DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The new limitation that the wall is provided between the first end of the air treatment chamber and the dirt collection chamber is unclear because the drawings (specifically Figs. 12 and 13) appear to show the wall (1174) within the collection chamber, which is defined by the internal space of chamber (1124). As best understood by the examiner, the limitation is considered to be intended to define that the wall is provided adjacent to the connection between the first end of the air treatment chamber and the dirt collection chamber or within the collection chamber adjacent to the dirt outlet of the air treatment chamber, and will be treated as such for the sake of the current Office Action.
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 1, 3, 4, 6-10, 18 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsumoto et al. (6,766,558) in view of Hakan et al. (8,225,456; earliest priority 10 February 2003), Shaver et al. (2004/0216264), Fester (7,708,789), Cockburn et al. (6,546,592) and Conrad (7,887,612).
Regarding claims 1, Matsumoto discloses a portable vacuum cleaner (Figs. 2-4) comprising a portable vacuum cleaner (1), a surface cleaning head (4) and an upflow duct (3), the upflow duct has an air inlet end at the connection to the head and an upper air outlet (at the connection to the portable vacuum cleaner), the portable vacuum cleaner comprising:
(a) an air flow passage extending from a dirty air inlet to a clean air outlet, a suction motor (1a) positioned in the air flow path;
(b) an air treatment chamber (5; disclosed as having the same internal components of the first embodiment in Col. 10, lines 1-5, which is represented by Figs. 1-19) positioned in the air flow passage upstream from the suction motor and a dirt collection chamber (8), the air treatment chamber comprising a first (lower) end, a second opposed (upper) end, a longitudinal axis extending an axial distance in an axial direction from the first end to the second end, an air treatment chamber air inlet (5a in Fig. 3) and an air treatment chamber air outlet (5b in Fig. 3), wherein the dirt collection chamber is in communication with the air treatment chamber through a dirt outlet (open bottom end of chamber 7 housing plate 9 with outlet section 9a) that is provided at the first end, and the second end comprises an (upper) end wall wherein the air treatment chamber air outlet comprises a port (aperture through which pipe 10b extends in Fig. 3) in the end wall, wherein a wall (9) is provided between the first end of the air treatment chamber and the dirt collection chamber and,
(d) a body (1) including the suction motor, the suction motor is positioned in the air flow passage downstream from the filter, the suction motor having a motor axis and a motor inlet end (lower end); and,
(e) a handle (10a) provided on the body, and wherein the longitudinal axis and the motor axis extend in the same direction (all clearly shown in Fig. 25).
- Regarding the clause previously added to claim 1 (filed 8 December 2025), Matsumoto discloses that the upflow duct (3) is “coupled” to the portable vacuum cleaner (Col. 5, lines 22-24, relative to the first embodiment), which suggests that the portable vacuum cleaner may be removed from the upflow duct, and Matsumoto also discloses, when the portable vacuum cleaner is mounted to the upflow duct (Fig. 25) and the upflow duct extends upwardly from the surface cleaning head, the upper air outlet of the upflow duct is positioned a distance above the surface cleaning head that is greater than the axial distance (of the air treatment chamber) such that the portable vacuum cleaner will be solely supported by the upflow duct.
- However, Matsumoto fails to disclose that a) the surface cleaning head comprises a pivoting connector, b) a filter between the air treatment chamber and the motor, c) fails to specifically disclose that the portable vacuum cleaner is removable, d) fails to disclose the handle being connected to the body at first and second ends (newly added limitation on 2 April 2026) and e) that when the wall is moved relative to the air treatment chamber, the first end of the air treatment chamber is unobstructed by the wall.
Hakan discloses a similar vacuum cleaner, also having a surface cleaning head, portable vacuum cleaner and upflow duct connecting the two, and teaches that the head is pivotally connected to the upflow duct, which is very old and well known in the art of vacuum cleaners to allow for tilting of the head relative to the handle for maneuvering of the vacuum cleaner along a floor surface. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the connection of the head to the upflow duct of Matsumoto with a similar pivoting connector, as is very well known in the art, to allow for tilting of the head relative to the handle for maneuvering of the vacuum cleaner.
