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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: “am 0 ring 140” (page 8 line 9) and “the air allows to flow” (page 9 line 22). Appropriate grammar 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 1-11 are 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the plurality pairs" in 3rd paragraph, line 4 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For continued examination, the examiner interprets the limitation as referring to a plurality of air discharge holes and said plurality of air discharge holes comprising a left air discharge hole and a right air discharge hole.
The term “<” in claim 1 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “<” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. The term “<” renders the form of arrangement of the plurality of first nozzle plates in the longitudinal direction indefinite. For continued examination, the examiner will interpret the term “<” to mean that the plurality of first nozzle plates is inwardly inclined at an angle in the longitudinal direction at the distal end opposite the end that attaches to the hair care appliance.
Claim(s) 2 – 10 are dependent on claim 1 rejected under 35 U.S.C 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ) thus, claim(s) 2 – 10 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ).
Claim 11 is dependent on claim 10 rejected under 35 U.S.C 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ) thus, claim 11 is also rejected under 35 U.S.C 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ).
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3 and 5 – 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tibbetts et al. (US 2023/0380565 A1) in view of Mason et al. (US 2017/0273423 A1) and further in view of Cai et al. (CN 219578434 U).
Regarding claim 1, Tibbetts et al. discloses an attachment (100, Fig. 1) for a hair care appliance (10 Fig. 1), comprising: a main body (150 Fig. 4) mounted on the hair care appliance (10 Fig. 1) and including a plurality of pairs of left air discharge holes (113b Fig. 7a) and right air discharge holes (113a Fig 7b) formed in a circumferential surface of the main body (150 Fig. 5) in a longitudinal direction of the main body (Fig. 4); a plurality of first nozzle plates (160 Fig. 4) mounted at intervals on an outer circumference of the main body (element 160 is mounted at intervals on an outer circumference of the main body as better shown in Fig. 5); a second nozzle plate (see annotated Fig. 4 attached below) mounted between the plurality of first nozzle plates (see annotated Fig. 4 attached below) provided outside the main body to form an air discharge passage (elements 152 and 153, Fig. 7a/b) therebetween and configured to flow air in a left direction or a right direction via the left air discharge holes or the right air discharge holes of the plurality of pairs (see Fig. 7a and b; paragraph 70; Airflow is discharged in a clockwise direction through the first outlets 113a (right air discharge holes) and in a counterclockwise direction through the second outlets 113b (left air discharge holes)); a direction adjusting part (140 Fig. 4) provided inside the main body (150 Fig. 6) and including air passage holes (141 Fig.4) formed in a circumferential surface of the direction adjusting part (140) (see Fig. 4) to pass the air therethrough (paragraph 54; airflow moves radially outward through the slots 141 (air passage holes) in the inner sleeve 140 (the direction adjusting part)), the direction adjusting part (140) being configured to switch an opening and closing of the left air discharge holes (113b) or the right air discharge holes (113a) using the air passage holes (141) with a rotation of the direction adjusting part (140) and adjust a discharge direction of the air such that the air flows in the left direction or the right direction (see Figs. 7a/b; paragraph 70: The inner sleeve 140 (the direction adjusting part) is moveable from a first position in which element 140 occludes the path of the airflow to the second outlets 113b (left air discharge holes) to a second position in which element 140 occludes the path of the airflow to the first outlets 113a (right air discharge holes). The occlusion of airflow to 113a or 113b by element 140 is through the alignment of the air passage holes (140) as depicted in highlighted portions of Figs. 7a/b); and a direction switching part (120 Figs. 4, 5, and 6) connected to the direction adjusting part at a lateral surface of the main body (see Fig. 6) and configured to rotate the direction adjusting part so as to switch the opening and closing of the left air discharge holes or the right air discharge holes (paragraph 55: element 120 may be used to move the direction adjusting part (140) between the first and second positions. The use of element 120 to move element 140 into two distinct positions, enable a user to change the direction in which the airflow is discharged from the device. Paragraph 70 further explains that the movement of element 140 to the first position occludes the path of airflow to 113b (left air discharge holes) and movement of 140 to the second position occludes the path of airflow to 113a (right air discharge holes)).
