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 .
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.
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 1-16 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Muir et al. (US PGPub 2018/0132686, "Muir") in view of Guo et al. (US PGPub 2022/0304531, "Guo").
1. Muir teaches a cleaner (102) comprising:
a housing (200, Muir fig. 2) having an introduction opening (310, Muir fig. 3 and [0055]) through which air is introduced;
a filter (312) configured to be mounted in an inner space of the housing (Muir fig. 3), and defining a dust collection space (210) between the filter and an inner surface of the housing (Muir fig. 3);
a cleaning unit (400) configured to surround the filter (312), the cleaning unit being configured to be raised and lowered inside the dust collection space (see Muir figs. 4a-4b),
wherein, when the cleaning unit is in an initial position, at least a portion of the cleaning unit is connected to an air introduction path extending from the introduction opening to guide a flow of introduced air (the vacuum cleaner is a single unit, so there is a connection between 400 and 310, 400 is also positioned such that air flowing through 310 will pass under 400, Muir fig. 4a); and
a cleaning ring (422) formed of an elastic material (Muir [0071]) and provided at a lower end of the cleaning unit (Muir fig. 4a).
wherein the cleaning ring contacts the filter during the raising and the lowering of the cleaning unit (422 contacts outer surface 420 of filter 312, Muir figs. 4a-4b and [0071]),
wherein, when the cleaning unit is in the initial position, an entrance of a guide flow path of the cleaning unit communicates with the air introduction path via an air introduction part (bottom of 422 communicates with air introduced via 310, see Muir fig. 4a and [0073]), and
wherein the cleaning ring and a guide edge are disposed adjacent the entrance (ring 422 is disposed adjacent 310, see Muir fig. 4a). but does not teach that introduced air is directed toward a bottom of the dust collection space.
However, Guo teaches a structure for a cleaning unit (14) in a cleaner (1) comprising an elastic cleaning ring (141) coupled to a cleaning unit coupling portion (141 is coupled to 14 at 142 and 116, Guo figs. 1-2, and 6 and [0048]-[0049]), wherein a surface of the cleaning ring faces the inner surface of a housing (11) and is inclined so as to gradually increase a gap between the surface of the cleaning ring and the inner surface of the housing at the same height facing each other in a direction towards a base of the dust collection space (cleaning ring 141 is angled inward towards a base of the dust collection region 11, Guo figs. 5-6).
It would have been obvious to for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the cleaner of Muir such that its cleaning ring had an angled surface and coupling structure akin to those taught by Guo, thereby resulting in a surface of the cleaning ring facing the inner surface of the housing being inclined so as to gradually increase a gap between the surface of the cleaning ring and the inner surface of the housing at the same height facing each other in a direction toward a bottom of the dust collection space such that introduced air was directed toward a bottom of the dust collection space due to the downward angle of the cleaning ring, as doing so would allow the cleaning ring to wedge into a layer of dust, thereby helping to ensure dust was directed outward from the filter after removal (See Guo [0080]).
2. Muir as modified teaches the cleaner of claim 1, wherein the cleaning ring is capable of being raised and lowered between a highest first position and a lowest second position (Muir figs. 4a-4b), respectively, and wherein when the cleaning ring is between the first position and the second position, a front surface of the cleaning ring faces the inner surface of the housing and a rear surface of the cleaning ring faces a surface of the filter (cleaning ring is between filter and housing such that it will have a surface facing each, Muir figs. 4a-4b).
3. Muir as modified teaches the cleaner of claim 1, further comprising an air guide for guiding air introduced through the introduction opening, the air guide being disposed on an upper portion of the filter (upper portion of 312 guides air to swirl tangentially to filter unit 312 between perforated shroud 316 and wall 218 of the dirt container, Muir [0056] and figs. 4a-4b),
wherein the cleaning unit surrounds at least a portion of the air guide when the cleaning unit is in the initial position (Cleaning unit 400 may be positioned to surround upper portion of 312, Muir figs. 4a-4b).
4. Muir as modified teaches the cleaner of claim 3, further comprising a transformation space that is provided between a rear surface of the cleaning ring and the air guide (use of an angled cleaning ring as described by Guo would result in a space between the upper portion of an inner surface of the cleaning ring and the upper portion of 312 in which the ring could be deformed).
5. Muir as modified teaches the cleaner of claim 1, wherein the cleaning ring is inclined so as to be close to a surface of the filter toward the bottom of the dust collection space (the teachings from Guo include an inclined ring).
6. Muir as modified teaches the cleaner of claim 1, wherein the cleaning ring is in a shape of a ring that surrounds an outer circumferential surface of the filter (422 surrounds 312, Muir fig. 4a).
