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 § 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, 7-8, 10, 14, 38, and 41-44 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Spies (US 6,606,845).
Regarding claim 1, Spies discloses a walk-behind grass mowing apparatus, comprising:
a plurality of front wheels and a plurality of rear wheels [24];
a frame [10, 12] extending substantially horizontally between (The frame [10, 12] is substantially horizontal between the front and rear wheels as seen in the annotated Fig. 1 below.), and providing structural support for, the plurality of the front wheels and the plurality of rear wheels [24] (Frame [10, 12] is attached to bearings [18] which connect to and provide structural support for wheel axles [28.1] and [28.2] attached to wheels [24]);
a mow deck [34 which contains a cutting unit] secured to the frame [10, 12];
a mower handle [16] secured to the walk-behind grass mowing apparatus that facilitates operation of the walk-behind grass mowing apparatus;
a blade apparatus (as would be contained by cutting unit) secured to the mow deck and secured to a plurality of blades, the blade apparatus configured to drive motion of the plurality of blades within an interior of the mow deck in response to a force applied to the blade apparatus (The blade apparatus is within the mow deck [34] and driven by the electric motor as disclosed in column 4 lines 4-7);
an electric motor [32.3] coupled to the blade apparatus and configured to supply the force to the blade apparatus (Column 3 lines 49-53 disclose that the electric motor is coupled to and supplies force to the blade apparatus.);
a discharge chute opening [40] on a side or rear portion (Discharge chute opening is seen at the rear of the mow deck [34] as seen in Fig. 3) of the mow deck defining an opening within the mow deck [34];
and a bagging assembly [42, 48] connected to the grass mowing apparatus, the bagging assembly [42, 48] comprising:
a chute portion [48] positioned within the discharge chute opening [40] for guiding material from an interior of the mow deck [34] into the bagging assembly [42, 48],
and a bag portion [42] coupled to the chute portion [48] for receiving the material guided by the chute portion [48].
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Regarding claim 2, Spies discloses the walk-behind grass mowing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bag portion [42] further comprises a forward bag portion (as seen in the annotated figures directly below.) and a rear bag portion (as seen in the annotated figures directly below.), the forward bag portion (as seen in the annotated figures directly below.) rests upon the mow deck [34] at least in part forward of the plurality of rear wheels [rear 24] and the rear bag portion (as seen in the annotated figures directly below.) is positioned in part behind the plurality of rear wheels [rear 24] (A part of the forward bag portion is forward of the rear wheels and rests on the mow deck [34] as seen in the annotated Fig. 7 below.),
and further wherein material guided by the chute portion [48] and received within the forward bag portion (as seen in annotated Fig. 7 below) also rests upon the mow deck [34] within the forward bag portion (as seen in the annotated Fig. 7 below).
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Regarding claim 7, Spies discloses the walk-behind grass mowing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the discharge chute opening [40] is formed in a top surface of the mow deck [34] and intersects, at a rear portion of the discharge chute opening [40] (The discharge chute opening [40] is seen extending out of the top surface of the mow deck [34] in Spies annotated Fig. 2 below),
a secant line (Merriam-Webster defines a secant as a straight line cutting a curve at two or more points, in this case, the curve being the upper curve of the mower deck [34].) defined with respect to a perimeter of the top surface of the mow deck [34] at a first rearward point,
and intersects, at a forward portion of the discharge chute opening, the secant line at a second forward point, wherein the secant line crosses a wheel axis of one of the plurality of front wheels [24] or of one of the plurality of rear wheels (as seen in Spies’ annotated Fig. 2 below).
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Regarding claim 8, Spies discloses the walk-behind grass mowing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the chute portion [48] as positioned within the discharge chute [40] opening is confined to a perimeter of the mow deck [34] (As seen in Fig. 3, the chute portion’s [48] interface to the discharge chute opening [40] is confined to the mow deck.).
Regarding claim 10, Spies discloses the walk-behind grass mowing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bag portion [42] further comprises a dump opening that defines a hole in the bag portion and comprises a lid [46] (Merriam-Webster defines a lid as “a movable cover for the opening of a hollow container”, therefore the flaps [46] are considered to be a cover over the hole that is formed when they are pulled away.) that covers the dump opening of the bag portion when the bag portion is connected to the grass mowing apparatus as part of the bagging assembly [42, 48], and further wherein the lid [46] is movable to uncover the dump opening to facilitate removing contents of the bag portion [42] via the dump opening (Column 4 lines 2-3).
