DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Species IV in the reply filed on 6/1/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is found persuasive. The requirement has been withdrawn.
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.
Claims 1-3, 20-22, and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sdano US 2003/0015840 A1 in view of Hogholt 6,250,876.
Sdano discloses, regarding claims 1, 20, and 29, a water extinguishing system (intended use) with a monitoring apparatus 120 (see embodiment in Fig. 7) for a pump test run of a sprinkler pump 14 (element 14 is capable of supplying water to a sprinkler – see paragraph [0027]), the sprinkler pump 14 comprises: at least one pump housing 22 surrounding a wet chamber (see para. [0027]), a drive shaft 12 arranged sealed against the pump housing 22 by a gland packing 10/27, and a drive mechanically coupled to the drive shaft 12 (see para. [0028]), the gland packing 10/27 being configured for the passage of leakage fluid from the pump housing 22 into a dry chamber 122 (see Fig. 7), the monitoring apparatus 120 comprises a measuring unit 123 adapted to detect the leakage fluid passing through the gland packing 10/27 from the pump housing 22 into the dry chamber 122 during the pump test run. However, Sdano does not explicity disclose the measuring unit being configured to generate a stop signal to switch off the sprinkler pump and/or an alarm signal when the flow rate falls below a predefined minimum.
Sdano DOES disclose that the measuring unit 123 is configured to generate a stop signal to switch off the sprinkler pump and/or an alarm signal when the flow rate exceeds a threshold value (see para. 0059]).
With that in mind, Hogholt teaches a seal and sensor arrangement for a pump (see impeller 3) comprising: at least one pump housing surrounding a wet chamber (clearly shown in Fig 1, surrounding impeller 3), a drive shaft 5 arranged sealed against the pump housing by a gland packing (see 7), the gland packing (7) being configured for the passage of leakage fluid from the pump housing, a monitoring apparatus 16/18 comprises a measuring unit 18 adapted to detect the leakage fluid passing through the gland packing (7) from the pump housing (see col. 1, lines 24-28, and col. 3, lines 1-7); further regarding claims 1, 20, and 29, the measuring unit 18 may be configured to generate a stop signal to switch off the sprinkler pump and/or an alarm signal when the flow rate falls below a predefined minimum (see col. 3, lines 1-7 and col 3, line 66 to col. 4, line 5 – this disclosure makes it clear that threshold values “may be adjusted to obtain the most advantageous [operation]” – this would include a predefined minimum, as claimed).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to have modified the configuration of Sdano by generating a stop signal to switch off the sprinkler pump and/or an alarm signal when the flow rate falls below a predefined minimum, as taught by Hogholt, in order to allow for a controlled amount of leakage to prevent false system failures, and because the structural/control software elements of Sdano would clearly by capable of such a configutation.
Re claim 2, Sdano further discloses that the monitoring apparatus 120 also has a control unit 81, the control unit 81 being connected to the measuring unit 123 and the drive in a signal-conducting manner, the control unit 81 or the measuring unit 123 being configured to generate the alarm signal and/or the stop signal to switch off the sprinkler pump (see para. 0059]).
Re claim 3, Sdano further discloses that the measuring unit 123 comprises a collecting vessel 125 configured to detect the leakage fluid and the measuring unit 123 is configured to detect the leakage fluid in the collecting vessel 125 based on at least one fill level (substantially broad, this is clearly the case – see para. 0059]).
Re claim 21, Sdano further discloses that the monitoring apparatus includes a control unit 81 being connected to the measuring unit 123 and the drive in a signal-conducting manner, and wherein the generation of the alarm signal and/or the stop signal to switch off the sprinkler pump 14 taking place by the control unit 81 or the measuring unit 123.
Re claim 22, Sdano further discloses detecting the leakage fluid in a collecting vessel 125 based on at least one fill level of the leakage fluid in the collecting vessel 125 by the measuring unit 123 (substantially broad, this is clearly the case – see para. 0059]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-19 and 23-28 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Peter J Bertheaud whose telephone number is (571)272-3476. The examiner can normally be reached 9am - 5pm M-F.
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PJB
/PETER J BERTHEAUD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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