Obviousness

To assess the obviousness of US patent 10294649 under 35 U.S.C. § 103, we will analyze its independent claims (Claims 1, 8, and 18) against the provided prior art references. The current date is April 26, 2026.

Obviousness Analysis of US10294649

Primary Prior Art References Identified

Based on the provided patent text, several prior art references are relevant, with US10036154B2 (by the same inventor, Jeffrey Scott Crevier, and having an identical abstract and an earlier filing date as the parent application) being the most significant.

1. US10036154B2 (Crevier): "Urinal anti-splash device" (Granted 2018-07-31). This is a continuation patent, and its abstract is identical to US10294649, indicating it discloses the core features of the anti-splash body, base, coupling region, and protrusions.
2. US5313672A (Luedtke): "Urinal mat" (Granted 1994-05-24). Discloses a urinal mat with a vertical body portion and an integral horizontal drain portion, both having protrusions, and made of flexible material.
3. US8856977B2 (Ramirez): "Urinal splash guard employing flexible bristles" (Granted 2014-10-14). Teaches using flexible bristles (protrusions) to reduce urine rebound and direct flow downward into the drain.
4. US5809590A (Williams): "Thermochromic urinal mat" (Granted 1998-09-22). Directly teaches the use of thermochromic material in a urinal mat.
5. US20130000027A1 (San Luis): "Removable, Reusable, and Flexible Urine Deflector" (Published 2013-01-03). Discusses flexibility and removability for adapting to various fixtures.

Analysis of Independent Claims

Claim 1

Claim 1: A urinal anti-splash device, comprising: an anti-splash body configured to be mounted vertically on a back wall of a urinal and having a plurality of protrusions that extend from a front surface of the anti-splash body; a base attached to the anti-splash body at a coupling region formed between the base and the anti-splash body, the base being configured to cover at least a portion of a urinal drain and having a plurality of protrusions extending away from the base on a surface of the base that is contiguous with the front surface of the anti-splash body; the coupling region is configured allow the base to move between a first position including the base oriented in a direction parallel to the anti-splash body and a second position including the base oriented in a direction substantially perpendicular from the base.

Obviousness Argument:
Claim 1 would be rendered obvious by US10036154B2 (Crevier) alone. As explicitly stated in the patent text for US10294649, this application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/342,543, titled “Urinal Anti-Splash Device,” filed Nov. 3, 2016, which corresponds to US10036154B2. Furthermore, the abstract of US10294649 is identical to the abstract of US10036154B2. The abstract of US10294649 (and thus US10036154B2) explicitly teaches:

• An anti-splash body configured to be mounted vertically on a back wall of a urinal and having a plurality of protrusions.
• A base coupled to the first portion (of the anti-splash body) and configured to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular from the first portion (of the anti-splash body) to cover at least a portion of a urinal drain, and having a plurality of protrusions.
• The description of US10294649 explicitly details the coupling region's ability to "translate the base 106 from a first position in which the base 106 is oriented in a direction parallel to the anti-splash body 104 (FIG. 2) to a second position including the base 106 being oriented in a direction substantially perpendicular from the first portion 108 of the anti-splash body 104 (FIG. 3)." This feature, along with the other elements of Claim 1, is directly taught or inherent in US10036154B2 due to the identical abstract and continuation relationship. Therefore, a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) would find Claim 1 obvious.

Claim 8

Claim 8: A urinal anti-splash device comprising: an anti-splash body configured to be mounted on a back wall of a urinal, the anti-splash body including a plurality of protrusions extending from a front surface of the anti-splash body, wherein at least some of the protrusions have a base at the front surface of the anti-splash body that is wider than a top of the protrusion at the opposite end of the protrusion; and a base that is attached to the anti-splash body and which is configured to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular from the anti-splash body to at least partially cover a drain of a urinal, and which further includes a plurality of protrusions extending outwardly from the base which are arranged to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to plurality of protrusions of the anti-splash body.

Obviousness Argument:
Claim 8 would be rendered obvious by a combination of US10036154B2 (Crevier) and general knowledge of molding practices, optionally informed by US8856977B2 (Ramirez).

1. US10036154B2 (Crevier) provides the foundational device: An anti-splash body mounted on a back wall with protrusions, and a base attached to it that extends substantially perpendicularly to cover a drain, also with protrusions that extend substantially perpendicularly to the body's protrusions. This covers all elements of Claim 8 except for the specific tapering shape of the protrusions.

2. Tapering Protrusions ("wider at base than top"): The distinguishing feature is that "at least some of the protrusions have a base at the front surface of the anti-splash body that is wider than a top of the protrusion at the opposite end of the protrusion." The description of US10294649 itself highlights the motivation for this design: "The tapering configuration also decreases the complexity associated with the manufacturing process of the device 100 because the protrusions 118, 300 may be relatively simply removed from the molding during the manufacturing process due to the lack of edges." This is a well-known manufacturing advantage in injection molding and similar processes for plastic parts with protrusions.

3. Motivation to Combine/Modify: A PHOSITA would be motivated to modify the protrusions of the device taught by US10036154B2 to incorporate tapering for improved manufacturability and ease of de-molding. This is a routine design optimization. Furthermore, the patent also states that the tapering "further facilitate the water and/or urine flow." The concept of optimizing protrusion shape for splash reduction and fluid flow is taught by US8856977B2 (Ramirez), which describes flexible bristles reducing rebound and causing urine to flow downward. A PHOSITA would recognize that tapering could contribute to these desired flow characteristics while simultaneously aiding manufacturing.

