DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-11 in the reply filed on 08/10/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 12-22 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 08/10/2026.
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, 2, 5, 6 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Von Rohr EP0106798 B1 [translation].
Regarding claim 1, Von Rohr discloses a semi-waterproof waste bag, the waste bag comprising: a non-permeable portion composed of a waterproof material and structured to hold liquid waste from the vacuum (figure 3: portion 12 can be considered as part of the waste bag; claim 6 describes 12 as impermeable to liquid); and a permeable portion composed of an air-permeable material to filter out dry contaminants from air (figure 3: portion 20; page 4, last full paragraph), the permeable portion affixed atop the non-permeable portion (see figure 3), and the permeable portion having a first opening for waste to enter the semi-waterproof waste bag (see figure 3: waste enters from top of bag).
The preamble “for an autonomous vacuum” is deemed to be a statement with regard to the intended use and is not further limiting in so far as the structure of the product is concerned. In article claims, a claimed intended use must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. MPEP § 2111.02. The bag of Von Rohr could be used in some hypothetical autonomous vacuum.
Regarding claim 2, the vacuum bag of Von Rohr could be used in some hypothetical autonomous vacuum such that dry waste passes to the first opening. Claims directed to an apparatus must be distinguished in the prior art in terms of structure rather than function. MPEP 2114.
Regarding claim 5, Von Rohr discloses a bag tab formed of a rigid material, the bag tab affixed to the permeable portion, the bag tab configured to slot into a tab receiver of an autonomous vacuum to secure the semi-waterproof waste bag in a bin cavity of the autonomous vacuum (figure 3: flange 19 can be considered a bag tab).
Regarding claim 6, Von Rohr discloses that the bag tab includes an opening that aligns with the first opening of the permeable portion (figure 3: tab 19 has opening that aligns with first opening into bag 20).
Regarding claim 10, Von Rohr discloses that two corners of the permeable portion of the waste bag are joined together (figure 3: all corners are joined together to form a cylinder).
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 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Von Rohr EP0106798 B1 [translation].
Von Rohr is relied upon as above.
Regarding claim 3, Von Rohr does not disclose one or more secondary openings for liquid waste to enter the semi-waterproof waste bag from one or more secondary channels of the autonomous vacuum. Nevertheless, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include multiple openings since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. MPEP 2144.04 (VI-B).
Regarding claim 4, Von Rohr discloses one or more guide vanes disposed within the semi-waterproof waste bag to guide liquid waste entering the semi-waterproof waste bag away from the permeable portion and towards the non-permeable portion (figure 4: 24; page 4; final full paragraph).
Claims 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Von Rohr EP0106798 B1 [translation] in view of Sauer USPN 5,468,271.
Von Rohr is relied upon as above.
Regarding claim 7, Von Rohr does not disclose that the bag tab further comprises a gasket of annular shape formed of a compliant material that aligns to the opening of the bag tab, wherein the gasket forms an air-tight seal between the semi-waterproof waste bag and the bin cavity of the autonomous vacuum when the semi-waterproof waste bag is secured in the bin cavity of the autonomous vacuum. Sauer discloses a vacuum bag that has a gasket of annular shape formed of a compliant material that aligns to the opening of the bag tab, wherein the gasket forms an air-tight seal between the waste bag and the bin cavity of the vacuum when the waste bag is secured in the bin cavity of the vacuum (see Sauer figures: gasket 11; Abstract). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Von Rohr to include the bag tab further comprises a gasket of annular shape formed of a compliant material that aligns to the opening of the bag tab, wherein the gasket forms an air-tight seal between the semi-waterproof waste bag and the bin cavity of the vacuum when the semi-waterproof waste bag is secured in the bin cavity of the vacuum, as disclosed by Sauer, to prevent particles from not entering into the bag.
Regarding claim 8, Von Rohr discloses that the bag tab is substantially planar (figures: 19), but does not disclose that the bag tab includes a bag tab bump on a back face of the bag tab that faces the permeable portion of the semi-waterproof waste bag, and wherein a bump on the tab receiver applies a lateral force on the bag tab bump when the semi-waterproof waste bag is secured in the bin cavity of the autonomous vacuum. Nevertheless, the use of bumps that receive lateral force to hold things in place is generally well-known in the art and would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention. MPEP 2144.03 (A-E).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Von Rohr EP0106798 B1 [translation] in view of Belbachir USPA 2008/0038373 A1.
Von Rohr is relied upon as above.
Regarding claim 11, Von Rohr does not disclose a rigid cage coupled to an inner surface of the non-permeable portion, the rigid cage including one or more openings to an interior of the waste bag and structured to hold a chemical agent for sterilization of waste in the waste bag, or a sachet tethered to an inner surface of the permeable portion, the sachet formed of a permeable material and storing a chemical agent for sterilization of air in the waste bag. Belbachir discloses that sterilizing/decontaminating agents can be stored in sachets and placed in vacuum bags for sterilization purposes (see Belbachir paragraph 110). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Von Rohr to include a sachet formed of a permeable material and storing a chemical agent, as disclosed by Belbachir, for the purpose of sterilizing air in the waste bag. Furthermore, it would have been obvious to tether such a sachet to an inner surface of the permeable portion, to ensure that the sachet does not fall into the liquid storage portion of Von Rohr.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art fails to disclose or make obvious the semi-waterproof waste bag of dependent claim 9 including a film composed of a waterproof material, disposed along a wall of an interior of the semi-waterproof waste bag, affixed to an underside of a top face of the permeable portion, and substantially coextensive to the top face of the permeable portion.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER P JONES whose telephone number is (571)270-7383. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-6PM EST M-F.
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/CHRISTOPHER P JONES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1776
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