DETAILED ACTION
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: the word “of” should be deleted from line 6. 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.
Claims 4, 8, 11 and 13 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.
Each of claims 4, 11 and 13 attempt to disclose structure of the claimed station relative to external reference points/objects (a horizontal plane in claim 4, a ground in claim 11 and vertical direction in claim 13), which are not fixed relative to the claimed object, and thus may be variable and/or are only accurate in certain orientations of the claimed invention. It is suggested that the applicant amend the claims to clarify the claimed structure relative to fixed structure on the cleaner station, for example, define the inclined surface angle relative to a plane defined by the bottom of the collector bin, as opposed to the horizontal plane.
Claim 8 discloses the orientation, relative to the mesh, of an imaginary plane defined by an extension of the inlet cover, when opened. However, the limitation is only understood to be accurate if/when the inlet cover is opened a certain amount. For instance, the claim is met with the orientation of the inlet cover as shown in Fig. 30, but appears that the inlet cover may open slightly further, to an extent that the plane will not pass through the mesh, as well as possibly being only slightly opened from a closed position that would also not pass through the mesh. As best understood by the examiner, the limitation is considered to be intended to define that the inlet cover is capable of being opened to a position that the imaginary plane defined by the inlet cover will pass through a portion of the mesh, and will be treated as such for the sake of the current Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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 1-3, 13, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gill et al. (2020/0022553) in view of Kim et al. (2023/0132447) and Kim et al. (2021/0052121; to be referred to hereinafter as ‘121).
Regarding claim 1, Gill discloses a cleaner station comprising: a housing; a coupling recess (216) which is disposed in the housing and comprises a coupling surface (224) to which at least a portion of a cleaner (202) is coupled; a collector bin (204) which is removably coupled to an inside of the housing (upper portion of 206 is considered to be an inside of the housing when fully assembled and/or considered to be coupled indirectly to the inside of the housing via the outside of the housing), and collects dust from a dust bin of the cleaner; and a dust collection motor (1116) which is received within the housing, is disposed below the collector bin, and generates a suction force to remove the dust from the dust bin of the cleaner, wherein the collector bin (embodiment of Fig. 11A) comprises: a collector body that defines a space (1102) in which the dust is collected; a collector cover (upper portion of collector 1004) which is coupled to a top of the collector body; a dust filter (1108/1110) which is disposed within the collector body and separates the dust from the air introduced through the dust inlet; and a collector flow path (shown in Fig. 11 between filter 802 and mooto1116) which is disposed within the collector body and guides the air which has passed through the dust filter toward the dust collection motor.
However, Gill fails to disclose that the collector bin is disposed below the coupling recess or that the collector cover comprises a dust inlet formed therein through which air containing the dust is introduced into the collector body.
Kim discloses a similar cleaner station for collecting dust from the dust bin of a cleaner, capable of collecting dust from a robotic cleaner (600), similar to Gill, and also being capable of collecting debris from a second manually operable cleaner (500), wherein the internal dust collection bin is positioned within the housing between an upper coupling recess (121/122) for receiving and coupling with the manually operable cleaner and a lower coupling recess (200) for receiving and coupling with the robotic cleaner. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to optionally modify the station of Gill to include an upper coupling recess capable of receiving and coupling with a second manually operable cleaner, to provide additional functions of mounting and emptying manual cleaners, which will position the collector bin of Gill in a similar position between the upper and lower coupling recesses, and effectively below the upper coupling recess.
