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.
Claims 7, 11-19, and 25 are 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.
Regarding claim 7, the term “near” used in the phrase “positioned near a valve box cover” is considered ambiguous terminology that does not define the metes and bounds of the claim.
Regarding claim 11, the limitation “an apparatus” is introduced twice in the claim and it is unclear if applicant is referring to the same apparatus or another.
Regarding claim 16, the term “near” used in the phrase “near a valve box cover” is considered ambiguous terminology that does not define the metes and bounds of the claim.
Regarding claim 25, the term “near” used in the phrase “positioned near the valve box cover” is considered ambiguous terminology that does not define the metes and bounds of the claim.
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) 1-4, 8-13, 17-18, 20-22, and 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kehr (U.S. Patent No. 1,004,436) in view of Zimmerly (U.S. Patent No. 4,775,469).
Regarding claim 1, Kehr discloses an apparatus (Figs. 1-7) for maintaining valve accessibility in a valve box assembly (Figs. 1-7) comprising: a housing component (7) configured to pass through a first valve body riser (2) and rest on an annular portion (Fig. 1, Page 1 lines 57-59) of a second valve body riser (1) of the valve box assembly (Figs. 1-7), but lacks disclosure of a catchment component comprising a top portion and a mesh portion, wherein the catchment component is adapted to, in the mesh portion, retain material that enters the valve box assembly, wherein the catchment component is adapted to, in the top portion, attach to the housing component; and wherein the adapted to attach comprises the housing component configured to slidably receive the top portion of the catchment component.
Zimmerly teaches a filtering apparatus (Figs. 1-6) comprising a housing (31 and 37) configured to pass through a riser body (5), a catchment component (3) comprising a top portion (at 63) and a mesh portion (29) configured to retain material (Column 2 lines 50-55), and wherein the top portion (at 63) is adapted to attach to the housing (31 and 37) by being slidably received by the housing (Column 3 lines 17-32).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the housing component of Kehr with a catchment component as taught by Zimmerly for the advantage of filtering volumes of fluid within the body and enabling the filtering apparatus to be removed as a unit (Column 3 line 54-Column 4 line 7).
Regarding claim 2, Kehr discloses the apparatus (Figs. 1-7), wherein: the housing component (7) is configured with a first handle (8); and the apparatus self-aligns as the apparatus (cylindrical cover 7 will inherently self-align in a cylindrical riser body) passes through the first valve body riser (2).
Zimmerly (modified above) teach wherein: the housing component (31) is configured with a first handle (handle assembly of 51, 55, 59, and 61) defining a pair of slots (54) spaced apart from one another (Fig. 4); and the apparatus (25) self-aligns as the apparatus passes through (Column 3 line 54-Column 4 line 7) the riser body (5).
Regarding claim 3, Kehr discloses the apparatus (Figs. 1-7), further wherein upon being installed, the housing component (7) is guided (inner surface of the cylindrical riser body inherently guides the cylindrical lid) by a set of threads (internal threads of 2, Page 1 lines 40-45) of the first valve body riser (2) as the housing component (7) passes through the first valve body riser (2) to rest on the annular portion (Fig. 1) of the second valve body riser (1) of the valve box assembly.
Regarding claim 4, Kehr discloses the apparatus (Figs. 1-7), wherein the housing component (7) further comprises an outer wall (Fig. 1) with a diameter (Fig. 1) less than an inner diameter (Fig. 1) of the set of threads of the first valve body riser (2) and greater than an inner diameter (Fig. 1) of the second valve body riser (1).
Regarding claim 8, Kehr discloses the apparatus (Figs. 1-7), wherein the first handle (8) is integrally formed from a single piece (Fig. 1) with a body of the housing component (7), but lacks disclosure wherein the handle is formed from a single piece of rigid polymer.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the material of the handle to be a rigid polymer, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Regarding claim 9, Zimmerly (modified above) teach wherein the housing component (31 and 37) configured to slidably receive the top portion (at 63) is by way of a path (inner surface of 47, Fig. 5) through rigid members (Fig. 5) defining a passage narrower (Column 3 lines 17-53) than a diameter of the top portion (at 63).
