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 Species 1, as represented by Figures 1, in the reply filed on 06/17/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 6-9, 11, 13-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 06/17/2026.
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 1-5, 10, 12 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoshida (JP 2005224415).
In reference to Claim 1
Yoshida discloses:
A cleaning device capturing dust on a cleaning target surface (“surface to be cleaned” shown in Figure 2) by static electricity, the cleaning device comprising: a frame body (3); a rotating brush (1, 2) rotatably supported on the frame body and provided with a brush part (2); a driver (“The rotary brush 1 is rotatably supported by the suction tool housing 3 and is driven to rotate by an electric motor (not shown),” Page 4 of the English Translation of Yoshida) that rotates the rotating brush; an opening (opening of suction port 4, Fig. 1, 4, 5) that exposes a portion of the brush part to outside of the frame body; and a rubbing member (charging plate 6) that gives a negative charge to the brush part by rubbing the brush part as the rotating brush rotates, wherein a material that forms the rubbing member is on a further toward positive end of a triboelectric series than a material that forms the brush part.(Page 1-6 of the English Translation of Yoshida; Fig. 1-6).
[Page 3 of the English Translation of Yoshida] According to a second aspect of the present invention, the dust pick-up portion of the rotating brush is made of nylon or a material having a positive charge column made of nylon, and the charging portion for charging the dust pick-up portion of the rotating brush is made of polyethylene or polyethylene. It is made of a negative material, and when the rotating brush dust pick-up part comes into contact with the charging part due to the rotation of the rotating brush, the rotating brush dust pick-up part is strongly charged on the positive side, and dust on the surface to be cleaned It is stronger and can be adsorbed and collected in the dust scraping section.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the dust sweeping portion of the rotating brush is formed of polyethylene or a material having a negatively charged column from polyethylene, and the charging unit for charging the dust brushing portion of the rotating brush is charged from nylon or nylon. It is made of a positive material, and when the rotating brush rotates, when the rotating brush dust pick-up part comes into contact with the charging part, the rotating brush dust pick-up part is strongly charged to the negative electrode side, and dust on the surface to be cleaned is collected. It is stronger and can be adsorbed and collected in the dust scraping section.
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Figure 1: Figures 1-4 of Yoshida for reference.
In reference to Claim 2
Yoshida discloses:
The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the material that forms the rubbing member has a smaller work function than the material that forms the brush part. .(Page 1-2 of the English Translation of Yoshida; Fig. 1-5).
In reference to Claim 3
Yoshida discloses:
The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein, in a rotating direction (rotating direction as shown in Fig. 4-5) of the rotating brush (1, 2), the rubbing member is positioned upstream of the opening (opening of suction port 4, Fig. 1, 4, 5) and is positioned downstream of another member (7 ground plate) in contact with the rotating brush. (Page 1-6 of the English Translation of Yoshida; Fig. 1-6).
In reference to Claim 4
Yoshida discloses:
The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the portion of the brush part (bush 2) exposed through the opening (opening of suction port 4, Fig. 1, 4, 5) is configured to rub the cleaning target surface as the cleaning device moves on the cleaning target surface (Fig. 2).
In reference to Claim 5
Yoshida discloses:
The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the rotating brush includes a shaft part (see shaft as shown by reference 1 in Fig. 1, 5) rotatably supported on the frame body, and the brush part (2) is attached to the shaft part and is configured to rotate integrally with the shaft part.(Fig. 1-5).
In reference to Claim 10
Yoshida discloses:
The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the driver is a motor (“The rotary brush 1 is rotatably supported by the suction tool housing 3 and is driven to rotate by an electric motor (not shown),” Page 4 of the English Translation of Yoshida).
In reference to Claim 12
Yoshida discloses:
The cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising: a removal member (7) that makes contact with the brush part downstream of the opening and upstream of the rubbing member in a rotating direction of the rotating brush and scrapes off dust adhered to the brush part; and a container that holds dust scraped from the brush part by the removal member. (“Dust separated from the brush portion 2 of the rotating brush 1 is transferred to the branch passage 5 by the intake air flow, and further transferred to a dust collecting portion (not shown) of the main body of the vacuum cleaner and collected there,” Page 4 of the English Translation of Yoshida). (Page 1-6 of the English Translation of Yoshida; Fig. 1-5).
In reference to Claim 16
Yoshida discloses:
The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device is a head part of a vacuum cleaner.(Page 1 of the English Translation of Yoshida; Fig. 1).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Fujita et al. (US 20120297570) discloses a vacuum cleaner comprising brushing components that are relevant to the Applicant’s invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AYE SU MON HTAY whose telephone number is (571)270-5958. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:00am-3:00pm PST.
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/AYE S HTAY/Examiner, Art Unit 3745
/NATHANIEL E WIEHE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3745
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