Regarding claim 14, Spies discloses the walk-behind grass mowing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the chute portion [48] includes a curved lower surface and a flat or substantially flat top surface (The surfaces as seen in the annotated Fig. directly below.) as positioned within the discharge chute opening [40] and in a direction substantially transverse to the flow of material guided from the interior of the mow deck [34] into the bagging assembly [42, 48] (The material will flow transverse to the material guided for the interior of the mow deck).
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Regarding claim 38, Spies discloses a grass mowing apparatus, comprising:
a plurality of front wheels and a plurality of rear wheels [24];
a mow deck [34];
a blade apparatus secured to the mow deck [34] and secured to a plurality of blades, the blade apparatus configured to drive motion of the plurality of blades within an interior of the mow deck [34] in response to a force applied to the blade apparatus (The blade apparatus is within the mow deck [34] and driven by the electric motor as disclosed in column 4 lines 4-7);
an electric motor [32.3] coupled to the blade apparatus and configured to supply the force to the blade apparatus (as disclosed in column 3 lines 51-52);
a discharge chute opening [40] on a side of the mow deck [34] defining an opening within the mow deck [34];
and a bagging assembly [42, 48] connected to the grass mowing apparatus (as seen in Fig. 1), the bagging assembly [42, 48] comprising:
a chute portion [48] positioned within the discharge chute opening [40] for guiding material from an interior of the mow deck [34] into the bagging assembly [42, 48], and a bag portion [42] coupled to the chute portion [48] for receiving the material guided by the chute portion [48], wherein:
the bag portion [42] further comprises a lid [46] (Merriam-Webster defines a lid as “a movable cover for the opening of a hollow container”, therefore the flaps [46] are considered to be a cover over the hole that is formed when they are pulled away.) that covers a dump opening (The whole that is under the lid/flaps.) in a top surface of the bag portion [42], and wherein the lid [46] defines a surface that is positioned in a non co-planar relationship to the top surface of the bag portion [42] (The lid [46] is comprised of flaps which when pulled to the side in order to empty the bag portion [42], the lid bunches up and is no longer co planar with the top surface.).
Regarding claim 41, Spies discloses a walk-behind grass mowing apparatus, comprising:
a plurality of front wheels [24] and a plurality of rear wheels [24];
a frame [10, 12] extending between and providing structural support for the plurality of the front wheels and the plurality of rear wheels [24] (Frame [10, 12] is attached to bearings [18] which connect to and provide structural support for wheel axles [28.1] and [28.2] attached to wheels [24]);
a mow deck [34] secured to the frame [10];
a lift mechanism [22] coupled to the frame (via latching mechanism [20]) and facilitating height adjustment relative to ground of the frame [10] and mow deck [34] (As disclosed in column 3 lines 36-47, the lift mechanism works by rotating the axle bearing rods [28.1 and 28.2] in their bearings [18.1, 18.2] which in turn adjusts the cutting height via the wheels in turn adjusting the height of the frame [10, 12] and mow deck [34] attached to the frame [10, 12]);
a blade apparatus secured to the mow deck [34] and secured to a plurality of blades, the blade apparatus configured to drive motion of the plurality of blades within an interior of the mow deck [34] in response to a force applied to the blade apparatus (The blade apparatus is within the mow deck [34] and driven by the electric motor as disclosed in column 4 lines 4-7);
an electric motor [32.3] coupled to the blade apparatus and configured to supply the force to the blade apparatus (Column 3 lines 49-53 disclose that the electric motor is coupled to and supplies force to the blade apparatus.);
a discharge chute [40] opening on a side or rear (Opening [40] is found in rear of mow deck [34] as seen in Fig. 3) of the mow deck [34] defining an opening within the mow deck [34];
and a bagging assembly [42, 48] connected to the grass mowing apparatus (as seen in Fig. 1), the bagging assembly [42, 48] comprising:
a chute portion [48] positioned within the discharge chute opening [40] for guiding material from an interior of the mow deck [34] into the bagging assembly [40], and a bag portion [42] coupled to the chute portion [40 for receiving the material guided by the chute portion [40].
