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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
Applicant should note that the extremely large number of references in the attached IDS have been considered by the examiner in the same manner as other documents in Office search files are considered by the examiner while conducting a search of the prior art in a proper field of search. See MPEP 609.05(b). Applicant is requested to point out any particular references in the IDS which they believe may be of particular relevance to the instant claimed invention in response to this office action.
Election/Restrictions
In Applicant’s response to election of species requirement filed April 24, 2026, Applicant elected Species B, directed to Figs. 28-51, external bag holding system. From Species B, Applicant also elected Subspecies B1: Figs. 28-34, pneumatic bag drawing system. Applicant then identified the entire claim set as claims that read on the elected species and subspecies. However, claims 18-20 are drawn towards non-elected Species A: Figs. 20-27, internal bag holding system. Specifically, these claims are directed towards a mechanical member and a releasable adhesive which are both not present in the elected species. Therefore these claims do not read on the elected species and subspecies and are hereby withdrawn.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 5 objected to because of the following informalities: claim 1 describes “a first dirt outlet” and then later describes “the dirt outlet” because of the later use of a second dirt outlet in subsequent claims this makes it unclear which dirt outlet is “the dirt outlet” (in the interest of compact prosecution it has been interpreted to be “the first dirt outlet”); claim 5 claims dependency to itself as currently filed (in the interest of compact prosecution it has been interpreted to have dependency to claim 4). Appropriate 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)(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 1-3, 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Atsushi (KR 20080035459).
Regarding claim 1, Atsushi discloses a surface cleaning apparatus (element 1, pg 1 [4] Fig 4 shown below) comprising:
an air flow path extending from a dirty air inlet to a clean air outlet with a motor and fan assembly in the air flow path (air flow path W1 begins at dirty air inlet at element 17 and extends to a clean air outlet, defined as the exhaust hole which is not shown, with a motor and fan assembly in the flow path, defined as motor driven blower 5, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that fan assemblies are well known in motor driven blower assemblies, pg 2 Figs 4-5 shown below);
a first air treatment chamber having a first end having a first air treatment chamber air inlet and a first dirt outlet and an axially opposed second end having a first air treatment chamber air outlet (first air treatment chamber defined as chamber 21 which has a first end defined as the end containing an inlet 11 and a first dirt outlet defined as 26 and the geometry immediately surrounding it where valve 41 occupies when in the closed position, and an axially opposed second end defined as the end having an outlet which is defined as the end of filter 33 that air passes through, pg 2 Fig 5);
a dirt collection chamber that is moveably mounted from an in use position in which the dirt collection chamber is located at the first end of the first air treatment chamber to an emptying position (dirt collection chamber defined as 22 which is moveably mounted as the carton 37 that lines the chamber can be removed, pg 2 Fig 5); and,
a plate moveably mounted between a closed position in which the plate is positioned at an interface of the dirt collection chamber and the first air treatment chamber and an open position in which the plate is moved away from the interface, the plate is moveably connected to the first air treatment chamber, wherein, when the plate is in the closed position, the dirt outlet comprises a space between the plate and a wall of the first air treatment chamber (plate defined as valve 41 which is moveably mounted between a closed position as shown in Fig 5 and an open position as shown in Fig 6 below, thus the plate is also moveably connected to chamber 21 and when 41 is in the closed position the dirt outlet as defined above is a space between the plate and a wall of the chamber 21 pg 2-3),
wherein a bag is positionable in the dirt collection chamber and is removable from the dirt collection chamber when the dirt collection chamber is in the emptying position (bag defined as carton 37 which is removable from chamber 22 pg 2).
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Regarding claim 2, Atsushi discloses the limitations of claim 1, as described above, and further discloses the first air treatment chamber comprises a cyclone chamber (chamber 21 defines a cyclone chamber as the dust is separated by centrifugal separation i.e. a cyclone dust collector, pg 2).
Regarding claim 3, Atsushi discloses the limitations of claim 1, as described above, and further discloses when the plate is in the closed position, the plate is positioned further from the second end of the first air treatment chamber than the first air treatment chamber air inlet (as seen in Fig 5 above, when in the closed position, 41 is further from the second end of chamber 21 than the inlet 11).
