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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 5/5/2026 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
First, the term “a temperature difference in the sprayed water sprayed by the sprayer is within 10 % of an initial temperature of the sprayed water upon being sprayed from the spraver” in claim 2, it is confusing as to how there is a (temperature) difference between the “sprayed water sprayed” and the “sprayed water upon sprayed from the sprayer”.
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.
Claim(s) 1-13, 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aekyung WO 2023/008835 in view of KR 200426851 Y1 (‘851}.
Re claims 1 and 15, Aekyung teaches a cleaner [fig. 1] comprising:
a mop brush head 100 [figs. 2-3] including:
a head body 112, a mop 150 attachable to the mop brush head so as to be disposed below the head body to contact a surface to be cleaned, and being detachable from the mop brush head,
a sprayer 137 configured to spray water toward the surface [towards the mop] to be cleaned,
a water tank 120 in the head body 112 and configured to store water,
a hot water tank [200, 210] having an inlet through which water stored in the water tank flows into the hot water tank [“the water supply unit 130 includes a water tank connection unit 131 for introducing water from the water tank 120 into the module housing 110, and a water pump 133 for supplying water introduced into the water tank connection unit 131 to the module housing 110. a water inlet pipe 132 for supplying water from the water pump 133 to a T-shaped connector, and a guide pipe 134 for supplying water from the water pump 133 to the steam generator 200”], an outlet 137b through which water in the hot water tank 200 flows to the sprayer 137, and a channel structure 210 [figs. 10-12] having a plurality of channels inside the hot water tank so that water in the hot water tank moves along a preset path through the plurality of channels from the inlet to the outlet, and
a heater 220 configured to heat the water in the hot water tank.
Aekyung does not disclose the sprayer is disposed in the front of the body.
However, ‘851 teaches a sprayer 72 [Figs. 4-5] disposed both inside [70, 71] and in front of the body 72,
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add a sprayer in front of the body in Aekyung, as taught by ‘851, in order to yield the predictable result of maximizing the cleaning effects with a double sterilization steam treatment [“the external steam brush 75 may be formed in an area in which the rotary steam brushes 70 and 71 do not reach …By disinfecting the floor at the same time to mop steam cleaning by the rotary steam brush (70), 71 will be able to maximize the cleaning effect is possible with a double sterilization steam treatment.”]
Re claim 2, Aekyung further teaches wherein the hot water tank, the channel structure, and the heater are configured so that water in the hot water tank is heated by the heater as the water moves along the preset path through the plurality of channels of the channel structure, as well as controlling the temperature in the hot water tank [Abstract]. Aekyung does not specifically teach a temperature difference in the water sprayed by the sprayer is within 10 % of a maximum temperature. However, it has been held that "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.". In this case, discovering the optimum percentage of 10% of a maximum temperature is not inventive and therefore, obvious.
Re claim 3, Aekyung further teaches wherein the plurality of channels are parallel with each other, and adjacent channels of the plurality of channels are connected to each other [fig. 12].
Re claim 4, Aekyung further teaches wherein a width of each channel of the plurality of channels is smaller than a width of the hot water tank [fig. 12].
Re claim 5, Aekyung further teaches wherein the channel structure includes a channel wall extending in a vertical direction, and a lower end of the channel wall is spaced apart from the heater [fig. 14, the lower end of the channel is spaced apart by the bottom wall thickness].
Re claims 6, 16, Aekyung further teaches wherein an upper surface of the channel structure has an upward inclination with respect to a horizontal direction such that height of the upper surface varies in the horizontal direction in order to induce gas movement inside the hot water tank. (see fig. annotated below).
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Re claim 7, Aekyung further teaches wherein heights of upper surfaces of the plurality of channels respectively increase along at least a portion a flow path through which water moves in the hot water tank from the inlet to the outlet [see fig. annotated below].
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Re claim 8, Aekyung further teaches wherein the mop brush head further includes: a lower case 230 supporting the heater 220, an upper case 250 coupled to the lower case 230, with the heater 220 and the hot water tank 210 therebetween, and a gasket [240, 260, 270] between the lower case 230 and the upper case 250 to provide a seal between the lower case and the upper case.
Re claim 9, Aekyung further teaches wherein the heater 220 has a flat upper surface [fig. 10].
Re claim 10, Aekyung further teaches wherein the mop brush head further includes at least one of a temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of water in the hot water tank, a water level sensor configured to measure a level of water in the hot water tank, and a power cutoff portion configured to selectively adjust power supplied to the heater according to temperature of the heater [temperature detector 290, overheat circuit breaker 280].
Re claim 11, Aekyung further teaches a main body 500; a battery 600 in the main body; an extension tube 180 configured to connect the main body 500 and the mop brush head 100 to each other; and a wire having at least a portion disposed in the extension tube and configured to transmit power of the battery to the mop brush head to power the heater [“wires may be embedded in the first connector and the second connector, and wires embedded in the first connector and the second connector may be electrically connected to each other”].
Re claim 12, Aekyung further teaches the invention as discussed above for claim 11 but fails to teach wherein the extension tube has a length-adjustable structure, and the wire has an allowable current of 5 A (ampere) or less. As discussed above for claim 2, the general conditions are disclosed, i.e., a tube between the battery and the heater; and a heater allows current to heat the water in the hot water tank. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to optimize the extension tube to have a length-adjustable structure or the wire to have a 5 A current as claimed, since it has been held that "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.".
Re claim 13, Aekyung further teaches a pump 133 configured to provide pressure to move water from the water tank to the sprayer, wherein the cleaner is configured to operate the pump and the heater at different times [“a wet mop module of a vacuum cleaner capable of adjusting the temperature and phase of moisture supplied to the mop by measuring the temperature through the temperature detector and controlling the heater according to selection.. the module housing 110 may further include a first control unit 191 for adjusting the amount of water discharged from the water tank 120 . For example, the first manipulation unit 191 may be located on the rear side of the module housing 110. The first manipulation unit 191 can be operated by a user, and by manipulating the first manipulation unit 191, water can be discharged from the water tank 120 or not discharged”].
Re claim 16, Aekyung further teaches wherein the channel structure 210 includes a channel wall 215 extending in a vertical direction, and a lower end [lower end of body 211] of the channel wall is spaced apart from the heater 220 [fig. 8].
Re claim 18-19, Aekyung further teaches wherein the heater includes: a heat source [electrical resistance inside of heat element 220], and a conductive plate [either the bottom piece of body 211 as seen in fig. 8, or the plate covering the electrical resistance of heater 220 as seen in fig. 10] between the channel structure 210 and the heat source 220, wherein the conductive plate blocks contact between water in the hot water tank 210 and the heat source 220.
Claim(s) 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aekyung WO 2023/008835 in view of KR 200426851 Y1 (‘851} and in further view of KR 200341549 Y1 (‘549)
Re claim 14, Aekyung and ‘851 teach the invention as discussed above for claim 1 but fail to teach wherein the mop brush head further includes: a filter structure inside the hot water tank and configured to block foreign substances generated during heating of water in the hot water tank from moving to the outlet.
However, ‘549 teaches a filter structure 124 inside the hot water tank 120 and configured to block foreign substances generated during heating of water in the hot water tank from moving to the outlet.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the filter of ‘549 with the mop brush head of Aekyung in order to yield the predictable result of filtering foreign matter from moving through the nozzles.
Conclusion
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.
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Carlos A. Rivera whose telephone number is (571)270-5697. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM -4PM.
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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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C. A. R.
Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 3723
/C. A. RIVERA/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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