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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I, claims 1-7, 15-16 in the reply filed on 4/9/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Objections
Claim 16 is objected to because of the following informalities: the word “ratable” seems to be in error for “rotatable”. Appropriate correction is required.
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, 7 are 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.
In claim 2, the limitation of “at least partially” in interference/clearance fit with the floor is unclear as to how the scrapers can be partially in interference or clearance fit. It seems that the scraper has to either be in interference fit or in clearance fit with the floor. Clarification is requested.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the suction port”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 6 is broader than claim 1, as the first and second sewage wiping members of claim 1 are already limited to be below the front and rear spraying plates, respectively. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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) 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Postonen SE 432352 B in view of Gray US 1,268,963 A.
Re claim 1, Postonen discloses a floor brush [fig. 4], comprising:
a housing 117 having a front part, and a rear part opposite to the front part;
a rolling brush comprising a first rolling brush 101 disposed at the front part of the housing, and a second rolling brush 102 disposed at the rear part of the housing;
a front suction port 118, and a rear suction port 149;
a spraying plate [construed as liquid outlet pipe 150, “[t]he liquid outlet pipe 150 has a plurality of discharge openings not shown which are upwardly distributed and are evenly distributed 102 the entire length”] comprising a front spraying plate configured to spray water towards the first rolling brush 101, and a rear spraying plate configured to spray water towards the second rolling brush 102 [fig. 4];
a sewage wiping member [combined elements 120/147/148, “the guide walls 120, with their scraping edges 147, abut against the brushes so that stuck dirt particles can be effectively stripped off and, by their speed on the brushes, continue up the associated transport channel 118. The scraper edges 147 should thus be in contact with the brush tops, but not insert into the brushes to such an extent that they are heavily worn or the power consumption becomes too high. Furthermore, it has been found that the guide walls 120 closest to the brushes preferably extend substantially tangentially with the scraping edges located mainly at the point of tangency, however slightly offset against the center of rotation of the brushes so that a stripping actually occurs.”] in contact with an outer peripheral surface of the rolling brush, the sewage wiping member being configured to squeeze a sewage generated rolling brush after cleaning a floor with the rolling brush out of the rolling brush,
wherein the sewage wiping member comprises a first sewage wiping member disposed below the first spraying plate [at least the lower edge of guide plate 148 is below spraying plate 150 as seen in fig. 4], and a second sewage wiping member disposed below the rear spraying plate; and
an evenly-spreading plate [device 132] configured to evenly spread clean water sprayed on the rolling brush by the spraying plate, the evenly-spreading plate comprising a front evenly-spreading plate in contact with the first rolling brush, and a rear evenly-spreading plate in contact with the second rolling brush [“means (128,132) for the supply of liquid detergent are provided having permeable devices (132) which supply liquid detergent to the brushes due to the rotation of the brushes…Apparatus (128, 132) for supplying cleaning fluid has liquid discharge means (132) which deliver cleaning fluid to the brushes through the action of the rotary movement of the brushes…The discharge openings are covered by a combined fluid throttling and dispensing means 132, which is made up of a material with relatively small pores, such as foam plastic, to provide an even distribution of the liquid over the brushes with a sufficiently small amount of liquid. In this way, a proper wetting of the brushes is obtained, so that these and the substrate are only slightly moist and not wet, which otherwise gives a reduced cleaning effect”).
Postonen does not disclose a scraper comprising a first scraper disposed adjacent to the first rolling brush, and a second scraper disposed adjacent to the second rolling brush; and that the front suction port is defined between the first scraper and the first rolling brush, and the rear suction port being defined between the second scraper and the second rolling brush.
However, Gray teaches a floor brush [figs. 5-6] having a scraper 80 comprising a first scraper disposed adjacent to the first rolling brush 10, and a second scraper disposed adjacent to the second rolling brush 12; and a front suction port 51 defined between the first scraper 85 and the first rolling brush 10, and a rear suction port 51 being defined between the second scraper 80 and the second rolling brush 12 [page 4, ll. 116-120, “a device for cleaning the brushes in the event ,that they become clogged or filled with refuse material of any kind. This device as shown consists of a plate 80”].
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 scrapers of Gray with the floor brush of Postonen to yield the predictable result of cleaning the brushes as they brush the floor.
Re claim 2, Postonen and Gray as modified above, teach the invention of claim 1. Gray further teaches wherein: the first scraper is at least partially in interference fit with the floor [fig. 5]; and the second scraper is at least partially in clearance fit with the floor [when the floor brush is raised higher than the floor]. Also, see Rejection 112 (b) above.
Re claim 3, Postonen further teaches a front rolling brush cover [not numbered in fig. 4, but seen as element 31 in fig. 1] located above the first rolling brush 101, and a rear rolling brush cover not numbered in fig. 4, but seen as element 31 in fig. 1] located above the second rolling brush 102 [“[a]t the bottom of each container part is provided a bottom wall 31, which is located above the associated brush 1, 2”].
Re claim 4, Postonen and Gray as modified above, teach the invention of claim 3 but fig. 4 of Postonen is silent as to wherein: the front and rear evenly-spreading plates 132 are disposed on an inner surface of the front and rear rolling brush covers, respectively. However, fig. 1 of Postonen teaches a front and rear evenly-spreading plate 32 disposed on an inner surface of the front and rear rolling brush covers 31. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to dispose the plate at an interior of the cover as discussed by Postonen in the embodiment of fig. 1.
Re claim 5, Postonen further teaches wherein a height of the evenly-spreading plate 132 in a vertical direction is higher than a height of the spraying plate 150 in the vertical direction [fig. 4].
Re claim 6, Postonen further teaches wherein the sewage wiping member is disposed below the spraying plate plate [at least the lower edge of guide plate 148 is below spraying plate 150 as seen in fig. 4].
Re claim 7, Postonen further teaches wherein: the sewage wiping member is located above the suction port; the first sewage wiping member is close to the front suction port; and the second sewage wiping member is close to the rear suction port [fig. 4].
Re claim 15, Postonen further teaches a cleaning device [fig. 1], comprising: a body 5; a handle 7 disposed at an end of the body; 8 and the floor brush according to claim 1.
Re claim 16, Postonen further teaches wherein: the handle 7 is connected to an upper end of the body 5; the floor brush is connected to a lower end of the body 5; and the body 5 and the floor brush are configured to be rotatable by an adapter [4, 16].
Contact Information
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
Prosecution Insights