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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 3/19/26 has been entered.
Drawings
The drawings filed 3/19/26 are objected to as introducing new matter into the application. Specifically, newly presented figures 9B and 9C disclose embodiments not supported by the original disclosure. The original disclosure does not disclose the hooks/loops being located only on the middle portion of the hair roller. New drawings that do not show this feature, are required.
Claim Objections
Claim 32 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 32, line 3, the underline between “round” and “cross” should be deleted.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 13,17,18,23-25,32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 13,23,32 recite the limitation “the loops are perpendicular to the circumferential surface of the roller body”. This language was not present in the application as originally filed, and is thus considered to be new matter. This new matter should be deleted from the claims in any response to this office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 26-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lopatina 20150027485 (previously cited).
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With regard to claim 26 Lopatina discloses (fig. 1) a hair roller 10, comprising a roller body 12 for wrapping therearound a hair portion, wherein the roller body 12 is a concave cylinder, which has a normally round cross section at atop portion 22 and a bottom portion 18 thereof larger thana normally round cross section at a middle portion 20 thereof; wherein the hair roller 10 further comprises a hair- retaining structure 24 formed on the circumferential surface of the roller body 12 and located between the top portion 22 of the roller body 12 and the bottom portion 18 of the roller body 12 for grabbing the hair portion and/or confining a movement range of the hair portion on the roller body 12; and wherein the hair-retaining structure comprises loops 24 attached onto the roller body 12.
With further regard to claim 26, note that the at least one hair retaining structure 24 is in the middle portion of the roller body. See annotated figure above.
With further regard to claims 26 and 29, note bristles 26 formed on the body between the top and bottom portions.
With regard to claims 27 and 30, note that the roller body 12 is a hollow cylinder.
With regard to claims 28 and 31, note that a heat conductive material 14 is formed inside the hollow cylinder. See paragraph 45 which discloses that the material 14 may be metal, which is a heat conductive material.
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 13,17,18,23,24,25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim 5558170 (newly cited) in view of De Mistral 3533418 (newly cited).
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With regard to claims 13 and 23, Kim discloses a hair roller (see fig. 7a), comprising a roller body 11 for wrapping therearound a hair portion, wherein the roller body is a concave cylinder, which has a normally round cross section at a top portion 2 and a bottom portion 5 thereof larger than a normally round cross section at a middle portion thereof (see above annotated figure) ;wherein the hair roller further comprises a hair-retaining structure 10 formed on the circumferential surface of the roller body 11 and located between the top portion 2 of the roller body and the bottom portion 5 of the roller body with at least one hair-retaining structure in the middle portion of the roller body, wherein the hair-retaining structure is for grabbing the hair portion and/or confining a movement range of the hair portion on the roller body, and wherein the hair-retaining structure comprises loops (see col. 3, lines 6-13).
Kim does not explicitly disclose the loops being perpendicular to the circumferential surface of the roller body.
De Mistral discloses a hair roller with projections, that may be perpendicular to the circumferential surface of the body. See column 2, lines 2-3 which discloses that the projections may be in a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of the roller body, which is the same as the projections being perpendicular to the circumferential surface of the body.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to form the loops of Kim such that they are perpendicular to the circumferential surface of the roller body, in view of the teaching of De Mistral that projections formed on a cylindrical roller body may be in a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of the roller body.
With regard to claims 17 and 24, note that Kim discloses that the roller body is a hollow cylinder. See col. 1, line 9.
With regard to claims 18 and 25, note that Kim discloses a heat-conductive material (in the form of pin 3) formed inside the hollow cylinder. Pin 3 is inherently a heat conducting material, since all materials conduct heat.
Claim 32 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim 5558170 in view of De Mistral 3533418, and further in view of Brenin-Albertoni 3123080.
With regard to claims 32, Kim discloses a hair roller (see above annotated fig. 7a), comprising a roller body 11 for wrapping therearound a hair portion, wherein the roller body is a concave cylinder, which has a normally round cross section at a top portion 2 and a bottom portion 5 thereof larger than a normally round cross section at a middle portion thereof (see above annotated figure); wherein the hair roller further comprises a hair-retaining structure 10 formed on the circumferential surface of the roller body 11 and located between the top portion 2 of the roller body and the bottom portion 5 of the roller body with at least one hair-retaining structure in the middle portion of the roller body, wherein the hair-retaining structure is for grabbing the hair portion and/or confining a movement range of the hair portion on the roller body, and wherein the hair-retaining structure comprises loops (see col. 3, lines 6-13).
Kim does not explicitly disclose the loops being perpendicular to the circumferential surface of the roller body.
De Mistral discloses a hair roller with projections, that may be perpendicular to the circumferential surface of the body. See column 2, lines 2-3 which discloses that the projections may be in a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of the roller body, which is the same as the projections being perpendicular to the circumferential surface of the body.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to form the loops of Kim such that they are perpendicular to the circumferential surface of the roller body, in view of the teaching of De Mistral that projections formed on a cylindrical roller body may be in a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of the roller body.
Kim/De Mistral do not disclose bristles with the hair retaining structure.
Brenin-Albertoni discloses a hair roller which includes a hair retaining structure that includes both loops 3 and bristles 6/7. See fig. 3.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to include bristles along with the loops of Kim/De Mistral, in view of the teaching of Brenin-Albertoni that a hair roller retaining structure may include both loops and bristles.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS D LUCCHESI whose telephone number is (571)272-4977. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 800-430.
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/NICHOLAS D LUCCHESI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772