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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (figs. 1-6) in the reply filed on 09/09/2025 is acknowledged. Claims 2 and 5-6 are readable on the elected group with claims 1, 3, 4, 9, and 11-12 as generic claims. Claims 7-8 and 10 are withdrawn.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure.
A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art.
If the patent is of a basic nature, the entire technical disclosure may be new in the art, and the abstract should be directed to the entire disclosure. If the patent is in the nature of an improvement in an old apparatus, process, product, or composition, the abstract should include the technical disclosure of the improvement. The abstract should also mention by way of example any preferred modifications or alternatives.
Where applicable, the abstract should include the following: (1) if a machine or apparatus, its organization and operation; (2) if an article, its method of making; (3) if a chemical compound, its identity and use; (4) if a mixture, its ingredients; (5) if a process, the steps.
Extensive mechanical and design details of an apparatus should not be included in the abstract. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length.
See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the abstract is more than 150 words (e.g. 197 words). A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following antecedent basis informalities:
Claim 3, ll. 3, consider amending to, --predetermined position of [[a]]the combining portion from a combining start portion to a--
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-6, 9, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Reith (DE3722701), as provided in IDS filed on 12/05/2025 and translation provided by the Examiner.
Regarding claim 1, Reith discloses a suction and separation composite tube comprising:
a connecting tube portion (designated in annotated fig. 1 below) disposed adjacent to a power-driven air blower (figs. 3-4; connecting tube portion is disposed adjacent, i.e. closest to, power-driven portion of a cleaner);
a suction tube portion (designated in annotated fig. 1 below) including at an open distal end (designated in annotated fig. 1 below) a suction port (item 11; pp. [0024]; figs. 1-2) that is communicated with outside air to suck objects therefrom (suction port 11 sucks solid particles 12 into suction tube portion; pp. [0024]; fig. 1); and
a separation tube portion (item 3; figs. 1-2) that is adapted to block off the outside air as compared with the suction tube portion (lower end of separation tube portion 3 includes lid, i.e. item 22, to block off outside air when power is on and dust is being suctioned through suction tube portion),
wherein:
the suction tube portion is provided to be integrally continuous with the connecting tube portion at a distal end thereof (suction tube portion is integrally continuous with connecting tube portion, i.e. defining item 2 in fig. 2), and the suction tube portion and the separation tube portion are combined together at an intermediate portion (designated in annotated fig. 1 below), and
a flow velocity of airflow involving objects that have been sucked from the suction port decreases at a combining portion (designated in annotated fig. 1 below) between the suction tube portion and the separation tube portion (pp. [0008], [0010], [0011], [0024]; within combining portion, the airflow Pf1 from suction tube portion is deflected via item 8 thereby, reducing the flow velocity and causing the heavier dirt particles 12 to fall into separating tube 3 due to their inertia; fig. 1).
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Annotated Fig. 1.
Regarding claim 2, Reith discloses the suction and separation composite tube as claimed in claim 1, wherein an effective passage cross-sectional area of the separation tube portion (designated in annotated fig. 1 above) is larger than an effective passage cross-sectional area of the suction tube portion (designated in annotated fig. 1 above; effective passage cross-section of separation tube portion 3 is greater than effective cross-sectional area suction tube portion, i.e. separation tube 3 is longer and wider than suction tube portion).
Regarding claim 3, Reith discloses the suction and separation composite tube as claimed in claim 1, wherein a passage cross-sectional area (designated at S3 along plane; similar to applicant’s disclosure) on a plane (defined as perpendicular plane relative to Pf1 through suction tube) which runs through a predetermined position of the combining portion from a combining start portion (designated in second annotated fig. 1 below) to a combining end portion (designated in second annotated fig. 1 below) between the suction tube portion and the separation tube portion and is perpendicular to the suction tube portion (passage cross sectional S3 is measured in a perpendicular direction relative to suction tube portion; fig. 1 below) is larger than an effective passage cross-sectional area of the suction tube portion (passage cross-sectional area along plane is greater than suction tube cross sectional area from combining start portion to combining end portion; second annotated fig. 1 below).