Further, Fester discloses another similar vacuum cleaner having a cyclonic separator and discloses that a cylindrical filter is also provided downstream from the cyclonic separator, to function as well-known filter for further preventing any dust or debris from reaching the suction motor to prevent damage thereto. Fester further teaches that the cylindrical filter is aligned with the outlet of the cyclone chamber, similar to the chamber 5 of Matsumoto, and being understood to anyone of ordinary skill in the art that a cylindrical filter may provide substantially more surface area than a more basic flat filter. Therefore, it further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide a similar filter between the cyclonic separator and the motor of Matsumoto, as taught by Fester, and to provide advantages of increased filter surface area, which will reduce clogging and maintain optimal airflow through the filter. Thus, when the filter taught by Fester is provided for Matsumoto, the filter will be positioned in the air flow passage downstream from the air treatment chamber air outlet wherein air exits thorough the port in the second end wall in the axial direction at a location upstream of the filter and will comprise a first end, an axially spaced apart second end, a sidewall that extends between the first end of the filter and the axially spaced apart second end, wherein the sidewall comprises a filter material (86) surrounding an open interior providing a filtered air flow path, the axially spaced apart second (lower) end is open whereby, after passing through the sidewall, air enters the filtered air flow path and passes through the open axially spaced apart second end. Further, when provided to the cleaner of Matsumoto, between the cyclonic chamber and the motor, in a similar chamber taught by Fester, the longitudinal axis and the motor axis will both extend through the open interior of the filter taught by Fester.
Although Matsumoto does not specifically disclose that the portable vacuum cleaner is removable from the upflow duct, Shaver discloses another very similar portable vacuum cleaner, that may be attached to a suction head via an upflow duct (Fig. 19D), or may be removed from the upflow duct for use as a handheld cleaner with a range of different accessories and connections for different applications (Figs. 19A-C and 19E-G). Therefore, it further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to configure the portable vacuum cleaner of Matsumoto to be removable from the upflow duct, as taught y Shaver, to allow for use as a handheld cleaner with a range of different accessories and connections for different applications, to increase the functionality of the cleaner.
Regarding the handle (only applicable to claim 1), when the embodiment of Fig. 25 of Matsumoto is configured to be removable for use as a handheld cleaner, as taught by Shaver and discussed above, it would also be obvious for the removable handheld cleaner to optionally include other handles than those shown by Matsumoto, for instance similar to Shaver, or other known alternatives for handheld vacuum cleaner, like Cockburn. Both of Shaver and Cockburn disclose handles with a hand grip portion extending between first and second ends of the handle, each of the first and second ends being secured to the portable vacuum cleaner whereby an enclosed finger gap is provided between the hand grip portion and the end wall. Therefore, it further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide alternative handles to the cleaner of Matsumoto when configured to optionally function as a handheld cleaner, wherein the handle (2) of Cockburn, when placed on a rear of the body ((4), similar to the location of Matsumoto Fig. 25, with the handle (10a) connected to a rear of the body (1), would provide the hand grip portion, connected to the body at first and second ends, with an enclosed finger gap, and in such a location that the longitudinal axis and the motor axis (of body 1 of Matsumoto) would each extend through the open interior of the filter (as discussed above), the finger gap (as provided by the handle of Cockburn), and the hand grip portion of the handle (due to the location of the handle and similar axes of Cockburn also passing through the finger gap and grip portion of the handle), and the hand grip portion is transverse to the longitudinal axis and the motor axis *by laying across the axis where it passes through the grip).
