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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 8/21/2025 has been entered. Claims 2, 3, and 11-16 have been withdrawn. Claims 1 and 4-10 remain pending in the application. Examiner withdraws the 112(b) rejection and objection to the specification set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 6/3/2025.
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.
Claims 1 and 4-10 are 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the electrodes", “the mode of ice compress or hot compress”, and “the current” in lines 10-11. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 4-10 are rejected as depending on 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.
Claims 1, 4, and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Marco Fontecchio et al. (US 20190299440 A1 – hereinafter Fontecchio) in view of Klaus Heubach et al. (US 10578674 B2 - hereinafter Heubach) and Xia-min Hu et al. (CN 211842105 U – hereinafter Hu).
Regarding claim 1, Fontecchio teaches a cooling/heating shaver, comprising a cutter
head (Fig. 1, Cartridge Unit 15), a handle (Fig. 1, Handle 12), a blade group (Fig. 2, Blades 17),
a tactile sheet (Fig. 36, Face Plate 102), a heat transfer block (Fig. 36, Flexible Conductive Plate
98), an energy module (Fig. 36, Heat Dispersion Layer 100), a control circuit board ([0082]), a battery ([0082]), a control button disposed on the handle (Fig. 1, Actuator 14; [0082]), wherein, the blade group is detachably fixed on an outer side of the cutter head ([0079]), and the energy module is disposed inside the cutter head (Fig. 5, Heat Dispersion Layer 100 rests behind Application Surface 82 and inside of Cartridge Unit 15), and after the energy module is powered on, one side of the energy module absorbs heat, and the other side of the energy module releases heat ([0128] – Heat Dispersion Layer 100 absorbs heat from Heat 98 on one side, and releases heat to Face Plate 102 on the other side), the tactile sheet is disposed on a side of the energy module close to the blade group (Fig. 5, Application Surface 82 of Face Plate 102 is on a side of the energy module close to Blade 17), the heat transfer block is disposed on the other side of the energy module (Fig. 36. Heat Dispersion Layer 100 and Face Plate 102 are on opposing sides of Conductive Plate 98), and the cutter head is connected to the handle (Fig.1).
Fontecchio fails to teach that the control button, the battery, and the energy module are all electrically connected to the control circuit board, and wherein the energy module is a semiconductor, and when electrodes of the energy module are exchanged, a current of the energy module is reversed, and thus, a mode of ice compress or hot compress can be switched.
However, Heubach teaches the control button (Fig. 3, User Input Device 390; col 6, lines 51-55), the battery (Fig. 3, Power Source 330) and the energy module (Fig. 3, Second Thermal Sensor 360) are all electrically connected to the control circuit board (Fig. 3). Additionally, Hu teaches wherein the energy module (Fig. 4, energy module comprised of Heating Sheet 9 and Refrigerating Sheet 10) is a semiconductor (Page 2, third to last paragraph), and when electrodes of the energy module are exchanged, a current of the energy module is reversed, and thus, a mode of ice compress or hot compress can be switched (Page 3 Para 3 – heating and cooling modes can be controlled; Page 2, third to last paragraph – direction of the current between two semiconductor ends dictates which side absorbs heat and which side releases heat. Therefore, switching the electrodes at the semiconductor ends would reverse the current and change which sides absorb and release heat).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date to modify the cooling/heating shaver of Fontecchio such that the aforementioned parts are electrically connected to the control circuit board as taught by Heubach. Doing so is beneficial as it allows for temperature control of the razor based on user inputs and detection of overheating events (Heubach, Col. 6, para 2 and 3). Additionally, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the cooling/heating shaver of Fontecchio to include the limitations of claim 1 as taught by Hu. Doing so is beneficial as it allows the user to benefit from a cooling effect in addition to a heating effect when shaving (Hu; Page 1, last paragraph and Page 2, first paragraph).
Regarding claim 4, Fontecchio further teaches the cooling/heating shaver of claim 1,
further comprising: a connecting seat (Fig. 35, Pivoting Head 22) rotatably mounted on the
handle and torsion springs (Fig. 35, Spring Member 64) mounted on the connecting seat, wherein
one end of each torsion spring is connected to the handle (Fig. 47, Extensions 72 of Spring
Member 64 contact Main Body 16 of the Handle 12), the other end of each torsion spring is
connected to the connecting seat, and the cutter head is mounted on the connecting seat ([0082]).