Regarding claim 42, Spies discloses the walk-behind grass mowing apparatus of claim 41, further comprising a mow handle [16] secured to the frame [10, 12] (The mow handle [16] is secured to frame [10, 12] as seen in Fig. 1) or mow deck [34] facilitating operation of the walk-behind grass mowing apparatus (as seen in Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 43, Spies discloses the walk-behind grass mowing apparatus of claim 41, wherein the chute portion [48] has an interface to the discharge chute opening [40] that is confined to a perimeter of the mow deck [34] (As seen in Fig. 3, the chute portion’s [48] interface to the discharge chute opening [40] is confined to the mow deck.).
Regarding claim 44, Spies discloses the walk-behind grass mowing apparatus of the walk-behind grass mowing apparatus of wherein the chute portion [48] includes a curved lower surface and a flat or substantially flat top surface (The surfaces as seen in the annotated Fig. directly below.) as positioned within the discharge chute opening [40] and in a direction substantially transverse to flow of material guided from the interior of the mow deck [34] into the bagging assembly [42, 48].
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.
Claims 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Spies (US 6606845) in view of Schaedler (US 10806076) (Embodiment seen in Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 5, Spies discloses the walk-behind grass mowing apparatus of claim 1, comprising a plurality of blades.
However, Spies does not disclose wherein the plurality of blades comprises:
a flat cutting blade that secures to the blade apparatus near a center portion of the mow deck and extends along a length of the flat cutting blade toward a perimeter of the mow deck,
wherein a width of the flat cutting blade includes a cutting edge and a non-cutting edge and wherein the width has a relatively small physical twist about the length of the flat cutting blade less than about ten degrees rotation;
and a lift cutting blade that secures to the blade apparatus near the center portion of the mow deck and extends along a length of the lift cutting blade toward the perimeter of the mow deck,
wherein a width of the lift cutting blade has a relatively large physical twist about the length of the lift cutting blade greater than about fifteen degrees rotation.
Schaedler’s embodiment seen in Fig. 6 discloses a walk-behind grass mowing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of blades comprises:
a flat cutting blade [56] that secures to the blade apparatus [48] near a center portion of the mow deck [30] and extends along a length of the flat cutting blade [56] toward a perimeter of the mow deck [30];
and a lift cutting blade [54] that secures to the blade apparatus [48] near the center portion of the mow deck [30] and extends along a length of the lift cutting blade [54] toward the perimeter of the mow deck [30].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Schaedler’s teaching of having two differently shaped blades for two different purposes attached to opposite sides of a blade apparatus toward the center portion of a mow deck to Spies’ plurality of blades in order to provide additional functions to the mower.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have a physical twist about the length of the flat cutting blade be less than about ten degrees rotation and have the physical twist about the length of the cutting blade be greater than about fifteen degrees rotation in order to optimize the cutting of the vegetation and the clearing of the vegetation from the mow deck since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Spies (US 6,606,845) in view of Schaedler (US 10806076) (Embodiment seen in Fig. 7A).
Regarding claim 6, Spies discloses the walk-behind grass mowing apparatus of claim 1.
However, Spies does not disclose wherein the plurality of blades further comprises a cleaning blade secured at one end to the blade apparatus near a center portion of the mow deck and extends along a length of the cleaning blade toward a perimeter of the mow deck,
wherein the cleaning blade includes an interior extending portion that extends from the blade apparatus toward an interior top surface of the mow deck.
Schaedler’s embodiment seen in Fig. 7A discloses a walk behind grass mower comprising a plurality of blades wherein the plurality of blades includes a cleaning blade [128] secured at one end to the blade apparatus [126] near a center portion of the mow deck [30] and extends along a length of the cleaning blade [128] toward a perimeter of the mow deck [30],
wherein the cleaning blade [128] includes an interior extending portion that extends from the blade apparatus [126] toward an interior top surface of the mow deck [30] (as seen in Fig. 7A).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Schaedler’s cleaning blade as seen in Fig. 7A to Spies’ plurality of blades in order to clean the debris from the mow deck.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Spies (US 6,606,845) in view of Trevor (EP 1419686).
