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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in People’s Republic of China on February 20, 2024. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the 202410192296.5 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claim 7 is 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 7 recites the limitation "both ends" in the 7th line of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Further, it is unclear from what “both ends” protrude. Claim 7 will be interpreted as the recited “both ends” referencing outer and inner ends of the moving member which protrude from the guiding hole for examination purposes.
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 person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(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 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2018/0213838 A1 by Richmond et al., hereinafter “Richmond”.
Regarding claim 1, apparatus 600 of Richmond discloses an electric grinder for grinding materials (Figs. 31-34; ¶[0084]), comprising:
an upper shell equipped with a first chamber having an opening at one end thereof (upper shell wall 102 in Fig. 31 has first upper chamber 104 as shown in Figs. 33 and 34; ¶[0056]);
a lower shell equipped with a second chamber having an opening at one end thereof (lower shell wall 102 in Fig. 31 has second lower chamber 106 as shown in Figs. 33 and 34; ¶[0056]), and the lower shell detachably connected to the upper shell to form a closed chamber enclosed by the first chamber and the second chamber (hinge 152 connects upper chamber 104 and lower chamber 106 together as shown in Figs. 31-34 to form a closed chamber therebetween; ¶[0076]);
a driving assembly installed on the upper shell and extending into the first chamber, and being movable along the first chamber (Figs. 33 and 34 illustrate driving assembly biasing means spring 610 is positioned within lower chamber 106 to bias the second lower plate with grinding projections 134 toward the first upper plate with grinding projections 132. ¶[0084] discloses biasing means spring 610 may alternatively be positioned within upper chamber 106 to bias, i.e. drive, the first upper plate with grinding projections 132 toward the second lower plate with grinding projections 134 such that the first upper plate moves axially along the vertical axis of upper chamber 104 in a manner similar to apparatus 500 illustrated in Figs. 27 and 28.);
a rotating assembly installed on the driving assembly (rotating assembly drive shaft of motor 246 in Figs. 33 and 34 would be installed on driving assembly biasing means spring 610 when it is installed within upper chamber 104 as disclosed in ¶[0084]), and a rotating plane of the rotating assembly intersecting with a movement direction of the driving assembly (axial movement direction of biasing means spring 610 intersects with the rotating plane of the first upper plate with grinding projections 132 when it is mated to the drive shaft of motor 246 in Figs. 33 and 34);
an upper grinding piece installed at an end of the rotating assembly near the lower shell (first upper plate carrying grinding projections 132 in Figs. 33 and 34), and an end of the upper grinding piece near the lower shell being equipped with a grinding part (grinding part projections 132 in Figs. 33 and 34); and
a lower grinding piece detachably connected to the second chamber (the second lower plate carrying grinding projections 134 in Figs. 33 and 34 is shown as a separate detachable piece positioned within lower chamber 106) and enclosed with the lower shell, the upper grinding piece, and the upper shell to form a grinding space for grinding materials (the space between projections 132 and 134 in Figs. 33 and 34);
the lower grinding piece being equipped with multiple through holes for discharging the material after grinding in the grinding space (grate 112 in Figs. 33 and 34 has multiple through holes as illustrated in Fig. 5; ¶[0074]);
the driving assembly driving the rotating assembly to move, and the rotating assembly driving the upper grinding piece to rotate, so that the grinding part can move, squeeze, and rotate the material in the grinding space (biasing means spring 610 drives motor 246 and the first upper plate with grinding projections 132 toward the second lower plate with grinding projections 134 to squeeze and rotate the material in the grinding space between the projections).
Regarding claim 2, Richmond anticipates the electric grinder of claim 1 as explained above. Richmond further discloses the lower shell is rotationally connected to the upper shell and can rotate around the upper shell to form the closed chamber to open the closed chamber, and when the closed chamber is opened, a portion of the lower shell is connected to the upper shell (lower chamber 106 in Figs. 33 and 34 is rotationally connected to upper chamber 104 by hinge 152).
Regarding claim 3, Richmond anticipates the electric grinder of claim 1 as explained above. Richmond further discloses the lower shell (lower chamber 106in Figs. 33 and 34) comprises:
a first shell being hollow from a top thereof to a bottom thereof (see “First Shell” annotation to Fig. 33 of Richmond reproduced below), with the top of the first shell detachably connected to the upper shell (the First Shell is detachably connected to upper shell chamber 104 by way of hinged lower shell chamber 106, and the lower grinding piece detachably connected inside the first shell (lower grinding piece second plate with grinding projections 134 is detachably connected in the First Shell as shown in the annotated figure below); and
a second shell (second shell support 110 in Figs. 31-34; ¶[0087]), a top of the second shell being opened and detachably connected to the bottom of the first shell (Figs. 33 and 34 show support 110 as a separate detachable housing connected to the bottom of housing wall 102 of lower chamber 106), the second shell being configured to collect the material after grinding in the grinding space (support 110 in Figs. 31-34 supports wrapper paper which collects ground material that passes through grate 112).
