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 15 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.
In claim 15, line 1, the phrase “the driving shaft” lacks antecedent basis. Claim 15 is an exact copy of claim 7, however, since applicant deleted the language relating to “the speed reducing member is further provided with a driving shaft extending along the first direction” in independent claim 2, the phrase “the driving shaft” lacks antecedent basis. Art is being applied as best understood.
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)(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, 2, 7-9, 15(as best understood), 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2023/0009593 A1(Chen).
As to claim 1, Chen ‘593 discloses a water outlet device (100), comprising: a body (9) provided with a water passing chamber (water inlet cavity between the connector 1 and the body 3)) and a water outlet (8), wherein the water passing chamber (water inlet cavity between the connector 1 and the body 3) is provided with a water passing port (central opening in the body 3) connected to the water outlet (8), an inner wall of the water passing chamber is provided with a plurality of inner gear teeth (at the inner side of 24), and each of the inner gear teeth is disposed around a first axle line extending along a first direction; an impeller (22) disposed in the water passing chamber (water inlet cavity between the connector 1 and the body 3), rotatably connected to the body (3) around the first axle line and adapted to rotate when water enters the water passing chamber (water inlet cavity between the connector 1 and the body 3), and provided with an eccentric shaft (shaft of the eccentric impeller 22, 33, see Paragraph [0032]) extending along the first direction and along a second axle line parallel to the first axle line; a speed reducing member (25) disposed in the water passing chamber (1, 24, 3), rotatably connected to the eccentric shaft (22, 33), and provided with a plurality of outer gear teeth (figure 3) adapted to be engaged with the inner gear teeth (24), wherein each of the outer gear teeth is disposed around the second axle line (251), a number of teeth of the outer gear teeth is less than a number of teeth of the inner gear teeth (necessarily present in order to reduce the rotation speed according to see Paragraph [0030]), and the speed reducing member (25) is further provided with a driving shaft (251) extending along the first direction; a switching member (4) disposed in the water passing chamber (water inlet cavity between the connector 1 and the body 3) and sliding and cooperating with the body (9) along a second direction perpendicular to the first axle line, and provided with a blocking portion (49), wherein the blocking portion (49) is attached to a surface where the water passing port (central opening in the body 3) is located (see figures 2, 5), the switching member (4) is provided with a driving groove (40) extending in a direction perpendicular to the second direction and the first axle line, and the driving shaft (251) is adapted to extend into the driving groove (40) and abut against a groove wall of the driving groove (40), so that the blocking portion (49) slides repeatedly relative to the body (3) along the second direction to change a water passing area of the water passing port see Paragraphs [0033-0037]. See Figures 1-12 and Paragraphs [0018-0063].
As to claim 2, Chen ‘593 discloses a water outlet device (100), comprising: a body (9) provided with a water passing chamber (water inlet cavity between the connector 1 and the body 3) and a water outlet (8), wherein the water passing chamber (water inlet cavity between the connector 1 and the body 3) is provided with a water passing port connected to the water outlet (8), an inner wall of the water passing chamber (water inlet cavity between the connector 1 and the body 3) is provided with a plurality of inner gear teeth (at the inner side of 24), and each of the inner gear teeth is disposed around a first axle line; an impeller (22) rotatably connected to the body (3) around the first axle line and adapted to rotate when water enters the water passing chamber (water inlet cavity between the connector 1 and the body 3), and provided with an eccentric shaft (shaft of the eccentric impeller 22, 33, see Paragraph [0032]) extending along a second axle line parallel to the first axle line; a speed reducing member (25) rotatably connected to the eccentric shaft (22, 23), and provided with a plurality of outer gear teeth (see figure 3) adapted to be engaged with the inner gear teeth, wherein a number of teeth of the outer gear teeth is less than a number of teeth of the inner gear teeth (necessarily present in order to reduce the rotation speed according to see Paragraph [0030]), the speed reducing member (25) is further provided with a blocking portion (49), and the blocking portion (49) is attached to a surface where the water passing port is located and is adapted to move relative to the body (3) to change a water passing area of the water passing port, see Paragraphs [0033-0037]. See Figures 1-12 and Paragraphs [0018-0063].
As to claims 7 and 15(as best understood), see Figure 5 and driving shaft 252 extending in a direction parallel to the second axle line.
