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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement(s) submitted March 25, 2024 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered 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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 8-12, and 15-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2003/0150627 to Timmons.
In Reference to Claims 1 and 17#
Examiner’s comment: the limitation “bucket cleaning” in the preamble is considered an intended use for the “device”. If the body of a claim fully and intrinsically sets forth all of the limitations of the claimed invention, and the preamble merely states, for example, the purpose or intended use of the invention, rather than any distinct definition of the claimed invention’s limitations, then the preamble is not considered a limitation and is of no significance to claim construction (see MPEP §2111.02 II, first paragraph for further clarification). In this case, the device comprises a base section, a scraping support member, a front scraping member, and a rear scraping member.
Timmons teaches:
A bucket cleaning device comprising:
a base section having a first base member (32), a second base member (34), and at least one connecting member (30), extending between the first base member and the second base member;
a scraping support member (curved base 12) extending from the base section, the scraping support member having a front end (left side in Figure 3) and a rear end (right side in Figure 3);
a front scraping member (16) coupled to the front end of the scraping support member at a front scraping angle (see annotated Figures 2 and 3) relative to the scraping support member; and
a rear scraping member (20) coupled to the rear end of the scraping support member by a height and at a rear scraping angle (see annotated Figures 2 and 3) relative to the scraping support member (see paragraphs 18-21 and Figures 1-3).
Regarding the front and rear scraping angles, multiple angles could be considered based on different perspectives. From the side perspective of Figure 3, the bottom surface of the front scraping member and scraping support member are parallel with one another. Similarly, the bottom surface of the rear scraping member and scraping support member are also parallel with one another. Accordingly, in Figure 3, the front and rear scraping angles are both 180°. From the isometric perspective of Figure 2, the front scraping member (16) has a curved surface which forms an angle with an imaginary line across the width of the scraping support member. The rear scraping member (20) has a sharp angle which also forms an angle with an imaginary line across the width of the scraping support member.
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Regarding claim 17, the bucket cleaning device of Timmons would be made by a method comprising: providing the base section, connecting a bottom end (bottom of 12 in Figure 3) of a scraping support member to the base section, the scraping support member having a top end (top of 12 in Figure 3) with a front edge (left side of 12 in Figure 3) and a rear edge (right side of 12 in Figure 3); coupling the front scraping member to the front edge at the front scraping angle, and coupling the rear scraping member to the rear edge at the rear scraping angle.
In Reference to Claim 10#
Examiner’s comment: the limitation “bucket cleaning” in the preamble is considered an intended use for the “system”. If the body of a claim fully and intrinsically sets forth all of the limitations of the claimed invention, and the preamble merely states, for example, the purpose or intended use of the invention, rather than any distinct definition of the claimed invention’s limitations, then the preamble is not considered a limitation and is of no significance to claim construction (see MPEP §2111.02 II, first paragraph for further clarification). In this case, the system comprises a base having a pair of base members and at least one connecting member, a pair of upright members, and a scraping member having a front scraping edge and a rear scraping edge.
Timmons teaches:
A bucket cleaning system comprising:
a base having a pair of base members (first base member 32 and second base member 34), and at least one connecting member (30), extending between the pair of base members;
a pair of upright members (lateral curved walls of base 12 on left and right of Figure 2), each upright member extending from a respective base member of the pair of base members;
a scraping member coupled to the pair of upright members, the scraping member having a front scraping edge (16) and a rear scraping edge (20); and
wherein the front scraping edge is formed at a front angle (not numbered, see annotated Figures 2 and 3) relative to a top surface (bottom of base 12 in Figure 3) of the scraping member and the rear scraping edge is formed at a rear angle relative to the top surface of the scraping member (see paragraphs 18-21 and Figures 1-3).
Regarding the front and rear angles, multiple angles could be considered based on different perspectives. From the side perspective of Figure 3, the bottom surface of the front scraping edge and scraping member are parallel with one another. Similarly, the bottom surface of the rear scraping edge and scraping member are also parallel with one another. Accordingly, in Figure 3, the front and rear angles are both 180°. From the isometric perspective of Figure 2, the front scraping edge (16) has a curved surface which forms an angle with an imaginary line across the width of the scraping member. The rear scraping edge (20) has a sharp angle which also forms an angle with an imaginary line across the width of the scraping member.
In Reference to Claims 2 and 11#
Timmons teaches:
The bucket cleaning device of claim 1 and system of claim 10, wherein the front scraping angle is equal to the rear scraping angle. Using the angles seen in the side perspective of Figure 3, the angles are equal.
In Reference to Claims 3 and 12#
Timmons teaches:
The bucket cleaning device of claim 1 and bucket cleaning system of claim 10, wherein the rear scraping angle is greater than the front scraping angle. Using the angles seen in the isometric perspective of Figure 2, the rear angle is greater than the front angle.
In Reference to Claim 4 #
Timmons teaches:
The bucket cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the first base member further includes an opening (44) and the at least one connecting member is positioned about the opening of the first base member. Figure 2 shows the first base member (32) has an opening (44) for a screw (40).
In Reference to Claims 8, 15, and 19#
Timmons teaches:
The bucket cleaning device of claim 1 and system of claim 10 and method of claim 1, wherein the rear scraping member/edge is removably coupled to the scraping support member/scraping member with at least one fastener. Coupling the rear scraping member to the rear edge includes removably coupling the rear scraping member to the rear edge with a plurality of fasteners. Timmons teaches the rear scraping member (20) can be joined to the base (12) via mechanical fasteners (paragraph 21, lines 7-11). By being joined using fasteners, the rear scraping member is considered to be “removably coupled”.
In Reference to Claims 9 and 18#
Timmons teaches:
The bucket cleaning device of claim 1 and method of claim 17, wherein coupling the front scraping member to the front edge of the scraping support member includes welding the front scraping member to the front edge of the scraping support member (paragraph 19, lines 11-12).
In Reference to Claim 16#
Timmons teaches:
The system of claim 10, wherein the front scraping edge has a front scraping edge width (width of 16 across Figure 2) that is at least about a scraping member width (width of 12 across Figure 2) of the scraping member.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7, 13, 14, and 20 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record fails to teach the opening in the first base member is a first opening and the second base member further includes a second opening, wherein the first and second openings are configured to receive the forks of a forklift as recited in claim 5. Timmons teaches openings (44, 46) in the first and second base members respectively, however the openings are sized to fit corresponding screws (40, 42). Re-sizing the openings to configure them to receive the forks of a forklift would require improper hindsight, and would also render the device unsuitable for its intended purpose.
Claims 13 and 20 similarly refer to openings configured to receive the forks of a forklift, which is not taught by the prior art of record.
Claim 14 depends from claim 13 and contains its limitations and therefore would be allowable for the same reason.
The prior art of record fails to teach a tow hook member is secured to the base section as recited in claim 6.
The prior art of record fails to teach an end of the first base member is chamfered as recited in claim 7. The ends of the first base member of Timmons are flat as seen in Figure 2.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 4,574,417 to Magnasco teaches a cleaning device having front and rear scraping members which are both angled with respect to a scraping support member. US 4,371,307 to Mattson teaches a bucket cleaning device having a front scraping member. US 11,161,154 to Wilkerson teaches a bucket cleaning device having a front scraping member. CN 209271956 to Wang et al teaches a bucket cleaning device comprising a base member, a scraping support member and a front scraping member.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON GREGORY DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)270-3289. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th: 8:00-5:00, F: 8:00-12:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathan Wiehe can be reached at (571) 272-8648. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JASON G DAVIS/Examiner, Art Unit 3745
/NATHANIEL E WIEHE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3745