Regarding claims 7-8 and 11-13, Muir as modified teaches the cleaner of claim 1, wherein the guide edge extends from a lower portion of the cleaning unit toward the bottom of the dust collection space, and wherein the cleaning ring is coupled to the guide edge (400 includes an edge to which 422 is coupled, Muir fig. 4a; Guo likewise teaches its ring 141 is coupled at an edge, Guo fig. 6)
wherein a surface of the guide edge facing the inner surface of the housing is inclined so as to gradually increase a gap between the surface of the guide edge and the inner surface of the housing at a same height facing each other in a direction toward the bottom of the dust collection space (as part of integrating the teachings of a cleaning ring shape from Guo, Muir would be modified such that the interface between cleaning unit 400 and cleaning ring 422 being angled similarly to the cleaning ring in a fashion similar to that shown in Guo fig. 6); and
further comprising a manipulator (416), wherein the cleaning unit comprises: a cleaning body (414) configured to surround the filter (Muir fig. 4a and [0069]) and coupled to the manipulator, the cleaning body being configured to operate in cooperation with the manipulator (414 is connected to 406 via linkage 416, Muir [0067] and [0069]);
wherein the guide edge forms part of an inclined guide wall is disposed along a circumferential direction of the cleaning body (all of 414, including its lower edge surrounds 312, Muir fig. 4a; due to the modifications inspired by Guo, 414 would be generally frustoconical, see Guo fig. 6), such that when the cleaning unit is located at the initial position, the guide wall being capable of guiding a flow of the air introduced through the introduction opening (lower portion of 414 will restrict upward movement of air introduced through 310), and wherein the cleaning ring formed of an elastic material coupled to the lower portion of the cleaning body is provided along a lower end of the guide wall (422 is on a lower portion of 414, Muir figs. 4a-4b), and wherein the cleaning ring and cleaning body are inclined and connected at a coupling part such that they form the guide edge (422 is connected to 414, Muir figs. 4a-4b; as noted above, the teachings of Guo teach a coupling mechanism for use with an annular ring that would lead to the ring being coupled to the cleaning body such that the lower portions of each were angled inward, see Guo fig. 6).
9. Muir as modified teaches the cleaner of claim 8, wherein an inclination angle of the cleaning ring is greater than an inclination angle of the guide edge (Guo shows an upper portion of the interface is shown as having a shallower angle than the cleaning ring, Guo fig. 6; the modification to Muir would result in similar structure).
10. Muir as modified teaches the cleaner of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the cleaning ring decreases toward an end facing the bottom of the dust collection space (due to the angled shape, the lower end of the cleaning ring has a smaller diameter, and consequently thickness, than the top end, see Guo fig. 6 and Muir fig. 4a).
14. Muir as modified teaches the cleaner of claim 1, further comprising a support rib protruding from a lower portion of a cleaning body toward the bottom of the dust collection space, the support rib being configured to support an opposite surface of a guide inclination surface of the cleaning ring coupled to the lower portion of the cleaning body, at least a portion of the support rib having a length greater than or equal to a length of a lower end of the cleaning ring (the coupling structure of Guo includes a inwardly and downwardly protruding support portion 116 capable of supporting cleaning ring 141 to maintain its angle, the circumferential length of the upper portion of 116 being greater than an equivalent length in a lower portion of ring 141, see Guo fig. 6; integrating the angled ring and coupling structure of Guo into Muir would include this structure).
15. Muir as modified teaches the cleaner of claim 14, further comprising a seating groove disposed in the cleaning ring and configured to receive the support rib (the coupling structure of Guo includes a groove in cleaning ring 141 for receiving a part of 116 at the position its angle of inclination changes, see Guo fig. 6).
Muir as modified does not specifically teach that the seating groove has a depth greater than or equal to a thickness of the support rib.
However, it would nonetheless have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to further modify Muir as modified such that the seating groove has a depth greater than or equal to a thickness of the support rib, as the sole difference between the claimed invention and Muir as modified is a recitation of the relative dimensions (i.e., thicknesses) of the claimed device, and it has been held that where the only difference between the prior art and the claims is a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device is not patentably distinct from the prior art device. Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 USPQ 232 (1984). Further, the disclosure provides no evidence indicating the relative dimensions are critical to the invention.
16. Muir as modified teaches the cleaner of claim 14, further comprising a gap maintenance rib protruding from the support rib in a direction opposite the guide inclination surface, the gap maintenance rib being configured to maintain a gap between a surface of the filter and the cleaning ring while the cleaning unit is raised and lowered (the coupling structure of Guo integrated into Muir includes a rib 142 having a dimension in a direction away from all surfaces of 141 and is capable of maintaining a gap between 141 and a cleaning unit by ensuring that ring 141 is properly secured so its upper surface does not contact the filter, Guo fig. 6).
18. Muir as modified teaches the cleaner of claim 11, wherein the cleaning ring is coupled to a lower end of the cleaning body (422 is on lower end of 414, Muir fig. 4a), and wherein the cleaning ring and the lower end of the cleaning body are in surface contact on two different surfaces (the teachings from Guo regarding coupling a cleaning ring to a cleaning unit used to modify Muir teach clamping a cleaning ring on two sides, Guo fig. 6).