As to claims 8 and 16, see angled guiding channel 29 and Paragraph [0028].
As to claims 9 and 17, see speed reducing member 25 and plurality of water passing holes shown in figure 3.
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) 3 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2023/0009593 A1(Chen) in view of CN218360007U.
As to claims 3 and 11, Chen ‘593, discloses all the featured elements of the instant invention, except specifically wherein the number of teeth of the outer gear is one less than the number of teeth of the inner gear. CN218360007U discloses a water outlet device with an outer gear 213 with teeth 304 and an inner gear 206 with teeth 303, wherein the number of teeth of the outer gear is one less than the number of teeth of the inner gear, see Figure 4 and page 5, lines 19-29 of the translated document. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention wherein the number of teeth of the outer gear is one less than the number of teeth of the inner gear in the apparatus of Chen ‘593, as taught by CN218360007U, since with such a modification the difference of the tooth number can be adjusted according to the transmission ratio or reduction ratio required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6, 10, 12-14 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter of claims 4-6 and 12-14: The closest prior art being Chen ‘593 did not teach or suggest a water outlet device as claimed by the applicant, specifically a water outlet device wherein the body is provided with at least a first annular water channel, a second annular water channel, a third annular water channel, and a fourth annular water channel, the first annular water channel, the second annular water channel, the third annular water channel, and the fourth annular water channel are all provided with the water outlets, the water passing port at least comprises a first water passing port and a second water passing port, each of the water passing ports is disposed on a sliding path of the blocking portion, the first water passing port is adapted to be connected to the first annular water channel and the third annular water channel, and the second water passing port is connected to the second annular water channel and the fourth annular water channel, together in combination with the other claimed features of applicant’s invention.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter of claim 10: The closest prior art being Chen ‘593 did not teach or suggest a water outlet device as claimed by the applicant, specifically a water outlet device wherein the body comprises a water inlet member, a water inclining body, a housing, a water distribution plate, and a water outlet panel, the water inlet member is provided with a water inlet, the housing is provided with a seating surface and the water passing chamber(132) with an opening on the seating surface, the water inclining body is seated on the seating surface, the water inlet member is seated on the water inclining body and is fixedly connected to the housing, the water inclining body is provided with a plurality of inclined water holes, a water inlet end and a water outlet end of the inclined water hole are respectively connected to the water inlet and the water passing chamber such that the impeller rotates, the housing is further provided with an installation groove, the water distribution plate is disposed in the installation groove and is provided with a water passing channel connected to the water passing port, the water outlet panel is provided with the water outlet connected to the water passing channel, and the water outlet panel is fixedly connected to the housing and abuts against the water distribution plate, so that two sides of the water distribution plate are respectively limited by the water outlet panel and a groove bottom of the installation groove, together in combination with the other claimed features of applicant’s invention.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter of claim 18: The closest prior art being Chen ‘593 did not teach or suggest a water outlet device as claimed by the applicant, specifically a water outlet device wherein the body comprises a water inlet member, an water inclining body, a housing, a water distribution plate, and a water outlet panel, the water inlet member is provided with a water inlet, the housing is provided with a seating surface with an opening on the water passing chamber on the seating surface, the water inclining body is seated on the seating surface, the water inlet member is seated on the water inclining body and is fixedly connected to the housing, the water inclining body is provided with a plurality of inclined water holes, a water inlet end and a water outlet end of the inclined water hole are respectively connected to the water inlet and the water passing chamber such that the impeller rotates, the housing is further provided with an installation groove, the water distribution plate is disposed in the installation groove and is provided with a water passing channel connected to the water passing port, the water outlet panel is provided with the water outlet connected to the water passing channel, and the water outlet panel is fixedly connected to the housing and abuts against the water distribution plate, so that two sides of the water distribution plate are respectively limited by the water outlet panel and a groove bottom of the installation groove, together in combination with the other claimed features of applicant’s invention.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Zhou et al ‘455 and Leber ‘024 disclose water outlet devices with impellers and speed reducing members similar to the instant invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN J GANEY whose telephone number is (571)272-4899. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Arthur Hall can be reached at (571)270-1814. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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STEVEN J. GANEY
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3752
/STEVEN J GANEY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3752
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