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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Status of Claims
Claims 1 – 10 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/08/2024 was filed before the first office action. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers 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.
Claims 1 – 10 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.
Claims 1 and 2 recite the limitation “the main machine can collect” and “the main machine can remove” in lines 6 and 3 respectively. The limitation is vague as the term “can” makes it unclear it the following limitation is optional or required. For the purpose of examination, the lamination will be examined as optional.
Claims 3 – 8 are further rejected as dependents of rejected claims 1 and 2.
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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hoffmann et al (U. S. Patent Publication No. 2021/0051921 A1).
Regarding Independent Claim 1, Hoffmann teaches a pet hair care kit (portable pet grooming system, 10; Fig. 2), comprising: a main machine (hand tool, 12) and a first care accessory (grooming tools, 300), wherein the main machine (12) can collect, in an adsorption manner, pet hair removed by the first care accessory (300; Paragraphs [0003] and [0015]); and the first care accessory (300) is fixed on an air suction end of the main machine (12; Fig. 20), the first care accessory (300) can be detached from the main machine (12; Fig. 21), and the first care accessory (300) can clean shed pet hair in a rolling-sticking manner (Fig. 31; the user can roll the device over the fur of the dog as shown in Fig. 31 and the hair is absorbed into the machine) .
Regarding Independent Claim 2, Hoffmann teaches a pet hair care kit (portable pet grooming system, 10; Fig. 2), comprising: a main machine (12) and a second care accessory (302; Fig. 21), wherein on one hand, the main machine (12) can remove pet hair groomed and removed by the second care accessory (302) from the second care accessory (302), and on the other hand, the main machine can collect removed pet hair in an adsorption manner (Paragraphs [0003] and [0015]); and the second care accessory (302) is fixed on an air suction end of the main machine (12; Fig. 20), the second care accessory (302) can be detached from the main machine (12), and the second care accessory (302) can groom the pet hair and clean shed hair in a grooming manner (Fig. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 8 and 10 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Although Huffman teaches a pet hair care kit, the refences fails to teach, suggest or make obvious a circuit board is fixedly connected in the second cavity, the circuit board is respectively and integrally provided with an indicator light, a contact switch, and a charging interface, a panel is fixed to a side portion of the handgrip in a clamped manner, an upper portion of the panel is respectively provided with a lamp housing and a switch keycap, and positions of the lamp housing and the switch keycap respectively correspond to the indicator light and the contact switch as required by claim 3.
A further search identified U. S. Patent Publication No. 20230302675 A1 to Tellez who also teaches a hair care kit further comprising a circuit board is fixedly connected in the second cavity, the circuit board is respectively and integrally provided with an indicator light, however, the refences fails to teach, suggest or make obvious a contact switch, and a charging interface, a panel is fixed to a side portion of the handgrip in a clamped manner, an upper portion of the panel is respectively provided with a lamp housing and a switch keycap, and positions of the lamp housing and the switch keycap respectively correspond to the indicator light and the contact switch as required by claim 3.
Further, although Huffman teaches a pet hair care kit, the refences fails to teach, suggest or make obvious a hair sticking roller is rotatably connected in the inner frame, brush plates are rotatably connected to both of an upper portion and a lower portion of the hair sticking roller in the inner frame, a torsional spring is disposed between a main shaft of the brush plate and the inner frame, a first face cover is fixedly connected to an end face of the first clasping male header, and edges of the hair sticking roller and the brush plate both protrude from the first face cover, as required by claim 8; or a second clasping male header and a second face cover movably connected to the second clasping male header, a lamp plate, a light transmissive plate, and a comb head base are respectively and fixedly disposed in the second clasping male header in sequence, a post hole is reserved on a back face of the second clasping male header, a second through hole is internally reserved on the second clasping male header, a second conductive post is integrally connected to a back face of the lamp plate, a plurality of lamp covers are integrally connected to a front face of the light transmissive plate, a plurality of comb teeth are fixedly connected in the comb head base, a plurality of comb tooth moving holes are reserved on a front face of the second face cover, the comb teeth can move in the comb tooth moving holes, a push rod is fixedly connected to a back face of the second face cover, the push rod is inserted into the second through hole, and middle portions of the second clasping male header, the lamp plate, the light transmissive plate, the comb head base, and the second face cover are all provided with fourth air guiding openings communicating with each other, as required by Claim 10.
Claims 4 – 7 and 9 are further objected as dependents of claims 3 and 8.
Conclusion
Art made of record, however, not relied upon for the current rejection is as follows: U. S. Patent Publication No. 2023/0320322 to LaPenna teaches a device, attachments, and method for grooming or cleaning the fur of an animal. The device includes a main unit, a steam delivery system operatively engaged with the main unit, and a liquid delivery system operatively engaged with the main unit. The steam delivery system is operable to selectively deliver a quantity of steam to the animal's fur and the liquid delivery system is operable to selectively deliver a volume of liquid to the animal's fur. The steam delivery system and liquid delivery system are selectively independently activated to perform a grooming or cleaning task with the device. One or more attachments are connectable with the main unit via a hose. Some of the attachments include a plurality of tines that extend outwardly in the direction of movement of the attachment along the animal's body and capture and lift hairs for improved application of liquid, shampoo, or air thereto.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KATINA N HENSON whose telephone number is (571)272-8024. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday; 5:30am to 3:30pm.
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, Monica Carter can be reached at 571-272-4475. 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.
/KATINA N. HENSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723
Prosecution Insights