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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 06/13/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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 1-17 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.
Claim 1 and 11 recite, “the two supporting walls and the seat body form an arch.” However, the specification states “and the supporting wall 28 forms an arch or an arch-like structure with the seat body 24 of the static cutter fixed seat 18, the static cutter fixed seat 18 is easy to form bending deformation along the arch structure under the restriction of the structure.” The specification thereby stating that each wall 28 forms an arched portion with the seat body 18, not that the two walls 28/28 and the seat body 18 together form an arch. It is also then unclear if the Applicant is alternatively referring to the fixed seat 18 of the embodiment of Figure 1 with the two retaining walls 23 that are being considered to form an arch with the fixed seat 18?
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Claim 1 also recites, “an insertion groove is defined by the static cutter, the static cutter forms groove openings of the insertion groove respectively at two ends along the moving direction of the movable cutter.” It is not clear from the specification which embodiment possess an insertion groove and also groove openings of the insertion groove. Claim 11 also recites, “an insertion groove is defined by the static cutter, the static cutter forms notches of the insertion groove respectively at two ends along the moving direction of the movable cutter.” It is not clear from the specification which embodiment possess an insertion groove and also notches of the insertion groove.
The specification details that for the embodiments of Figures 1 and 3, “The positioning structures 20 are grooves formed at two ends of the two connecting walls 19, and the grooves can be closed grooves as shown in FIG. 1, or can be grooves with an opening which is defined by an end of the connecting wall 19 as shown in FIG. 3.” So assuming that the positioning structures 20 are the claimed “groove openings” of Figure 3, it is not then clear what is the “insertion groove”. Do the two positioning structures 20 make up the claimed insertion groove? Is the insertion groove, the center section 9 that is between the two connecting walls 19 and 20? The metes and bounds of how the “groove openings” relate to the “insertion groove” are not apparent.
Additionally, per the embodiment, of Figure 6, the specification details that:
“An insertion groove 26 is defined by the static blade body 11, the static blade body 11 forms notches 27 of the insertion groove 26 respectively at two ends along the moving direction of the movable cutter 1, the static cutter fixed seat 18 is inserted into the static cutter 1 through the notch 27 of the insertion groove 26 to cooperate with the static cutter 1, and the two supporting walls 28 support portions, corresponding to two sides of the insertion groove 26, of the static cutter 1, that is, the two supporting walls 28 supports portions, corresponding to the notches 27 of the insertion groove 26, of the static cutter 1.”
Per the Figures, the insertion groove 26 is thereby the center area between the two walls of the static blade body. However, no notches 27 are apparent in this Figure. Are the “groove openings” just the ends of the insertion groove or another feature, such as a notch that is not shown? It is unclear what feature represents the “groove openings” as the “static cutter fixed seat is inserted into the static cutter through the groove openings”.
It is unclear which features represent the claimed limitations and what embodiment the Applicant is claiming. It is unclear whether the discrepancies are due to incompletely drawings, a wording of the limitations, a translational discrepancy or if the Applicant is claiming a combination of the two embodiments, as neither embodiment appears to satisfy the claim language on their own.
Claim 1 recites the limitation " the groove opening" in line 14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites, “a static cutter fixed seat”. However, the static cutter fixed seat was already set forth in claim 1. It is also unclear whether the “positioning structures” of claim 6 are “the groove openings” already set forth in claim 1. Moreover, if the Applicant is claiming the embodiment of Figure 6, then no “auxiliary positioning structures” are shown in the Figures.
d. Claim 8 recites, “wherein the static cutter fixed seat comprises two static cutter retaining walls” However, these appear to the be the “two supporting walls” already set forth in claim 1. The Applicant appears to be claiming the combination of the retaining walls 23 per Figure 1 and the supporting walls 28 per the embodiment of Figure 6.
Claim 11 recites the limitation " the notch" in line 18. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 1-2, 6-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu (CN209665444) in view of Chen (CN110193850).
