DETAILED ACTION
Notice of AIA Status
The present application, filed on 6/13/23, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-5 and 9 are pending.
Claims 1-2 and 9 are withdrawn.
Claims 3-5 are rejected.
Claims 3-5 are objected.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 3-5, in the reply filed on 7/22/26 is acknowledged.
Claim Objections
Claims 3-5 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 3-5 recite a plurality of elements without separating each element by a line indentation. Consider separately indenting each element in accordance with 37 CFR 1.75 and MPEP § 608.01(m) which recites “The claim or claims must commence on a separate sheet or electronic page (37 CFR 1.52(b)(3)). Where a claim sets forth a plurality of elements or steps, each element or step of the claim should be separated by a line indentation”.
Claim 3 recites “the blades (63)” in line 10 on page 4 of the listing of claims. Though the auxiliary quartz knives (61) and the cutting quartz knives (62) provide implicit antecedent basis for the blades, for clarity consider providing explicit antecedent basis for ‘the blades’.
Claim 3 recites “the same group of cutting assemblies (6)” in line 9 on page 4 of the listing of claims. For clarity, consider rephrasing to “each group of cutting assemblies (6)’.
Claim 3 recites “the edge” in line 24 on page 4 of the listing of claims. Though the upper surface provides implicit antecedent basis for the edge, for clarity consider providing explicit antecedent basis for ‘the edge’.
Claim 3 recites “a plurality of bumps (13) at equal intervals, the top surface of the bump (13) is arc-shaped, the inner rod (53) corresponds to the bump (13)” in lines 24-26 on page 4 of the listing of claims. For clarity consider rephrasing to ‘a plurality of bumps (13) at equal intervals, the top surface of the bumps (13) is arc-shaped, the inner rod (53) corresponds to the bumps (13)”.
Claim 4 recites “the two sides of the outer wall of the rotating inner cylinder (5)” in lines 7-8 on page 5 of the listing of claims. Though the outer wall of a rotating inner cylinder provides implicit antecedent basis for “the two sides”, for clarity consider providing explicit antecedent basis for the two sides.
Claim 4 recites “the two sides of the inside of the rotating outer cylinder (4)” in lines 8-9 on page 5 of the listing of claims. Though the inside of the rotating outer provides implicit antecedent basis for “the two sides”, for clarity consider providing explicit antecedent basis for the two sides.
Claim 4 recites “the inner bottom of the rotating outer cylinder (4)” in lines 11-12 on page 5 of the listing of claims. Though the rotating outer provides implicit antecedent basis for “the inner bottom”, for clarity consider providing explicit antecedent basis for the inner bottom.
Claim 5 recites “the two sides of the upper surface of the pedestal (2)” in lines 13-14 on page 5 of the listing of claims. Though the upper surface of the pedestal provides implicit antecedent basis for “the two sides, for clarity consider providing explicit antecedent basis for the two sides.
Claim 5 recites “struts (21)” and subsequently “the top of the strut (21)” in line 14 on page 5 of the listing of claims. For clarity, consider rephrasing to ‘struts (21) … tops of the struts (21)’ or to ‘the plurality of struts (21) … a top of a particular strut of the plurality of struts (21).
Claim 5 recites “through one connection rod (22)” in line 15 and subsequently recites “the two connection rods (22)” in line 17 on page 5 of the listing of claims. For clarity, consider rephrasing to ‘through two connection rods (22)’.
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.
Claims 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 3 recites “the inner wall” on line 8 on page 4 of the listing of claims. There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation in the claim.
Claim 4 recites the limitation “the auxiliary cutting quartz knife (61)” in line 31 on page 4 of the listing of claims. There is insufficient antecedent basis for ‘the auxiliary cutting quartz knife (61)’ in the claim.
Claim 4 recites the limitation “the cutting quartz knife (62)” on line 1 on page 5 of the listing of claims. There is insufficient antecedent basis for ‘the cutting quartz knife (62)’ in the claims.