Regarding claim 5, Fontecchio further teaches the cooling/heating shaver of claim 4,
further comprising connecting frames (Fig. 32, Arms 24) mounted on the handle, wherein the
connecting frames are mounted on the handle (Fig. 34), the connecting seat is rotatably mounted
on the connecting frames (Fig. 34, rotates about Pivot Axis 26), the connecting seat is provided
with limiting grooves (Fig. 41A, grooves adjacent to and on the outer edge of Tabs 108), the
torsion springs are mounted in the limiting grooves (Fig. 42), one end of each torsion spring is
connected to the handle (Fig. 47, Extensions 72 of Spring Member 64 contact Main Body 16 of
the Handle 12), the other end of each torsion spring is connected to the connecting seat, the
cutter head is provided with a sleeve groove (Fig. 5, groove in Cartridge Unit 15 which allows
the connecting seat to protrude through with Application Surface 82), and the connecting seat is
clamped in the sleeve groove ([0082] – the two are attached while the connecting seat is at
partially in the sleeve groove).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Marco
Fontecchio et al. (US 20190299440 A1 – hereinafter Fontecchio) in view of Klaus Heubach et al. (US 10578674 B2 - hereinafter Heubach) and Xia-min Hu et al. (CN 211842105 U – hereinafter Hu) as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Panagiotis Kopelas et al. (EP 3348364 A1 – hereinafter Kopelas) and Samar Anjum et al. (WO 2018220507 A1 – hereinafter Anjum).
Regarding claim 6, Fontecchio teaches the attributes of claim 4 discussed above.
The combination of Fontecchio, Heubach, and Hu fails to teach the cooling/heating shaver of claim 4, further comprising: a pushing seat, a sliding seat, a first spring, a clamping seat and second springs, the handle is provided with a sliding groove, a pressing hole and protruding holes, the pressing hole and the protruding holes are all connected with the sliding groove, the sliding seat is slidably disposed in the sliding groove, the pushing seat is connected to the sliding seat and extends out of the sliding groove through the pressing hole, one end of the first spring is connected to the sliding seat, and the other end of the first spring is connected to an inner wall of the sliding groove, and the protruding holes are located on a moving path of the sliding seat, and the cutter head is provided with connecting holes, the clamping seat is slidably disposed on the connecting seat and is located on the moving path of the sliding seat, the connecting holes are located on the moving path of the clamping seat, one end of each second spring is connected to the clamping seat, and the other end of each second spring is connected to the connecting seat.
However, Kopelas teaches the cooling/heating shaver of claim 4, further comprising: a
pushing seat (Fig. 2, Button 5), a sliding seat (Fig. 3A, Slider 630 and Lockers 640), a first spring
(Fig. 3A, Locker Spring 645), a clamping seat (Fig. 3A, Pusher 650) and second spring (Fig. 3A,
Spring 650A), the handle is provided with a sliding groove (Fig. 3A, cavity inside of Bottom Part
620 in addition to Central Channel 612), a pressing hole (Fig. 2, Opening 4a) and protruding
holes (Fig. 3A, gaps on either outer sides of Walls 628A), the pressing hole and the protruding holes are all connected with the sliding groove (Fig. 3A), the sliding seat is slidably disposed in
the sliding groove (Page 6, para 5), the pushing seat is connected to the sliding seat and extends
out of the sliding groove through the pressing hole (Fig. 2; page 8, para 2), one end of the first
spring is connected to the sliding seat (Fig. 3A, Locker 640), and the other end of the first spring
is connected to an inner wall of the sliding groove (Fig. 3A, Wall 628A), and the protruding
holes are located on a moving path of the sliding seat (Fig. 3A), and the cutter head (Fig. 2,
cutter head comprising Intermediate Component 40, Back structure 35, and Housing 39) is
provided with connecting holes (Page 7, para 4 - holes of the receiving aperture 42), the
clamping seat is slidably disposed on the connecting seat (Fig. 2, the connecting seat comprises
Intermediate Component 40 and Back Structure 35) and is located on the moving path of the
sliding seat, the connecting holes are located on the moving path of the clamping seat (Fig. 2),
and one end of each second spring is connected to the clamping seat (Fig. 3A).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date to modify the heating/cooling shaver of Fontecchio, Heubach, and Hu to comprise the attributes of claim 6 taught by Kopelas as described above. Doing so provides the benefit of allowing for the quick disconnect of the entire cartridge unit (Kopelas; page 7, para 4).
The combination of Fontecchio, Heubach, Hu, and Kopelas fails to teach that there is more than one second spring, and that the other end of each spring is connected to the connecting seat.