PNG
media_image1.png
879
887
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Tibbetts et al. is silent on the claim limitation wherein each of the plurality of first nozzle plates has first fitting protrusions formed on an inner surface of each of the plurality of first nozzle plates to be fitted into a plurality of fitting grooves of the main body.
Mason et al. teaches an attachment for a hair care product wherein a plurality of first nozzle plates has first fitting protrusions (the plurality of plates (40) have protrusions 46, Fig. 2a) formed on an inner surface (42 Fig. 2a) of each of the plurality of first nozzle plates (40) to be fitted into a plurality of fitting grooves (74 Fig. 2a) of the main body (60 Fig. 2a) (Paragraph 108; both ends of the outer face 72 of each strut (a component of the main body (60, see Fig. 2a) includes a recess 74 (a plurality of fitting grooves) which is suitable to receive a protrusion 46 (fitting protrusions) positioned at both ends of the inner face 42 (inner surface) of each plate 40 (first nozzle plates)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the attachment device of Tibbetts et al. to comprise a plurality of first nozzle plates as disclosed by Tibbetts be configured with fitting protrusions on the inner surface to be fitted into a plurality of fitting grooves of the main body as taught by Mason et al. One of ordinary would be motivated to make this modification in order to make a plurality of nozzle plates that can be easily attached to the main body by fitting the protrusions on the inner surface of the plate into the corresponding fitting grooves on the main body as suggested by Mason et al.
Tibbetts et al. further discloses that the lower portions of both sides of each of the plurality of first nozzle plates (160, Figs. 7a/b) are formed linearly with respect to sidewall surfaces of the left air discharge holes (113b) and the right air discharge holes (113a) (see attached Fig. 7a; the outlined lower portions of both sides of element 160 are formed linearly with respect with the sidewall surfaces of the air discharge holes).
PNG
media_image2.png
584
943
media_image2.png
Greyscale
However, Tibbetts et al. does not disclose that both sides of each of the plurality of first nozzle plates are formed in a form of “<” in a longitudinal direction (the examiner interprets the term “<” to mean that the plurality of first nozzle plates are inwardly inclined at an angle in the longitudinal direction at the distal end opposite the end that attaches to the hair care appliance).
In the same field of endeavor, Cai et al. teaches a hair care accessory wherein both sides of each of the plurality of first nozzle plates (11a Fig. 2) are formed in a form of "<" in a longitudinal direction (both sides of element 11a at the first distal end of element 1000 is inclined inwardly at an angle in the longitudinal direction (see attached Fig. 2); paragraph 41: the outer side surface of the first plate portion 11a and the outer side surface of the second plate portion 11b are gradually inclined and extended towards the inner side of the first wall plate 10 in the direction close to each other, so that the airflow from the first air outlet 101 is
PNG
media_image3.png
669
802
media_image3.png
Greyscale
tangentially blown through the outer side surface of the second plate portion 11b).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the device disclosed by Tibbetts et al. to be configured with the sides of the plurality of first nozzle plates formed in a form of “<” (as interpreted by the examiner) in a longitudinal direction. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make this modification in order to allow for the outer side surface of the first plate portion 11a and the outer side surface of the second plate portion 11b to be gradually inclined and extended towards the inner side of the first wall plate 10 in the direction close to each other, so that the airflow from the first air outlet 101 is tangentially blown through the outer side surface of the second plate portion 11b, as suggested by Cai et al.
Regarding claim 3, Tibbetts et al. in view of Mason et al. and Cai et al. discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth for claim 1. Tibbetts et al. further discloses an attachment for hair care appliance wherein the plurality of pairs of left air discharge holes (113b Figs. 7a and b) and the right air discharge holes (113a Figs. 7a and b) are formed obliquely in a cross-sectional view such that the discharge direction of the air is switched to the left direction or the right direction to discharge the air while changing a flow direction of the air (see Figs. 7a and b) (Paragraph 70: the airflow is discharged in a clockwise direction through the first outlets 113a and in a counterclockwise direction through the second outlets 113b. The inner sleeve 140 (i.e. the member) is moveable from a first position in which the sleeve 140 occludes the path of the airflow to the second outlets 113b to a second position in which the sleeve 140 occludes the path of the airflow to the first outlets 113a).