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Regarding claim 10, Richmond anticipates the electric grinder of claim 1 as explained above. Richmond further discloses the upper grinding piece has a disc-shaped structure (the first upper plate with grinding projections 132 in Figs. 33 and 34 is shown as being disc shaped), and diameters of the multiple through holes of the lower grinding piece are the same or different (¶[0074] discloses the size of holes 114 in grate 112 may be the same size or different).
Claims 1 and 7-8 are separately rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by apparatus 500 disclosed in Figs. 22-30 of Richmond.
Regarding claim 1, apparatus 500 of Richmond discloses an electric grinder for grinding materials, comprising:
an upper shell equipped with a first chamber having an opening at one end thereof (See “Upper Shell” annotation to Fig. 26 of Richmond reproduced below. The Upper Shell has a chamber holding first plate with grinding projections 132);
a lower shell equipped with a second chamber having an opening at one end thereof, and the lower shell detachably connected to the upper shell to form a closed chamber enclosed by the first chamber and the second chamber (See “Lower Shell” annotation below. The Lower Shell has a chamber holding second plate with grinding projections 134);
a driving assembly installed on the upper shell and extending into the first chamber, and being movable along the first chamber (driving assembly motor housing 508 and spring 524 in Fig. 25; ¶[0128]);
a rotating assembly installed on the driving assembly (rotating assembly motor 246 and gearbox 502 are installed on motor housing 508 as shown in Fig. 25; ¶[0128]), and a rotating plane of the rotating assembly intersecting with a movement direction of the driving assembly (the rotating plane of gearbox 502 intersects with the axial movement direction of motor housing 508 and spring 524 as shown in Figs. 27 and 28);
an upper grinding piece installed at an end of the rotating assembly near the lower shell, and an end of the upper grinding piece near the lower shell being equipped with a grinding part (upper grinding piece first plate with grinding projections 132 is installed on gearbox 502 as shown in Fig. 26); and
a lower grinding piece detachably connected to the second chamber and enclosed with the lower shell, the upper grinding piece, and the upper shell to form a grinding space for grinding materials (lower grinding piece second plate with grinding projections 134 is detachable connected within the chamber of the Lower Shell);
the lower grinding piece being equipped with multiple through holes for discharging the material after grinding in the grinding space (second plate with grinding projections 134 is connected to grate 112 as shown in Fig. 26 which has multiple through openings as shown in Fig. 5);
the driving assembly driving the rotating assembly to move, and the rotating assembly driving the upper grinding piece to rotate, so that the grinding part can move, squeeze, and rotate the material in the grinding space (spring 524 drives motor housing 508 with motor 246, gearbox 502 and first plate with grinding projections 132 toward second plate with grinding projections 134 to squeeze the material therebetween as shown Fig. 27).
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Regarding claim 7, apparatus 500 of Richmond anticipates the electric grinder according to claim 1 as explained above. Richmond further discloses
a top of the upper shell is provided with a guiding hole for connecting the first chamber (guiding hole slot 520 in Fig. 22; ¶[0125]), and the rotating assembly includes a main body non rotatable relative to the upper shell (main body motor housing 508 in Fig. 25), and a driving shaft rotatable relative to the upper shell (the drive shaft of motor 246 in gearbox 502 in Fig. 25), the driving shaft is connected to the upper grinding piece; and the driving assembly comprises (Fig. 26 shows first plate with grinding projections 132 is connected to gearbox 502):
a moving member (moving member door 518 in Fig. 25; ¶[0125]), a middle part of the moving member being in a rod shape and slidably connected to the guiding hole (reference number 518 in Fig. 25 points to a middle part of the door which has a rod shape and is slidably connected to slot 520 via outer end locking mechanism 524), with both ends protruding to prevent the moving member from detaching from the guiding hole (outer end locking mechanism 524 protrudes outwardly from slot 520 and the lower portion of door 518 protrudes inwardly from slot 520 to prevent door 518 from detaching from slot 520), one end of the moving member located in the first chamber is connected to the main body, and the moving member extends along the first chamber (the door portion of door 518 is located in the first chamber of the Upper Shell and connected to main body motor housing 508 as shown in Figs. 27 and 28); and
a guiding member fixed inside the upper shell extending along the direction of the first chamber (the inner edge of the elongated portion of slot 520 in Fig 25 is a guiding member inside the Upper Shell), and the main body being slidable along the guiding member, so that the rotating assembly can move along the guiding member under a driving force of the moving member (Figs. 27 and 28 show main body motor housing 508 slides along elongated slot 520).
Regarding claim 8, apparatus 500 of Richmond anticipates the electric grinding apparatus of claim 7 as explained above. Apparatus 500 of Richmond further discloses:
a fixing piece installed inside the upper shell, and having a hole, an end of the driving shaft passing through the hole to be connected to the upper grinding piece (the lower end of motor housing 508 holding gearbox 502 is a fixing piece installed inside the Upper shell having a hole with the drive shaft of motor 246 pass therethrough to be connected to the first plate with grinding projections 132 as shown in Fig. 26); and
an elastic member having an upper end and a lower end being respectively connected to the main body and the fixing piece, so that the moving member, the rotating assembly, and the upper grinding piece can automatically reset after removing an influence of external forces (elastic member biasing spring 524 resets to the closed position as shown in Fig. 27 when the external force of locking member 514 is removed when in the position shown in Fig. 28).
