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 Amendment
The amendment filed April 14th, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1-5 and 7-21 remain pending in the application. Examiner withdraws the 112(a) rejection previously set forth in the Final Office Action mailed February 17th, 2026.
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.
Claims 1-5 and 7-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Xiao-
qun Zheng (CN 111329392 A – hereinafter Zheng) in view of Shou-mu Wang et al. (CN
112674642 A – hereinafter Wang).
Regarding claim 1, Zheng teaches a cutting apparatus, comprising: N groups of blades
each comprising a fixed blade (Fig. 2, First Blade 107) and a movable blade (Fig. 3, Second
Blade 108), wherein: N fixed blades are arranged linearly (Fig. 5, First Blades 107), where N is a
positive integer greater than or equal to 2 (Fig. 5, there are two First Blades 107); and N movable
blades are arranged linearly (Fig. 5, Second Blades 108), each of the N movable blades
corresponding to one of the N fixed blades, each of the N fixed blades and each of the N
movable blades having a toothed edge (Fig. 1, Teeth 103), and the toothed edge of the fixed
blade being tightly fitted to the toothed edge of the movable blade (Page 9, Para 4); and a drive
mechanism (Fig. 4, drive mechanism including Guide Structure 1022 and Shaft Body 1021) wherein the drive mechanism comprises a rotary shaft (Fig. 4, Shaft Body 1021) and a drive member (Fig. 5, 1022) arranged on the rotary shaft, the drive mechanism being in a linkage engagement with the movable blade (Fig. 1) and configured to drive a reciprocation of the movable blade relative to the fixed blade between a first position and a second position (Page 9, para 1), at least two movable blades having movement directions opposite to each other (Fig. 1), wherein the end surface has a maximum axial length position point and a minimum axial length position point in the axial direction of the rotary shaft (Fig. 5, maximum axial length at the bottom of 1022, and minimum axial length at the top of 1022), wherein the maximum axial length is greater than the minimum axial length (Fig. 5). Zheng does not teach a plurality of drive members arranged at intervals, however it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Zheng such that there is a plurality of drive members (e.g. 3+) as it has been held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960). Zheng additionally does not teach that these plurality of drive members are arranged such that for two adjacent drive members, the maximum axial length position point of one of the two adjacent drive members is opposite to the minimum axial length position point of another one of the two adjacent drive members, however it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zheng such that the drive members are arranged this way as it has been held that the position of a feature may be in a different location as an obvious matter of design choice as long as it does not modify the operation of the device In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950) and In re Kuhle, 526 F.2d 553, 188 USPQ 7 (CCPA 1975).
Zheng fails to teach that the fixed blades and moveable blades are located within a
housing, the toothed edges of the fixed and moveable blades protruding from an opening of the
housing and towards and outer side of the housing.
However, Wang teaches a cutting apparatus where the fixed blades and moveable blades
(Fig. 6, Cutting Piece 3 comprises a First Cutter 301 and a Second Cutter 302) are located within
a housing (Fig. 6, Roller 1), the toothed edges of the fixed and moveable blades protruding from
an opening (Fig. 1, Slot 101) of the housing and towards and outer side of the housing (Fig. 6).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cutting apparatus of Zheng to include
the limitations of claim 1 as taught by Wang. Doing so is beneficial as it allows the blades to cut
through objects stuck on and in the cutting apparatus (Wang; Page 5, Para 3).
Regarding claim 2, Zheng further teaches the cutting apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein: the drive mechanism comprises N+1 drive members (See the rejection of claim 1 above – 3 drive members); when the drive mechanism comprises N+1 drive members, one of the N+1 drive members is disposed between the two adjacent movable blades (Fig. 5), wherein an end surface (Fig. 5, left side of 1022) is in a linkage engagement with a driven portion (Fig. 5, right side of Bearing Ring 105) to drive the reciprocation of the movable blade relative to the fixed blade between the first position and the second position (Page 9, para 1), the at least two movable blades having movement directions opposite to each other.
Regarding claim 3, Zheng further teaches the cutting apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein: each of the N movable blades has driven portions opposite to each other in a length
direction of the movable blade (Fig. 5, left and right sides of Bearing Rings 105); at the first
position, one of the driven portions of the movable blade is abutted against an end surface of the
drive member adjacent to the one driven portion to be pushed towards the second position (Fig.