Regarding claim 5, Tibbetts et al. in view of Mason et al. and Cai et al. discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth for claim 1. Tibbetts et al. is silent regarding claim 5 wherein the second nozzle plate has second fitting protrusions formed on an inner surface of the second nozzle plate to be fitted into the plurality of fitting grooves of the main body.
Mason et al. further teaches an attachment for hair care appliance wherein the second nozzle plate has second fitting protrusions formed on an inner surface of the second nozzle plate to be fitted into the plurality of fitting grooves of the main body (see Fig. 2a; elongate plates (40) have fitting protrusions (46) formed on an inner surface (42) of the elongated plates to be fitting into the plurality of fitting grooves (74) of the main body (60)).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the attachment disclosed by Tibbetts et al. to be configured such that the second plates have fitting protrusion on an inner surfaces, which are fitted into the plurality of fitting grooves of the main body as taught by Mason et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to create an attachment for a haircare device with second nozzle plates that can be easily attached to the main body via a plurality of fitting grooves of the main body as suggested by Mason et al.
PNG
media_image4.png
548
871
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Tibbetts et al. further discloses an attachment for hair care appliance wherein lower portions of both sides (see annotated Fig. 7a below) of the second nozzle plate are formed obliquely in the longitudinal direction (see annotated Fig 7a below) such that the air is discharged in the left direction or the right direction while changing a flow direction of the air (see Figs. 7a and b; paragraph 70).
Regarding claim 6, Tibbetts et al. in view of Mason et al. and Cai et al. discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth for claim 1. Tibbetts further discloses an attachment for a hair care appliance wherein an outer surface of the second nozzle plate (see annotated Fig. 7a attached below) is formed below an outer surface of each of the plurality of first nozzle plates (160 Fig. 7a) (see annotated cropped version of Fig. 7a below).
PNG
media_image5.png
578
610
media_image5.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 7, Tibbetts et al. in view of Mason et al. and Cai et al. discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth for claim 1. Tibbetts et al. further discloses an attachment for a hair care device wherein a first side (111 Fig. 6) of the direction adjusting part (140 Figs. 4 and 6), to which the hair care appliance is connected (see annotated Fig. 1 below), is open to allow the air to flow into the first side (paragraph 49: element 111 is an open end that serves as an inlet into 140), and a second side of the direction adjusting part has a first passage groove formed such that a fixing member (170 Figs. 4 and 6)) is fitted into the first passage groove at a center of the second side (see annotated cropped-version of Fig. 4 below; paragraph 55).
PNG
media_image6.png
772
364
media_image6.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image7.png
394
548
media_image7.png
Greyscale
Tibbetts et al. is silent regarding claim 7 wherein the direction adjusting part has a plurality of locking protrusions formed on an outer lateral surface of the direction adjusting part to adjust a rotational angle of the direction adjusting part in a left-right direction while being guided along guide grooves of the main body, the plurality of locking protrusions being fitted into the guide grooves of the main body and mounted to the direction switching part.
Cai et al. further teaches an attachment for a hair care appliance wherein the direction adjusting part (20 Figs. 2, 3, and 4) has a plurality of locking protrusions (23 Figs. 2 and 3; when element 23 is at one end of the sliding groove (102), the direction adjusting part (20, second wall plate) is at a first position and when element 23 is at the other end of the sliding groove, the direction adjusting part is at a second position. Thus, guiding the rotation angle of element 20 to the first or second positions ) formed on an outer lateral surface of the direction adjusting part (see Figs. 2 and 3) to adjust a rotational angle of the direction adjusting part in a left-right direction (two different positions) while being guided along guide grooves (102 Fig 4) of the main body, the plurality of locking protrusions being fitted into the guide grooves of the main body and mounted to the direction switching part (elements 12 and 30 Fig. 1) (paragraph 49: the sliding block 23 is slidably embedded in the sliding groove 102, the sliding block 23 is located at one end of the sliding groove 102 when the second wall plate 20 (direction adjusting part) is at the first position, and the sliding block 23 is located at the other end of the sliding groove 102 when the second wall plate 20 is at the second position).
