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 § 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)(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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Crabtree (US 2013/0048099).Regarding Claim 1:In Figures 1-6, Crabtree discloses an adding system (1, 2, see system in Figures 1-2) for fire-extinguishing units (used in firefight industry as mentioned in the abstract) for producing a mixture of extinguishing agent (water, see paragraph [0023]) and extinguishing agent additive (additive of choice, see paragraph [0023]) by adding an extinguishing agent additive to an extinguishing agent (see paragraph [0023], comprising a motor (1) able to be driven by a flow of extinguishing agent (as mentioned paragraph [0023]), with an input (fluid coupling 3) for supplying the extinguishing agent to the motor (as mentioned paragraph [0023]), an output (4) for discharging the extinguishing agent from the motor (as mentioned paragraph [0023]), and an output shaft (9) able to be driven by the motor (see paragraph [0025]), an adding pump (2) for conveying the extinguishing agent additive (see paragraph [0023]) which has an input shaft (interior portions of rotor 13) coupled to the output shaft of the motor (as seen in Figure 5, 13 is coupled to 9), an inlet (5) for providing the extinguishing agent additive, and an outlet (outlet connected conduit assembly 6, see Figure 3) for discharging the extinguishing agent additive (see paragraph [0023]), an adding line (portions of conduit assembly 6 downstream of check valve 8) having a first motor-side end (end of conduit assembly 6 connected to 4, see Figure 3, henceforth referred to as E1) and a second outlet-side end (end of conduit assembly 6 connected to check valve 8, see Figure 2, henceforth referred to as E2), wherein the motor-side end (E1) is fluidly connected to the output of the motor (connected to 4 as seen in Figure 2), an extinguishing agent additive line (line comprising check valve 8 and selector valve 7) having a first pump-side end (end connected to pump 2, henceforth referred to as P1) and a second adding line-side end (end connected to 7 and 8, henceforth referred to as P2), wherein the pump-side end (P1) is fluidly connected to the outlet of the adding pump (as seen in Figure 3, P1 is connected to the pump outlet) and the adding line-side end (P2) is fluidly connected to the adding line at an admixture point (admixture point formed by selector valve 7), wherein the motor (1) is a rotation motor in which a rotor (17) rotatably mounted in a drainage housing (14, 15), and wherein a wall (15) of the drainage housing (14, 15) comprises at least one through slot for the inlet of the extinguishing agent into the drainage housing and/or for the outlet of the extinguishing agent out of the drainage housing (15 is described as a perforated liner such the perforations closer to inlet 3 can form an inlet for the extinguishing agent while the perforations closer to the outlet 4 can form an outlet for the extinguishing agent, see paragraph [0025]. Each perforation can be viewed as a slot since it extends over a thickness of the liner as seen in annotated Figure A below).
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Regarding Claim 2:In Figures 1-6, Crabtree discloses the adding system, wherein the at least one through slot is a through slot extending substantially in a plane perpendicular to an axis of rotation of the rotor (as seen in Figure A above, each through slot extends in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the rotor).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/04/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
With respect to the rejection of claim 1, the applicant has argued that Crabtree’s perforations are not through slots and are merely holes in a liner since they are not elongated. However, as clearly seen in annotated Figure A above, each of Crabtree’s perforations extend along a thickness of the wall (wall of liner 15) wherein in this thickness direction, these perforations form slots elongated in this thickness direction represented by the perpendicular plane in Figure A. Since each perforation extends in a perpendicular direction over a thickness of the wall (15), they can be conceived as slots by one of ordinary skill in the art. The argument that these perforations are only holes is not persuasive since there is no specific slot length claimed and the instant specification has no specific disclosure regarding how long the slot has to be to be considered a slot. “A slot is defined as follows: a narrow, elongated depression, groove, notch, slit, or aperture, especially a narrow opening for receiving or admitting something, as a coin or a letter.” (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/slot). As seen here, a coin slot for instance is a slot with a minimal thickness or elongation in the perpendicular direction (based on claim 2 interpretation of the slot extending in the perpendicular direction). However, regardless of this minimal elongation in the perpendicular direction, a coin slot is still considered a slot. Hence, any narrow aperture in a wall can be considered a slot as long as the wall has some predefined thickness. As clearly seen in annotated Figure A above, Crabtree’s through slots have an elongation in the thickness direction of the wall (15). Due to these reasons, the applicant’s arguments are not persuasive.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOMINICK L PLAKKOOTTAM whose telephone number is (571)270-7571. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 12 pm -8 pm ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Essama Omgba can be reached on 469-295-9278. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DOMINICK L PLAKKOOTTAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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