Regarding claim 10, Zimmerly (modified above) teach wherein the top portion (at 63) is configured to be flexible (Column 3 lines 17-32) and compresses while passing through the rigid members (Column 3 lines 17-53) and rebounds to a prior size (natural form) of the top portion after passing through.
Regarding claim 11, Kehr discloses a method for configuring an apparatus (Figs. 1-7) for maintaining valve accessibility in a valve box assembly (Figs. 1-7) comprising: locating a valve box assembly (Figs. 1-7) that comprises a first valve body riser (2), a second valve body riser (1) and a valve box cover (5); removing the valve box cover (5) from the first valve body riser (2); dropping (loosely seated, Page 1 line 57-59) the apparatus (7) into the valve box assembly (Figs. 1-7); and reengaging the valve box cover (5) with the first valve body riser (2), but lacks disclosure of placing a top portion of a catchment component of an apparatus into a slidably receiving portion of a housing component that is configured to provide a path through rigid members.
Zimmerly teaches a filtering apparatus (Figs. 1-6) comprising a housing (31 and 37) configured to pass through a riser body (5), a catchment component (3) comprising a top portion (at 63) and a mesh portion (29) configured to retain material (Column 2 lines 50-55), and wherein the top portion (at 63) is adapted to attach to the housing (31 and 37) by being slidably received by the housing (Column 3 lines 17-53) by way of a path (inner surface of 47, Fig. 5) through rigid members (Fig. 5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the housing component of Kehr with a catchment component as taught by Zimmerly for the advantage of filtering volumes of fluid within the body and enabling the filtering apparatus to be removed as a unit (Column 3 line 54-Column 4 line 7).
Regarding claim 12, Zimmerly (modified above) teach wherein: the housing component (31) is configured with a first handle (handle assembly of 51, 55, 59, and 61) defining a pair of slots (54) spaced apart from one another (Fig. 4); and the catchment component (3) self-aligns as the apparatus (25) passes through (Column 3 line 54-Column 4 line 7) the riser body (5).
Regarding claim 13, Kehr discloses the method further wherein during the dropping, the housing component (7) is guided (cylindrical inner wall of the body guides the cylindrical lid) by a set of threads (internal threads of 2, Page 1 lines 40-45) of the first valve body riser (2) as the housing component (7) passes through the first valve body riser (2) to rest on an annular portion (Fig. 1) of the second valve body riser (1) of the valve box assembly.
Regarding claim 17, Kehr discloses the method wherein the slidably receiving portion of the housing component (7) is formed of a one-piece construction (Fig. 1) with the first handle (8) of the housing component (7).
Regarding claim 18, Zimmerly (modified above) teach wherein the top portion (at 63) of the catchment component (3) is configured to be flexible (Column 3 lines 17-32) and compresses while passing through the rigid members (Fig. 5) and rebounds to a prior size (natural from) of the flexible top portion after passing through.
Regarding claim 20, Kehr discloses a system (Figs. 1-7) for maintaining valve accessibility in a valve box assembly comprising: a valve box assembly (Figs. 1-7) that comprises a first valve body riser (2), a second valve body riser (1) and a valve box cover (5); a housing component (7) of an apparatus configured to pass through the first valve body riser (2) and rest on an annular portion (Fig. 1, Page 1 lines 57-59) of the second valve body riser (1), but lacks disclosure of a catchment component comprising a top portion and a mesh portion, wherein the catchment component is adapted to, in the mesh portion, retain material that enters the valve box assembly, wherein the catchment component is adapted to, in the top portion, attach to the housing component; and wherein the adapted to attach comprises the housing component configured to slidably receive the top portion of the catchment component.