In regards to claim 1, are as best understood, Yu discloses a static cutter (3) of a hair cutter, cooperating with a movable cutter (6) to cut hair in a moving direction of the movable cutter, wherein the static cutter (3) has at least one static cutter cutting portion, the at least one static cutter cutting portion has static cutter teeth (shown in Figure 3; not numbered), and a cutting groove (beard intake holes 31) is formed between any two adjacent static cutter teeth, the static cutter has a first surface which faces a skin and a second surface which is opposite to the first surface, and the static cutter has a local recess area, the local recess area is formed in the first surface or the second surface, and the local recess area at least partially overlaps with an area where the at least one static cutter cutting portion is located;
the static cutter further comprises a static cutter fixed seat (tool post 1/ static tool 2), the static cutter fixed seat comprises two supporting walls (ends of 1, not numbered Fig. 6) and a seat body (main portion between the walls, near bosses 14 and 15; Fig. 6) for connecting the two supporting walls, and the two supporting walls and the seat body form an arch or an arch-like structure (the connection between the walls and the body are curved or arched as similarly disclosed by Applicant); and an insertion groove (between the walls of the cutter 3; see Fig. 5) is defined by the static cutter (3), the static cutter forms groove openings (e.g. multiple circular holes in the walls of 3) of the insertion groove respectively at two ends along the moving direction of the movable cutter, the static cutter fixed seat (1/2) is inserted into the static cutter through the groove opening of the insertion groove (the circular knobs on 2 engage the circular holes on 3 / 1 and 2 are inserted between the walls of 3) to cooperate with the static cutter, and the two supporting walls support portions, corresponding to two sides of the insertion groove, of the static cutter.
Yu does not disclose the highlighted recitations in which “and the static cutter has a local recess area, the local recess area is formed in the first surface or the second surface, and the local recess area at least partially overlaps with an area where the at least one static cutter cutting portion is located”. Chen sets forth a razor blade with a static knife wherein the fixed blade supporting frame is provided with a two stationary cutting parts. The second stationary cutting part formed on the second static portion formed on the supporting frame 2 and comprising stationary teeth that are formed in a recessed area or covering groove 24 of the supporting frame. Chen sets forth that “the covering groove 24 provided can strengthen the static blade 1 and the fixed blade supporting frame 2 after the secondary molding stability of the whole structure.” It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have modified the Yu static cutter to have a secondary cutting part formed on the supporting frame as demonstrated by Chen for the same purpose of strengthening the static blade after molding of the whole structure.
In regards to claim 2, the modified device of Yu discloses wherein the at least one static cutter cutting portion (1/2/3 Yu; 1/2 Chen) extends along the moving direction of the movable cutter, and the local recess area (24 Chen) covers the area where the at least one static cutter cutting portion is located.
In regards to claim 6, the modified device of Yu discloses wherein the static cutter (1/2/3 Yu; 1/2 Chen) comprises two connecting walls (walls of 3 of Yu have holes) which are opposite to each other, and the two connecting walls are provided with positioning structures for positioning the static cutter.
In regards to claim 7, the modified device of Yu discloses wherein the static cutter (1/2/3 Yu; 1/2 Chen) further comprises a static cutter fixed seat (2), the static cutter fixed seat (2) is provided with auxiliary positioning structures (pins for the holes in 3) for cooperating with the positioning structures, and the static cutter is positioned between the positioning structures and the auxiliary positioning structures by means of a pin or a thin shaft (pins on 2 Yu).
In regards to claim 8, the modified device of Yu discloses wherein the static cutter fixed seat (2) comprises two static cutter retaining walls (ends of 1 of Yu) which are opposite, the static cutter (1/2/3 Yu; 1/2 Chen) has two end portions in the moving direction of the movable cutter, and the two static cutter retaining walls are in contact and arranged outside the two end portions.
