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.
Status of Claims
Claims 1 – 17 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1 – 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gill et al. (U.S. 2020/0022543 A1) in view of Ho (KR20070112325 A) as cited by Applicant – see machine translation.
Regarding Independent Claim 1, Gill teaches a cleaner station (docking station, 200) comprising: a housing (suction housing, 212) to which a cleaner ( cleaner, 202) is coupled so that dust in a dust bin (dust cup, 208) of the cleaner (202) is captured (Paragraph [0092]); a suction flow path (suction inlet, 216) disposed in the housing (212) and having one side configured to communicate with the dust bin of the cleaner (Paragraph [0088]); a dust collecting motor (suction motor, 106) disposed in the housing (212) and configured to provide a suction force directed from the inside toward the outside of the dust bin through the suction flow path (216; Paragraphs [0084] and [0085]); a dust collecting container (station dust cup, 204) including an inlet port (evacuation port, 610) configured to communicate with the suction flow path (216) at the other side of the suction flow path so that air is introduced into the inlet port (Paragraph [0108]), and a discharge port (exhaust duct, 512) through which the air is discharged (Paragraph [0077]), the dust collecting container (204) being configured to provide an accommodation space for the captured dust (Paragraph [0110]); a discharge air moving part (cyclonic separator, 1110) connected to the discharge port and configured to provide a space in which the air discharged from the dust collecting container is introduced and flows (Paragraph [0136]).
Gill does not explicitly teach a cylindrical dust collecting container; however, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the station of Gill to further include a cylindrical dust collecting container, as claimed, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the shape of a component. A change in shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art (MPEP 2144.04).
Gill does not teach a rotary unit disposed in the dust collecting container and configured to collect the dust in the dust collecting container while rotating about a longitudinal axis of the dust collecting container along an inner peripheral surface of the dust collecting container; and a compression plate disposed in the dust collecting container and disposed in a state of being fixed to one side in the dust collecting container, wherein the rotary unit rotates in a direction toward the compression plate and compresses the dust between the rotary unit and the compression plate.
Ho, however, teaches a rotary unit (shaft, 312 with compression plates, 310 and 320; Fig. 6) disposed in the dust collecting container (container, 220; Fig. 5) and configured to collect the dust in the dust collecting container while rotating about a longitudinal axis of the dust collecting container along an inner peripheral surface of the dust collecting container (Figs. 5 and 6); and a compression plate (pressure plates, 310 and 320) disposed in the dust collecting container (200) and disposed in a state of being fixed to one side in the dust collecting container (200; Fig. 5), wherein the rotary unit rotates (via rotation shaft, 312), in a direction toward the compression plate (310 and 320) and compresses the dust between the rotary unit and the compression plate (MT – Paragraph 14 - Figures 6 and 7 are plan views showing the process of foreign matter being compressed inside the dust collection unit. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the compression process of foreign matter collected inside the dust collecting container (220) will be described. When cleaning is performed, foreign matter separated from the cyclone section (211) is stored in the foreign matter storage section (221). In this process of storing foreign substances, the pair of pressure plates (310, 320) compress the foreign substances stored in the foreign substance storage unit (221). In detail, when the driving motor (430) rotates in one direction, the rotational power of the driving motor (430) is transmitted to the driven gear (410) through the driving gear (420), and the driven gear (410) rotates. And, the rotation shaft (312) and the first pressure plate (310) are rotated by the rotation of the driven gear (410). At this time, since the driving gear (420) and the driven gear (410) are meshed with each other, when the driving motor (430) rotates in one direction, the driving gear (420) rotates in the same direction as the driving motor (430), and the driven gear (410) rotates in the other direction opposite to the rotation direction of the driving motor (430). That is, it can be seen that the rotational direction of the driven gear (410) and the rotational shaft (312) is opposite to the rotational direction of the driving motor (430). As described above, when the first pressure plate (310) is rotated in the other direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 6), the first pressure plate (310) pushes foreign matter between the first pressure plate (310) and the second pressure plate (320) toward one side of the second pressure plate (320), thereby compressing the foreign matter. The rotation of the first pressure plate (310) continues until the resistance generated in the process of pressing the foreign substance reaches a set value. And, when the resistance reaches a set value or more, the power applied to the driving motor (430) is cut off, and the first pressure plate (310) stops while compressing the foreign body. And, after a certain amount of time has passed, the driving motor (430) is driven again to rotate the first pressure plate (310)).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the station of Gill to further include a rotary unit, as taught by Ho, to provide a station that is capable of reducing the volume of collected dust in the collection unit, thus maximizing the cleaning capabilities.
Regarding Claim 2, Gill teaches the cleaner station (docking station, 200) according to claim 1, as discussed above.