Claim 5 recites “the telescopic rods (35)” in line 17 of page 5 of the listing of claims. There is insufficient antecedent basis for “the telescopic rods (35)” in the claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Jianwen (CN111297773) teaches a hair care liquid processing system (see page 5), comprising:
a treatment barrel (barrel 2-1 on page 6);
a pedestal (base assembly 1 on page 5) for supporting the treatment barrel (barrel 2-1) (see Fig. 1); and
a drive assembly (power mechanism 4 on page 6) comprising a rotating motor (motor 4-1 on page 6) located above the treatment barrel (see Fig. 1).
Jianwen fails to teach or suggest that the middle inside the treatment barrel is provided with a rotating outer cylinder the inside of the rotating outer cylinder (4) is slidably sleeved with a rotating inner cylinder (5) that synchronously rotates with the rotating outer cylinder (4), the external circumference of the rotating outer cylinder (4) is provided with a plurality of groups of hair cutting assemblies (6) at equal intervals, the hair cutting assembly (6) includes two auxiliary quartz knives (61) and two cutting quartz knives (62), the auxiliary quartz knives (61) and the cutting quartz knives (62) are alternately arranged, the auxiliary quartz knives (61) are arranged at the bottom and middle of the outer wall of the rotating outer cylinder (4), the upper and lower sides of the auxiliary quartz knives (61) arranged in the middle of the outer wall of the rotating outer cylinder (4) are both provided with sliding grooves (41), a connection block (51) is arranged at the position of the sliding groove (41) corresponding to the outer wall of the rotating inner cylinder (5), the connection block (51) up and down slides along the sliding groove (41), the outer end of the connection block (51) is fixedly connected with the cutting quartz knives (62), the auxiliary quartz knives (61) and the cutting quartz knives (62) both extend to the inner wall close to the treatment barrel (1), the auxiliary quartz knives (61) and the cutting quartz knives (62) on the same group of cutting assemblies (6) are seamlessly engaged and aligned with each other through the blades (63), the blades (63) provided on the cutting quartz knives (62) are alternately engaged and aligned with the blades (63) provided correspondingly on the auxiliary quartz knives (61) when sliding up and down, the bottom of the treatment barrel (1) is provided with a grinding plate (11), and the two sides of the bottoms of the auxiliary quartz knives (61) located at the bottom of the outer wall of the rotating outer cylinder (4) are provided with grinding portions (42) that are matched with the grinding plate (11) to grind the hair samples; the top of the treatment barrel (1) is provided with a top cover (12), the top of the rotating inner cylinder (5) penetrates through the top cover (12) and then is connected with the output end of a rotating motor (31) of the drive assembly (3), the output end of the rotating motor (31) is provided with a sleeve (32) that is in up and down sliding connection with the rotating inner cylinder (5), the outer wall of the rotating inner cylinder (5) located above the top cover (12) is provided with a cylindrical telescopic gear lever (52), the telescopic gear lever (52) includes an inner rod (53) and an outer rod (54) that are slidably sleeved, the upper surface of the top cover (12) close to the edge is circumferentially provided with a plurality of bumps (13) at equal intervals, the top surface of the bump (13) is arc-shaped, the inner rod (53) corresponds to the bump (13) after extending to lift the telescopic gear lever (52), one side of the upper surface of the top cover (12) is provided with an opening (14) for delivering hair samples and ultrapure water, and the bottom of the outer side wall of the treatment barrel (1) is provided with a drainage outlet (15).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN BORTOLI whose email Jonathan.Bortoli@uspto.gov and telephone number is (571)270-3179. The examiner can normally be reached 9 AM till 6 PM EST Monday through Thursday.
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 email and telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lyle Alexander can be reached at (571)272-1254. 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.
/JONATHAN BORTOLI/Examiner, Art Unit 1797
Prosecution Insights