In regards to claim 10, the modified device of Yu discloses wherein the local recess area (24 Chen) is located at the static cutter teeth on two sides of the static cutter (as modified by Chen).
In regards to claim 11, the modified device of Yu discloses a hair cutter, comprising a static cutter (3) and a movable cutter (6) for cooperating with the static cutter (3), wherein the static cutter cooperates with the movable cutter to cut hair in a moving direction of the movable cutter, the static cutter (3) has at least one static cutter cutting portion (teeth), the at least one static cutter cutting portion has static cutter teeth, and a cutting groove (31) is formed between any two adjacent static cutter teeth, the static cutter has a first surface which faces a skin and a second surface which is opposite to the first surface, and the static cutter has a local recess area, the local recess area is formed in the first surface or the second surface, and the local recess area at least partially overlaps with an area where the at least one static cutter cutting portion is located (24; as modified by Chen); and the movable cutter (6) is provided with a movable cutter toothed portion (61; fig. 10) for cooperating with the at least one static cutter cutting portion (3), and the movable cutter toothed portion (6) forms movable cutter teeth (61); the static cutter further comprises a static cutter fixed seat (1/2), the static cutter fixed seat comprises two supporting walls (ends of 1) and a seat body (near 14 and 15) for connecting the two supporting walls, and the two supporting walls and the seat body form an arch or an arch-like structure (as best understood); and an insertion groove is defined by the static cutter (between the walls of 3), the static cutter forms notches (33; fig. 9) of the insertion groove respectively at two ends along the moving direction of the movable cutter, the static cutter fixed seat (1/2) is inserted into the static cutter through the notch (33 ) of the insertion groove to cooperate with the static cutter (3), and the two supporting walls support portions, corresponding to two sides of the insertion groove, of the static cutter.
In regards to claim 12, the modified device of Yu discloses wherein the hair cutter further comprises a movable cutter seat (4), the movable cutter seat is connected to the movable cutter (6) to drive the movable cutter to move back and forth, an elastic member (62) is provided between the movable cutter seat (4) and the static cutter fixed seat (1/2), and the elastic member (62) has an elastic force perpendicular to the moving direction of the movable cutter to push the movable cutter toward the static cutter.
In regards to claim 13, the modified device of Yu discloses wherein the hair cutter further comprises a movable cutter bracket (4) and an elastic member (62), the movable cutter bracket is connected to the movable cutter, the elastic member has an elastic force perpendicular to the moving direction of the movable cutter (6), one end of the elastic member is limited by the static cutter fixed seat (1/2), and another end of the elastic member is pressed against the movable cutter (6).
In regards to claim 14, the modified device of Yu discloses wherein the hair cutter further comprises a movable cutter bracket (4), an elastic member (62) and a fixing member bracket (2), the movable cutter bracket is connected to the movable cutter (6), the fixing member bracket is connected to the static cutter fixed seat (2/1), the elastic member (62) has an elastic force perpendicular to the moving direction of the movable cutter, one end of the elastic member is limited by the fixing member bracket (2), and another end of the elastic member is pressed against the movable cutter (6).
In regards to claim 15, the modified device of Yu discloses wherein the fixing member bracket (2) is provided with a connecting structure (23/22) which is connected to the static cutter fixed seat (1; slots 11), the static cutter fixed seat is provided with an auxiliary connecting structure (23; fig. 7) for cooperating with the connecting structure (11), and the connecting structure (23) is connected to the auxiliary connecting structure (11) by insertion or snapping.
In regards to claim 16, the modified device of Yu discloses wherein the hair cutter further comprises a movable cutter limiting member (pin 5), the movable cutter limiting member is arranged to be relatively fixed to the movable cutter (6), and the movable cutter limiting member is provided with a guiding structure (chute 41; Fig. 8) for guiding and limiting the movement of the movable cutter.
In regards to claim 17, the modified device of Yu discloses wherein the movable cutter limiting member (pin 5) is connected to the elastic member (62) or the static cutter fixed seat (2) fig. 4.