Gill does not teach the discharge port has a predetermined area and is formed on a wall surface disposed in a radial direction of the dust collecting container among wall surfaces of the dust collecting container that define the accommodation space.
Ho, however, teaches the discharge port (211b) has a predetermined area (Fig. 8) and is formed on a wall surface disposed in a radial direction of the dust collecting container among wall surfaces of the dust collecting container that define the accommodation space (Fig. 8).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the station of Gill to further include the discharge port has a predetermined area and is formed on a wall surface disposed in a radial direction of the dust collecting container among wall surfaces of the dust collecting container that define the accommodation space, as taught by Ho, to provide a station that is capable of reducing the volume of collected dust in the collection unit, thus maximizing the cleaning capabilities.
Regarding Claim 3, Gill teaches the cleaner station (docking station, 200) according to claim 1, as discussed above.
Gill does not teach the inlet port has a predetermined area and is formed in a wall surface disposed in a radial direction of the dust collecting container among wall surfaces of the dust collecting container that define the accommodation space.
Ho, however, teaches the inlet port (211a) has a predetermined area (Fig. 8) and is formed in a wall surface disposed in a radial direction of the dust collecting container among wall surfaces of the dust collecting container that define the accommodation space (Fig. 8).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the station of Gill to further include the inlet port has a predetermined area and is formed in a wall surface disposed in a radial direction of the dust collecting container among wall surfaces of the dust collecting container that define the accommodation space, as taught by Ho, to provide a station that is capable of reducing the volume of collected dust in the collection unit, thus maximizing the cleaning capabilities.
Regarding Claim 4, Gill teaches the cleaner station (docking station, 200) according to claim 1, as discussed above.
Gill does not teach the station further comprising: a mesh net disposed in the discharge port to filter out the dust from the air discharged from the dust collecting container.
Ho, however, teaches the station further comprising: a mesh net (exhaust member, 211c forms a mesh net) disposed in the discharge port (211b) to filter out the dust from the air discharged from the dust collecting container (Fig. 8).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the station of Gill to further include a mesh net disposed in the discharge port to filter out the dust from the air discharged from the dust collecting container, as taught by Ho, to provide a station that is capable of reducing the volume of collected dust in the collection unit, thus maximizing the cleaning capabilities.
Regarding Claim 5, Gill, as modified, teaches the cleaner station (docking station, 200) wherein the discharge air moving part (cyclonic separator, 1110) comprises: a dust collecting motor connection part (shaft of suction motor, 1116) configured to communicate with the dust collecting motor (motor, 1116) so that the air discharged from the dust collecting container (204) moves toward the dust collecting motor (1116); and a prefilter (premotor filter, 802) disposed on the dust collecting motor connection part to filter out the dust from the air discharged from the dust collecting container (Paragraphs [0136] and [0137]).
Regarding Claim 6, Gill, as modified, teaches the cleaner station (docking station, 200) wherein the discharge air moving part (cyclonic separator, 1110) comprises a suction flow path connection part disposed so that one end thereof is connected to the suction flow path, and the other end thereof is connected to the inlet port (Paragraph [0136]).
Regarding Claim 7, Gill, as modified, teaches the cleaner station (docking station, 200) wherein the housing (212) comprises a major axis extending in an upward/downward direction (Fig. 2), the dust collecting container (204) is disposed outside and above the housing (212; Fig. 2), and the longitudinal axis of the dust collecting container (204) is disposed in parallel with the major axis (Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 8, Gill, as modified, teaches the cleaner station (docking station, 200) according to claim 1, as discussed above.
Gill does not teach the rotary unit comprises: a rotary shaft provided in the dust collecting container and disposed in the longitudinal direction of the dust collecting container; and a rotary plate coupled to the rotary shaft so as to rotate together with the rotary shaft and disposed in a space between the rotary shaft and an inner radial peripheral surface of the dust collecting container.
Ho, however, teaches the rotary unit (shaft, 312 with compression plates, 310 and 320; Fig. 6) comprises: a rotary shaft (Fig. 8) provided in the dust collecting container (220) and disposed in the longitudinal direction of the dust collecting container (Fig. 8); and a rotary plate (310 and 320) coupled to the rotary shaft (312) so as to rotate together with the rotary shaft (312) and disposed in a space between the rotary shaft and an inner radial peripheral surface of the dust collecting container (220; Fig. 5).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the station of Gill to further include a rotary shaft provided in the dust collecting container and disposed in the longitudinal direction of the dust collecting container; and a rotary plate coupled to the rotary shaft so as to rotate together with the rotary shaft and disposed in a space between the rotary shaft and an inner radial peripheral surface of the dust collecting container, as taught by Ho, to provide a station that is capable of reducing the volume of collected dust in the collection unit, thus maximizing the cleaning capabilities.
