DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-6 are pending in Instant Application.
Priority
Examiner acknowledges Applicant’s claim to priority benefits of 18/160,592 filed 01/27/2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 01/26/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered if signed and initialed by the Examiner.
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 1-2 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kasai et al. (USPGPub 2016/0278289). As per claim 1, Kasai discloses a lawn mower (see at least Figure 1; item 10) comprising: a cutter blade (see at least paragraph 0029; wherein the plurality of (e.g., three) cutter blades 71 mounted on the blade disk 20); a rotary shaft configured to rotate the cutter blade (see at least paragraph 0029; wherein the grass cutting section 14 includes a blade disk 20 rotatable about the vertical rotation shaft 16a, and the plurality of (e.g., three) cutter blades 71 mounted on the blade disk 20); the lawn mower being configured to cut grass by rotating the cutter blade while traveling (see at least paragraph 0029; wherein the grass cutting section 14 includes a blade disk 20 rotatable about the vertical rotation shaft 16a, and the plurality of (e.g., three) cutter blades 71 mounted on the blade disk 20), wherein, in a state where the lawn mower is placed on a horizontal plane, the rotary shaft is held in a manner so that an upper side of a rotation axis line of the rotary shaft is inclined toward a rear side in a traveling direction of the lawn mower, with respect to a vertical direction (see at least paragraph 0028; wherein the rotation shaft 16a is inclined slightly rearwardly and downwardly with respect to the vertical line VH, with a view to preventing cutter blades 71 from scraping the lawn surface after the cutter blades 71 of the grass cutting section 14 have cut grass while the lawn mower 10 is traveling forward). As per claim 2, Kasai discloses wherein the cutter blade includes a lower blade member (see at least paragraph 0038; wherein the lower surface 20b of the blade disk 20) and an upper blade member (see at least paragraph 0034; wherein the upper surface 20a of the blade disk 20) which are disposed so as to overlap each other in the vertical direction (see at least Figure 9; items 20a, 20b).
As per claim 6, Kasai discloses wherein the cutter blade includes: an attachment portion attached to the rotary shaft (see at least paragraph 0030; wherein the blade disk 20 integrally includes: a disk base section 21 positioned concentrically with the rotation axis or center CL (the axis or center CL of the rotation shaft 16a) of the blade disk 20); and a first arm portion and a second arm portion each extending from the attachment portion in a radially outward direction of the rotary shaft (see at least Figure 2), and wherein only the first arm portion among the first arm portion and the second arm portion is provided with a wing portion that is inclined upward, toward a reverse rotation direction opposite to a blade rotation direction which is a rotation direction of the cutter blade (see at least paragraph 0032; wherein a reversely-tapered connection section 22 extends continuously from the outer circumferential edge of the disk base section 21. The reversely-tapered connection section 22 flares or spreads from the outer circumferential edge of the disk base section 21 radially outward and downward with a gentle slope, i.e. in a reversely-tapered shape).
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kasai et al. (USPGPub 2016/0278289) in view of Henry et al. (USPGPub 2021/0274711). As per claim 3, Kasai discloses wherein: the cutter blade includes: an attachment portion attached to the rotary shaft (see at least paragraph 0030; wherein the blade disk 20 integrally includes: a disk base section 21 positioned concentrically with the rotation axis or center CL (the axis or center CL of the rotation shaft 16a) of the blade disk 20); and a first arm portion and a second arm portion each extending from the attachment portion in a radially outward direction of the rotary shaft (see at least Figure 2); the first arm portion includes a first blade portion configured to cut the grass (see at least paragraph 0029; wherein the grass cutting section 14 includes a blade disk 20 rotatable about the vertical rotation shaft 16a, and the plurality of (e.g., three) cutter blades 71 mounted on the blade disk 20); the second arm portion includes a second blade portion configured to cut the grass (see at least paragraph 0029; wherein the grass cutting section 14 includes a blade disk 20 rotatable about the vertical rotation shaft 16a, and the plurality of (e.g., three) cutter blades 71 mounted on the blade disk 20); in a state in which the rotation axis line of the rotary shaft extends along the vertical direction and the cutter blade is horizontally disposed, a position of a first portion of the first blade portion in the vertical direction and a position of a second portion of the second blade portion in the vertical direction are different from each other (see at least Figure 2). Kasai does not explicitly mention a distance from the rotation axis line to the first portion in a horizontal direction and a distance from the rotation axis line to the second portion in the horizontal direction are equal to each other. However Henry does disclose: a distance from the rotation axis line to the first portion in a horizontal direction and a distance from the rotation axis line to the second portion in the horizontal direction are equal to each other (see at least paragraph 0024; wherein the underside of deck 4 carries two laterally spaced blades 12 beneath top wall 16 and within skirt 18 of deck 4). Therefore it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings as in Henry with the teachings as in Kasai. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide a rotary cutting deck that is optimized for operation in the side discharge and mulching modes with the operator having the ability to quickly and easily shift between the modes, see Henry paragraph 0006. As per claim 5, Kasai discloses wherein the first arm portion and the second arm portion extend in directions opposite to each other with the attachment portion being centered (see at least Figure 2).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kasai et al. (USPGPub 2016/0278289) in view of Hilgart et al. (USPGPub 2022/0394918). As per claim 4, Kasai discloses further comprising: a housing configured to house the cutter blade (see at least paragraph 0025 and Figure 1; wherein The lawn mower 10 includes; a housing 11) therein, wherein: the housing includes: a front wall located more forward than the rotary shaft in the traveling direction (see at least Figure 1; item 10); and a rear wall located more rearward than the rotary shaft in the traveling direction (see at least Figure 1; item 10). Kasai does not explicitly mention the front wall 14 is preferably forwardly sloped at an acute angle A to increase the air gap created between the front baffle assembly 30 and the front wall 14. However Hilgart does disclose: in the state where the lawn mower is placed on the horizontal plane, a position of a lower end of the front wall in the vertical direction is higher than a position of a lower end of the rear wall in the vertical direction (see at least paragraph 0024; wherein the front wall 14 is preferably forwardly sloped at an acute angle A to increase the air gap created between the front baffle assembly 30 and the front wall 14). Therefore it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teachings as in Hilgart with the teachings as in Kasai. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve airflow and therefore the vacuum and lift of the grass, providing for a higher quality cut than traditional side discharge decks, see Hilgart paragraph 0025.
Relevant Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon are considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure: USPGPub 2019/0307060 – Provide a moving robot includes an inner body including a plurality of wheels, an outer cover mounted at the inner body and surrounding an outer side of the inner body, a handle mounted at the outer cover, a plurality of support pillars spaced apart from each other on the inner body and elastically supporting the outer cover in a first horizontal direction and a second horizontal direction with respect to the inner body, a prop tab mounted at each of the plurality of support pillars and configured to fasten the outer cover to the support pillar, and a protrusion tab that extends upwards from an upper surface of the prop tab and penetrates through the outer cover. USPGPub 2018/0184586 – Provide a lawn mower robot having a blade that rotates using a driving force of a motor to cut grass.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAHMOUD S ISMAIL whose telephone number is (571)272-1326. The examiner can normally be reached M - F: 8:00AM- 4:00PM.
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/MAHMOUD S ISMAIL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3662