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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-7 in the reply filed on 01/26/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 6 and the limitation “wherein the flexible annular wall is removable removably securable to an inner wall surface of the shield attachment, wherein the inner wall surface is a surface facing a cutting element of the string trimmer”, it is unclear how the flexible annual wall 12 is secured to the inner wall of the shield attachment. As seen in Figs. 1 and 2, it appears the flexible annual walls 12 is secured to the exterior surface of the guard 18.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Richardson et al. (6,655,034), hereinafter Richardson.
Regarding claim 1, Richardson teaches an assembly for use with a string trimmer having a trimmer head for cutting tall grass or weed substantially as claimed excepts for the limitations in the bolded texts, the assembly comprising:
a removable shield having a flexible shield wall 20 having a first end and a second end with a length extending therebetween;
a removable protective guard 17 having a first end and second end with a length extending therebetween;
a plurality of fasteners (211, 212) configured for one or more of coupling the shield to the string trimmer at one or more locations on the shield, coupling the protective guard to the shield, for coupling the protective guard and the shield to the string trimmer, or combinations thereof;
wherein the shield forms a perimeter ring providing an interior space and when the shield is installed on the string trimmer, the trimmer head is capable of being provided within the interior space, and wherein the removable protective guard, when installed on the shield is provided between the interior space and the shield.
See Fig. 1.
As to the removable protective guard 17, it is known in the art that the guard 17 is a separate component from the trimmer 10 in a sale box and is attached to the trimmer head by screw or snap-fit components by a user when assembling it. Therefore, the guard 17 could be removeable from the trimmer head.
As to the shield 20 made from a flexible material, to select a well-known material such as flexible material for the shield 20 so that it conforms better to the curvature of the guard would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to make the shield 20 from flexible material for better conforming to the curvature of the guard 17 since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice.
Regarding claim 2, the length of the shield 17 and the guard being the same is best seen in Fig. 1.
Regarding claim 3, the shield and the guard are removable by elements 211 and 212.
Regarding claim 4, the guard 17 is typically made from a hard plastic and the shield 20 is made from a flexible material as set forth in claim 1. Therefore, the guard and the shield are made from different materials.
Regarding claim 5, the shield is reusable on a new trimmer device and the guard is disposable upon a desire of a user.
Regarding claim 6, Richardson teaches a protective element for a shield attachment 17 for a string trimmer substantially as claimed except for the limitations in the bolded texts comprising:
a flexible annular wall 20 having an open top, open bottom, a length and a height; and
a plurality of fastening elements (211, 212) for securing the annular wall to the shield attachment at one or more locations on the annular wall, and
wherein the flexible annular wall is removable removably securable to an inner wall surface of the shield attachment 17, wherein the inner wall surface is a surface facing a cutting element of the string trimmer.
See Figs. 1 and 12.
As to the shield 20 made from a flexible material, to select a well-known material such as flexible material for the shield 20 so that it conform better to the curvature of the guard would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to make the shield 20 from flexible material for better conforming to the curvature of the guard 17 since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice.
Regarding claim 7, Richardson does not teach the annual wall made from recycle material or biodegraded material. To select a well-known material such as recycle material or biodegraded material for the annual wall for environment protection would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416 .
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to make the annual wall from recycle material or biodegraded material for the annual wall for environment protection since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHONG H NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-4510. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8-5.
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/PHONG H NGUYEN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3724