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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicants’ election without traverse of species II, Fig. 7 in the reply filed on 07/10/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claim 15 recites the limitation "the discharge valve" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in 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.
Claims 9-10 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oliver (10,655,309) in view of Cunningham et al. (8,720,867).
Regarding claim 9, Oliver discloses a walk-in bathtub installation comprising: a walk-in bathtub 12 having a drain system 45, one or more bath jets 52a fitted in one or more walls of the tub to provide a whirlpool function, and a discharge drain 46 and a seat 32; a reconfigurable water distribution system 10, comprising: a single motorized pump 48 having an input 60 connected to a suction port 50 of the bathtub 12, and an output port delivering pressurized water; a pipe system 62 connecting the pump output port to the one or more bath jets 52a to and the one or more small jets 52b, and to the discharge drain 46 connected to the drain system 45, the pipe system 62 including one or more valves 64 to configure water paths between the pump 48, the one or more bath jets 52a, the one or more small jets 52b, and the drain system 45 to selectively direct the pressurized water to the one or more bath jets 52a and the one or more small jets 52b, and the drain system to perform a whirlpool and a drainage function, respectively.
However, Oliver does not disclose one or more small jets to provide a microbubble function. Attention is directed to Cunningham et al. which teach a bathtub installation comprising micro-bubble small jet 124 to provide bubbles to decrease muscle tension and increase body circulation. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of skill in the art to modify Oliver water distribution system to include micro-bubble small jets in view of the teaching of Cunningham et al for decreasing muscle tension and increasing body circulation of a user.
Regarding claim 10, Oliver teaches the one or more valves are electrically controllable by a controller 74 operatively connected to a user interface panel 54 for selecting one of the bathing functions when the pump 48 is operating.
Regarding claim 15, one of the valves 64 is a three port diverter valve.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11-12 and 14 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.
Claims 1-8 are allowed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Manchiraju teaches a walk-in bathtub comprising a single pump, a pipe system and different types of valves.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUYEN D LE whose telephone number is (571)272-4890. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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HUYEN D. LE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3754
/HUYEN D LE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754
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