DETAILED ACTION
Non Final
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
Each information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 8/19/2025, 8/28/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
It is noted that upon review, no claim terminology was determined to be of sufficient means plus function nonce/style language so as to invoke 35 USC 112 6th paragraph. Any generic terms appeared to be sufficiently modified by their either prepository terms, modifiers or use in the art to take any generic terms out of potential scope of 112 6th. It is noted that during prosecution the claim language may change and thus there is no final disposition on such interpretation until time as the claims may issue.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Gustafson (US 2019/0024547.)
Gustafson discloses in claim 24: A lubricant distribution system (at 16 figure 1) comprising: a bulk tank (26) configured to store a supply of fresh lubricant (oil); a pump (34) configured to pump the fresh lubricant from the bulk tank to an application system (at 20); a flow control (functional arrangement via ph 0031/0041/0042/0052/ and claim 16) configured to disable pumping by the pump based on receipt of a flow control signal (via 24b,d); a tank alarm configured to output a visual alarm, an audio alarm, or (alt grouping under MPEP 2131) both (notification device 22, ph 0020, 0040, 0069) based on receipt of an alarm signal (id); a low level sensor (30/32, ph 0052) configured to generate a control level signal based on fall of lubricant within the bulk tank; a high level sensor (14, id) configured to generate a monitor level signal based on rise of lubricant within the bulk tank (ph 0015); and a level manager (16) configured to: generate the flow control signal in response to the control level signal from the low level sensor (claim 16); and generate the alarm signal in response to one of the control level signal and the monitor level signal (the level from either 14 or 30, as applied to claim 10, 11); wherein the level manager is operable in a first substate in which the level manager generates the alarm signal based on the control level signal (30 as discussed) and in a second substate in which the level manager generates the alarm signal based on the monitor level signal (14 as discussed.)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-18 and 21are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art fails to disclose or render obvious the following: “the level manager comprising: a housing; a plurality of channel ports mounted to the housing, each channel port providing a connection point for data and power communications…the control level sensor, the monitor level sensor, the flow control, and the tank alarm are connected to the level manager via a signal channel connected to a single channel port of the plurality of channel ports” (emphasis added) in combination with the other limitations set forth in the independent claims; where it is noted that Gustafson discloses: A level manager (at 16 figure 1) for a lubricant distribution system (ph 0002, 0013, 0014), the level manager comprising: a connection point for data and power communications (via 24a,b,c) with the level manager; control circuitry (40/42/44/38); and memory (id) encoded (as necessary in the memory 44) with instructions that, when executed by the control circuitry, cause the control circuitry to: generate a control signal in response to a control level signal from a control level sensor and provide the control signal to a flow control (see ph 0031/0041/0042/0052/ and claim 16), the flow control configured to stop flow of lubricant one of into a lubricant tank and out of the lubricant tank based on the control signal (per ph 0015); and generate an alarm signal in response to one of the control level signal and a monitor level signal from a monitor level sensor and provide the alarm signal to a tank alarm to activate the tank alarm (notification device 22, ph 0020, 0040, 0069); wherein the control level sensor is one of a high level sensor (at 14) of the lubricant tank and a low level sensor (at 30) of the lubricant tank (at 26), and wherein the monitor level sensor is the other one of the high level sensor and the low level sensor (ph 0015); Wiersma discloses: a housing (at 10 figure 3); a plurality of [contacts] (at 202 figure 4 that make up a single channel) mounted to the housing, each [contact] providing a connection point for data [or] power communications (power/pump valve/overflow valve/low,high,overflow floats) with the level manager; control circuitry (200 ph 0034); and memory (id) encoded (as necessary in the memory) with instructions that, when executed by the control circuitry, cause the control circuitry to: generate a control signal in response to a control level signal from a control level sensor and provide the control signal to a flow control (see ph 0035), the flow control configured to stop flow of lubricant one of into a lubricant tank and out of the lubricant tank based on the control signal (per ph 0035); and generate an alarm signal (via alarm 170 ph 0030); wherein the control level sensor is one of a high level sensor (at 178) of the lubricant tank and a low level sensor (at 176) of the lubricant tank (at 102), and wherein the monitor level sensor is the other one of the high level sensor and the low level sensor (178/102); and wherein the control level sensor, the monitor level sensor, the flow control, and the tank alarm are connected to the level manager via a signal channel (at 202);
but Gustafson and/or in view of Wiersma lack the above claimed arrangement and accordingly, it would not have been obvious to provide such an arrangement especially with the lack of teaching of the above claimed arrangement and without improper hindsight construction of the same, accordingly the claims must be allowed.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Bolland (US 6938635) discloses a level switch for a processing tank with shut down for over filling and low fluid; Duenas (US 6336362) discloses a reporting circuit for monitoring the fluid level in a tank and an electrical conductor that carries both power an signal for sensor feedback.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW W JELLETT, whose telephone number is 571-270-7497. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (9:30AM-6:00PM EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisors can be reached by phone. Ken Rinehart can be reached at (571)-272-4881, or Craig Schneider can be reached at (571) 272-3607. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Matthew W Jellett/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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