Further, Kim teaches that the inlet for the collector bin is positioned on an upper surface of the collector body. Similarly, ‘121 discloses another station, also having an upper coupling recess for receiving and emptying a manual operable cleaner, also teaching that the collector bin may be a bag collector, similar to Kim, or a cyclonic collector, similar to Gill, wherein both the bag and cyclonic collector include covers that are coupled to a top of the collector body and comprise a dust inlet formed therein through which air containing the dust is introduced into the collector body. Therefore, it further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made, when modifying the station of Gill to include the second upper coupling recess, to provide a cover to the upper portion of the collector body of Gill, having a dust inlet therein to collect debris from either of the cleaners, in a similar manner to Kim and also maintaining a cyclonic separator as taught by ‘121. Although ‘121 does not specifically disclose that the cover is removable from the collector bin, the examiner hereby takes official notice that it is very old and well known for collector bins, particularly those having cyclonic separators therein, will be formed from several parts coupled to one another, including the lid having an inlet therein when formed similar to ‘121 Fig. 26, which will allow a user to disassemble the collector bin for emptying, cleaning and/or maintenance. Therefore, it further would have been obvious for the cover shown by ‘121 to be removably coupled to the collector bin of Gill to provide the inlet through the upper end of the collector body, while also allowing for disassembly as needed for emptying, cleaning and/or maintenance.
Regarding claim 2, Gill further discloses that the dust filter comprises a mesh (1108 optionally disclosed as a mesh in paragraph 134) which filters a first portion of the dust from the air introduced through the dust inlet; and a cyclone (secondary cyclones 1110) which separates a second portion of the dust from the air which has passed through the mesh.
Regarding claim 3, Gill further discloses that the cyclone is disposed between the mesh and the collector flow path (along the airflow path, as well as physically, at least partially between an uppermost portion of the mesh and the collector flow path).
Regarding claim 13, Gill further discloses that at least a portion of the collector flow path is formed in a vertical direction (along arrow 1129, as viewed in Fig. 11A).
Regarding claim 19, Gill further discloses that the collector bin may optionally include a bottom cover which is rotatably coupled to a bottom of the collector body to open or close the bottom of the collector body (as shown in alternative embodiment of Fig. 37), which is very well known in the art to allow a user to open and empty the collector bin without requiring the bin to be inverted, which will reduce any potential for spillage or mess during emptying. Therefore, it further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the bin of the embodiment of Fig. 11A, as modified by Kim and ‘121, with a similar bottom cover which is rotatably coupled to a bottom of the collector body to open or close the bottom of the collector body.
Regarding claim 20, as discussed supra for claim 1, the cleaner station further comprises the lower coupling recess configured to receive another (robotic) cleaner, the collector bin collects dust from the other cleaner; and the other (lower) coupling recess is provided below the collector bin.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gill et al. (2020/0022553) in view of Kim et al. (2023/0132447) and Kim et al. (2021/0052121; to be referred to hereinafter as ‘121) as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Cho et al. (2021/0068603) and Seo et al. (7,610,652).
Gill fails to disclose a transmissive panel to allow light to pass through. Cho discloses another similar cleaner station, also for emptying debris from a cleaner, and teaches that the intake portion of the station may include a UV light (185) in a position to direct UV light into the collector for sterilization through the suction flow path (paragraphs 343-353). Seo discloses another suction cleaner, and teaches that the collector bin includes a transmissive panel (133) to allow UV light source that is positioned outside the collector bin to transmit UV light into the bin, while remaining spaced from the dirt/dust that is collected therein. Therefore, it further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide a UV light source to sterilize the collector bin of Gill, as taught by Cho and Seo, with a similar position taught by Cho, but also providing the lid of the collector (as discussed above for claim 1) with at least a portion that includes a transmissive panel, which will allow more of the UV light to irradiate a larger area of the inside of the collector bin (as opposed to merely passing through the suction path as taught by Cho). Seo further teaches that the transmissive panel is oriented at an angle relative to the outer surfaces of the collector bin, to evenly direct the light to the inside of the bin (Col. 3, lines 1-10). Thus, it would have been obvious to provide the cover (due to the location of the UV light taught by Cho) of the collector bin of Gill with a transmissive panel, as taught by Seo, to protect the light source from dirt/dust, with a surface that is inclined at a predetermined angle (as taught by Seo) with respect to a horizontal plane (due to offset location of the UV light source taught by Cho, the transmissive panel would need to be angled relative to a horizontal plane to allow the UV light source to evenly direct the light to the inside of the bin, as taught by Seo).
Claims 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gill et al. (2020/0022553) in view of Kim et al. (2023/0132447) and Kim et al. (2021/0052121; to be referred to hereinafter as ‘121) as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Wilkins (2001/0050001).