Regarding Claim 9, Gill, as modified, teaches the cleaner station (docking station, 200) according to claim 1, as discussed above.
Gill does not teach the rotary shaft rotates in a first direction and then rotates in a second direction opposite to the first direction after the dust between the rotary plate and the compression plate is compressed.
Ho, however, teaches the rotary shaft (312) rotates in a first direction and then rotates in a second direction opposite to the first direction after the dust between the rotary plate and the compression plate (310 and 320) is compressed (Fig. 6; Paragraph [0014] - Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the first pressure plate (310) can rotate forward and backward, and as the first pressure plate (310) rotates forward and backward, compressed foreign matter accumulates on both sides of the second pressure plate (320). In order to enable the forward and reverse rotation of the driving motor (430) in this way, a synchronous motor may be used as the driving motor (430). The synchronous motor is configured to be capable of forward and reverse rotation by the motor itself, and when the force applied to the motor exceeds a set value when the motor rotates in one direction, the rotation of the motor is converted to the other direction).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the station of Gill to further include the rotary shaft rotates in a first direction and then rotates in a second direction opposite to the first direction after the dust between the rotary plate and the compression plate is compressed, as taught by Ho, to provide a station that is capable of reducing the volume of collected dust in the collection unit, thus maximizing the cleaning capabilities.
Regarding Claim 10, Gill, as modified, teaches the cleaner station (docking station, 200) according to claim 1, as discussed above.
Gill does not teach the rotary unit further comprises a scrubber coupled to the rotary plate and provided to be in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the dust collecting container.
Ho, however, teaches the rotary unit further comprises a scrubber (end of pressure plates, 310 and 320) coupled to the rotary plate (310 and 320) and provided to be in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the dust collecting container (220; Fig. 8).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the station of Gill to further include the rotary unit further comprises a scrubber coupled to the rotary plate and provided to be in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the dust collecting container, as taught by Ho, to provide a station that is capable of reducing the volume of collected dust in the collection unit, thus maximizing the cleaning capabilities.
Regarding Claim 11, Gill, as modified, teaches the cleaner station (docking station, 200) according to claim 1, as discussed above.
Gill does not teach a height from a lower end surface in the dust collecting container to a lower end of the scrubber is smaller than a height from the lower end surface to a lower end of the discharge port, and a height from the lower end surface to an upper end of the scrubber is larger than a height from the lower end surface to an upper end of the discharge port.
Ho, however, teaches a height from a lower end surface in the dust collecting container (220) to a lower end of the scrubber (end of plates, 310 and 320) is smaller than a height from the lower end surface to a lower end of the discharge port (211b; Figs. 3), and a height from the lower end surface to an upper end of the scrubber is larger than a height from the lower end surface to an upper end of the discharge port (211b; Figs. 3).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the station of Gill to further include a height from a lower end surface in the dust collecting container to a lower end of the scrubber is smaller than a height from the lower end surface to a lower end of the discharge port, and a height from the lower end surface to an upper end of the scrubber is larger than a height from the lower end surface to an upper end of the discharge port, as taught by Ho, to provide a station that is capable of reducing the volume of collected dust in the collection unit, thus maximizing the cleaning capabilities.
Regarding Claim 12, Gill, as modified, teaches the cleaner station (docking station, 200) according to claim 8, as discussed above.
Gill does not teach the cleaner station further comprising: a dust compression motor connected to the rotary shaft and configured to operate to provide rotational power to the rotary shaft.
Ho, however, teaches a dust compression motor (driving motor, 430) connected to the rotary shaft (312) and configured to operate to provide rotational power to the rotary shaft (Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the station of Gill to further include a dust compression motor connected to the rotary shaft and configured to operate to provide rotational power to the rotary shaft, as taught by Ho, to provide a station that is capable of reducing the volume of collected dust in the collection unit, thus maximizing the cleaning capabilities.
Regarding Claim 13, Gill, as modified, teaches the cleaner station (docking station, 200) according to claim 8, as discussed above.
Gill does not teach the dust compression motor is disposed outside the dust collecting container and configured to be separable from the dust collecting container.
Ho, however, teaches the dust compression motor (430) is disposed outside the dust collecting container (220; Fig. 4) and configured to be separable from the dust collecting container (Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the station of Gill to further include the dust compression motor is disposed outside the dust collecting container and configured to be separable from the dust collecting container, as taught by Ho, to provide a station that is capable of reducing the volume of collected dust in the collection unit, thus maximizing the cleaning capabilities.
Claims 14 – 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gill et al. (U.S. 2020/0022543 A1) in view of Ho (KR20070112325 A) as cited by Applicant – see machine translation.
