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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on March 13, 2025 and October 09, 2025 is being considered by the examiner.
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) 1-4 and 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hur et al. (US 2019/0086379).
As per claim 1, Hur et al. disclose a modular monitoring unit in a form of a gas detection device (300, figure 7), comprising:
a base in a form of a driving module (340, paragraph 0046); and
a detector module in a form of a sensor module (330, paragraph 0046) removable from the base and comprising a connection (figure 7), wherein the connection is configured to attach a gas sensing module to the detector module (see abstract and paragraphs 0050-0051).
As per claim 2, Hur et al. disclose the base comprises a pump in a form of a pump module (320) to facilitate movement of air through the detector module (paragraph 0048).
As per claim 3, Hur et al. disclose the detector module comprises a removable cover (312, paragraph 0047).
As per claim 4, Hur et al. disclose the removable cover comprises a display device (350) to indicate a status condition of the detector module (paragraph 0049).
As per claim 6, Hur et al. disclose the base comprises a tube (P1, P2)) connection configured to connect a tube to the detector module (figure 7, paragraph 0048).
As per claim 7, Hur et al. disclose the base comprises a circuitry connection configured to provide power and data transmission for the detector module (paragraph 0038).
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, 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) 5 and 8-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hur et al. (US 2019/0086379) in view of Su (CN ).
As per claim 5, Hur et al. disclose the instant claimed invention except for the removable cover is a filter module. Su discloses an air purifier (figure 1) comprises a base (10) and a removable cover (1) with a ventilation fins (1) and being secured to the base via a fastener (12) to cover a filter element (2). Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to utilize the air purifier as taught by Su in a system as disclosed by Hur et al. for the purpose of filtrating unwanted air particles.
As per claim 8, refer to claim 5 above, Hur et al. disclose method of operating a modular monitoring unit (100 of figures 1-5 and 300 of figure 7) comprising: a pump module (60 or 320) to drawing air in from a tube (P1) of the modular monitoring unit (see abstract and paragraphs 0028, 0038); testing the air for smoke, undesired chemicals, or a threshold level of particulates via a sensor in a particulate sensor chamber of a detector module of the modular monitoring unit (paragraph 0022); and passing the air through an inlet of a filter of the modular monitoring unit to reduce or remove particulates in the air (see abstract).
As per claim 9, Su discloses testing the air for an additional type of particulate via the sensor (description of figure 4).
As per claim 10, Su discloses determining whether a threshold level of the air is passing through an air sampling path via a flow sensor of the modular monitoring unit (read entire document).
As per claim 11, Su discloses determining whether the detector module is functioning properly based on whether the threshold level of the air is passing through the air sampling path (read entire document).
As per claim 12, Su discloses determining whether particulate data sensed by the sensor is accurate based on whether the threshold level of the air is passing through the air sampling path (read entire document).
As per claims 13-14, since Su discloses the gas sensor detects the poisonous and harmful substance in the ambient air exceeds the set threshold, it is fed back to the control board, an indicating lamp and a loudspeaker for prompting alarming, meanwhile the whole air cleaner acceleration work, until the sensor data is normal, quiet air purifier recovery purification state, Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to changing the filter responsive to receiving the alarm indicating the ambient air exceeds the set threshold that means the filter being ineffective/dirty at filtering a particular particulate.
As per claims 15-20, refer to claims 8-14 above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAI T. NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2961. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 9am-6pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Quan-Zhen Wang can be reached at 571-272-3114. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/TAI T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2685 June 17, 2026
Prosecution Insights