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 .
Claims 1-15 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on October 5, 2023 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretation
In claims 1 and 13 the term “360” is used, this is interpreted as claiming that the swivel for the wheel allows the wheel to pivot around the axis in a full circle or 360 degrees.
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 1-5, 7 and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. 2013/0292146 to Fellhauer et al. in view of U.S. Patent No. 3,563,327 to Mier in view of U.S. Patent No. 5,090,083 to Wulff.
Regarding claims 1, 13 and 15, the Fellhauer publication teaches a cleaning machine for cleaning along an intended direction of use, the cleaning machine comprising:a driving assembly comprising: a motor (this is interpreted as meaning at least one motor 16, 18); and a pair of drive wheels 24, 26 operably connected to the motor, wherein each wheel of the pair of wheels is configured to be driven independently of the other wheel; a cleaning element (this is interpreted as the part below part 32 along with part 15) disposed forward of the pair of drive wheels along the intended direction of use of the cleaning machine; and a multi-directional wheel 30 (these are interpreted as casters) disposed forward along the intended direction of use of the pair of drive wheels, wherein the multi-directional wheel defines a pivot axis. See Figs. 1 and 2.
However, the Fellhauer publication lacks a specific teaching that there are two multi-directional wheel is configured to swivel about the pivot axis in a range of direction extending 360.
The Mier patent teaches a platform with rear driven wheels and two caster wheels 165, 16 that pivot. It is known that these types of castor wheels are not powered and can rotate 360 degrees. See Fig. 1.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the subject invention to modify the Fellhauer publication to have the pair of caster wheels as taught by Meir, as it would have been combining known prior art elements using known methods to provide the predictable result of increased stability by having one on each forward corner.
The Fellhauer publication teaches a cleaning machine, but does not explicitly teach the cleaning element.
The Wulff patent teaches a cleaning element 36 that is in front of the rear wheels and behind a swivel front wheel. See Figs. 1-4.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the subject invention to modify the Fellhauer publication to have the cleaning element as taught by Wulff, as it would have been combining known prior art elements using known methods to provide the predictable result of providing a cleaning element that is well known in the art.
Regarding claim 2, a first multi-directional wheel 15 on a first side of the cleaning machine; and a second multi-directional wheel 16 disposed on a second side of the cleaning machine opposite the first side of the cleaning machine. See Fig. 1 of Mier.
Regarding claim 3, the cleaning machine defines a space, a platform, or a combination thereof configured for a user to occupy 28 during use of the cleaning machine, wherein the space, the platform, or the combination thereof is disposed in front along the intended direction of use of the cleaning machine of the pair of drive wheels. See Fig. 1 of Fellhauer.
Regarding claim 4, wherein the space, the platform, or the combination thereof configured for the user to occupy during use of the cleaning machine is disposed rearward along the intended direction of use of the cleaning machine of the multi- directional wheel. See Fig. 1 of Wulff.
Regarding claim 5, the cleaning element comprises a scrubber 36, and wherein the multi-directional wheel is disposed forward of the scrubber along the intended direction of use of the cleaning machine. See Fig. 1 of Wulff.
Regarding claim 7, the scrubber comprises a cylindrical brush, wherein the cylindrical brush defines a rotational axis about which the cylindrical brush rotates, wherein the pivot axis of the multi-directional wheel is disposed approximately perpendicular to the rotational axis of the cylindrical brush. See Fig. 1 of Wulff.
Regarding claims 12 and 14, the motor comprises a pair of motors, wherein a first drive wheel of the pair of wheels is mounted to a first motor 16 of the pair of motors, wherein a second wheel of the pair of drive wheels is mounted to a second motor 18 of the pair of motors. See Fig. 2 of Fellhauer.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. 2013/0292146 to Fellhauer et al. in view of U.S. Patent No. 3,563,327 to Mier in view of U.S. Patent No. 5,090,083 to Wulff in view of French Patent No. FR2573976 to Serge. (A machine translation is enclosed with this action and referred to herein).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of the Fellhauer and Wulff references teach all of the elements of the claim except for the scrubber defines a rotational axis about which the scrubber rotates, wherein the pivot axis of the multi-directional wheel is disposed approximately parallel with the rotational axis of the scrubber.
The Serge patent teaches a cleaning device with the scrubber defines a rotational axis about which the scrubber 41 rotates that is perpendicular to the direction of the machine in a vertical direction. See Fig. 2. This direction would be approximately parallel to the pivot axis of a multidirectional wheel of Fellhauer.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the subject invention to modify the Fellhauer and Wulff to have the scrubber rotates that is perpendicular to the direction of the machine in a vertical direction as taught by Serge, as it would have been substituting one known prior art element for another for the predictable result of having a different type of scrubber that is better on a different surface than a roller style scrubber.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-11 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Patent No. 8,584,294 to Loring teaches scrubbing brushes.
European Patent No. EP473382 to Blehert et al. teaches a floor cleaner.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN HOLMES whose telephone number is (571)272-3448. The examiner can normally be reached 10AM-6PM EST M-F.
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/JUSTIN HOLMES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655