Regarding Independent Claim 14, Ho teaches a cleaner station (Fig. 1), which sucks and collects dust in a dust bin of a cleaner (220), the cleaner station comprising: a cylindrical dust collecting container (220) including an inlet port (211a) into which air is introduced (Fig. 2), and a discharge port (211b) through which the air is discharged (Fig. 2), the cylindrical dust collecting container (220) being configured to provide an accommodation space for captured dust (Fig. 6); a dust collecting motor (430) disposed below the dust collecting container (220; Fig. 5) and configured to provide a suction force in the dust bin (220) so that the dust is introduced into the dust collecting container through the inlet port (211a; Paragraph [0014] - when power is supplied to the vacuum cleaner, suction force is generated by the suction force generating means, and air containing foreign substances is sucked into the suction nozzle by this air suction force. And, the air sucked in through the suction nozzle is introduced into the suction port (211a) of the main cyclone section through the main body suction section (110)); a scrubber (edges of pressure plates, 310 and 320) disposed in the dust collecting container (220) and configured to rotate about a longitudinal axis (axis of shaft, 312; Fig. 3) of the dust collecting container (220), the scrubber edges of pressure plates, 310 and 320) being configured to rotate in a state in which the scrubber is in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the dust collecting container (220; Fig. 5); and a mesh net (211c; Fig. 3) disposed in the discharge port (211b) to filter out the dust from the air discharged from the dust collecting container (220; Fig. 3).
Ho does not explicitly teach the mesh net is disposed in a partial region of a wall surface that is in contact with the rotating scrubber among wall surfaces of the dust collecting container that define the accommodation space.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the station of Ho to further include the mesh net is disposed in a partial region of a wall surface that is in contact with the rotating scrubber among wall surfaces of the dust collecting container that define the accommodation space, as claimed, since it has been held that
rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art (MPEP 2144.04).
Regarding Claim 15, Ho teaches the cleaner station (Fig. 1), wherein the discharge port (211b) has a predetermined area (Fig. 8) and is formed on a wall surface (top wall) disposed in a radial direction of the dust collecting container (220) among wall surfaces of the dust collecting container that define the accommodation space (Fig. 8).
Regarding Claim 16, Ho teaches the cleaner station (Fig. 1), further comprising: a rotary shaft (312) provided in the dust collecting container (220) and disposed in a longitudinal direction of the dust collecting container (220; Fig. 3); and a rotary plate (310) having one end coupled to the rotary shaft (312) and the other end coupled to the scrubber (edges of plate 310 which act to scrub container radial sides; Fig. 6), the rotary plate (310) being configured to rotate together with the rotary shaft (312; Fig. 6).
Regarding Claim 17, Ho teaches the cleaner station (Fig. 1),comprising: a compression plate (320) disposed in the dust collecting container (220) and disposed in a state of being fixed to one side in the dust collecting container (220), wherein the rotary plate (310) rotates in a direction toward the compression plate (320) and compresses dust between the rotary plate (310) and the compression plate (320; (MT – Paragraph 14 - Figures 6 and 7 are plan views showing the process of foreign matter being compressed inside the dust collection unit. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the compression process of foreign matter collected inside the dust collecting container (220) will be described. When cleaning is performed, foreign matter separated from the cyclone section (211) is stored in the foreign matter storage section (221). In this process of storing foreign substances, the pair of pressure plates (310, 320) compress the foreign substances stored in the foreign substance storage unit (221). In detail, when the driving motor (430) rotates in one direction, the rotational power of the driving motor (430) is transmitted to the driven gear (410) through the driving gear (420), and the driven gear (410) rotates. And, the rotation shaft (312) and the first pressure plate (310) are rotated by the rotation of the driven gear (410). At this time, since the driving gear (420) and the driven gear (410) are meshed with each other, when the driving motor (430) rotates in one direction, the driving gear (420) rotates in the same direction as the driving motor (430), and the driven gear (410) rotates in the other direction opposite to the rotation direction of the driving motor (430). That is, it can be seen that the rotational direction of the driven gear (410) and the rotational shaft (312) is opposite to the rotational direction of the driving motor (430). As described above, when the first pressure plate (310) is rotated in the other direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 6), the first pressure plate (310) pushes foreign matter between the first pressure plate (310) and the second pressure plate (320) toward one side of the second pressure plate (320), thereby compressing the foreign matter. The rotation of the first pressure plate (310) continues until the resistance generated in the process of pressing the foreign substance reaches a set value. And, when the resistance reaches a set value or more, the power applied to the driving motor (430) is cut off, and the first pressure plate (310) stops while compressing the foreign body. And, after a certain amount of time has passed, the driving motor (430) is driven again to rotate the first pressure plate (310)).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KATINA N HENSON whose telephone number is (571)272-8024. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday; 5:30am to 3:30pm.
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/KATINA N. HENSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723