5, right side of Bearing Ring 105 associated with the top moveable blade is against the left side
of 1022, and is adjacent to the right side of Bearing Ring 105 associated with the bottom
moveable blade when the top blade is all the way to the left); and at the second position, another
one of the driven portions of the movable blade is abutted against an end surface of the drive
member adjacent to the other driven portion to be pushed towards the first position (Fig. 5, right
side of Bearing Ring 105 associated with the top moveable blade is against the left side of 1022,
and is adjacent to the right side of Bearing Ring 105 associated with the bottom moveable blade
when the top blade is all the way to the right).
Regarding claim 4, Zheng further teaches the cutting apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein when the drive mechanism comprises the N drive members (Fig. 5, 1022), the N drive members are asymmetrical drive members (Fig. 5, 1022).
The existing combination of Zheng and Wang fails to teach that two adjacent of the N drive members have opposite inclination directions to drive the two adjacent movable blades to move in opposite directions.
However, Wang further teaches a cutting apparatus with N drive members (Fig. 7B, 222),
each having opposite inclination directions for driving two adjacent moveable blades to move in opposite directions (Fig. 7A, 222 drives 211 to reciprocate, which is connected to and causes the reciprocation of Cutting Piece 3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cutting apparatus of the existing
combination of Zheng and Wang to include the limitations of claim 4 as taught by Wang. Doing
so is beneficial as it creates a staggered movement between the two sets of cutters and reaches a
better cutting effect (Wang; Page 6, Para 5).
Regarding claim 5, Zheng further teaches the cutting apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein when the drive mechanism comprises the N+1 or N-1 drive members, the N+1 or N-1
drive members are each symmetrical drive members (Fig. 5, 1022 is symmetrical when viewed from an axial direction), and the two adjacent movable blades have opposite movement directions, and wherein the maximum axial length position point and the minimum axial length position point are respectively located at two opposite sides of the rotary shaft (Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 7, Zheng further teaches the cutting apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein when the drive mechanism comprises N+1 or N-1 drive members (Fig. 5, 1022), some of the N+1 or N-1 drive members are symmetrical drive members, and some of the N+1 or N-1 drive members are asymmetrical drive members (Fig. 5, 1022 are considered both symmetrical (when viewed axially) and asymmetrical (when viewed from the side as shown in Fig. 5)), wherein movable blades located at two sides of the symmetrical drive members have opposite movement directions (Fig. 5, the top moveable blade moves left when the bottom moveable blade moves right, and vice versa), and movable blades located at two sides of the asymmetrical drive members have a same movement direction (Fig. 5, both the top and bottom moveable blade move in the axial direction).
Regarding claim 8, Zheng further teaches the cutting apparatus according to claim 7,
the maximum axial length position point and the minimum axial length position point are respectively located at two opposite sides of the rotary shaft (Fig. 5); the asymmetrical drive member is obliquely disposed in the direction close to the rotary shaft (Fig. 5); and two end surfaces of each of the symmetrical drive member and the asymmetrical drive member have a concave portion and a convex portion (Fig. 5, the inside ring which allows for the shaft to pass through the drive members in concave, and the outermost ring of the drive members is convex), wherein the convex portion of the end surface of the symmetrical drive member and a concave portion of an end surface of an asymmetrical drive member adjacent to the symmetrical drive member are positioned in one-to-one correspondence (Fig. 5, the drive members are adjacent and therefore their faces are positioned in one-to-one correspondence).
Regarding claim 9, Zheng further teaches the cutting apparatus according to claim 4,
wherein the driven portion (Fig. 5, left and right sides of Bearing Rings 105) of the movable
blade is in line contact with the end surface of the drive member (Fig. 5, 1022).
Regarding claim 10, Zheng further teaches the cutting apparatus according to claim 8,
wherein the end surface of the drive member is a smooth curved surface (Fig. 5, 1022), wherein
the smooth curved surface of the symmetrical drive member is divided into a concave portion
and a convex portion (Fig. 5, for 1022, the inside ring which allows for the shaft to pass through
the drive members in concave, and the outermost ring of the drive members is convex), wherein:
a lowest position point of the concave portion is coincident with the minimum axial length
position point, and a highest position point of the convex portion is coincident with the
maximum axial length position point (Fig. 4, lowest point being the topmost point of the concave portion as shown in Fig. 4 and the highest point being the lowest point of the concave portion as shown in Fig. 4); and a concave portion of one of end surfaces of the asymmetrical drive member and a convex portion of another one of the end surfaces of the asymmetrical drive member are positioned in one-to-one correspondence (Fig. 5, the convex and concave portions of 1022 are directly above/ below one another), and a convex portion of a first of end surfaces of the asymmetrical drive member and a concave portion of a second of the end surfaces of the asymmetrical drive member are positioned in one-to-one correspondence (Fig. 5, the convex and concave portions of the left and right sides of 1022 are directly above/ below one another).