However, Anjum teaches wherein two second springs (Fig. 11C, Springs 245) connected
with one end of each spring connected to a clamping seat (Fig. 11C, Arms 214), and the other
end of each spring connected to a connecting seat (Fig. 11C, Adaptor 800).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the second spring of the combination of Fontecchio, Heubach, Hu, and Kopelas to comprise multiple springs, and to have the other end of each spring connected to the connecting seat as taught by Anjum. It is well known in the art that supporting a component with two supports, in this case springs, rather than one works to distribute the load such that the
individual supports each receive less of a load, thereby increasing the lifespan of the overall support structure. Having the second springs located between the clamping seat and the connecting seat is beneficial as it helps the clamping seat move back into its original position
after ejection of the blade cartridge (Anjum, [0109]).
Claims 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Marco
Fontecchio et al. (US 20190299440 A1 – hereinafter Fontecchio) in view of Klaus Heubach et al. (US 10578674 B2 - hereinafter Heubach) and Xia-min Hu et al. (CN 211842105 U – hereinafter Hu) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Evan Pennell
(US 20050039337 A1 – hereinafter Pannell).
Regarding claim 7, Fontecchio further teaches the cooling/heating shaver of claim 1,
wherein the cutter head has a first mounting surface (Fig. 2, front face of Blade Cartridge 15
immediately visible in Fig. 2), a second mounting surface (Fig. 2, thin underside surface of Blade
Cartridge 15 which connects the front and back face) and a third mounting surface (Fig. 2, back
face of Blade Cartridge 15 immediately visible in Fig. 1), wherein the first mounting surface, the
second mounting surface and the third mounting surface are connected in sequence (Fig. 1), the
first mounting surface is set facing away from the third mounting surface (Fig. 1), and the blade
group (Fig. 1, Blade 17) is mounted on the first mounting surface.
The combination of Fontecchio, Heubach, and Hu fails to teach that the cooling/heating shaver further comprises a sideburn cutter group, the cutter head is provided with buckles, and the sideburn cutter group is provided with clamping grooves and is mounted on the second mounting surface through the cooperation of the clamping grooves and the buckles.
However, Pannell teaches a shaver comprising a sideburn cutter group (Fig. 5, Trimming
Blade Assembly 30), the cutter head (Fig. 2, Blade Unit 16) is provided with buckles (Fig. 11,
Clips 32), and the sideburn cutter group is provided with clamping grooves (Fig. 6, Slots 540)
and is mounted on the second mounting surface (Fig. 11) through the cooperation of the
clamping grooves and the buckles.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date to modify the cooling/heating shaver of Fontecchio, Heubach, and Hu to comprise a sideburn cutter group in addition to the other attributes of claim 7 described above and taught by Pannell. Doing so is beneficial as it provides a structure which allows a user to cleanly shave hard to reach areas such as the edge of a mustache (Pannell, [0034]).
Regarding claim 8, the existing combination of Fontecchio, Heubach, Hu, and Pannell fails to teach the features set forth in claim 8.
However, Pannell teaches the cooling/heating shaver of claim 7, wherein the sideburn
cutter group comprises a cutter holder (Fig. 5, Blade Carrier 502), the cutter holder is provided
with a positioning groove (Fig. 9, large groove going into the page and through 502), the
positioning groove runs through the cutter holder, and the second mounting surface is provided
with a first positioning block (Fig. 12, leftmost tab sticking out of the bottom of Housing 20), a
second positioning block (Fig. 12, rightmost tab sticking out of the bottom of Housing 20), a first
engaging block (Fig. 12, recessed convex curved portion of Housing 20 immediately to the right
of the first positioning block) and a second engaging block (Fig. 12, recessed convex curved
portion of Housing 20 immediately to the left of the second positioning block ), the first
positioning block is spaced apart from the second positioning block (Fig. 12), and the first
engaging block and the second engaging block are spaced apart between the first posit ioning
block and the second positioning block (Fig. 12), the cutter holder is clamped between the first positioning block and the second positioning block (Fig. 11, the majority of the cutter holder is
held in place by the Clips 32 between the first and second positioning blocks, [0026]) , and the
first engaging block and the second engaging block are both clamped in the positioning groove
(Fig. 11, the two blocks are inside the positioning groove as shown), and the positioning groove
has a first inner wall (See “1” in modified Fig. 10 below), a second inner wall (See “2” in
modified Fig. 10 below), a bottom wall (See “B” in modified Fig. 10 below), a third inner wall
(See “3” in modified Fig. 10 below) and a fourth inner wall (See “4” in modified Fig. 10 below)
that are connected in sequence, the first inner wall and the fourth inner wall are parallel to each
other and are both perpendicular to the bottom wall, the second inner wall and the third inner
wall are both arc-shaped, each first engaging block and each second engaging block have a first
