CTNF 18/731,596 CTNF 102020 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 1. Claims 1-2, 5-6, 10-13 objected to because of the following informalities: Claims 1-2, 5-6, 10-13 use the language "cleaning object" in terms of the surface where the cleaning nozzle, which includes the damper, is intended to be placed upon. Terminology is considered unclear because "cleaning object" suggests a component that performs cleaning, which would be interpreted as a part of the cleaning nozzle that cleans another object. As best understood from the examiner based on the specifications, "cleaning object" will be treated as the floor or other surface on which the cleaning nozzle and damper is placed upon to perform cleaning, and will be treated as such for the sake of the current Office Action. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 2. 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. 3. 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. 07-34-01 4. Claims 1, 6 , 7 and 11 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. 5. Claim 1 and 6 and recites in regards to the damper in which it “supports a cleaning object”. The limitation is considered unclear because one object cannot support another object if it is placed on top the other object– in this case, the damper is being placed on the floor, therefore it cannot support the floor, which renders the claim indefinite. As best understood from Figure 3a, the floor or “cleaning object” supports the damper when cleaner nozzle is placed on top of it, and will be treated as such for the sake of the current Office Action. 6. Claim 11 recites “an inclination angle of the front inclined portion with respect to the cleaning object is smaller than an inclination angle of the rear inclined portion with respect to the cleaning object”. Cleaning object as referred to in the claim is not fixed relative to the nozzle, such that that the inclination angles of both rear and front portions will be variable relative to the floor or cleaning object, depending on the orientation of the claimed cleaner nozzle relative to the floor surface. For examination purposes, the claimed relative inclination angles will be considered to be relative to a planar lower surface of the cleaning nozzle, which is fixed relative to the damper and will be considered as such for the sake of the current Office Action. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 7. 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 8. 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-12-aia AIA (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 9. Claims 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C under 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated Lloyd (US 20210052120) 10. Regarding claim 1, Lloyd discloses a cleaner nozzle comprising: A nozzle housing (cleaner head housing 4, Figure 3a) in which a suction inlet (suction chamber 12, Figure 3a) that sucks dust-containing air is formed (where “dirt is able to enter the suction chamber 12” paragraph [0031]); a damper (rear seal 6) which is provided behind the suction in let (where it is “located at the rear of the cleaner head”, paragraph [0030], also see Figure 3a, in which rear seal 6 is behind suction inlet 12) of the nozzle housing (cleaner head housing 4) and elastically supports a cleaning object (“when the cleaner head 1 is placed on surface, the hollow deformable rear seal 6 deforms”, paragraph [0035]); a cover (Detail A, Figure 4a which is located behind the damper and covers upper portion of rear seal 6) which is provided behind the damper of the nozzle housing and covers at least a portion of the damper. PNG media_image1.png 552 808 media_image1.png Greyscale Figure 3a (Lloyd) PNG media_image2.png 456 710 media_image2.png Greyscale Figure 4a (Lloyd) 11. Regarding claim 2, Lloyd discloses the cleaner nozzle of claim 1 as described above, and further discloses wherein; the damper (rear seal 6) is supported by the cleaning object (surface represented by plane P, Figure 3a) and elastically deformed when the nozzle housing is placed on the cleaning object (“when the cleaner head 1 is placed on surface, the hollow deformable rear seal 6 deforms”, paragraph [0035]); 12. Regarding claim 3, Lloyd discloses the cleaner nozzle of claim 2 as described above, and further discloses wherein; the cover (Detail A) is disposed to be spaced apart from the damper in the front-rear direction (see space D1 between damper and cover, in the front rear direction, Figure 4). PNG media_image3.png 207 359 media_image3.png Greyscale Figure 4b 13. Regarding claim 4, Lloyd discloses the cleaner nozzle of claim 3 as described above, and further discloses wherein when the damper is elastically deformed (“rear seal 6 deforms allowing the cavity 21 to partially collapse), the damper protrudes rearward (element 22 comes into contact with the surface when cleaner head is place on the floor, thus damper has to protrude rearwards); becomes in contact with the cover (Figure 4a shows that structurally, the rear seal 6 while being deformed would be inherently capable of touching the cover Detail A when sufficient force is applied). 