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Second Annotated Fig. 1.
Regarding claim 4, Reith discloses the suction and separation composite tube as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting tube portion is disposed above (connecting tube portion extends above combined portion when in use; figs. 1-2) a combining start portion (designated in second annotated fig. 1 above) between the suction tube portion and the separation tube portion (combining start portion is defined between left-most send of suction tube portion and right-most end of separation tube portion 3 in view of figs. 1-2).
Regarding claim 5, Reith discloses the suction and separation composite tube as claimed in claim 1, wherein the suction tube portion and the separation tube portion are integrally coupled to each other at a crossing angle of 45 degrees or smaller (pp. [0030]; angle between separation tube 3 and suction tube, i.e. front portion of item 2, is 40 degrees; thereby, smaller than 45 degrees) so as to form a bifurcated shape in a side view (in side view of figs. 1-2, the suction tube portion and separation tube portion form a bifurcated shape, i.e. forked shape).
Regarding claim 6, Reith discloses the suction and separation composite tube as claimed in claim 1, wherein the separation tube is disposed nearer to an operate than the suction tube portion is (in view of figs. 3-5, operator is standing to the left to grasp handle of vacuum and therefore, separation tube 3 is nearer to the left, i.e. to the operator, than the suction tube portion which is closer to the floor to be suctioned).
Regarding claim 9, Reith discloses the suction and separation composite tube as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a cap member (item 22; figs. 1-2) adapted to close an opening (defined as opening at end of item 5; fig. 2) of the separation tube portion opposite to the combining portion (opening is disposed on opposite end of separation tube relative to the combining portion in a length direction, i.e. up-down direction in view of figs. 1-2, of separation tube 3) between the separation tube portion and the suction tube portion so as to be open or closed (pp. [0029]; cap 22 opens opening when collected material needs to be emptied and closes opening during use).
Regarding claim 11, Reith discloses a suction cleaning machine (item 25; fig. 3) using the suction and separation composite tube as claimed in claim 1.
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.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reith (DE3722701), as provided in IDS filed on 12/05/2025 and translation provided by the Examiner, in view of Wegerer (US Patent No. 1,308,825).
Regarding claim 12, Reith discloses the suction and separation composite tube as claimed in claim 1 being used in a cleaning machine capable of separate small parts, such as sand, pearls, coins, earrings, screws, sawdust, and the like from an air stream (pp. [0022]), but does not explicitly disclose the composite tube being used in a harvesting machine.
However, Wegerer teaches a harvesting machine (ll. 16-21) with a suction and separation composite tube (figs. 1-3). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the suction and separation composite tube, as disclosed in Reith, to be used in a harvesting machine, as taught in Wegerer, in order for the suction and separation tube to function as intended and effectively separate grain from the straw and chaff and thereby, increase the wheat or grain production (Wegerer; ll. 23-38).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Huang (US 2014/0250625) discloses a suction and separation composite tube comprising a suction tube portion, a separation tube portion, a connecting tube portion, and a combining portion between the suction tube and separation tube.
Oh (US 2004/0237248) teaches a suction and separation composite tube comprising a suction tube portion, a separation tube portion, a connecting tube portion, and a combining tube portion between the suction and separation tube portions, wherein the flow velocity changes form the suction tube flow velocity at the combining portion.
White (US Patent No. 6,131,239) teaches a suction and separation composite tube comprising a suction tube portion, a separation tube portion angled relative to the suction tube portion, and a combining portion between the two portions to change the flow velocity of the airflow and separate larger debris from the airflow.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SIDNEY D FULL whose telephone number is (571)272-6996. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7:00a.m.-2:30p.m..
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/SIDNEY D FULL/Examiner, Art Unit 3723