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 .
Response to Amendment
This office action is responsive to the amendment filed on 07/23/2026. As directed by the amendment: claims 1, 7, 10, and 15 have been amended. Thus, claims 1-20 are presently pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 9-11, filed 07/23/2026, with respect to claims 10-20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claims 10-20 has been overcome.
Applicant's arguments regarding claim 1 has been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding Applicant’s argument that Bares does not disclose “wherein a first extended shank and a second extended shank are configured to pass through a first opening and a second opening of a mounting surface, respectively. While not submitting to these rejections, claim 1 is amended to further include a feature wherein --the first and second extended shanks are configured to secure the faucet assembly to the mounting surface”, and further teaches away from it because the title of Bares is "Bridge-Style Faucet for Single-Hole Installation", as well as the Abstract, Background, and paragraphs [0035] and [0036] therein similarly refer to a single-hole installation, the Examiner respectfully disagrees. The Examiner acknowledges that Bares focuses on a single-hole installation. However, Bares also includes an optional mounting arrangement that includes “an attachment opening 136 extending through a lower wall surface that defines a bottom of the bore 133 and that defines a passageway between the bore 133 and a lower opening 138 of each side body 130...The attachment opening 136 may be configured to receive (or support) an attachment element (e.g. a threaded rod) that may be used to facilitate the attachment of the side body 130 to the support structure.” (see [0054]). The Examiner has interpreted these threaded rods as the first and second extended shanks that would pass through the mounting surface to secure the faucet thereto. Although Bares does not explicitly refer to the openings in the mounting surface, Pitsch was relied upon to show a standard connection with such openings which are known to be used for passing mounting shanks therethrough as means for securing them to a mounting surface.
The amendments to the claims affected the prior scope, necessitating further search and consideration. The instant office action has been made FINAL.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-20 are allowed.
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 of this title, 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 1-4 and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bares et al. (US 20200378096) in view of Pitsch et al. (WO 2022204502 also published as US 20240159032).
Bares et al. disclose:
1. A faucet assembly (200) comprising: a bridge (left and right 220) comprising a central water inlet (210) configured to removably connect to a cold water supply line (212) and a hot water supply line (211); a cold water valve (260) housed within a cold water valve housing (130) comprising a first extended shank (threaded rod that connects to 136; [0052] states “The attachment opening 136 may be configured to receive (or support) an attachment element (e.g. a threaded rod) that may be used to facilitate the attachment of the side body 130 to the support structure.”), wherein the cold water valve housing is connected to the bridge at a first end of the bridge (130 is seen on the end of 220, as seen in figs. 9 and 12) and the cold water valve is configured to receive cold water from a lower cold water pathway (225) in the bridge (hot and cold pathways are identical, oppositely oriented, such that 211/212 feeds into 214 into a lower passage 225); and a hot water valve (other 260) housed within a hot water valve housing (other 130) comprising a second extended shank (threaded rod that connects to 136 on hot water side), wherein the hot water valve housing is connected to the bridge at a second end of the bridge (similar to the cold water side, the other 130 is seen on the end of the other 220, as seen in figs. 9 and 12) and the hot water valve is configured to receive hot water from a lower hot water pathway in the bridge (hot and cold pathways are identical, oppositely oriented, such that 212 feeds into 214 into a lower passage 225), wherein the bridge comprises a mixing chamber (216) configured to receive cold water from the cold water valve via an upper cold water pathway (235) in the bridge ([0061] states “The open end 221 of the cold water waterway body 220 is configured to be fluidly coupled to the connector body 219 (e.g., via a second sealing sidewall 217) to fluidly couple the cold water outlet 214 to the inlet cold water flow path 225, and to fluidly couple the outlet cold water flow path 235 to the second cold water inlet 215.”) and hot water from the hot water valve via an upper hot water pathway (other 235) in the bridge ([0060] states “The movement of the valve body 261 selectively couples the inlet flow path 225 of the associated waterway body 220 with the outlet flow path 235.” and [0061] states “The open end 221 of the hot water waterway body 220 is configured to be fluidly coupled to the connector body 219 (e.g., via a first sealing sidewall 217) to fluidly couple the hot water outlet 214 to the inlet hot water flow path 225, and to fluidly couple the outlet hot water flow path 235 to the second hot water inlet 215.”).
2. The faucet assembly of claim 1, wherein the upper cold water pathway (235) is configured to transport cold water in a first direction (from outwardly situated valve to center connector body 219) and the lower cold water pathway (225) is configured to transport cold water in a second direction (from center body 219 to outwardly situated valve 260), wherein the first direction and the second direction are opposite (as seen in figs. 9-12).
3. The faucet assembly of claim 1, wherein the upper hot water pathway (other 235) is configured to transport water in a third direction (from outwardly situated other valve to center connector body 219) and the lower hot water pathway is configured to transport water in a fourth direction (from center body 219 to outwardly situated other valve 260), wherein the third direction and the fourth direction are opposite (as seen in figs. 9-12).
