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 § 102
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.
Claims 1-2, 6, 11 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pfaff (WO 2014/000823 A1) hereinafter Pfaff.
Regarding Claims 1 Pfaff teaches a pump arrangement of a liquid-conducting work apparatus having a pump for delivering liquid, the pump arrangement comprising: a liquid connecting part (56); a first pump arrangement part (see Fig below) and a second pump arrangement part (see Fig below) releasably connected to each other (via screws see Fig 5); and, said liquid connecting part (56) being held between said first pump arrangement part (see Fig below) and said second pump arrangement part (see Fig below) with a form fit (Fig 3-4).
Regarding Claims 2 Pfaff teaches wherein said first pump arrangement part (see Fig below) and said second pump arrangement part (see Fig below) bear against each other with a force fit being formed (see fig below); and, outside said force fit via receiving hole (80) and (76) (Fig 4), said liquid connecting part (56) is held between said first pump arrangement part (see Fig below) and said second pump arrangement part (see Fig below) with the form fit (See Fig 4).
Regarding Claims 6 Pfaff teaches wherein said liquid connecting part (56) has three form-fit elements for a form-fit connection (74, 78, 96) to at least one of said first pump arrangement part (see Fig below) (connections 74,78, 96 form fit in to receiving holes 76, 80 see Fig 5 and Par.0014) and said second pump arrangement part, said three form-fit elements not lying on a common straight line (Fig 5).
Regarding Claims 11 Pfaff teaches wherein at least one of said first pump arrangement part (see Fig below) has a pin-shaped form; and, said liquid connecting part (56) has a support surface (74,78, 96) for support against said pin-shaped form (Fig 5).
Regarding Claims 14 Pfaff teaches wherein the work apparatus is a high-pressure cleaning device (Fig 1-5).
Regarding Claims 15 Pfaff teaches wherein said first pump arrangement part (see Fig below) and said second pump arrangement part (see Fig below) are screwed together (see Fig 4).
Regarding Claims 16 Pfaff teaches a method for installing a pump arrangement of a liquid-conducting work apparatus having a pump for delivering liquid, the pump arrangement including a liquid connecting part (56), a first pump arrangement part (see Fig below) and a second pump arrangement part, the first pump arrangement part (see Fig below) and the second pump arrangement part (see Fig below) being releasably interconnected (via screws see Fig 5), the method comprising: holding the liquid connecting part (56) between said first pump arrangement part (see Fig below) and said second pump arrangement part (see Fig below) with a form fit (see Fig 4).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 4-5 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Pfaff in view of Bonezzi (DE 102005050009 A1).
Regarding Claims 4-5 Pfaff is silent regarding wherein said first pump arrangement part and said second pump arrangement part being made of metal; and, said liquid connecting part being made of plastic.
Bonezzi teaches a pump arrangement or a liquid conducting work apparatus having a pump (32) having a first pump arrangement part (34) and a second pump arrangement part (19) made of metal and a liquid connecting part (76. 100) made of plastic (57, 78) (see Fig 1, par.0018).
Since both Pfaff and Bonezzi are in the same field of endvaour and both teach known material types for manufacturing pump components and liquid ports, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have replaced one material type for the other by forming the first pump arrangement part and the second pump arrangement part as metal and forming the liquid connecting part as plastic to achieve a predictable result of forming a liquid pumping structure.
Allowable subject matter
3, 7-10 and 12-13 would be allowable if rewritten to include all the limitations of the base claims and all the intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/ABIY TEKA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
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