The combination of Gill, Kim and ‘121, as discussed supra, provides the cover with the inlet therein, but fails to disclose an inlet cover. Wilkins discloses another suction cleaner having a cyclone separator, and teaches that the inlet of the collector bin includes an inlet cover which is rotatably coupled to the collector cover to open or close the dust inlet, and teaches that the inlet cover will effectively provide a non-return valve, to prevent spillage of debris from the inlet when the collector bin is tipped (paragraph 20). Therefore, it further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide a similar inlet cover rotatably coupled to the inlet of the collector bin of Gill (as modified by Kim and ‘121), such that the inlet cover would be rotatably coupled to the collector cover to open (during suction cleaning) and close the dust inlet to prevent spillage if the collector bin is tipped during emptying.
Regarding claim 6, Wilkins further discloses that the collector bin comprises a guide wall (19a, 19b) which is disposed on opposing sides of the dust inlet and protrude from the collector cover (inlet forming portion) to guide a flow of the air that has passed through the dust inlet, wherein anyone of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the guide walls will provide an inlet chamber section (21 of Wilkins) that will separate the rotatable inlet cover from the debris collected in the collector bin to prevent interference with the movement of the inlet cover as the collector bin fills with debris. Therefore, it further would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide similarly spaced guide walls on opposing sides of the dust inlet, that protrude from the inlet (being on the cover of Gill, as modified by Kim and ‘121) to guide airflow of air that has passed the inlet, and prevent interference of movement of the inlet cover as the collector bin fills with debris.
Regarding claim 7, Wilkins further discloses that the guide walls extend along a direction perpendicular to a rotational axis of the inlet cover (as viewed in Fig. 1 of Wilkins, walls extend away from the inlet cover when closed in a direction that is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the inlet cover).
Regarding claim 8, as discussed supra, Gill discloses that the filter includes a mesh (1108) which filters the dust from the air introduced through the dust inlet, wherein the inlet cover taught by Wilkins, provided to an inlet in the cover taught by Kim and ‘121, would obviously be capable of at least partially opening to a position that an imaginary plane obtained by extending the inlet cover, would pass through at least a portion of the mesh (based on a central inlet on an upper cover, as taught by Kim and ‘121).
Claims 9, 11 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gill et al. (2020/0022553) in view of Kim et al. (2023/0132447) and Kim et al. (2021/0052121; to be referred to hereinafter as ‘121) as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Kim et al. (2016/0206167; to be referred to hereinafter as ‘167) and Ji et al. (2011/0000047).
The combination of Gill with Kim and ‘121 fails to disclose a dust compression plate. Each of ‘167 and Ji disclose suction cleaners having a separator chamber and dust collection chamber, similar to 1102 of Gill, and having a dust compression plate (220 of ‘167, 140 of Ji) which is rotatably provided at the collector body and moves the dust collected in the collector body, which is provided to compress collected debris within the collector bin to reduce the overall size of the collected debris and increase the capacity of the bin, allowing for collection of more debris before requiring emptying or reducing efficiency. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the collection chamber of Gill with a similar rotatable dust compression plate, as taught by ‘167 and Ji, to compress collected debris within the collector bin to reduce the overall size of the collected debris and increase the capacity of the bin.
Regarding claim 11, ‘167 and Ji both further disclose that the collector bin, provided with the compression plate, comprise a rotation shaft (340 of ‘167/146 of Ji) which rotates within the collector body, wherein the dust compression plate is connected to the rotation shaft, and wherein an upper end of the dust compression plate is disposed farther from a ground below the cleaner station than an upper end of the rotation shaft.
Regarding claim 14, ‘167 and Ji both further disclose that the collector bin, provided with the compression plate, comprises a fixed plate (250/130) that is provided in the space of the collector body in which the dust is collected and is coupled to an interior surface of the collector body, and wherein the dust compression plate rotates to compress the dust in the collector body against the fixed plate.