side wall (See “11” in modified Fig. 10 below), a second side wall (See “12” in modified Fig. 10
below), a top wall (See “T” in modified Fig. 10 below), a third side wall (See “13” in modified
Fig. 10 below) and a fourth side wall (See “14” in modified Fig. 10 below) connected in
sequence, two ends (examiner interprets that over the length of the blade unit there is a first and
second end where this cross section as depicted in modified Fig. 10 exists) of the first inner wall
abut against the first side walls of the first engaging block and the second engaging block
respectively (examiner interprets that abut against means to border closely without necessarily
touching), and two ends of the second inner wall abut against the second side walls of the first
engaging block and the second engaging block respectively, two ends of the third inner wall abut
against the third side walls of the first engaging block and the second engaging block
respectively, two ends of the fourth inner wall abut against the fourth side walls of the first
engaging block and the second engaging block respectively, and two ends of the bottom wall
abut against the top walls of the first engaging block and the second engaging block respectively, and a first arc surface (See “A1” in modified Fig. 10 below) and a second arc (See “A2” in
modified Fig. 10 below) surface are provided on the outer side of the cutter holder, wherein the
first arc surface is parallel to the second inner wall, the second arc surface is parallel to the third
inner wall, the first arc surface is provided with a first mounting groove (Fig. 10, opening in
Blade Carrier 502 into which Projection 537 extends), the second arc surface is provided with a
second mounting groove (Fig. 5, C-shaped groove defined by alignment surface 530), the first
mounting groove and the second mounting groove are spaced apart along an arrangement
direction of the first mounting surface and the third mounting surface, residue discharging holes
(Fig. 6, Debris Removal Slots 546) are provided on the bottom wall of the first mounting groove,
the residue discharging holes and the second mounting groove are connected with the positioning
groove.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date to modify the cooling/heating shaver of the combination of Fontecchio, Heubach, Hu and Pannell to include the attributes of claim 8 discussed above and further taught by Pannell. Doing so is beneficial as it provides a structure which permits the removal of shaving debris during shaving (Pannell, [0032]).
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The existing combination of Fontecchio, Heubach, Hu, and Pannell fails to teach that there are scrapers mounted on the cutting holder, the plurality of scrapers being disposed in the second mounting groove and being disposed sequentially along the extending direction of the position groove.
However, a different embodiment of Pannell teaches a sideburn cutter group with
scrapers (Fig. 13, Segments 604) mounted on the cutting holder (Fig. 13, main body of Blade
Support 600), the plurality of scrapers being disposed in a second mounting groove (Fig. 13,
elongated groove immediately above Segments 604) and being disposed sequentially along the
extending direction of the position groove.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date to modify the sideburn cutter group of the existing combination of
Fontecchio, Heubach, Hu, and Pannell to include the attributes described in the preceding paragraph and taught by the additional embodiment of Pannell. Doing so is beneficial as this structure facilitates removal of shaving debris, facilitates trimming of sideburns and other longer hairs, and facilitates providing accurately located guard surfaces during the forming of the guard in the manufacturing process (Pannell, [0036]).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Marco
Fontecchio et al. (US 20190299440 A1 – hereinafter Fontecchio) in view of Klaus Heubach et al. (US 10578674 B2 - hereinafter Heubach) and Xia-min Hu et al. (CN 211842105 U – hereinafter Hu) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ruairidh Robertson et al. (WO 2019067574 A1 - hereinafter Robertson), and Frank Beerwerth et al. (US 20200316800 A1 – hereinafter Beerwerth).
Regarding claim 9, Fontecchio further teaches the cooling/heating shaver of claim 1,
the handle further having a mounting cavity (Fig. 30A, empty space inside of Handle 12) , the control circuit board and the battery are both mounted in the mounting cavity ([0082]) and the control button has a first control position and a second control position ([0082] – first control position being when the button is depressed such that a powered circuit is closed, second control position being when the button is not depressed such that a powered circuit is closed).
The existing combination of Fontecchio, Heubach, and Hu fails to explicitly teach a light emitting sheet electrically connected to the control circuit board; when the control button is at the first control position, a current of the control circuit board flows along a first direction, and the light emitting sheet emits a first light beam, and when the control button is at the second control position, the current of the control circuit board flows opposite to the first direction, and the light emitting sheet emits a second light beam.