Claims 17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Muir and Guo as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hyun et al. (US PGPub 2019/0274503, "Hyun").
17. Muir as modified teaches the cleaner of claim 1, further comprising a manipulator (406, and a cleaning body (414) disposed in the cleaning unit (Muir fig. 4a), the cleaning body being configured to surround the filter (Muir fig. 4a and [0069]) and being coupled to the manipulator (414 is connected to 406 via linkage 416, Muir [0067] and [0069]) to operate in cooperation with the manipulator,
the cleaning body comprising:
a guide wall extending continuously in a circumferential direction of the cleaning body (all of 414, including its lower edge surrounds 312, Muir fig. 4a), the guide wall comprising an inclining surface (due to the modifications inspired by Guo, 414 would be generally frustoconical, see Guo fig. 6) and the guide edge on a lower portion of the guide wall (lower portion of 414 will guide air flowing around 312, Muir fig. 4a). Muir as modified does not teach the presence of a guide fence extending parallel to the guide wall and being spaced apart from the guide wall in a direction of the inner surface of the housing to form the guide flow path between the guide fence and the guide wall; and the air introduction part disposed in a portion of the cleaning body connected to the introduction opening, the air introduction part communicating the guide flow path with the introduction opening.
However, Hyun teaches a cleaner comprising a housing (main body 2) having an introduction opening through which air is introduced (5); a filter (10) defining a dust collection space (dust container 50); a cleaning unit including a cleaning body (cleaning compressor 810) configured to surround the filter (see Hyun figs. 9A-13 and paragraphs [0085]-[0086]), and configured to be raised and lowered inside the dust collection space ("the cleaning compressor 810 configured to move upward and downward in the dust container 50", see Hyun paragraph [0085]);
a guide wall extending continuously in a circumferential direction of the cleaning body, the guide wall comprising an inclining surface and the guide edge on a lower portion of the guide wall (vertical portion extending from horizontal member 811, see Hyun fig. 14 and paragraphs [0117]-[0118]);
a guide fence extending parallel to the guide wall and being spaced apart from the guide wall in a direction of the inner surface of the housing to form a guide flow path between the guide fence and the guide wall (end of 810 has two vertical wall portions, see cross-section in Hyun fig. 12); and
an air introduction part disposed in a portion of the cleaning body connected to the introduction opening, the air introduction part communicating the guide flow path with the introduction opening (combination of 811 and 812 move air to rotate around cyclone, see Hyun paragraphs [0117]-[0119]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to integrate the structure of a guide wall, guide fence, and air introduction part from Hyun into the device of Muir as modified such that it included a guide fence extending parallel to the guide wall and being spaced apart from the guide wall in a direction of the inner surface of the housing to form a guide flow path between the guide fence and the guide wall; and
an air introduction part disposed in a portion of the cleaning body connected to the introduction opening, the air introduction part communicating the guide flow path with the introduction opening, as doing so represents the combination of known prior art elements according to known methods, and the results of such a combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill.
Regarding claims 19 and 20, Muir as modified teaches the cleaner of claim 17, but does not explicitly teach that a lower end of the cleaning ring protrudes further toward the bottom of the dust collection space than a lower end of the guide fence or that a lower end of the guide fence protrudes further toward the bottom of the dust collection space than an upper end of the cleaning ring.
However, it would nonetheless have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to further modify Muir as modified such that a lower end of the cleaning ring protrudes further toward the bottom of the dust collection space than a lower end of the guide fence or that a lower end of the guide fence protrudes further toward the bottom of the dust collection space than an upper end of the cleaning ring, as the sole difference between the claimed invention and Muir as modified is a recitation of the relative dimensions (i.e., relative heights of cleaning ring and guide fence) of the claimed device, and it has been held that where the only difference between the prior art and the claims is a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device is not patentably distinct from the prior art device. Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 USPQ 232 (1984). Further, the disclosure provides no evidence indicating the relative dimensions are critical to the invention.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3 March, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
Applicant specifically argues that the individual references of the prior art do not explicitly teach the claimed guide flow path, air introduction path, air introduction part, or guide edge. However, applicant is reminded that a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention (or of a subassembly of the claimed invention) must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
Because the combined structures of the device suggested by the combination of Muir and Guo would be capable of redirecting air downward in the described fashion, they are patentably indistinct from the claimed structures. That the motivation for combining the structures does not specifically recite the claimed aspects of air redirection does not mean that it would not have been obvious to combine the structural elements in a fashion capable of performing the roles in redirecting air.
Consequently, applicant’s arguments are not persuasive and the rejections are maintained.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN R ZAWORSKI whose telephone number is (571)272-7804. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:00-5:00, Fridays 9:00-1:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Monica Carter can be reached at (571)-272-4475. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/J.R.Z./ Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/JOEL D CRANDALL/ Examiner, Art Unit 3723
Prosecution Insights