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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Line 3 recites “most of tank bodies” which is grammatically incorrect.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 5, 10, and 20 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 5 and 20, last 2 lines recites “the protruding point is limited in the pit”. The meaning of “limited” is unclear. In what way is the point limited?
Claim 10, line 3 recites “most of tank bodies”. There is no antecedent basis for “tank bodies”.
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 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by Zhang ‘85 (CN 112806908 A) or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Zhang (US 2020/0077858) in view of Zhang ‘85 (CN 112806908 A).
As to claim 1, Zhang includes a self-cleaning maintenance station (1; The station cleans the cleaning robot using water out of water storage tank 1 and then the water is collected by the same tank, and therefore, the station is self-cleaning; machine translation, para 16), comprising:
a self-cleaning maintenance station body (2) and a water storage tank (1; para 16), the self-cleaning maintenance station body comprising a water storage chamber (2), wherein the water storage chamber is disposed at a top portion of the self-cleaning maintenance station body with an opening of the water storage chamber facing upward and forward (The opening includes a wall facing up and a wall facing forward), and is configured to accommodate the water storage tank; and
the water storage tank is detachably assembled at a top end of the self-cleaning maintenance station body, and comprises at least one of a waste water opening or a clean water opening (The opening 4 enters; Fig. 3); and a height of the at least one of the waste water opening or the clean water opening is higher than a highest water level line of the water storage tank (The opening is above a water line like that of water line 7111 in Fig. 3 of this application).
Alternatively, Zhang can be combined with Zhang ’85.
As to claim 1, Zhang includes a self-cleaning maintenance station (1; Station 1 cleans cleaning robot 2 using water out of water storage tank 12 and then the water is collected by waste water tank 13, and therefore, the station is self-cleaning; para 168), comprising:
a self-cleaning maintenance station body (1) and a water storage tank (12; 12 holds water; para 183) [para 166], and
an opening (The inner opening of 2) of the water storage chamber facing upward and forward (The opening includes a wall facing up and a wall facing forward). Zhang does not include the self-cleaning maintenance station body comprising a water storage chamber, wherein the water storage chamber is disposed at a top portion of the self-cleaning maintenance station body with an opening of the water storage chamber facing upward and forward, and is configured to accommodate the water storage tank; and
the water storage tank is detachably assembled at a top end of the self-cleaning maintenance station body, and comprises at least one of a waste water opening or a clean water opening; and a height of the at least one of the waste water opening or the clean water opening is higher than a highest water level line of the water storage tank.
Zhang ‘85 includes a self-cleaning maintenance station (The station seen in Fig. 1) including a self-cleaning maintenance station body (The segment of the station below 1) comprising a water storage chamber (2), wherein the water storage chamber is disposed at a top portion of the self-cleaning maintenance station body with an opening (The top opening of 2) of the water storage chamber facing upward and forward (The opening includes a wall facing up and a wall facing forward), and is configured to accommodate the water storage tank; and
the water storage tank is detachably assembled at a top end of the self-cleaning maintenance station body, and comprises at least one of a waste water opening (The opening 4 enters; Fig. 3) or a clean water opening; and a height of the at least one of the waste water opening or the clean water opening is higher than a highest water level line of the water storage tank (The opening 4 enters is above the water line of 1; Fig. 1).
It would have obvious to modify Zhang to include the self-cleaning maintenance station body comprising a water storage chamber, wherein the water storage chamber is disposed at a top portion of the self-cleaning maintenance station body with an opening of the water storage chamber facing upward and forward, and is configured to accommodate the water storage tank, and the water storage tank is detachably assembled at a top end of the self-cleaning maintenance station body, and comprises at least one of a waste water opening or a clean water opening, and a height of the at least one of the waste water opening or the clean water opening is higher than a highest water level line of the water storage tank (The modification would add the water storage chamber that holds each tank 12 and 13, and the waste water opening with a height higher than the highest water line of the water storage tank. Note that Zhang ’85 includes a water tube entering the top of the outer wall of a waste water tank. Combining Zhang with Zhang 85’ creates a waste water opening at the very top of the outer wall and above the highest water level line, which is interpreted as a water line near but not at the very top of the outer wall, and that is the type of water line [see element 7111] shown in Applicant’s Fig. 3), as taught by Zhang ’85, the water storage chamber allowing convenient removal of the water tanks, and the high height of the waste water opening minimizing the chance of leaking of the waste water out of the waste water tank due to shaking of the station.
As to claim 16, Zhang includes a self-cleaning system, comprising an automatic cleaning device (2) and a self-cleaning maintenance station (1; Station 1 cleans cleaning robot 2 using water out of water storage tank 12 and then the water is collected by waste water tank 13, and therefore, the station is self-cleaning; para 168). The remaining part of claim 16 is rejected as discussed in claim 1.
Zhang ’85 also includes both an automatic cleaning device (The “intelligent sweeping robot”; machine translation, para 16) and a self-cleaning maintenance station (The station in Fig. 1). The remaining part of claim 16 is rejected as discussed in claim 1.
Claims 2 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang ‘85 (CN 112806908 A) in view of Meyer (DE 10 2010 017 211 A1).
As to claim 2, the water storage tank comprises a water tank accommodating portion (1), the water tank accommodating portion comprises a water tank body part (The part of 1 below the top part of 1 that 4 enters; Fig. 3) and a water tank projecting part (The top part of 1 that 4 enters; Fig. 3); and the at least one of the waste water opening or the clean water opening is provided on a lower surface of the water tank projecting part (Fig. 3 shows 4 entering the bottom of the projecting part).
Zhang ’85 does not include a water storage tank having a water tank top cover; the water tank top cover substantially covers a water tank accommodating portion.
Meyer includes a water storage tank (32, 33) having a water tank top cover (33); the water tank top cover substantially covers a water tank accommodating portion (32) [machine translation, para 52].
It would have been obvious to modify the water storage tank of Zhang ’85 to have a water storage tank having a water tank top cover, and the water tank top cover substantially covering a water tank accommodating portion, as taught by Meyer, in order to keep the water from spilling out of the water storage tank.
Claim 17 is rejected for the reasons discussed in claim 2.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4, 6-9, 11-15, and 18-19 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 5, 10 and 20 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.
Conclusion
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/ANDREW A HORTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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