DETAILED ACTION
Claim Objections
Claim 1 objected to because of the following informalities: the limitation “first side cleaning brush comprising at least one flexible cleaning element projecting outwards through the opening of the first side wall, at least one flexible cleaning element projecting outwards through the opening of the first side wall of the housing” is redundant. The portion “, at least one flexible cleaning element projecting outwards through the opening of the first side wall” of the limitation should be deleted. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 1-12 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Browne (US 601,628) in view of Huang (2024/0081597; Foreign priority predates current application priority).
Regarding claim 1, Browne discloses a cleaning accessory for a vacuum cleaner comprising: a housing (1) comprising a first side wall (lateral side of housing 7, at location of reference number 7 in Fig. 5), wherein the first side wall includes an opening (where portion 11 passes through); a cleaning bar (2) positioned within the housing and configured to engage with a surface to be cleaned, the cleaning bar being coupled to a drive mechanism (friction discs 4, driven by wheels 3); and a first side cleaning brush (6) comprising at least one flexible cleaning element projecting outwards through the opening of the first side wall (in embodiment of Figs. 4-5), at least one flexible cleaning element projecting outwards through the opening of the first side wall of the housing, wherein the drive mechanism is configured to rotate the at least one flexible cleaning element of the first side cleaning brush, and wherein the at least one flexible cleaning element of the first side cleaning brush is configured to engage with the surface to be cleaned. However, Browne fails to disclose a first side air inlet on the side wall of the housing. Huang discloses a similar cleaner, also having a cleaning bar and side brush passing through a side wall of the housing , and teaches that the side wall of the further includes a first side air inlet (indicated as 1318 in Fig. 8), which will allow rotation of the at least one flexible cleaning element of the first side cleaning brush to direct debris toward and into the first side air inlet on the first side wall of the housing, particularly when suction is applied to the interior volume of the cleaner head adjacent to the side wall, which would be understood by anyone of ordinary skill in the art to assist/improve collection of debris that is contacted by the side brush. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide a similar opening in the side wall of the housing of Browne, as taught by Huang, as well as addition of suction collecting unit, which is also well known in the art, to improve collection of debris that is contacted by the side cleaning brush, as well as the cleaning bar.
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Regarding claim 2, Browne further discloses that the first side cleaning brush further comprises a body having a frustoconical shape (end portion of screw 11 is shown to be frustoconical, with a flat tip, as seen here), wherein the drive mechanism comprises a first end having a reciprocal recess with an inner surface that fits over the frustoconical shape of the body of the first side cleaning brush, and wherein the frustoconical shape of the body of the first side cleaning brush is configured to be fittingly seated within the reciprocal recess of the drive mechanism (to secure the side brush to the drive mechanism).
Regarding claim 3, Browne further discloses that the first side cleaning brush further comprises a body (comprising the “shouldered screw” 11 that also forms the internal body of the brush), positioned within the housing through the opening of the first side wall (shown in Fig. 4 to be positioned within the opening) and having a flat top surface (right side end of 11 in Fig. 4) that is fitted within the opening of the first side wall, and wherein the at least one flexible cleaning element of the first side cleaning brush is mounted to the flat top surface of the body of the first side cleaning brush.
Regarding claim 4, Browne further discloses that the housing further comprises a second side wall (opposite to the first side wall), wherein the drive mechanism comprises a shaft (extending through cleaning bar 2) having first and second ends that extend between the first side wall and the second side wall of the housing, wherein the cleaning bar includes first and second ends that are respectively mounted to the first and second ends of the shaft, and wherein the first side cleaning brush is positioned through the opening of the first side wall and coupled to the first end of the shaft.
Regarding claim 5, Browne further discloses that the drive mechanism comprises a drive gear (friction wheel 4 is considered to be functionally and structurally equivalent to a drive gear) coupled to the first side cleaning brush and the cleaning bar.
Regarding claim 6, Browne further discloses that the drive mechanism is configured to rotate the rotatable cleaning brush and the first side cleaning bar at the same rate of rotation (due to the rotatable cleaning brush being fixed to the shaft of the rotatable cleaning bar).
Regarding claim 7, Browne further discloses that the housing further comprises a rear wall attached to the first side wall, and wherein the first side air inlet (when provided to Browne in an equivalent position disclosed by Huang) is located on the first side wall at a location adjacent to the rear wall.
Regarding claim 8, Browne further discloses that housing further comprises a second side wall (opposite to the first side wall). Browne also discloses alternative embodiment of Fig. 7, which provide side cleaning brushes on both sides of the cleaning bar, to provide side cleaning on both sides, along with the previously discussed embodiment of Fig. 5, with the side cleaning brush extending out of the side wall opening, to allow the brush to engage at least a portion of a wall or baseboard adjacent to the floor surface when cleaning against a wall surface. Therefore, it would have been obvious to optionally combine the two alternative embodiments of Figs. 5 and 7, to provide side cleaning brushes on both sides of the cleaning bar that are capable of engaging at least a portion of a wall or baseboard adjacent to the floor surface, as well as external side openings on both side walls of the housing as taught by Huang (when also provided with suction source), such that the second side wall will include an opening (for the second side brush) and a second side air inlet (to collect debris from the second side brush) and with the second side cleaning brush comprising at least one flexible cleaning element projecting outwards through the opening of the second side wall of the housing (similar to the first side brush of Fig. 5), wherein the drive mechanism is coupled to the second side cleaning brush and configured to rotate the at least one flexible cleaning element of the second side cleaning brush (as shown in Fig. 7), and wherein rotation of the at least one flexible cleaning element of the second side cleaning brush is to direct debris dislodged by the at least one flexible cleaning element of the second side cleaning brush toward and into the second side air inlet on the second side wall of the housing in the same manner taught by Huang.