4. The faucet assembly of claim 1, wherein the upper cold water pathway is directly above the lower cold water pathway (as seen in figs. 9-12), and the upper hot water pathway is directly above the lower hot water pathway (as seen in figs. 9-12).
7. The faucet assembly of claim 1, wherein the mounting surface comprises a central opening for the cold water supply line and the hot water supply line to pass through (opening for 211, 212 to pass through).
8. The faucet assembly of claim 1, wherein the cold water supply line (212) and the hot water supply line (211) are configured to connect to the bridge at a location that is below the mixing chamber of the bridge (as seen in fig. 12, 211 and 212 connect to the bottom of 219).
9. The faucet assembly of claim 1, comprising an outlet tube (213) configured to removably connect to the bridge and receive mixed water from the mixing chamber ([0066] states “Hot water from the outlet hot water flow path 235 flows through the second hot water inlet 215 and into the mixing chamber 216, before flowing out through the outlet 213 as shown in FIG. 17. If the cold water handle 284 has also been rotated to fluidly couple the cold water supply source to the outlet 213, the hot water may mix with the cold water in the mixing chamber 216 prior to flowing through the outlet 213 and being dispensed through the spout 20.”).
Bares et al. disclose the invention as essentially claimed, including wherein opening 136 can optionally receive a threaded rod/shank for mounting to a structure (see [0052]). However, Bares et al. does not explicitly disclose wherein the mounting surface of the structure comprises the first opening for the extended shank of the cold water valve housing to pass through, and the second opening for the extended shank of the hot water valve housing to pass through.
Pitsch et al. teach a related faucet assembly (100) having a bridge (110) connecting two handles (104, 105) to a faucet (102), that is mounted to a mounting surface (101), wherein the mounting surface comprises the first opening (seen on right side in fig. 1b) for receiving the threaded extended shank of the cold water valve housing (106), and the second opening (seen on the left side in fig. 1b) for receiving the threaded extended shank of the hot water valve housing (107), for the purpose of providing known additional attachment points to a mounting surface for a faucet assembly.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Bares et al., such that the mounting surface of the structure comprises the first opening for the extended shank of the cold water valve housing, the second opening for the extended shank of the hot water valve housing, as suggested by Pitsch et al., for the purpose of providing additional attachment points to facilitate the attachment of the faucet assembly to the support structure, in a manner common in the art and which yielding predictable results.
Claims 5-6 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bares et al. (US 20200378096) in view of Thomas et al. (US 20120227843).
Bares et al. disclose the invention as essentially claimed, except for wherein the bridge comprises an engineering thermoplastic selected from the group consisting of polyamides, polyesters, polycarbonates, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, polysulfones (PSU), polyethersulfones (PESU), cyclicolefin copolymer (COC), acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate (ASA), polyphenylene oxides (PPO), polyphenylene sulfides (PPS), polyphenylenesulfones (PPSU), polyether ether ketones (PEEK), polyethylenimine (PEI), polyphthalamides (PPA), polyacetals, copolymers thereof, and blends thereof; or wherein the bridge comprises a glass-filled polyamide or a glass-filled polyphthalamide.
Thomas et al. teach a related faucet assembly having a bridge connection (100) between handle and a faucet, wherein the bridge comprises a polymer such as polyamide (see [0054]) which can be reinforced with glass fibers (see [0042], [0056]), for the purpose of providing a material that can be easily molded to form the passageways and which can form leak-proof bonds with connected components, in a manner known in the art (see [0053]-[0056]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Bares et al., such that the bridge comprises an engineering thermoplastic selected from the group consisting of polyamides, polyesters, polycarbonates, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, polysulfones (PSU), polyethersulfones (PESU), cyclicolefin copolymer (COC), acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate (ASA), polyphenylene oxides (PPO), polyphenylene sulfides (PPS), polyphenylenesulfones (PPSU), polyether ether ketones (PEEK), polyethylenimine (PEI), polyphthalamides (PPA), polyacetals, copolymers thereof, and blends thereof; or wherein the bridge comprises a glass-filled polyamide or a glass-filled polyphthalamide, as taught by Thomas et al., for the purpose of providing a material that can be easily molded to form the passageways and which can form leak-proof bonds with connected components, in a manner known in the art.
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art such that the bridge comprises an engineering thermoplastic selected from the group consisting of polyamides, polyesters, polycarbonates, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, polysulfones (PSU), polyethersulfones (PESU), cyclicolefin copolymer (COC), acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate (ASA), polyphenylene oxides (PPO), polyphenylene sulfides (PPS), polyphenylenesulfones (PPSU), polyether ether ketones (PEEK), polyethylenimine (PEI), polyphthalamides (PPA), polyacetals, copolymers thereof, and blends thereof; or wherein the bridge comprises a glass-filled polyamide or a glass-filled polyphthalamide, 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.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 MARINA TIETJEN, whose telephone number is 571-270-5422. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (10:30AM-7:00PM CST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisors can be reached by phone. Tom Barrett can be reached at 571-272-4746, Ken Rinehart can be reached at 571-272-4881, and Craig Schneider can be reached at 571-272-3607. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MARINA A TIETJEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