Regarding claim 15, this time relying only on ‘167, which discloses the collector bin, provided with the compression plate, comprises a rotation shaft (considered to be 210 for claim 15) which rotates within the collector body, wherein the dust compression plate is connected to the rotation shaft, and when positioned within the dust collection chamber of Gill, the rotational shaft will be positioned between the dust filter (1108) and the fixed plate due to the shaft having a greater vertical length than the fixed plate.
Regarding claim 16, still relying only on ‘167, which teaches that an upper end of the rotation shaft has a smaller diameter than a lower end of the rotation shaft (for instance, the outer diameter of the uppermost end of the shaft 152, above the outer flange, has a smaller diameter than the lower end that is defined optionally by protrusions 216 or shaft portion 340 that is connected thereto).
Claims 10 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gill et al. (2020/0022553) in view of Kim et al. (2023/0132447) and Kim et al. (2021/0052121; to be referred to hereinafter as ‘121), Kim et al. (2016/0206167; to be referred to hereinafter as ‘167) and Ji et al. (2011/0000047) as applied to claim 9, and further in view of Wilkins (2001/0050001).
Regarding claim 10, as discussed above for claims 5-8, Wilkins teaches that the collector bin comprises an inlet cover which is rotatably coupled to the collector cover to open or close the dust inlet, such that when provided on an upper cover, as taught by Kim and ‘121, it further would have been obvious that at least a portion of the dust compression plate is disposed below the inlet cover due to the inlet cover being positioned on an upper cover, and the dust compression place being positioned along a bottom surface of the dust collection chamber.
Regarding claim 12, as discussed above for claims 5-8, Wilkins teaches that the collector bin comprises an inlet cover which is rotatably coupled to the collector cover to open or close the dust inlet, and ‘167 and Ji teach the a rotation shaft which rotates within the collector body, wherein the dust compression plate is connected to the rotation shaft, and wherein the relative size of the inlet and inlet cover, when positioned on an upper cover, as discussed supra, would obviously be provided with a distance from a rotational axis of the inlet cover to the dust compression plate that is greater than a diameter of the inlet cover because anyone of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the inlet cover would need to be positioned such that the inlet cover would not contact the movable compression plate during any range of motion of either component, to avoid contact therebetween that would interfere with the respective functions and possibly damage one or both components.
Claims 17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gill et al. (2020/0022553) in view of Kim et al. (2023/0132447) and Kim et al. (2021/0052121; to be referred to hereinafter as ‘121) as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Cho et al. (11,006,797; to be referred to hereinafter as ‘797).
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Gill, Kim and ‘121, provides the station as discussed supra, with both Kim and ‘121 teaching that the collector bin is provided internal to the housing and further teaching a door (Fig. 15B of Kim/Fig. 32 of ‘121) to open or close an opening to the inside of the housing, but fails to disclose that the collector bin includes a handle provided on a front wall of the collector body facing the opening of the housing. ‘797 discloses another cleaner station, also for emptying debris from a cleaner, and teaches that the collector bin is positioned within the housing, having a door to open or close access to the collector bin, and includes a handle (shown but not numbered) positioned on the collector bin, which will allow a user to easily grasp and remove the collector bin as needed. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made, when providing the collector bin internal to the housing, as taught by Kim and ‘121, to also provide a door to cover the opening in the housing for the collector and to provide a handle provided on a front wall of the collector body facing the opening of the housing, as taught by ‘797, to allow a user to easily grasp and remove the collector bin as needed.
Regarding claim 18, ‘797 further shows that the front wall of the collector body is recessed away from the handle, which would be understood to anyone of ordinary skill in the art to provide a space for a user’s fingers to insert into the handle for grasping. Additionally, Gill discloses that an inner surface of the front wall of the collector body forms a portion of the collector flow path (extending from the cyclone 1110, toward the motor).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Each of O’Shaughnessy et al. (2023/0018167), Conrad (2021/0330157), Hyun et al. (2018/0000302), Hwang et al. (8,544,143) and Miefalk et al. (2010/0325834) disclose cleaners having similar structure to the applicant’s claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRYAN R MULLER whose telephone number is (571)272-4489. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm.
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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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/BRYAN R MULLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723 30 April 2026
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