Regarding claim 9, Browne further discloses that the housing further comprises a rear wall attached to the second side wall, and wherein the second side air inlet is located on the second side wall at a location adjacent to the rear wall (in the same manner as discussed for the first side air inlet of claim 7).
Regarding claim 10, when providing the side cleaning brush configuration of Fig. 5, to the second side of the cleaner of Browne, as discussed supra, the second side cleaning brush will comprise a body positioned within the housing through the opening of the second side wall and having a flat top surface that is parallel to the second side wall of the housing, and wherein the at least one flexible cleaning element of the second side cleaning brush is mounted to the flat top surface of the body of the second side cleaning brush (similar to the first cleaning brush as discussed for claim 3).
Regarding claim 11, when providing the side cleaning brush configuration of Fig. 5, to the second side of the cleaner of Browne, as discussed supra, the second side cleaning brush further comprises a body having a frustoconical shape, wherein the drive mechanism comprises an end having a reciprocal recess with an inner surface that fits over the frustoconical shape of the body of the second cleaning brush, and wherein the frustoconical shape of the body of the second side cleaning brush is configured to be fittingly seated in the reciprocal recess of the drive mechanism (similar to the first cleaning brush as discussed for claim 2).
Regarding claim 12, when providing the side cleaning brush configuration of Fig. 5 to the second side of the cleaner of Browne with the drive mechanism of Fig. 7 to drive side brushes on both sides, as discussed supra, the drive mechanism comprises a shaft having first and second ends that extend between the first side wall and the second side wall of the housing, wherein the cleaning bar includes first and second ends that are respectively mounted to the first and second ends of the shaft, wherein the first side cleaning brush is mounted to the first end of the shaft, and wherein the second side cleaning brush is mounted to the second end of the shaft (as shown in Fig. 7).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Browne and Huang, as discussed supra, will provide the accessory for a vacuum cleaner comprising a housing comprising a first side wall and a second side wall, wherein the first side wall includes an opening; a cleaning bar positioned within the housing and extending between the first side wall and the second side wall, wherein the cleaning bar is coupled to a drive mechanism and configured to engage with a surface to be cleaned; a first side cleaning brush comprising a body positioned within the housing through the opening of the first side wall, the body having a flat top surface that is parallel to the first side wall of the housing, and at least one flexible cleaning element mounted to the flat top surface of the body and projecting outwards through the opening of the first side wall of the housing, wherein the drive mechanism is configured to rotate the at least one flexible cleaning element of the first side cleaning brush, and wherein the at least one flexible cleaning element of the first side cleaning brush is configured to engage with the surface to be cleaned wherein the first side wall of the housing further includes a first side air inlet and wherein rotation of the at least one flexible cleaning element of the first side cleaning brush is to direct debris toward and into the first side air inlet on the first side wall of the housing (all structure discussed above).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Browne (US 601,628) in view of Huang (2024/0081597), as applied to claims 1-12, and further in view of Nishimura et al. (4,854,006).
The combination of Browne and Huang, as discussed supra, will provide the cleaning accessory, having the shaft for driving the side brushed, but fails to disclose that each of the first end and the second end of the shaft includes a flat surface. Nishimura discloses another similar a similar cleaner, also having a cleaning bar and side brush passing through a side wall of the housing and teaches that a known manner to mount the brush on the shaft is via a hole on the side cleaning brush that receives an end of the shaft that includes a flat surface (Fig. 10), and teaches that a leaf spring mounted through the hole on the brush will engage with the flat surface and effectively form a clutch to normally maintain the brush rotating with the shaft, while also allowing the shaft to rotate relative to the brush if the brush becomes locked due to engagement with a carpet or other external objects (Col. 4, line 43 – Col. 5, line 5). Therefore, it further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the ends of the shaft that engage the side brushes taught by Browne, with a similar flat surface, and each of the first side cleaning brush and the second cleaning brush comprises a hole that fits onto the flat surface of the first end or the second end of the shaft, similar to Nishimura, to effectively provide a clutch to prevent damage to the brush, shaft and/or drive mechanism.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 11 May 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of all pending claims under 35 U.S.C. 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made over Browne in view of Huang, as discussed supra.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Each of Hertzberg (4,355,436), Mitani et al. (5,249,331), Butler et al. (2006/0272122), Thorne et al. (10,898,042), Davidshofer et al. (2008/0307597) and Hayakawa (JP H0542076 A) provide similar structure as the applicant’s claimed invention.
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 BRYAN R MULLER whose telephone number is (571)272-4489. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brian Keller can be reached at 571-272-8548. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRYAN R MULLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723 5 August 2026
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