Claims 1, 3 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (CN208051971) in view of Huang (CN204263191) and Man Wong et al. (U.S. Patent 9,751,225), herein referred to as Man Wong.
In regards to claim 1 and 11, as best understood, Kim discloses a static cutter (1) of a hair cutter, cooperating with a movable cutter (4) to cut hair in a moving direction of the movable cutter, wherein the static cutter (1) has at least one static cutter cutting portion, the at least one static cutter cutting portion has static cutter teeth (3; shown in Figure 2), and a cutting groove (intake holes between the teeth) is formed between any two adjacent static cutter teeth, the static cutter has a first surface which faces a skin and a second surface which is opposite to the first surface, and the static cutter (1) has a local recess area (the area around the teeth 3 is recessed relative to the smooth transition area 5 on both sides of the teeth) , the local recess area is formed in the first surface or the second surface, and the local recess area at least partially overlaps with an area where the at least one static cutter cutting portion is located;
the static cutter (1) further comprises a static cutter fixed seat, the static cutter fixed seat comprises two supporting walls and a seat body for connecting the two supporting walls, and the two supporting walls and the seat body form an arch or an arch-like structure; and an insertion groove (e.g. 1-1; fig. 3) is defined by the static cutter, the static cutter forms groove openings (e.g. circular holes on the side of 3) of the insertion groove respectively at two ends along the moving direction of the movable cutter, the static cutter fixed seat is inserted into the static cutter through the groove opening of the insertion groove to cooperate with the static cutter, and the two supporting walls support portions, corresponding to two sides of the insertion groove (sides of 1-1), of the static cutter.
Kim does not disclose the highlighted recitations in which the static cutter possesses a static cutting fixed seat with an arch structure and engaging with the static cutter. Attention is directed to both the Huang and Man Wong references which care not being cited in combination but rather to set forth the state of the art at the time of the invention. Huang sets forth an electric shaver with a static blade 11 and a movable blade 12, the static blade and movable blade are supported on fixing frame 60. The frame provides support for the guidance stops static blade and support for the movable suspension spring 50 that biases the movable blade 12. Man Wong demonstrates a similar fixing seat 26 that supports the guidance stops 1382 and the springs 54,56 against the linear cutter carrier 24 and also is directly coupled to the outer cutter 20. Thereby, Huang and Man Wong disclose that it is known in the art to utilize a single static cutting seat to support the guidance stops and outer cutter, while also providing support for the suspension springs that bias the movable blade. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have replaced the plural static cutting seats of Kim that individually support the guidance stops, and moving and stationary blade for a single static cutting seat as demonstrated by both Huang and Man Wong to simplify the mounting of the guidance stops and stationary and movable cutters.
Thereby the modified device of Kim discloses a static cutter fixed seat (e.g. 26 Man Wong / 60Huang) , the static cutter fixed seat comprises two supporting walls (e.g. 1382 Man Wong) and a seat body (e.g. center area of 26 Man Wong / 60Huang) for connecting the two supporting walls (e.g. 1382 Man Wong), and the two supporting walls and the seat body form an arch or an arch-like structure (as similarly demonstrated by Applicant’s Figure 1.); the static cutter fixed seat (e.g. 26 Man Wong / 60Huang) is inserted into the static cutter (1 Kim) through the groove opening (holes on sides of 1 Kim) of the insertion groove (1-1 Kim) to cooperate with the static cutter.
In regards to claim 3, the modified device of Kim discloses wherein the static cutter (1) comprises one static blade body, the static blade body comprises one flat surface portion (near teeth 3) and two inclined surface portions (5/5) extending from two sides of the flat surface portion, the at least one static cutter cutting portion is formed in at least one of the flat surface portion or the inclined surface portions, or connections between the flat surface portion and the corresponding inclined surface portions, and the local recess area is formed in at least one of the flat surface portion and the inclined surface portions (the recess area is around the blade teeth 3, between 5 and 5).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (CN208051971) in view of Huang (CN204263191) and Man Wong et al. (U.S. Patent 9,751,225), herein referred to as Man Wong and in view of Burghardt et al. (U.S. Patent 12,415,288), herein rereferred to as Burghardt..