Regarding claim 11, Zheng further teaches the cutting apparatus according to claim 8,
wherein: the end surface of the symmetrical drive member is an inclined plane (Fig. 5, inclined surface of 1022); the maximum axial length position point and the minimum axial length position point are respectively located at a top end and a bottom end of the end surface (Fig. 5, 1022 has the maximum and minimum axial length points at the top and bottom ends of the end surface); and the end surface of the asymmetrical drive member is an inclined plane (Fig. 5, 1022).
Regarding claim 12, Zheng further teaches the cutting apparatus according to claim 1,
further comprising: N elastic pressing members (Fig. 1, Elastic Element 109) each having an end
fixed to the housing (Fig. 2, 109 is fixed to First Blade 107, which in the combination of Zheng
and Wang in the rejection of claim 1 above is fixed to the housing) and another end fixed to a
side of the movable blade away from the fixed blade to press and engage the fixed blade and the
movable blade (Fig. 3, Buckle 1082; Page 8, Para 1).
Regarding claim 13, Zheng further teaches the cutting apparatus according to claim 11,
wherein: the movable blade is slidably connected to the housing; or the movable blade is slidably
connected to the fixed blade (Fig. 1, last paragraph of Page 5).
Regarding claim 14, Zheng further teaches the cutting apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein: the driven portion is a roller disposed on the movable blade, or the driven portion is a
smooth flange on the movable blade (Fig. 5, examiner interprets 105 to be a smooth flange).
Regarding claim 15, Zheng teaches a cleaning device comprising the cutting apparatus
according to claim 14 (See the rejection of claim 14 above) and a brush head (Page 7, Para 4).
Zheng fails to teach that the cleaning device comprises a casing, and that the toothed edge
of the fixed blade or the toothed edge of the movable blade is in contact with an outer peripheral
surface of the brush head.
However, Wang teaches a cleaning device comprising a casing (Fig. 15, Shell 7), a brush
head (Fig. 12a, First Rolling Brush 1), and that the toothed edge of the fixed blade or the toothed
edge of the movable blade is in contact with an outer peripheral surface of the brush head (Fig,
12a, Cutting Piece 3 and Lug Boss 14).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cutting apparatus of Zheng to include
the limitations of claim 15 as taught by Wang. Doing so is beneficial as it puts the blades in a
better location for cutting foreign objects away from the brush of the cleaning device (Wang;
Page 17, Para 1).
Regarding claim 16, Zheng further teaches a method for controlling cutting of hair by
using the cleaning device according to claim 15, the method comprising: determining that the
cleaning device is performing a cleaning operation, and controlling starting of the cutting
apparatus (Page 10, Para 2; when the brush begins to rotate, the cutting blades also begin to
reciprocate).
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xiao-qun
Zheng (CN 111329392 A – hereinafter Zheng) in view of Shou-mu Wang et al. (CN
112674642 A – hereinafter Wang) as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of
Kelsey Alden (WO 2018218157 A1 – hereinafter Alden).
Regarding claim 17, Zheng further teaches the method according to claim 16, wherein
said determining that the cleaning device has completed the cleaning operation, and controlling
the starting of the cutting apparatus comprises: controlling the brush head to rotate in a same
direction as the cleaning operation or an opposite direction to the cleaning operation (the
cleaning operation is the rotation of the brush head (See the rejection of claim 16 above), and
therefore they move in the same direction).
The combination of Zheng and Wang fails to teach controlling a fan of the cleaning
device to start simultaneously during the control of the starting of the cutting apparatus.
However, Alden teaches a fan (Fig. 2, Vacuum Source 32) which starts simultaneously
during the control of the starting of the brush head rotation (Fig. 2, Rotating Agitator 18 [0038]).
In combination with Zheng and Wang, where the brush rotation and cutting begin at the
same time, the fan and cutting apparatus would start at the same time. Additionally, it is well
known in the art of vacuum cleaners to have the fan and brush rotation start at the same time,
when the power button is switched on.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cutting apparatus of the combination
of Zheng and Wang to include the limitations of claim 17 as taught by Alden. Doing so is
beneficial as it prevents the vacuum from clogging when in use (Alden [0083]).
Claims 18, 19, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Xiao-qun Zheng (CN 111329392 A – hereinafter Zheng) in view of Shou-mu Wang et al.
(CN 112674642 A – hereinafter Wang) as applied to claim 14 above, and further in view of
Min Zhong et al. (US 10307031 B2 – hereinafter Zhong).