However, Heubach teaches a light emitting sheet electrically (Fig. 3, Energy Emitting
Element 316; col 3, lines 61-63 – LEDs are commonly supplied as sheets) connected to the
control board (Fig. 3, First Thermal Control Circuit comprising items 350, 370, and 372; col 6,
lines 12-14).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date to modify the cooling/heating shaver of Fontecchio, Heubach, and Hu such that there is a light emitting sheet, and that the sheet is electrically connected to the control circuit board as taught by Heubach. Involving an light emitting sheet is beneficial as it works to illuminate the razor blade (Heubach, Col. 8, lines 10-11).
The combination of Fontecchio, Heubach, and Hu fails to teach that when the control button is at the first control position, a current of the control circuit board flows along a first direction, and the light emitting sheet emits a first light beam, and when the control button is at the second control position, the current of the control circuit board flows opposite to the first direction, and the light emitting sheet emits a second light beam.
However, Robertson teaches that when the control button is at the first control position, a
current of the control circuit board flows along a first direction, and when the control button is at
the second control position, the current of the control circuit board flows opposite to the first
direction ([00869]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date to modify the cooling/heating shaver of the combination of Fontecchio,
Heubach, and Hu such that when the control button is at the first control position, a current of the control circuit board flows along a first direction, and when the control button is at the second control position, the current of the control circuit board flows opposite to the first direction as taught by Robertson as a matter of combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results (see MPEP 2143). In this case, the predictable result is the current flow
switching directions upon the actuation of a control button, rather than decreasing or stopping.
The combination of Fontecchio, Heubach, Hu, and Robertson fails to teach that the light
emitting sheet emits a first light beam and a second light beam.
However. Beerwerth teaches a razor where the light emitting sheet emits a first light
beam (Fig. 4, LEDs 17; [0025] - intermittent) and a second light beam (Fig. 4, LEDs 17; [0025] -
continuous).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date to modify the light emitting sheet of Fontecchio, Heubach, Hu, and Robertson such that it emits a first light beam and a second light beam as taught by Beerwerth. Doing so is beneficial as it can indicated the temperature of the razor blade for the user (Beerwerth, [0025]).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Marco
Fontecchio et al. (US 20190299440 A1 – hereinafter Fontecchio) in view of Klaus Heubach
et al. (US 10578674 B2 - hereinafter Heubach), Xia-min Hu et al. (CN 211842105 U – hereinafter Hu), Ruairidh Robertson et al. (WO 2019067574 A1 - hereinafter Robertson), and Frank Beerwerth et al. (US 20200316800 A1 – hereinafter Beerwerth) as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Terence Royle (US 7877880 B2 – hereinafter Royle) and Louis Tomassetti (US 20200324425 A1 – hereinafter Tomassetti).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Fontecchio, Heubach, Hu, Beerwerth and Robertson fails to teach the elements of claim 10.
However, Royle teaches a charging stand for a shaver, wherein the charging stand is
provided with a charging slot (Fig. 3, recess formed by Peripheral Wall 125), a charging
connector (Fig. 3, Socket 6) is disposed in the charging slot, and one end of the handle (Fig. 2,
Handle 2) is inserted into the charging slot and is provided with a first charging port adapted to
the charging connector (Fig. 5, first charging port defined by Sleeve Portion 17 and Electrical
Contact 20), the first charging port is electrically connected to the battery (Fig. 5, Battery 13).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the invention of the combination of Fontecchio, Heubach, Hu,
Beerwerth and Robertson to include a charging stand with the aforementioned features as taught
by Royle. Doing so is beneficial as it allows the power supply to be recharged (Royle; col 1,
lines 55-56).
The combination of Fontecchio, Heubach, Hu, Beerwerth, Royle and Robertson fails to
explicitly teach that the charging stand is provided with a second charging port electrically
connected to the charging connector.
However, Tomassetti teaches a charging stand for a shaver where there is a second
charging port electrically (Fig. 2, plug at the bottom of Charging Base 40) connected to the
charging connector (Fig. 4, portion of Charging Base 40 which connects with Razor 10).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date to modify the charging stand of the combination of Fontecchio, Heubach, Hu, Beerwerth, Royle and Robertson to include a second charging port as taught by Tomassetti. It is well known that having a second charging port such as the one seen in Tomassetti is beneficial as it allows the device to draw power from most outlets.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 8/21/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 ELLA LORRAINE KEENA whose telephone number is (571)272-1806. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am - 5:00 pm ET.
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/ELLA L KEENA/Examiner, Art Unit 3724
/ADAM J EISEMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3724