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 .
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.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun et al. (CN 115999093 A) in view of Charlton (US Pat No 9,795,812 B2).
Re claim 1, Sun et al. show a fire-extinguishing agent dropping device (Figs. 1-3) for fire suppression, the fire-extinguishing agent dropping device comprising:
a body (2) configured such that an accommodation chamber (203) is formed therein;
an altitude detection part (9) provided in the body, and configured to detect a preset reference height;
a plurality of fire-extinguishing agent accommodation parts (7) provided in a rear area of the accommodation chamber, and configured to store a fire-extinguishing agent therein;
wherein the fire-extinguishing agent accommodation parts are separated out of the body to discharge the fire-extinguishing agent (Fig. 3);
wherein the fire-extinguishing agent dropping device further comprises a rear support plate (301) inserted into the accommodation chamber and configured to close a rear of the rear area and support the fire-extinguishing agent accommodation parts (7) forward at a front surface thereof, a front support plate (302) positioned in front of the rear support plate and configured to close a front of the rear area and support the rear side of the fire-extinguishing agent accommodation parts (7) rearward at a rear surface thereof, and a connection beam (8) coupled to a rear surface of the front support plate (302) and a front surface of the rear support plate (301) on both sides thereof in a lengthwise direction thereof and configured such that the fire-extinguishing agent accommodation parts (7) are positioned along a widthwise direction thereof; and
wherein the front support plate (302) slides rearward and is then separated rearward from the accommodation chamber (203) by a propulsion pressure applied to a front surface thereof.
Sun et al. does not teach a pressure generation part provided in a front area of the accommodation chamber, and configured to generate an explosion pressure when the altitude detection part detects the reference height.
However, Charlton shows a pressure generation part (11) provided in a front area of the accommodation chamber (12), and configured to generate an explosion pressure when the altitude detection part detects the reference height (col. 3, lines 62-67 through col. 4, lines 1-6).
The substitution of one known element (locking mechanism in Sun) for another (dispenser fuse as shown in Charlton) would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention since the substitution of the dispenser fuse shown in Charlton would have yielded predictable results, namely, an opening mechanism in Sun et al. to open the baffles of the fire extinguishing bomb according to the opening instruction of the guidance control module (Sun – paragraphs 0024, 0025 & 0027).
Re claim 2, Sun et al. as modified above disclose all aspects of the claimed invention but does not teach the altitude detection part detects an atmospheric pressure according to an altitude when the body is falling freely.
However, Charlton discloses determining a pressure altitude measured by an altimeter (col. 4, lines 2-6).
The substitution of one known element (height module in Sun) for another (altimeter as shown in Charlton) would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention since the substitution of the altimeter shown in Charlton would have yielded predictable results, namely, a detection mechanism in Sun et al. to communicate with the guidance control module so that the guidance control module can control the autonomous navigation (Sun – paragraphs 0031 & 0034).
Re claim 3, Sun et al. as modified above disclose all aspects of the claimed invention but do not teach the fire-extinguishing agent accommodation parts each comprise an accommodation space provided therein and formed to be open to one side and a stopper coupled to one side and configured to close the accommodation space; and
the stopper is separated to open the accommodation space when the fire-extinguishing agent accommodation part is separated from the accommodation chamber.
However, Charlton show fire-extinguishing agent accommodation parts (Fig. 6, 14’) each comprise an accommodation space (16’) provided therein and formed to be open to one side (Figs. 7 & 8) and a stopper (22/24/25) coupled to one side and configured to close the accommodation space; and
the stopper (22/24/25) is separated to open the accommodation space when the fire-extinguishing agent accommodation part is separated from the accommodation chamber (Fig. 8).
The substitution of one known element (fire extinguishing sub-ammunition in Sun) for another (dispenser modules as shown in Charlton) would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention since the substitution of the dispenser modules shown in Charlton would have yielded predictable results, namely, a fire extinguishing sub-ammunition in Sun et al. to be scattered around a fire (Sun – abstract).
Re claim 4, Sun et al. as modified by Charlton show the fire-extinguishing agent accommodation parts (Sun – 7; Charlton – 14’) are arranged in a state of being in close contact with each other along a front-rear direction, are positioned between the rear (Sun – 301) and front (Sun – 302) support plates, and are also arranged along a widthwise direction of the connection beam (Sun – 8).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN MICHAEL CERNOCH whose telephone number is (571)270-3540. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri; 8am-5pm.
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STEVEN MICHAEL CERNOCH
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3752
/STEVEN M CERNOCH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3752