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 direction adjustment part disclosed by Tibbetts et al. to be configured with locking protrusions formed on an outer lateral surface, to adjust the rotational angle of the direction adjusting part while being fitted into the guide grooves of the main body and mounted to the direction switching part as taught by Cai et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this motivation in order to create an attachment for a haircare device with a direction adjusting part that has protrusions fitted into guide grooves of the main body in order to limit the rotation of the direction adjusting part to specific positions as suggested by Cai et al.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tibbetts et al. (US 2023/0380565 A1) in view of Mason et al. (US 2017/0273423 A1) and Cai et al. (CN 219578434 U) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hu et al. (CN 117356818 A).
Tibbetts et al. in view of Mason et al. and Cai et al. discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth for claim 1.
Tibbetts et al. is silent regarding claim 2 wherein the main body includes: the plurality of fitting grooves formed in an outer surface of the main body and into which the plurality of first nozzle plates and the second nozzle plate are fitted.
Mason et al. further teaches an attachment for a hair care appliance wherein the main body (60 Fig. 2a) includes the plurality of fitting grooves (74 Fig. 2a) formed in an outer surface of the main body (see Fig. 2a) and into which the plurality of first nozzle plates and second nozzle plates are fitted (paragraph 108: plurality of plates (40) have protrusions (46) which fits into the recess (74) which is formed on in the struts (62) of the outer surface of the main body (60)).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the attachment disclosed by Tibbetts et al. to be configured such that the main body includes a plurality of fitting grooves formed in an outer surface of the main body and into which the plurality of first nozzle plates and second nozzle plate are fitted as taught by Mason et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to create an attachment for a haircare device with nozzle plates that can be easily attached to the main body via a plurality of fitting grooves on an outer surface of the main body as suggested by Mason et al.
Tibbetts et al. further discloses a second passage groove (see attached Fig. 6) formed in a center of a lateral surface of the main body (150 Fig. 6) such that a fixing member (170 Fig. 4, see annotated Fig. 6 attached below) is fitted into the second passage groove and fastened to the direction switching part (120 Fig. 6) (paragraph 55: the dial 120 is dial 120 is provided at the top of the barrel 110 and is attached to the inner sleeve 140 (in this example, by means of a screw 170).
PNG
media_image8.png
724
557
media_image8.png
Greyscale
Tibbetts el al./Mason et al./Cai et al. are silent regarding guide grooves formed above and below the second passage groove to guide the rotation of the direction adjusting part.
Hu et al. teaches an analogous device comprising guide grooves (elements 2521 and 2522, Fig. 8) above and below the second passage groove (251 Fig. 8) (see Fig. 8) to guide the rotation of the direction adjusting part (3, paragraph 46) (paragraph 46: …the convex structure 73 is matched with the first gear groove 2521 or the second gear groove 2522, so as to ensure the flow guide piece 3 to rotate to the first position or the second position, so as to facilitate the state switching of the hair curling device in the first state and the second state, the rotating mode…).
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 attachment device disclosed by Tibbetts et al./Mason et al./Cai et al. to have guide grooves formed above and below a second passage groove on the lateral side of the main body to guide the rotation of the direction adjusting part as taught by Hu et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to guide the rotation of the direction adjusting part as suggested by Hu et al.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tibbetts et al. (US 2023/0380565 A1) in view of Mason et al. (US 2017/0273423 A1) and Cai et al. (CN 219578434 U) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Li (CN 220275114 U).
