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 under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in Application No. 18652838, filed on 5/02/2024.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/06/2024 and 5/02/2024 were filed after the filing date of the application on/after 5/02/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
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 9-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Arndt (US 20140259691 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Arndt teaches a hair clipper (see Figure 4)comprising:
a rotary motor (20) that includes a rotary shaft (22) extending in a first direction (left to right direction in Figure 2) and a motor drive unit (drive in 20) that rotationally drives the rotary shaft (see Figure 2);
a conversion mechanism (28) that is connected to the rotary shaft and converts rotational motion of the rotary shaft into reciprocating linear motion (see Figure 2);
a movable blade (16) that is connected to the conversion mechanism and performs reciprocating linear motion;
a fixed blade (15) with which the movable blade is in sliding contact (see Figure 2);
a bearing (29) that is provided in the motor drive unit to support the rotary shaft with a clearance provided between the bearing and a peripheral surface of the rotary shaft (paragraph 0020);
at least one shaft stopper (26) that presses the rotary shaft in at least one direction in directions intersecting the first direction to restrict shaft shaking during rotation of the rotary shaft caused by the clearance while allowing rotation of the rotary shaft (see Figure 2); and
a support part that supports the shaft stopper (see annotated Figure 4).
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Regarding claim 2, Arndt teaches the support part is integrated with the motor drive unit, and the motor drive unit, the support part, and the at least one shaft stopper constitute at least a part of a motor block (at least once constructed, see Figure 2).
Regarding claim 3, Arndt teaches the peripheral surface is in contact with the bearing in a state where the support part and the motor drive unit are integrated (considered integral at least once constructed, see Figure 2).
Regarding claim 9, Arndt teaches the at least one shaft stopper includes a surface which is provided with a recess (recess of hole in 26), the surface being in sliding contact with the peripheral surface (see Figures 4 and 6).
Regarding claim 10, Arndt teaches the support part comprises an attachment part attached to the motor drive unit (C-shaped channel, see annotated Figure 4).
Regarding claim 11, Arndt teaches the motor drive unit further comprises a motor body (body of 20), the bearing is formed so as to protrude from the motor body in the first direction (see Figure 2), and the attachment part comprises an annular part provided with an insertion hole into which the bearing is inserted (C-shaped channel, see annotated Figure 4 and Figure 2).
Regarding claim 12, Arndt teaches the motor drive unit further comprises a motor body (body of 20), the bearing is formed so as to protrude from the motor body in the first direction (see Figure 2), and the attachment part comprises a C-shaped part attached to the bearing in a state where a pair of distal ends thereof are separated in the circumferential direction thereof (C-shaped channel, see annotated Figure 4 and Figure 2).
Regarding claim 13, Arndt teaches the support part includes a fixing part fixed (C-shape channel and the surface of the plate, see Figure 4) to a fixed part formed in the motor drive unit (see Figure 2).
Regarding claim 14, Arndt teaches a housing (13/12) provided with a motor holder that holds the rotary motor, wherein the support part is formed in the housing (see Figure 2).
Regarding claim 15, Arndt teaches a motor block used in the hair clipper according to Claim 2 (see Figure 2).
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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Arndt (US 20140259691 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Arndt teaches all elements of the current invention as set forth in claim 2 above.
Arndt fails to teach the at least one shaft stopper includes a pair of shaft stoppers, and the rotary shaft is held by the pair of shaft stoppers in a state where the support part and the motor drive unit are integrated.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the device of Arndt to add a second bearing along the shaft. Since the courts have held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8. (MPEP 2144.04 VI. B.)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-8 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.
Regarding claim 5, Arndt teaches all elements of the current invention as set forth in claim 2 above.
Arndt fails to teach the at least one shaft stopper is a beam extending in a direction intersecting the first direction.
Examiner notes that most common bearing the art surrounds the shaft for supporting the rotation of the shaft, having a beam to support only one side of the shaft as shown by the applicant is not common, also it is not obvious to modified a washer like bearing into a linear/bar bearing as claimed.
Furthermore, no additional prior art could be found to teach the claimed limitations either alone nor in combination to further modify the device of Arndt. Thus claim 5 is allowable, claims 6-8 are allowable by virtue of its dependency on claim 5.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LIANG DONG whose telephone number is (571)270-0479. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8 AM-6 PM.
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/LIANG DONG/Examiner, Art Unit 3724 12/18/2025