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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Richardson (US 5,054,159).
As to claim 1, Richardson includes a lawn blower apparatus (Embodiment of Fig. 4) comprising:
an air tube (E, N) for directing air flow from a nozzle (The opening of N; Fig. 4), said air tube having an exterior surface (The outer surface of E/N);
a dislodging component (16; Fig. 4) attached to the exterior surface of said air tube wherein said dislodging component is perpendicular to said exterior surface (Fig. 4) and is attached in proximity to (next to) the nozzle of said air tube, such that said dislodging component loosens or dislodges debris which can thereafter be removed by air force out of said nozzle (column 5, lines 3-7).
As to claim 2, Richardson includes a lawn blower apparatus (Embodiment of Fig. 11) comprising:
an air tube (E, N) for directing air flow from a nozzle (The opening of N; Fig. 4), said air tube having an exterior surface (The outer surface of E/N);
a dislodging component (10, 18, 20) attached to the exterior surface of said air tube, the dislodging component having a first segment (20; Fig. 11) for loosening debris that is perpendicular to the surface and a second segment (10) that is parallel to said exterior surface of the air tube (Fig. 8 and 11), the dislodging component is configurable to be either in a storage position (The position in which the component or the blower is in storage) or in a utility position (The position in which the component or the blower is in use), wherein in said utility position, the second segment of the dislodging component extends past the nozzle of the air tube (The second segment [10] of the component extends down past the nozzle) and the first segment of the dislodging component extends past the nozzle and points towards the ground where it is used to loosen debris (The first segment [20] of the component extends down past the nozzle and points in the direction of the ground; Fig. 1 and 11).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW A. HORTON whose telephone number is (571)270-5039. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
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 S. 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.
/ANDREW A HORTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723