DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Examiners Comment
Applicant’s arguments filed 4/9/2026 with respect to the objections of the drawings and specification raised in the Non-Final Office action of 1/1/2026 have been fully considered and accepted. The rejections have been withdrawn. However, a second non-final rejection is being filed in consideration of a broader interpretation of claim 1 as currently drafted in light of Maclaine.
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 1-3, 6 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Maclaine (US 2015/0265023).
As for claim 1, Maclaine shows a haircare appliance comprising a blower for generating an airflow (70, [0061]), a plurality of outlets through which the airflow is discharged (202, fig. 7a, [0081]) in one of a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction [0084], and an indicator having a first visual state when the airflow is discharged in a clockwise direction and a second visual state when the airflow is discharged in a counterclockwise direction (a visual inspection of the overlapping plates 210, fig. 7b indicate the direction of flow as disclosed in [0084]).
As for claim 2, Maclaine shows the appliance comprises a member moveable between a first position and a second position, the airflow is discharged in a clockwise direction when the member is in the first position, and the airflow is discharged in a counterclockwise direction when the member is in the second position (210, [0084], overlapping plates in a first direction and oriented in the opposite direction to reverse flow).
As for claim 3, Maclaine shows the outlets comprise first outlets through which the airflow is discharged in a clockwise direction and second outlets through which the airflow is discharged in a counterclockwise direction, the member occludes the airflow to the second outlets when in the first position, and the member occludes the airflow to the first outlets when in the second position (figs. 9a, 9b, air flows from either side of plate 154 depending on direction of flow).
As for claim 6, Maclaine shows the appliance comprises a user-actuated selector for moving the member between the first position and the second position (152, figs. 9a, 9b, [0087]).
As for claim 8, Maclaine shows the selector is provided at an end of the haircare appliance (152, fig. 9a attached at the distal end of the haircare appliance).
As for claim 15, Maclaine shows a handle unit of a haircare appliance, the handle unit being removably attachable to an attachment of the haircare appliance [0104], wherein the handle unit comprises a blower for generating an airflow and an indicator (70, [0073]), the attachment comprises a plurality of outlets through which the airflow is discharged (202, fig. 7a, [0081]) in one of a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction, and the indicator has a first visual state when the airflow is discharged in a clockwise direction and a second visual state when the airflow is discharged in a counterclockwise direction (a visual inspection of the overlapping plates 210, fig. 7b indicate the direction of flow as disclosed in [0084]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 16 is allowed.
Claim 4, 5, 7, 9 , and 10-14 are 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.
Reasons for Allowance
Claims 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 16 include allowable subject matter because prior art could not be found to disclose the appliance comprises electronic means of controlling, sensing or displaying the direction of air travel with all of the limitations of independent claim 1 and associated dependent claims. Examiner notes that few hair care appliances provide for both clockwise and counterclockwise airflow. As such there is even less prior art using electronic indicating means to signal the direction of airflow.
Claims 11-14 include allowable subject matter because prior art could not be found to disclose the handle unit comprises the blower and the indicator, and the attachment comprises the outlets with all of the limitations of independent claim 1. Any reference that would modify Maclaine to include this feature would change the operating principle of Maclaine and thus would not be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing. Claims 12-14 are objected to as depending from claim 11.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN PATRICK MCCORMACK whose telephone number is (571)270-7472. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 - 1:30 PST.
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/JOHN P MCCORMACK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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