameters, since it has been held that where the general conditions of the claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 23. Applicants' written description fails to allege that the improvements would have been unexpected. Furthermore, there is nothing in the record before us to indicate that the selection of such ranges would have been beyond the technical grasp of a person of ordinary skill in the art. Note that the specification contains no disclosure of either the critical nature of the claimed ranges or any unexpected results arising therefrom. Criticality of a range is generally established by showing that the results achieved are unexpected relative to the prior art results. In re Geisler, 116 F.3d 1465, 1469-70 (Fed. Cir. 1997). To the extent that improved properties were achieved, "[m]ere improvement in properties does not always suffice to show unexpected results." In re Soni, 54 F.3d 746, 751. The law is replete with cases in which the difference between the claimed invention and the prior art is some range or other variable within the claims. . . . These cases have consistently held that in such a situation, the applicant must show that the particular range is critical, generally by showing that the claimed range achieves unexpected results relative to the prior art range." Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. v. First Quality Baby Products, LLC, No. 09-C-916, 2012 BL 233091, at *5 (E.D. Wis. Sept. 12, 2012)
As to claim 13, the recessed drain conduit and the recessed top portion allow drain lines to connect to the drain assembly (at outlet 5).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Atif Chaudry at phone number 571-270-3768. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (9:30AM-6:00PM EST).
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/ATIF H CHAUDRY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753