Tibbetts et al. in view of Mason et al. and Cai et al. discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth for claim 1. Tibbetts et al./Mason et al./Cai et al. are silent regarding claim 8 wherein the direction adjusting part includes air guide pieces formed on an inner wall surface thereof in the longitudinal direction to guide the air introduced into an interior of the direction adjusting part toward the air passage holes.
Li teaches an analogous device wherein the direction adjusting part (10 Fig. 1) includes air guide pieces (12 Fig. 9) formed on an inner wall surface (see Fig 9) thereof in the longitudinal direction to guide the air introduced into an interior of the direction adjusting part toward the air passage holes (11 Fig. 9) (paragraph 41: an air guide rib 12 is formed along the axial direction of the inner side wall of the inner cylinder 10, the air guide rib 12 is adjacent to the air outlet grid 11, and the air guide rib 12 is used for guiding the air flow to the air outlet grid 11. Specifically, the length of the air guide rib 12 is equal to the length of the air outlet grid 11, the guide rib is strip-shaped, and is located on the inner side wall of the inner cylinder 10, each air outlet grid 11 is configured with an air guide rib 12, the air flow is poured into the inner cylinder 10 from bottom to top, The air guide rib 12 guides the air flow to the air outlet grid 11 to ensure the air outlet effect).
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 direction adjusting part disclosed by Tibbetts et al. to be configured with air guide pieces formed on an inner wall surface in the longitudinal direction to guide the air introduced into an interior of the direction adjusting part as taught by Li. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to create a direction adjusting part with air guide ribs that would be used for guiding the air flow to the air outlet grid as suggested by Li.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tibbetts et al. (US 2023/0380565 A1) in view of Mason et al. (US 2017/0273423 A1) and Cai et al. (CN 219578434 U) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yao et al. (CN 117502796 A).
Tibbetts et al. in view of Mason et al. and Cai et al. discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth for claim 1.
Regarding claim 9, Tibbetts et al. further discloses an attachment for hair care appliance wherein the direction switching part (120 Fig. 6) includes: a fastening groove formed at a center of a first side of the direction switching part and to which a fixing member (170 Fig. 4) is fastened (paragraph 55 explains that the dial 120 (direction switching part) is at attached to elements 110 and 140 using a fixing part 170, which in the illustrated embodiment is a screw. Fig. 6 shows the vertical section of the attachment and a fastening groove within element 120 is visible and in-alignment to 114).
PNG
media_image9.png
405
294
media_image9.png
Greyscale
Tibbetts et al. further teaches a handle formed at a second side (see annotated Figs. 8) of the direction switching part (120 Figs. 5, 6 and 8) to rotate the direction adjusting part (140 Fig. 6) configured to open and close the left air discharge holes or the right air discharge holes (paragraphs 55 and 70).
Tibbetts et al./Mason et al./Cai et al. are silent regarding claim 9 wherein the direction switching part includes locking grooves formed above and below the fastening groove and into which locking protrusions of the direction adjusting part are fitted.
In the same field of endeavor, Yao et al. teaches an attachment for a hair care appliance wherein the direction switching part (501 Figs. 2 and 3) includes locking grooves (5015 Fig. 3) formed above and below the fastening groove (5016 Fig. 3) and into which locking protrusions (elements 502/503 Fig. 7) of the direction adjusting part (504 Fig. 7) are fitted.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the device of Tibbetts et al./Mason et al./Cai et al. to be configured with a direction switching part with locking grooves above and below the fastening grooves into which locking protrusion of the direction adjusting part are fitted as taught by Yao et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to create a direction switching part with locking groove wherein the protrusions of the direction adjusting part is correspondingly installed, allowing for the effective driving of the inner sleeve (connected to element 506) to the left or right side as suggested by Yao et al.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 10 and 11 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHIEMERIE C AZUBUOGU whose telephone number is (571)272-0664. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8:00 AM - 6:00PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eric Rosen can be reached at (571)270-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/C.A./Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3772
/ERIC J ROSEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3772