Regarding claim 16, Atsushi discloses the limitations of claim 1, as described above, and further discloses the surface cleaning apparatus comprises a first air treatment stage and a second air treatment stage downstream from the first air treatment stage, the first air treatment stage comprising the first stage air treatment chamber and the dirt collection chamber and the second air treatment stage overlies the first air treatment stage (first air treatment stage defined as the area of the device containing chambers 21 and 22 and the second stage defined as dust collecting furnace 45 which overlies the first stage, Figs 5-6).
Regarding claim 17, Atsushi discloses the limitations of claim 16, as described above, and further discloses each of the first and second air treatment stages has a central longitudinal axis and the central longitudinal axes are generally coaxial (each stage has a central axis and they are generally coaxial as shown by arrow W1 in Fig 5 above (interpreted under BRI)).
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 4-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Atsushi (KR 20080035459) in view of Vines (US 2016/0174803).
Regarding claim 4, Atsushi discloses the limitations of claim 1, as described above. However, Atsushi fails to disclose a second air treatment chamber downstream from the first air treatment chamber, the second air treatment chamber having a second dirt outlet wherein dirt separated by the second air treatment chamber is collectable in the dirt collection chamber.
Vines is also concerned with surface cleaning apparatus and teaches a second air treatment chamber downstream from the first air treatment chamber, the second air treatment chamber having a second dirt outlet wherein dirt separated by the second air treatment chamber is collectable in the dirt collection chamber (second air treatment chamber defined as 1604 which has a second dirt outlet at the bottom of the chamber that leads into a dirt collection chamber 1612 [0070] Figs 15-16 (note that 1606 and 1608 are mislabeled in Fig 16 and should be swapped)).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have added the second air treatment chamber of Vines to the surface cleaning apparatus of Atsushi in order to provide the apparatus with a way of separating particles that bypass the first air treatment chamber filter (Vines: [0069]).
Regarding claim 5, Atsushi, as modified above, discloses the limitations of claim 4, as described above. However, Atsushi, as modified, fails to disclose the dirt collection chamber has a first portion that collects dirt separated by the first air treatment chamber and a separate second portion that collects dirt separated by the second air treatment chamber.
Vines teaches the dirt collection chamber has a first portion that collects dirt separated by the first air treatment chamber and a separate second portion that collects dirt separated by the second air treatment chamber ([0070] explains that dirt collection chamber 1612 can define multiple collection chambers designated for each individual cyclone chamber).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have added the separate dirt collection portions of Vines to the surface cleaning apparatus of Atsushi in order to maintain the desired air flows paths through the air treatment chambers.
Regarding claim 6, Atsushi discloses the limitations of claim 1, as described above. However, Atsushi fails to disclose a second air treatment chamber downstream from the first air treatment chamber, the second air treatment chamber having at least two second air treatment chamber dirt outlets, each second air treatment chamber dirt outlet is upstream from a dirt conduit that extends axially along the first air treatment chamber.
Vines teaches a second air treatment chamber downstream from the first air treatment chamber, the second air treatment chamber having at least two second air treatment chamber dirt outlets, each second air treatment chamber dirt outlet is upstream from a dirt conduit that extends axially along the first air treatment chamber (second air treatment chamber defined as 1604 and 1608, which are fluidly connected, and have two dirt outlets defined as the geometry immediately before the walls of the chamber begin to taper towards each other; each outlet upstream from a dirt conduit defined as the tapering region of the chamber which extends axially along the first chambers 1602 and 1606 [0070] Figs 15-16).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have added the second air treatment chamber of Vines to the surface cleaning apparatus of Atsushi in order to provide the apparatus with a way of separating particles that bypass the first air treatment chamber filter (Vines: [0069]).
Regarding claim 7, Atsushi, as modified, discloses the limitations of claim 6, as described above, and further discloses the dirt conduits are exterior to the first air treatment chamber (as seen above the conduits are exterior to the first chamber).
Regarding claim 8, Atsushi, as modified, discloses the limitations of claim 7, as described above, and further discloses the dirt conduits are angularly spaced apart (as seen in Fig 16 above, the dirt conduits are angularly spaced apart relative to a central axis of the main body located behind them).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Atsushi (KR 20080035459) in view of Vines (US 2016/0174803) as applied to claim 8 above, further in view of Conrad (WO 2008/070975).