Kim sets forth an electric razor with a stationary outer blade and a moving inner blade. However, Man Wong does not disclose that the stationary outer shaver possesses all of the claimed features. Burghardt discloses a reciprocating hair cutting device including an outer blade and a movable blade disposed beneath the outer blade, wherein the outer blade comprising tooth tips that do not project beyond a skin support surface. This configuration reduces skin irritation and increasing the cutting efficiency by lifting the hair prior to cutting (see col. 2, lines 31-38). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to substitute the stationary outer blade of Man Wong with the outer blade of Burghardt in order to reduce skin irritation and improve skin irritation through controlled tooth geometry and hair lifting as expressly taught by Burghardt. Such substitution merely involves replacing one known stationary cutter element with another known stationary cutter element having improved hair guiding features, in a device that otherwise operates on the same reciprocating blade principle. The substitution of Burghardt’s outer blade into Man Wong’s electric shaver would not change the principal operation of Man Wong’s device.
In regards to claim 4, the modified device of Man Wong discloses wherein the static cutter comprises a static blade body, the static blade body comprises one flat surface portion and two inclined surface portions extending from two sides of the flat surface portion (see Burghardt annotated drawing below), an arc surface portion is formed between the flat surface portion and the corresponding inclined surface portion, the at least one static cutter cutting portion is formed in at least one of the flat surface portion, the inclined surfaces or the arc surface portions, or connections between the arc surface portions and the flat surface portion and between the arc surface portions and the corresponding inclined surface portions, and the local recess area is formed in at least one of the flat surface portion, the inclined surface portion and the arc surface portion.
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Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (CN208051971) in view of Huang (CN204263191) and Man Wong et al. (U.S. Patent 9,751,225), herein referred to as Man Wong and in view of Liu (U.S. Publication 2010/0212160). Kim sets forth an electric razor with a stationary outer blade and a moving inner blade. However, Kim does not disclose that the stationary outer shaver possesses all of the claimed features.
Kim discloses a shaving device including a blade having a plurality of long slots formed therein wherein the slots are configured to allow long and/or curly hairs to enter the shaver and the blade thickness and slot configuration enables simultaneous shaving of both long and short hairs, thereby improving shaving efficiency (see paragraph [0037]). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to replace the stationary outer blade of Man Wong with the outer blade of Liu in order to facilitate entry of long and/or curly hairs into the cutting region and improve shaving efficiency by enabling cutting of different hair types as expressly taught by Liu. Such substitution merely involves replacing one known stationary cutter element with another known stationary cutter element having improved hair guiding features, in a device that otherwise operates on the same reciprocating blade principle. The substitution of Liu’s outer blade into Man Wong’s electric shaver would not change the principal operation of Man Wong’s device.
In regards to claim 5, the modified device of Kim discloses wherein the static cutter comprises a static blade body, the static blade body comprises a first flat surface portion (Liu 11), two second flat surface portions (Liu 2/2) extending from two sides of the first flat surface portion, and two curved surface (Liu between 11 and 2) portions extending from the two second flat surface portions, an arc surface portion (Liu between 11 and 2) is formed between the first flat surface portion (Liu 11) and the corresponding second flat surface portion (Liu 2/2), the at least static cutter cutting portion is arranged on the first flat surface portion (Liu 11), the second flat surface portion (Liu 2) and the arc surface portion (Liu between 11 and 2), and the local recess area is formed in at least one of the first flat surface portion (Liu 11), the second flat surface portion (Liu 2) or the arc surface portion (Liu between 11 and 2).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-17 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAURA M LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-8339. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8a.m.- 5p.m..
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/LAURA M LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3724
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