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 .
Specification
Applicants are reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided. For example, in line 1, “are provided” and in lines 3, 7, 9, “is provided” should be deleted.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 1-2, the preamble phrase, “valve, comprising a water path” should read –valve comprising: a water path--;
In claim 1, the term “discommunication” should read –miscommunication-;
In the preamble, the use of the term "hybrid" is unclear. In particular, with respect of which characteristic(s) of the valve the expression "hybrid" should apply (e.g. presenting actually an aggregate of valves having different distribution function or combining different elements; or presenting different material; or receiving and/or distributing fluids of different kinds or from different sources). Clarification is requested.
Since claims 3-20 are in the chain of dependency, they too are subjected to the objections. Appropriate correction is required.
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 111042283 A to Xiamen Paifute Sanitary Technology Co., LTD.
Regarding Claim 1, Xiamen discloses a flushing system, with an auxiliary flushing waterway which includes a water path distribution module 10 (first flushing circuit) module and a pressure water inlet module 20 (second flushing circuit), wherein the water path distribution module 10 is provided with a water inlet channel (fig. 4),
and a plurality of water outlet channels, the pressure water inlet module 20 is provided with a water inlet channel (figs 2-4); the water path distribution module is provided with a first switching mechanism 11 (first control/drain valve); the pressure water inlet module is provided with a second switching mechanism 21 (second control/solenoid valve). Xiamen is silent as to naming a distribution chamber, first/second water inlet channel, first water path, and the arrangement where the water path distribution module 10 is provided with a distribution chamber, the pressure water inlet module 20 is provided with a first water path, and the first water inlet channel and the first water path are in communication with the distribution chamber; and the first switching mechanism controls communication between the first water outlet channels and the distribution chamber; where the second switching mechanism 21 controls communication between the second water inlet channel and the first water path. Instead, Xiamen indicates a first control valve 11 (first switching mechanism) and a second control valve 21 (second switching mechanism) for controlling water supply to the bottom of the toilet, whereas a third control valve 31 controls water supply to the toilet wash surface; whereas controlling the flushing time of at least one of the control valves 11,21, 31, forms at least two flushing modes. Second switching mechanism 21 (second control valve) controls the pressure water inlet module 20 (second flushing circuit), and can be directly connected to a city water supply pipeline through the control of the solenoid valve; and the waterway path distribution module 10 (first flushing circuit) is controlled by the first switching mechanism 11 (first control valve) that directly sprays to the bottom of the toilet. The inlet/outlet channels of each of the waterways are at the end of a water channel ([para 0017]). When the first control valve H is opened, water is supplied to the bottom of the toilet through the water tank 50, and the first control valve 11 adopts the water tank 50 drain valve; the second control valve 21 is used to control the opening and closing of the second flushing waterway 20, the second control valve 21 is a solenoid valve or a pump, the second flushing waterway 20 is an auxiliary flushing waterway, and can be directly connected to the city water supply pipeline through the control of the solenoid valve. If the water pressure is low, a low-pressure start-up program increases the pressure to improve the flushing effect ([0042]). The first flushing mode and the second flushing mode are facilitated by the control switch which also includes a detection module for detecting the water inlet pressure or flow; Thus, the flushing mode is automatically switched based on water inlet pressure or water inlet flow to obtain the required flushing water pressure or flow [para 0044]). Essentially establishing different flush times for each control valve imposes a variety of flush modes with different pressures or flows. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have replaced the arrangement of a distribution chamber, a plurality of first water outlet channels, a first water inlet channel connected to the distribution chamber, and a first switch that controls whether each first water outlet channel is connected to the distribution chamber of the instant invention with an arrangement by a flushing method having an auxiliary flushing waterway with a first/second flushing circuit, controlled by first /second control valves for a toilet, tank and drain pipe as taught by Xiamen, wherein doing so would merely be substituting equivalents (i.e., cavities on different distribution waterways for connecting different waterways) known for the same purpose. An express suggestion to substitute one equivalent component or process for another is not necessary to render such substitution obvious. See MPEP 2144.06.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record (see USPTO Form 892) and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. More specifically, CN 224092637 U to Jiang is directed to the state of the art as a teaching of a toilet flush device having a main body 10 with noise-reducing water outlet passage 16 and toilet device main body 10, with a first/second water inlet/outlet 11, 12 and a second water inlet/outlet channel 13,14, a third water outlet passage 15.
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LORI BAKER whose telephone number is (571)272-4971. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday thru Friday: 9 am - 6 pm CST. Upon filing an amendment, please notify the Examiner to ensure timely processing for review.
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/LORI L BAKER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754
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