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Zheng and Wang teach the cutting apparatus
according to claim 14 (See the rejection of claim 14 above). Wang additionally teaches that the
toothed edge of the fixed blade or the toothed edge of the moveable blade is in contact with an
outer peripheral surface of a brush (See the rejection of claim 15 above).
The combination of Zheng and Wang fails to teach a cleaning base station, comprising: a
base; and the cutting apparatus is mounted on the base.
However, Zhong teaches a cleaning base station comprising a base (Fig. 1, Charging
Stand 100), and a cutting apparatus mounted on the base (Fig. 1, apparatus comprising Blade 4).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cutting apparatus of the combination
of Zheng and Wang to include the limitations of claim 18 as taught by Zhong. Doing so is
beneficial as it allows the cleaning device to charge and be cleaned simultaneously (Zhong; Col
5, lines 13-24).
Regarding claim 19, the existing combination of Zheng, Wang, and Zhong does not
teach a method for controlling cutting of hair by using the cleaning base station according to
claim 18, the method comprising: determining that a cleaning device is placed in a
predetermined area of the cleaning base station, and controlling starting of the cutting apparatus
and rotation of the brush head of the cleaning device.
However, Zhong further teaches determining that a cleaning device is placed in a
predetermined area of the cleaning base station, and controlling starting of the cutting apparatus
and rotation of the brush head of the cleaning device (Col 5, lines 25-40).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the cutting apparatus of the combination
of Zheng, Wang, and Zhong to include the limitations of claim 19 as taught by Zhong. Doing so
is beneficial as it allows the base to effectively cut hairs stuck on the cleaning device (Zhong;
Col. 5, lines 38-40).
Regarding claim 21, the combination of Zheng and Wang already teaches cleaning
system, comprising: a cleaning device; the cleaning device being provided with a cutting
apparatus, comprising: a housing having an opening; N groups of blades each comprising a fixed
blade and a movable blade, wherein: N fixed blades are located in the housing and arranged
linearly, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; and N movable blades are
located in the housing and arranged linearly, each of the N movable blades corresponding to one
of the N fixed blades, each of the N fixed blades and each of the N movable blades having a
toothed edge protruding from the opening towards an outer side of the housing, and the toothed
edge of the fixed blade being tightly fitted to the toothed edge of the movable blade; and a drive
mechanism comprising a rotary shaft and a plurality of drive members arranged at intervals on the rotary shaft, the drive mechanism being in a linkage engagement with the movable blade and configured to drive a reciprocation of the movable blade relative to the fixed blade between a first position and a second position, at least two movable blades having movement directions opposite to each other, wherein an end surface of each drive member has a maximum axial length position point and a minimum axial length position point in an axial direction of the rotary shaft to respectively define a maximum axial length and a minimum axial length of the drive member, wherein the maximum axial length is greater than the minimum axial length, and wherein for two adjacent drive members, the maximum axial length position point of one of the two adjacent drive members is opposite to the minimum axial length position point of another one of the two adjacent drive members (See the rejection of claim 1 above). The combination of Zhong, Zheng, and Wang teaches a cleaning base station in addition to the cleaning device (See the rejection of claim 18 above).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xiao-qun
Zheng (CN 111329392 A – hereinafter Zheng) in view of Shou-mu Wang et al. (CN
112674642 A – hereinafter Wang) and Min Zhong et al. (US 10307031 B2 – hereinafter
Zhong) as applied to claim 19 above, and further in view of Kelsey Alden (WO 2018218157
A1 – hereinafter Alden).
Regarding claim 20, Zheng already teaches the method according to claim 19, wherein
said controlling the rotation of the brush head of the cleaning device comprises: controlling the
brush head to rotate in a same direction as the cleaning operation (See the rejection of claim 17
above). Controlling a fan of the cleaning device to start simultaneously during the control of the
starting of the cutting apparatus is taught by Alden in combination with Zheng and Wang, and
now additionally Zhong (See the rejection of claim 17 above).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/14/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding claims 1 and 21, Applicant argues that Zheng does not teach the maximum axial length is greater than the minimum axial length since the previous rejection considered items 101 of Zheng to be drive members. The updated rejection of claim 1 only considers item 1022 to be a drive member, which has clearly defined maximum and minimum axial lengths, where it can be seen in Fig. 4 of Zheng that the maximum axial length is greater than the minimum axial length. In re Harza is used to show that it would be obvious to have a plurality of these drive members, and In re Japikse is used to show that it would be obvious to arrange these drive members in the claimed manner relative to each other.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELLA LORRAINE KEENA whose telephone number is (571)272-1806. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am - 5:00 pm ET.
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/ELLA L KEENA/Examiner, Art Unit 3724 /BOYER D ASHLEY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3724
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