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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 9/15/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment and corresponding arguments, filed 9/15/2026, have been reviewed and considered. Claims 1 and 9 have been amended, claims 3 and 5 have been canceled, and claims 10-11 have been added. Therefore, claims 1, 4 and 6-11 are currently pending. Applicant’s amendment to independent claims 1 and 9 is sufficient in overcoming the 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) rejections as presented in the previous Office Action. Please note the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection under EATON et al. (US 3,881,265) as it appears within the prior art rejection below. This Office Action is a Non-Final Rejection based on the RCE filed 9/15/2026.
In response to the new matter objection under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) of the previous Office Action, the applicant has submitted a replacement figure 4 wherein the steam iron shell (3), the base plate (300) and the water discharge unit (400) are represented in simplified, non-geometric, schematic broken (dashed) lines. The applicant recites, “under MPEP § 608.02(VII) and 37 U.S.C. § 1.84(h)(3), details of environmental structures that do not form a part of the claimed invention should be represented in broken lines”. Accordingly, the applicant argues that by reducing the physical configurations of elements (3), (300), and (400) to highly generic, schematic outlines, the figures no longer disclose or imply any "particular size, shape, style, or location" that could be construed as new matter. The examiner respectively disagrees and notes that neither MPEP § 608.02(VII) (discusses black and white photographs and line drawings) nor 37 U.S.C. § 1.84(h)(3) (discusses sectional views) discuss the use of broken lines in the drawings. It appears that the discussion of “broken lines” to which the applicant is referring is in association with Design Patents and not Utility Patents (MPEP 1503.02(III) and 37 C.D.R. 1.152). Regardless, the examiner emphasizes the recitation, as provided by the applicant, that “details of environmental structures that do not form a part of the claimed invention should be represented in broken lines”. This statement is completely in opposition to the applicant’s figure 4 and the arguments associated therewith. Note that each of the steam iron, the base plate and the water discharge unit CANNOT be considered “environmental structures” because each are claimed features and therefore, “a part of the claimed invention”. Accordingly, the amendment filed 9/15/2026 (similar to that filed 4/20/2026) is objected to under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) because it introduces new matter into the disclosure (discussed in further detail below). Note that the “broken lines” are NOT considered to reduce the physical configurations of the claimed elements. For future reference, note that filing a Continuation-In-Part (CIP) is a viable option to include a new drawing(s) that shows features, structures, or connections not disclosed within the originally filed application.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in China on 12/15/2022. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the 202223365106 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification and Drawings
The amendment filed 9/15/2026 is objected to under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) because it introduces new matter into the disclosure. 35 U.S.C. 132(a) states that no amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention. Please note that new/replacement figure 4 introduces material that is not supported by the original disclosure (please note the response section above in reference to the broken lines). Note that figure 4 shows a particular size, shape and style of the iron (3) that is not supported by the original disclose. Similarly, the particular size, shape, style and location of the base plate (300) is not supported by the originally disclosure. Additionally, the representations of both the water discharge unit (400) and diverter (1) are also new matter based on each’s location, size and positional relationship between other iron components.
Applicant is required to cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office Action.
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) 1, 4 and 6-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over EATON et al. (US 3,881,265).
Regarding claims 1 and 9, EATON discloses a downflow water diverter (19) included within a steam iron (10), comprising: a diverter body (40), wherein a central part of the diverter body is provided with a water collection chamber (48; interpreted as including recess 48 within 47 and the recess above 47 as shown in figure 3a), an inlet port (45) interconnected with the water collection chamber is disposed at an upper end (refer to figure below) of the diverter body, and at least two outlet ports (43, 44) interconnected with the water collection chamber are disposed at a lower end (refer to figure below) of the diverter body (40) (Figures 3a and 3b) (also note figures 1, 2 and 6). EATON discloses the downflow water diverter (19) further comprises a guide tube (23), the outlet ports comprise a first outlet port (44) and a second outlet port (43), the guide tube (23) is arranged (connected) at the lower end of the diverter body and is interconnected with the second outlet port (43) (Fig. 2). Additionally, EATON discloses the downflow water diverter (19) being configured such that a first part of water from the water collection chamber (48; interpreted as including recess 48 within 47 and the recess above 47 as shown in figure 3a) directly flows down to a base plate (11; includes steam generating chamber) of the steam iron (10) from the first outlet port (44) (through use of tube 22 and valve 26), and a second part of water from the water collection chamber (48; interpreted as including recess 48 within 47 and the recess above 47 as shown in figure 3a) flows from the second outlet port (43) into the guide tube (23) to be guided to a predetermined area of the base plate identified as a region of highest temperature, thereby precisely directing water flow toward the region of highest temperature to control thermal uniformity of the base plate (by spraying of the water from the sprayer 23 to the surface of the material to be ironed wherein the entire base plate is guided across the surface of the material with the water thereon during ironing).
Additionally, EATON discloses the guide tube (23) being configured with an L-shaped bend (Fig. 2). EATON further discloses a water discharge unit (21, 25, 18) comprising a water tank (18) wherein the diverter body (40) is connected to the water tank (18) (through 21, 25) (Fig. 1). However, EATON fails to disclose the inlet port being formed as a gradually constricted tapered structure. It is old and known in the art to bevel an outer edge of an inlet port in order to promote water flow. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have provided the inlet port of EATON with a gradually constricted tapered structure (i.e., beveled outer edge) since such is considered old and known in the art in order to promote water flow.
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Regarding claim 4, EATON discloses a guiding protrusion (either P1 or P2 as shown in the representation above) is formed on an outer sidewall of the diverter body towards a bending direction of the guide tube (note that each of the protrusions P1, P2 is “annular” around the diverter body and therefore extend in all outward directions) (Figures 2, 3a and 3b). Note that the recitation, “the guiding protrusion (14) is oriented toward the identified region of highest temperature to provide a visual or mechanical reference for aligning the bending direction of the guide tube (2) with the guiding protrusion (14) during installation, thereby ensuring that the second part of water is accurately directed toward the identified region of highest temperature” is considered purely functional language containing no further limiting structure. Since the guiding protrusion (P1 or P2) of EATON discloses all the structure as claimed by the applicant, the guiding protrusion of EATON is considered fully capable of performing the claimed function. Even though both P1 and P2 of EATON are annular, each has a downward inclination, thus being capable of performing the claimed function since the base plate (11) is located downwardly.
Regarding claim 6, EATON discloses an annular protrusion (either P1 or P2 as shown in the representation above) is provided circumferentially on the outer sidewall of the diverter body (Figures 3a and 3b).
Regarding claim 7, EATON discloses a positioning groove (G; refer to representation above) is provided circumferentially on the outer sidewall of the diverter body (Figures 3a and 3b).
Regarding claim 8, EATON discloses the diverter body (40) being connectable (through 21 or 23) to a water discharge unit (18 or 24) of the steam iron (10) (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 10, EATON discloses the diverter body (40) being directly disposed at a discharge orifice (21) of thew water tank (18) (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 11, EATON discloses wherein the water discharge unit further comprises a connection conduit (21) installed at a discharge orifice of the water tank (18), the diverter body (40) is mounted at an outlet of the connection conduit (21) (Fig. 1).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHAN E DURHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-8642. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Monday - Friday.
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, Alissa J Tompkins can be reached at 571-272-3425. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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NED
/NATHAN E DURHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732