Regarding claim 9, Atsushi, as modified, discloses the limitations of claim 8, as described above. However, Atsushi fails to disclose the surface cleaning apparatus is an upright surface cleaning apparatus comprising a surface cleaning head and an upright section moveably mounted to the surface cleaning head between a storage position and a rearwardly inclined in use position and an air treatment assembly comprising the first and second air treatment chambers and the dirt collection chamber are removably mounted to the upright section and, when the air treatment assembly is mounted to the upright section, at least a portion of the upright section is positioned between the angularly spaced apart dirt conduits.
Conrad teaches a vacuum wherein the surface cleaning apparatus is an upright surface cleaning apparatus comprising a surface cleaning head and an upright section moveably mounted to the surface cleaning head between a storage position and a rearwardly inclined in use position and an air treatment assembly comprising the first and second air treatment chambers and the dirt collection chamber are removably mounted to the upright section and, when the air treatment assembly is mounted to the upright section, at least a portion of the upright section is positioned between the angularly spaced apart dirt conduits.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to simply configure the canister vacuum of Atsushi as the upright vacuum of Conrad. Different styles of vacuums are known to be beneficial in different scenarios, in the art. Leading to the predictable result of a functioning upright vacuum. Similarly in Figure 6 of Conrad, its taught how the canister and upright vacuums are obvious variants.
When looking at the modification, “the air treatment assembly is mounted to the upright section, at least a portion of the upright section is positioned between the angularly spaced apart dirt conduits.” It would be true since the upright portion would split the centerline of the dirt conduits.
Claims 10-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Atsushi (KR 20080035459) in view of Sjöberg (US 9980620).
Regarding claim 10, Atsushi discloses the limitations of claim 1, as described above. However, Atsushi fails to disclose the plate is porous.
Sjöberg is also concerned with surface cleaning apparatus and teaches the plate is porous (plate defined as coarse filter unit 140 and the rim of 120 containing 140, col 5 lines 24-61).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the plate of Atsushi to be porous like the plate of Sjöberg in order to control a particle size of debris able to enter the dirt collection chamber (Sjöberg: col 5 lines 42-61).
Regarding claim 11, Atsushi, as modified, discloses the limitations of claim 10, as described above, and further discloses the plate comprises a screen (filter 140 defines a screen, see Fig 2 above).
Regarding claim 12, Atsushi discloses the limitations of claim 1, as described above. However, Atsushi fails to disclose a screen overlying the dirt collection chamber and the screen is positioned further from the second end of the first air treatment chamber than the plate.
Sjöberg is also concerned with surface cleaning apparatus and teaches a screen overlying the dirt collection chamber and the screen is positioned further from the second end of the first air treatment chamber than the plate (plate defined as the rim of dust bin 120 that surrounds the screen defined as filter 140, the screen would be further from the second end of the first air treatment chamber than some geometry of the plate 120 as the plate circumferentially encompasses the screen, col 5 lines 24-61).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the plate of Atsushi to contain a screen like the plate of Sjöberg in order to control a particle size of debris able to enter the dirt collection chamber (Sjöberg: col 5 lines 42-61).
Regarding claim 13, Atsushi, as modified, discloses the limitations of claim 12, as described above, and further discloses the screen overlies all of the dirt collection chamber (screen 140 overlies all of the dirt collection chamber, Fig 2 above).
Regarding claim 14, Atsushi, as modified, discloses the limitations of claim 12, as described above, and further discloses the screen is also moveably mounted between a closed position in which the screen is positioned at the interface of the dirt collection chamber and the first air treatment chamber and an open position in which the screen is moved away from the interface (the screen 140 is moveable between an open and closed position as it is affixed to the plate which is moveable between an open and closed position).
Regarding claim 15, Atsushi, as modified, discloses the limitations of claim 14, as described above, and further discloses the screen is moveable with the plate (the screen is affixed to the plate and moves with the plate).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Hong (KR 102372980) discloses relevant structure.
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/JOHN MICHAEL LARSON/Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/BRIAN D KELLER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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