Therefore, combining the known device structure from US10036154B2 with the common engineering practice of designing tapered features for manufacturing ease and enhanced fluid flow (as also implicitly or explicitly desired in splash guard art like Ramirez) would make Claim 8 obvious.

Claim 18

Claim 18: A method of mounting a urinal anti-splash device within a urinal comprising: providing a urinal anti-splash device including: an anti-splash body configured to be mounted on a back wall of a urinal, the anti-splash body including a plurality of protrusions extending from a front surface of the anti-splash body, wherein at least some of the protrusions have a base at the front surface of the anti-splash body that is wider than a top of the protrusion at the opposite end of the protrusion; a base that is attached to the anti-splash body and which is configured to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular from the first portion to cover a drain of a urinal, and which further includes a plurality of protrusions extending outwardly from the base, the second plurality of protrusions are arranged to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular from plurality of protrusions of the anti-splash body; mounting the anti-splash body on the back wall of a urinal; and placing the base over a urinal drain.

Obviousness Argument:
Claim 18 would be rendered obvious by a combination of the device in US10036154B2 (Crevier) (as modified with tapered protrusions from general molding knowledge, as argued for Claim 8), and the method of installation taught by US5313672A (Luedtke).

1. Providing the Device: As established for Claim 8, the urinal anti-splash device, including the anti-splash body with tapering protrusions and the perpendicularly oriented base with its own protrusions, would be obvious based on US10036154B2 and common molding practices. Thus, "providing" such a device is obvious.

2. Mounting and Placing Steps: The remaining steps involve "mounting the anti-splash body on the back wall of a urinal" and "placing the base over a urinal drain." These steps are explicitly taught by US5313672A (Luedtke), which states: "The mat 10 is placed in a urinal (not shown) such that the body portion 12 rests against the back wall of the urinal and the drain portion 14 rests on the bottom of the urinal so as to cover the drain." This describes the exact method of installation for a two-part urinal mat designed to cover both the back wall and the drain.

3. Motivation to Combine/Perform Method: It would be obvious for a PHOSITA to apply the known method of installing a urinal mat (from Luedtke) to a functionally similar urinal anti-splash device (as taught by Crevier, with the obvious modification of tapered protrusions). The method steps are inherent to the intended use and purpose of such a device.

Therefore, the method claimed in Claim 18, which involves providing an obvious device and installing it in an obvious manner, is also obvious.

Analysis of Dependent Claims and Further Considerations

Many dependent claims introduce features also found in the prior art or represent routine design choices.

• Removable Coupling/Perforations (Claim 3, 4, 12, 19): If US10036154B2 does not explicitly teach removable coupling via perforations, this feature could be addressed by combining with US20130000027A1 (San Luis), which teaches a "Removable, Reusable, and Flexible Urine Deflector." The motivation would be to provide greater adaptability to different urinal configurations (e.g., raised drain points) or for independent cleaning/replacement, as suggested in US10294649. Perforations are a well-known mechanical expedient for enabling easy, albeit sometimes permanent, separation of flexible components.
• Thermochromic Material (Claim 7): This is directly taught by US5809590A (Williams), which discloses a "Thermochromic urinal mat." A PHOSITA would be motivated to incorporate thermochromic material into any urinal anti-splash device (such as Crevier's) for aesthetic appeal, cleaning indication, or advertising purposes, as described in US10294649.
• Flexible Material (Claim 10): Taught by US5313672A (Luedtke) ("flexible, such as plastic or rubber") and US20130000027A1 (San Luis) ("flexible"). This is a common characteristic for such devices.
• Fasteners (Claim 11): The use of fasteners like suction cups or adhesive for mounting urinal accessories is widely known in the art, as generally illustrated by Luedtke (US5313672A) which shows the mat "rests against the back wall" and also mentions "fasteners 126, 128 may be adhesive, e.g., tape, hooks, or another type of fastener". This is a routine design choice for securing such devices.
• Buoyant Material (Claim 14): The motivation to use buoyant material (e.g., for the base) to prevent drain blockages if the device detaches is a logical design choice for a PHOSITA dealing with plastic products in a water environment.
• Angled Surface at Top (Claim 17): Designing an angled surface to facilitate water and urine flow is a basic principle of fluid dynamics and common in plumbing design. A PHOSITA would readily incorporate such a feature into the top of a urinal splash guard to aid flushing and drainage.
• Different Shapes (Claim 2, 9, 15): The choice of shapes (e.g., rectangular-like body and circular-like base) is a matter of aesthetic and functional design to conform to common urinal shapes and is generally shown in prior art, such as the overall shapes of the mats in Luedtke (US5313672A) or the design patents cited (e.g., USD329893S, USD639410S1).

In conclusion, the independent claims of US10294649, and many of its dependent features, would be obvious to a PHOSITA when considering the detailed disclosures of its parent application US10036154B2, combined with other relevant prior art such as Luedtke, Ramirez, and Williams, and general knowledge of manufacturing practices and product design choices in the field of urinal accessories.