Regarding claim 11, Spies discloses the grass mowing apparatus of claim 10.
However, Spies does not disclose wherein the lid includes a transparent portion facilitating visible inspection of an interior of the bag portion.
Trevor discloses a grass mowing apparatus comprising a bagging assembly [15] with a lid [7] wherein the lid [7] includes a transparent portion [7a] facilitating visible inspection of an interior of the bagging assembly [15] (Column 4 section 0021 lines 20-22).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Trevor’s concept of a transparent material for the lid of the bagging assembly to Spies’ lid in order to know when the bag needs emptying.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Spies (US 6,606,845) in view of Park (US 8359821 B2).
Regarding claim 15, Spies discloses the walk-behind grass mowing apparatus of claim 1.
However, Spies does not further disclose a displaceable and replaceable cover over the discharge chute opening configured to cover and close the discharge chute opening in response to the chute portion being removed from the discharge chute opening.
Park discloses a walk-behind mowing apparatus comprising a bag [6] attached to the mow deck [30] comprising a discharge chute opening [36];
further comprising a displaceable and replaceable cover [362] over the discharge chute opening [36] configured to cover and close the discharge chute opening [36] in response to the chute portion [64] being removed from the discharge chute opening [36].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Park’s displaceable and removable cover over the discharge chute opening to Spies’ discharge chute opening in order to protect the interior components of the mow deck from debris when the bagging assembly is removed for emptying.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims as it would not be obvious to modify the disclosed art to include to handles specifically on the forward and rearward portion of the bag.
Claim 16 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims as it would not be obvious to modify the disclosed art to be wherein the mow deck includes a top surface including an upper peak portion that extends circumferentially about a segment of the top surface of the mow deck defining a peak edge of the top surface for the segment, and a first portion extending toward a perimeter of the mow deck from the upper peak portion.
Claim 39 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims as it would not be obvious to modify the co-planar relationship.
Claim 36 is allowed as the current art does not disclose nor would it be obvious to modify the art to have, three handles disclosed to the forward, central, and rearward portion of the bag respectively.
Claim 37 is allowed as the current art does not disclose nor would it be obvious to modify the art to have a bag portion comprises a grass flow diverter including a mechanical baffle that physically redirects flow of a portion of the material guided toward the rear portion of the bagging assembly by the chute portion into a front portion of the bagging assembly.
Claim 40 is allowed as the current art does not disclose nor would it be obvious to modify the art to have, wherein the mow deck includes a top surface including an upper peak portion and a first portion extending toward a perimeter of the mow deck from the upper peak portion, wherein the first portion has an angle to a tangent plane associated with the upper peak portion that is in a range from 12 degrees to 22 degrees
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant Arguments/Remarks Made in an Amendment, filed 6/26/2026, with respect to the rejection of claim 1 under Park (US 8359821) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of Spies (US 6,606,845).
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant Arguments/Remarks Made in an Amendment, filed 6/26/2026, with respect to the rejection of claim 5 under Park (US 8359821) in view of Schaedler (US 10806076) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of Spies (US 6,606,845) in view of Schaedler (US 10806076).
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant Arguments/Remarks Made in an Amendment, filed 6/26/2026, with respect to the rejection of claim 10 and 38 under Park (US 8359821) in view of Birch (US 2011/0197559) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of Spies (US 6,606,845) in view of Birch (US 2011/0197559).
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant Arguments/Remarks Made in an Amendment, filed 6/26/2026, with respect to the rejection of claim 11 under Park (US 8359821) in view of Trevor (EP 1419686) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of Spies (US 6,606,845) in view of Trevor (EP 1419686).
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant Arguments/Remarks Made in an Amendment, filed 6/26/2026, with respect to the rejection of claim 41 under Park (US 8359821) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of Spies (US 6,606,845).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ASHLEY A KAERCHER whose telephone number is (571)270-0128. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th (7-11 AM).
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/ASHLEY A KAERCHER/Examiner, Art Unit 3671 9/8/2026
/JUSTIN C MIKOWSKI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3673
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