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 . In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/23/2023 has been considered by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because of the legal phraseology comprises in line 1. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b). .0Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 6-8 and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Paauw (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2020/0361104).
Regarding claim 1, Paauw teaches a shaving unit (5) configured to be used in an electric shaver (1) (Figure 1), comprising a base member (9) and at least one hair-cutting unit (11) supported by the base member (Figures 2-3), wherein the hair-cutting unit comprises:
an external cutting member (21a) having a shaving surface (29) provided with hair- entry openings (31)(Figure 3)(Paragraph 0033);
an internal cutting member (23a) which is movable relative to the external cutting member (Figure 3; Paragraph 0032);
a skin supporting member (25a) having a skin supporting surface (43) surrounding the external cutting member (Figure 3; Paragraph 0032, 0035-0036) and
an adjustment mechanism (55,59,61,53) configured to adjust an exposure distance over which the shaving surface protrudes relative to the skin supporting surface in an exposure direction (Figure 4 and 6a-6c; Paragraph 0039);
characterized in that: the external cutting member and the skin supporting member (25a) are jointly pivotal about a pivot axis (49)(Figure 3) which has a stationary position relative to the base member (Figures 2-4; Paragraph 0036);
the adjustment mechanism comprises an adjustment member (59) which is displaceable relative to the base member in a displacement direction in an imaginary plane perpendicular to the exposure direction for adjustment of the exposure distance (Figures 6a-6c; Paragraph 0039);
the adjustment member comprises a supporting surface (61) which is inclined relative to the displacement direction Figures 4-6c; Paragraph 0039);
one of the external cutting members and the skin supporting member is a bearing-supported member supported relative to the base member via a bearing allowing a rotation of the bearing-supported member about the pivot axis (Figure 3); and
the other one of the external cutting member and the skin supporting member is an adjustably supported member supported relative to the base member via the supporting surface of the adjustment member and a supporting element (57) in supporting contact with the supporting surface (Figure 3; Paragraph 0039) of the adjustment member, wherein, in each position of the adjustment member relative to the base member in the displacement direction a rotation of the adjustably supported member about the pivot axis is defined by mutual movement of the supporting surface of the adjustment member and the supporting element) in supporting contact with each other (Figures 3-5 and Paragraph 0039-0041).
Regarding claim 2, Paauw teaches the shaving unit as claimed in claim 1, and wherein: the displacement direction of the adjustment member is parallel to the pivot axis (49)(Figures 3 and 6a-6c); the adjustment member (59) is displaceable relative to the adjustably supported member and the supporting element is mounted in a fixed position relative to the adjustably supported member (Figure 3 and 6a);
the supporting surface (61) of the adjustment member (57) is a conical surface having a center line coinciding with the pivot axis (Figures 5 and 6a-6c); and rotation of the adjustably supported member about the pivot axis is defined by a sliding movement of the supporting element along the supporting surface of the adjustment member in supporting contact therewith (Figures, 3, 5 and 6b-6c; Paragraph 0039).
Regarding claim 3, Paauw teaches the shaving unit as claimed in claim 2, and wherein: the skin supporting member (25a) is the adjustably supported member, and wherein the external cutting member (21a) is the bearing-supported member (Figure 3; Paragraph 0032 and 0036). 2
Regarding claim 4, Paauw teaches the shaving unit as claimed in claim 2, and wherein the external cutting member (21a) is the adjustably supported member, and wherein the skin supporting member (25a) is the bearing-supported member (Figure 3; Paragraph 0032 and 0036)..
Regarding claim 6, Paauw teaches the shaving unit as claimed in claim 2, and wherein the adjustment mechanism comprises a guide member (55) configured to guide the adjustment member in the displacement direction thereof, and wherein the adjustment member is slidably arranged on the guide member (Figure 4 and Paragraph 0039).
Regarding claim 7, Paauw teaches the shaving unit as claimed in claim 2, and wherein either the supporting surface (61) of the adjustment member (59) is an exterior surface of a part of the adjustment member (59) which has a generally solid appearance, wherein the supporting surface (61) is located at a side of the part of the adjustment member (59) facing the adjustably supported member (43,29),
Regarding claim 8, Paauw teaches the shaving unit as claimed in claim 2, and wherein the adjustment mechanism (59) comprises at least two adjustment members (59), and wherein the supporting surfaces (61) of the respective adjustment members are located at opposite or distributed positions relative to a general peripheral outline of the adjustably supported member about the exposure direction (Figures 3, 6a-6c;Paragraph 0039).
Regarding claim 12, Paauw teaches the shaving unit as claimed in claim 1, and wherein the supporting surface (61) of the adjustment member (59) has a stepped appearance (Figure 4).
Regarding claim 13, Paauw teaches the shaving unit as claimed in claim 1, and wherein the hair-cutting unit comprises a guiding mechanism (53) configured to guide the adjustably supported member as the adjustably supported member rotates about the pivot axis, wherein the guiding mechanism comprises a sliding arrangement of a first guiding member and a second guiding member at least partially encompassing the first guiding member, and wherein one of the first guiding member and the second guiding member is connected to the adjustably supported member (Figure 3 and Paragraph 0038).
Regarding claim 14, Paauw teaches the shaving unit as claimed in claim 1, and comprising at least two hair-cutting units (7a,7b,7c) and a driven mechanism (27) configured to bring about displacement of the adjustment members of the adjustment mechanisms of the respective hair-cutting units in a synchronized manner (Figure 2 and 3; Paragraph 0028, 0030, 0032).
Regarding claim 15, Paauw teaches the shaving unit as claimed in claim 1, and a body unit (3) to which the shaving unit (5) is couplable or coupled and in which components of a drive system configured to drive components of the shaving unit which are movably arranged in the shaving unit are accommodated (Figure 1 and Paragraph 0028).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 9-11 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 fails to anticipate or make obvious the specifics of the structural elements in relation to the claimed axis and directions of claims 5 and 9.
Related Prior Art
Below is an analysis of the relevance of references cited but not used
- "892 cited references A-M on page 1 establish the state of the art with a variety of shaver and with different cutting elements/blades using a variety of driving mechanisms for the cutting elements and blades.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICHARD D CROSBY JR whose telephone number is (571)272-8034. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-4:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Adam Eiseman can be reached at 571-270-3818. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RICHARD D CROSBY JR/ 09/18/2025Examiner, Art Unit 3724