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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-8, in the reply filed on 1/27/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 9-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply.
Claim Objections
Claims is/are objected to because of the following informalities: Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “at least two vector nozzles, each vector nozzle is correspondingly provided with a drainage power mechanism and a rotation power mechanism” (claim 5) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 1-8 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 in last line “a driving wheel”. However, this element is already introduced in line 2. It is unclear if these are the same component or not.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the angle" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the axial direction" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the positive axial direction" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the angle formed by the axial direction of the drainage port of the vector nozzle and the positive axial direction of the housing is fixed". It is unclear what “positive axial direction of the housing” means. How can you determine an axial direction for a housing of a robot device?
Claim 6 recites “it further comprises”. It is unclear what “it” is referring to.
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 and a2 as being anticipated by Pichon (US 8,595,880).
Re Claim 1, as best understood, Pichon discloses a robot swimming pool cleaner capable of adjusting a water flow jetting direction, comprising a housing, a bottom part of the housing being provided with a driving wheel 2 or 3, wherein the housing is provided with a water inlet 9 and a vector nozzle 91, a drainage power mechanism is arranged inside the housing to drive a water flow to be sucked in by the water inlet and jetted out by a drainage port of the vector nozzle, a garbage filtering and collecting mechanism 11 is further arranged inside the housing, and the garbage filtering and collecting mechanism is arranged between the water inlet and the vector nozzle to filter and collect dirt in water; a top part of the vector nozzle is a bending portion (col. 9, line 65), so that a counter-acting force of the water flow jetted has a component force towards the bottom part of the housing; a bottom part of the vector nozzle is a vertical portion, the vertical portion is in transmission connection with a rotation power mechanism 95 to drive the vector nozzle to rotate by the rotation power mechanism, the rotation of the vector nozzle takes the axis of the vertical portion as a rotation axis, and the jetting direction of the water flow is adjusted in the rotation process, so that the size of the component force of the counter-acting force of the water flow jetted in front, back and side directions of the housing is adjusted; and a control mechanism 96 (col. 10, lines 25-50) is further arranged inside the housing, the control mechanism is in electric signal connection with the rotation power mechanism, and by controlling the rotation angle of the vector nozzle, the operating posture and trajectory of the robot swimming pool cleaner is adjusted by cooperating with a driving wheel (Fig. 1-3; col. 9-10).
Re Claim 2, Pichon discloses the housing is respectively provided with a first sensor and a second sensor on both ends adjacent to the front end and rear end, the first sensor and the second sensor are both in electric signal connection with the control mechanism to identify a water surface position and feed the water surface position back to the control mechanism, [so that the control mechanism judges the cleaning range at a water line on a wall of the swimming pool] (col. 10, lines 30-50: “front or rear wall sensors so that their being activated reveals that the apparatus is in a front or rear state of blockage against a wall”. Examiner is interpreting that this sensing of the wall qualifies as a water surface position, since water against the wall has a water surface and this inherently involves sensing the position of said surface). The recitation in brackets [ ] is considered functional language. The reference discloses all the structural components of the tool, which read on those of the instant invention. Therefore, the device is capable of performing the same desired functions as the instant invention as claimed.
Re Claim 3, as best understood, Pichon discloses the angle formed by the axial direction of the drainage port of the vector nozzle and the positive axial direction of the housing is fixed, and the formed angle is between 20 and 70 degrees (Fig. 1-3; col. 9-10).
Re Claim 6, as best understood, Pichon discloses it further comprises a cleaning mechanism, the cleaning mechanism comprises a rolling brush 4, the rolling brush is arranged at the bottom part of the housing and located in front of the water inlet, the garbage filtering and collecting mechanism comprises a filtering chamber 8, and the filtering chamber is arranged inside the housing and communicated with the water inlet (Fig. 1-3; col. 9-10; col. 11, lines 35-40).
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(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pichon in view of Erlich (PGPub 2016/0145884).
Re Claim 8, Pichon does not disclose the drainage port is provided with a rectifying grid. However, Erlich teaches a drainage port is provided with a rectifying grid 77 (Fig. 1; para. 110). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize a rectifying grid, as taught by Erlich, for the purpose of protecting the equipment by preventing debris or objects from obstructing or damaging the device.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pichon in view of Durin (PGPub 2021/0301548)
Re Claim 4, Pichon does not disclose the drainage port of the vector nozzle is connected with a straight pipe, the straight pipe is coaxially arranged with the drainage port, and the length of the straight pipe is at least twice greater than the diameter of the drainage port. However, Durin teaches drainage port of the vector nozzle is connected with a straight pipe, the straight pipe is coaxially arranged with the drainage port, and the length of the straight pipe is at least twice greater than the diameter of the drainage port (Fig. 7A). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize a straight pipe, as taught by Durin, for the purpose of providing passage of fluid to the exit as well as enabling a desired size of the device while ensuring that fluid is directed appropriately for optimal control of the cleaner.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pichon.
Re Claim 5, Pichon does not disclose there are at least two vector nozzles, each vector nozzle is correspondingly provided with a drainage power mechanism and a rotation power mechanism, and the control mechanism is in electric signal connection with both the drainage power mechanism and the rotation power mechanism to synergistically adjust the operating posture and trajectory of the robot swimming pool cleaner under the control of the control mechanism. However, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have multiple vector nozzles in order to have more control over movements of the device and also since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960). Note that the drawings of the instant case do not show multiple vector nozzles and thus it is difficult to understand how they would be implemented since the vector nozzle is centrally located. See also drawing objection above.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pichon in view of DE 212021000213 U1.
Re Claim 7, Pichon does not disclose the periphery of the top part of the vector nozzle is provided with a flow deflector, the flow deflector is spherical-crown-shaped, cylindrical or conical, and the flow deflector is coaxially arranged with the vertical portion of the vector nozzle. However, DE 212021000213 U1 teaches a flow deflector 8, the flow deflector is spherical-crown-shaped, cylindrical or conical, and the flow deflector is coaxially arranged with a vertical portion of an outlet nozzle (Fig. 1, 7, 13). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize a flow deflector, as taught by DE 212021000213 U1, for the purpose of obtaining a desired outflow of fluid and to alter and control direction of the outlet fluid.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN J WALTERS whose telephone number is (571)270-5429. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Hong can be reached at (571) 272-0993. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Ryan J. Walters/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799