Zimmerly teaches a filtering apparatus (Figs. 1-6) comprising a housing (31 and 37) configured to pass through a riser body (5), a catchment component (3) comprising a top portion (at 63) and a mesh portion (29) configured to retain material (Column 2 lines 50-55), and wherein the top portion (at 63) is adapted to attach to the housing (31 and 37) by being slidably received by the housing (Column 3 lines 17-32).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the housing component of Kehr with a catchment component as taught by Zimmerly for the advantage of filtering volumes of fluid within the body and enabling the filtering apparatus to be removed as a unit (Column 3 line 54-Column 4 line 7).
Regarding claim 21, Kehr discloses the system (Figs. 1-7), wherein the apparatus (7) self-aligns as the apparatus (cylindrical cover 7 will inherently self-align in a cylindrical riser body) passes through the first valve body riser (2).
Regarding claim 22, Kehr discloses the system (Figs. 1-7), further wherein upon being installed, the housing component (7) is guided (inner surface of the cylindrical riser body inherently guides the cylindrical lid) by a set of threads (internal threads of 2, Page 1 lines 40-45) of the first valve body riser (2) as the housing component (7) passes through the first valve body riser (2) to rest on the annular portion (Fig. 1) of the second valve body riser (1) of the valve box assembly.
Regarding claim 24, Zimmerly (modified above) teach wherein: the housing component (31) is configured with a first handle (handle assembly of 51, 55, 59, and 61) defining a pair of slots (54) spaced apart from one another (Fig. 4); and wherein a slidably receiving portion (47) of the housing component (31 and 37) defines a path (Fig. 5) through rigid members (Column 3 lines 17-53) to slidably receive the top portion (at 63) of the catchment component (3) and the top portion (at 63) of the catchment component (3) is configured to be flexible (Column 3 lines 17-32) and compresses while passing through the rigid members (Fig. 5) and rebounds to a prior size (natural from) of the flexible top portion after passing through.
Claim(s) 5, 14, and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kehr (U.S. Patent No. 1,004,436) in view of Zimmerly (U.S. Patent No. 4,775,469), and further in view of Floyd et al. (Pub. No. US 2010/0077677).
Regarding claims 5, 14, and 23 Kehr modified above disclose the essential features of the claimed invention but lacks disclosure wherein the housing component rests below a freeze line of the valve box assembly upon being installed in the valve box assembly.
Floyd et al. teach a valve box assembly (Figs. 1-4) comprising a fluid component (30) that is kept below the freeze line (paragraph 5) to prevent freezing (paragraph 18).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the location of the housing component to rest below the freeze line, as taught by the fluid component of Floyd et al., for the advantage of preventing any potential freezing of the component.
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kehr (U.S. Patent No. 1,004,436) in view of Zimmerly (U.S. Patent No. 4,775,469), and further in view of Morina et al. (U.S. Patent No. 6,036,401).
Regarding claim 19, Kehr modified above disclose the essential features of the claimed invention but lacks disclosure wherein the housing component further comprises: at least one selected off-center inner diameter, with a centerline parallel to a centerline of the housing component, that defines a bore operable to support a tracer wire passing through the housing component.
Morina et al. teach a valve box assembly (Fig. 1) comprising a riser body (80) having a housing component (110) within the riser body (80), wherein the housing component (110) has at least one selected off-center inner diameter (at 114, Fig. 8), with a centerline parallel (Fig. 2) to a centerline (Fig. 8) of the housing component (110), that defines a bore (114) operable to support a tracer wire (Column 9 lines 24-41) passing through the housing component (110).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the housing component of Kehr, with a wire bore as taught by Morina et al. for the advantage of enabling any necessary wires inside of the valve box assembly to be secured through the component (Column 9 lines 24-41).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is 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.
Claims 7, 15-16, and 25 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Fall et al. (U.S. Patent No. 7,073,670) disclose a catchment component connected to a housing component similar to applicant’s invention.
Green (Pub. No. US 2006/0260688) disclose a similar apparatus for maintaining accessibility in a valve box assembly.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Reinaldo Sanchez-Medina, telephone number 571-270-5168, fax number 571-270-6168. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (7:30AM-4:00PM EST).
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/REINALDO SANCHEZ-MEDINA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753