While Matsumoto discloses that the wall (9) separates a separation chamber (7) from the collection chamber (8), with apertures passing through the wall (9) for smaller debris, Matsumoto fails to disclose that the wall (9) is movable or any other manner to empty the chamber (8). Conrad discloses another vacuum cleaner having similar air treatment (53) and collection (52) chambers, also having the dirt collection chamber in communication with the air treatment chamber through a dirt outlet (open lower end of the redirector ring 64, as viewed in Figs. 6g-6h) that is provided at the first end, wherein a wall (32a) is provided between the first end of the air treatment chamber and the dirt collection chamber (also having an outlet section formed by a gap between the plate and the sidewall of the collection chamber, similar to 9a of Matsumoto) and, when the wall is moved relative to the air treatment chamber, the first end of the air treatment chamber is unobstructed by the wall, which allows a user to empty any debris that is located within the air treatment chamber, on the plate and within the collection chamber. Therefore, it further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to configure the wall (9) of Matsumoto to be movable (either removable or pivotable as shown in Figs. 6g-6h; Col. 30, lines 30-35) to allow for emptying of both chambers, as well as allowing access to the screen (5b) of Matsumoto for cleaning or replacement. Thus, when the wall is moved relative to the air treatment chamber, the first end of the air treatment chamber is unobstructed by the wall. Further, regarding the interpretation as discussed above under 35 U.S.C. 112, the location taught by Conrad may be considered to be between the first end of the air treatment chamber and the dirt collection chamber, as claimed (when the collection chamber is considered to begin below the wall 32), adjacent to the connection between the first end of the air treatment chamber and the dirt collection chamber and/or within the collection chamber adjacent to the dirt outlet of the air treatment chamber (when the collection chamber is considered to begin immediately below the dirt outlet at ring 64).
Regarding claim 3, Matsumoto further provides the first end of the air treatment chamber with a radial center, with the motor axis extending through the radial center (clearly shown to be axially aligned in Fig. 25).
Regarding claims 4, Matsumoto further discloses that the motor axis is co-axial with the longitudinal axis (clearly shown to be axially aligned in Fig. 25).
Regarding claim 6, although Matsumoto fails to disclose a location of an outlet of the portable vacuum cleaner body, Matsumoto does disclose that the body has a first end and an axially spaced apart second end, the axially spaced apart second end has an end face and the handle is provided on the end face (as shown in Fig. 25). Hakan and Shaver both further discloses, on very similar handheld portable vacuum cleaners, that the outlet is positioned on the housing at a location rearward of the motor, which is in the direction of airflow out of the motor. Therefore, it further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to position the outlet of the body of Matsumoto in a similar location, as taught by Hakan and Shaver, being known in the art and to simplify the airflow from the motor, which will locate the outlet at the axially spaced apart second end.
Regarding claim 7, Matsumoto, as modified by Shaver, further discloses that the portable vacuum cleaner is operable both when mounted to the upflow duct and when removed from the upflow duct.
Regarding claim 8, Matsumoto, as modified by Shaver, further discloses that the portable vacuum cleaner is removably mountable to the upflow duct at the upper air outlet.
Regarding claim 9, Fester further discloses that the filter is positioned in a filter housing (cyclone insert 80) and an annular space is located between the filter housing and the filter (clearly seen in Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 10, Matsumoto further discloses that the air treatment chamber comprises a cyclone.
Regarding claim 18, Matsumoto, as modified by Fester, further discloses that, in operation to clean a floor, the suction motor is positioned above the filter.
Regarding claims 21 and 22, the filter taught by Fester, and applied to the cleaner of Matsumoto as discussed supra, is configured such that after exiting the port in the second end wall, air travels outwardly into the annular space between the filter housing and the sidewall of the filter.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 7 May 2024 and 11 December 2024 have been considered by the examiner. However, the examiner notes that the IDS documents include an extensive number of references, many/most of which have little to no relevance to the specifics of the claimed invention of the current application. Although the examiner has reviewed the applicant’s submitted references, the examiner does request that the applicant submit additional disclosure of any particularly relevant references to the current claimed invention for more focused review by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 25 August 2026, with respect to the prior art rejections of all pending claims under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of the previously applied prior art and further in view of Conrad, as applied above, to read on the new limitations of claim 1.
Conclusion
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, Brian Keller can be reached at 571-272-8548. 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.
/BRYAN R MULLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723 27 August 2026
Prosecution Insights