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.
Claims 4 and 5 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Richmond.
Regarding claim 4, apparatus 600 of Richmond anticipates the electric grinder according to claim 3 as explained above. However, electric grinder apparatus 600 shown in Figs. 31-34 does not expressly disclose the further limitations recited in claim 4.
Fig. 5 of Richmond illustrates grate 112 includes a limiting part which may be used to prevent rotation of the grate and the second plate with grinding projections 134 connected to the grate in relation to lower chamber 106 during grinding. See “Limiting Part” to Fig. 5 of Richmond reproduced below.
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It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a first limiting part on the First Shell of lower chamber 106, as annotated in Fig. 33 above, to receive a Limiting Part of grate 112 to prevent rotation of the grate and connected second plate with grinding projections 134 in the same way as taught by Fig. 5. A person of ordinary skill would have recognized applying the teaching of Fig. 5 to apparatus 600 shown in Figs. 31-34 would achieve the predictable result of apparatus 600 having cooperating rotation-limiting parts as Fig. 5 teaches.
Apparatus 300 shown in Fig. 12 teaches second plate with grinding projections 134 has a connecting piece located below grinding projections 134 with a threaded rotatable buckle structure. See “Connecting Piece” and “Buckle Structure” annotation to Fig. 12 of Richmond reproduced below. Figs. 13-15 show the Connecting Piece with Buckle Structure is used to rotationally lock the second plate with grinding projections 134 to the interior of lower chamber 106 by mating threads located therein.
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It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the Connecting Piece and Buckle Structure taught in Fig. 12 on the lower part of second plate with grinding projections 134 in Figs. 33 and 34 in the same way Fig. 12 teaches. A person of ordinary skill would have recognized applying the teaching of Fig. 12 to apparatus 600 shown in Figs. 31-34 would achieve the predictable result of providing apparatus 600 with structure allowing second plate with grinding projections 134 to be rotationally locked in a removable fashion within lower chamber 106 of the apparatus.
Regarding claim 5, Richmond renders the electric grinder according to claim 4 unpatentable as explained above. Richmond further teaches:
multiple convex bars spaced arranged in a circle on one side of the first shell away from the upper shell, and inner walls of the convex bars slidably connected to an outer wall of the connecting piece, an inner wall of each of the convex bars being provided with a groove, and each of the grooves being arranged in an arc shape, centers and radii of the multiple grooves are the same, and each of the grooves being equipped with an insertion protrusion; and
multiple blocks being located on the outer wall of the connecting piece, with each of the blocks corresponding to one of the grooves, and each of the blocks being arranged in an arc shape, and a length of the blocks being less than a distance between adjacent two of the grooves, so that the blocks can move between adjacent two of the grooves and enter the grooves by rotation, each of the blocks has an insertion slot, and after the blocks are rotated into the grooves, the insertion protrusion can enter the insertion slot, thereby fixing the relative position of the connecting piece and the first shell(Fig. 13 shows the Connecting Piece and Buckle Structure are part of a mating set of threads which mate with the threads located inside lower chamber 106. The threads shown have complimentary bars, grooves, arcs, radii and insertion protrusions to allow the set of mating threads to rotationally lock the two together. When this structure is applied to apparatus 600 shown in Figs. 31-34, the set of mating threads will be located within the First Shell as annotated in the rejection of claim 3 above.).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Richmond in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2017/0251878 A1 by Dukat, hereinafter “Dukat”.
Regarding claim 6, Richmond anticipates the electric grinder according to claim 3 as explained above. However, Richmond does not disclose the further limitations of claim 6.
In the same field of portable grinding devices, Dukat teaches it was known before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to arrange a screen on a detachable frame below the through holes of a rotary grinding chamber and above a collection receptacle collecting the ground material. See Figs. 1, 3A, 3B, 9A-9E and the written description in paragraph [0072].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace Richmond’s support 110 with Dukat’s taught framed-screen and collection receptacle as structure which screens the ground material and provides a receptacle for ground and screened material. A person of ordinary skill would have recognized applying the teaching of Dukat to the electric grinder of Richmond would achieve the predictable result of providing Richmond’s grinder with a screened receptable in place of a wrapper holder.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over apparatus 500 of Richmond.
Regarding claim 9, apparatus 500 of Richmond anticipates the electric grinder according to claim 8 as explained above. Richmond is silent regarding how second plate with grinding projections 134 is fixed relative to the drive shaft of motor 246. But Richmond teaches use of magnetic fixation of internal components. See paragraph [0112]. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to fix first plate with grinding projections 132 relative to the drive shaft of motor 246 with magnetic attraction in the same way paragraph [0112] teaches securing tamper 142 to grate 112 by magnetic attraction.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2016/0106262 A1 by Mroue.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL DEREK PRESSLEY whose telephone number is (313)446-6658. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am to 3:30pm Eastern.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christopher Templeton can be reached at (571) 270-1477. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/P.D.P./ Examiner, Art Unit 3725
/Christopher L Templeton/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3725