14. Regarding claim 5, Lloyd discloses the cleaner nozzle of claim 2 as described above, and further discloses wherein the damper (rear seal 6) is elastically deformed while being compressed in a direction perpendicular to the cleaning object (“when cleaner head 1 is placed on surface… the rear seal 6 itself provides a reactionary downwards force across the whole width of the rear seal”, paragraph [0035]) and extended rearward (surface 22 deforms as coming into contact with cleaning object or plane P, thus extending rearwards, Figure 3a). 15. Regarding claim 6, Lloyd discloses the cleaner nozzle of claim 1 as described above, and further discloses wherein the damper (rear seal 6) is provided on the nozzle housing (cleaner head housing 4) and has an inner empty space (cavity 21, Figure 3a, paragraph [0033]), and wherein the damper comprises: a floor support portion (Detail B, corner between elements 22 and 23, Figure 3b) which supports the cleaning object (comes into contact with plane P when cleaner head is placed on surface, Figure 3); a rear inclined portion (angled surface 23, Figure 3a) which is disposed to be inclined to be spaced from the cleaning object toward the rear from the floor support portion (see inclined part of portion 23 of seal 6, extending towards the rear from the floor support function, Detail B, Figure 3b); a front inclined portion (lower sealing surface 22) which is disposed to be inclined to be spaced from the cleaning object toward the front from the floor support portion (see inclined part of portion 22 of seal 6 extending, towards the front from the floor support function, Detail B, Figure 3b); PNG media_image4.png 450 565 media_image4.png Greyscale Figure 3b (Lloyd) 16. Regarding claim 7, Lloyd discloses the cleaner nozzle of claim 6 as described above, and further discloses wherein comprises of: an imaginary line extending from the rear inclined portion (angled surface 23, wherein the cover (Detail A) is disposed to intersect the imaginary line (See Figure 4c, where it shows imaginary line C from rear inclined portion of seal intersecting with cover). PNG media_image5.png 584 834 media_image5.png Greyscale Figure 4c (Lloyd) 17. Regarding claim 8, Lloyd discloses the cleaner nozzle of claim 6, and further discloses wherein the damper has a non-uniform thickness (see Figure 3c, where if you were to take cross sections from top to bottom of the damper, thickness will vary throughout, thus non uniform). 18. Regarding claim 9, Lloyd discloses the cleaner nozzle of claim 6, and further discloses wherein a thickness of the floor support portion (take cross section at line A, Figure 3c) is greater than thicknesses of the rear inclined portion and the front inclined portion (take cross section at line B, Figure 3c). Cross sections at these 2 distinct planes will show the damper is thicker at the cross section at the floor support portion than the inclined front and rear portions. PNG media_image6.png 577 988 media_image6.png Greyscale Figure 3c (Lloyd) 19. Regarding claim 10, Lloyd discloses the cleaner nozzle of claim 9, and further discloses wherein floor support portion (Detail B) comprises a convex portion protruding toward the cleaning object (floor portion is shaped like a corner, thus having a convex portion protruding the surface (plane P) in the same manner as disclosed invention, Figure 3b). 20. Regarding claim 11, Lloyd discloses the cleaner nozzle of claim 6 as described above, and further discloses wherein an inclination angle of the front inclined portion (lower sealing surface 22) with respect to the cleaning object (plane P) is smaller than an inclination angle of the rear inclined portion (angled surface 23) with respect to the cleaning object (Figure 3a shows triangle which includes length along element 22 and 23, and Plane P. length along element 22 is longer than 23, thus geometrically having a smaller angle with respect to Plane P than length along element 23 with respect to plane P). 21. Regarding claim 12, Lloyd discloses the cleaner nozzle of claim 1 as described above and further discloses wherein the cover comprises: a cover body (Detail Y, Figure 4d) which is connected to the nozzle housing (housing 4); and a flap (Detail Z, Figure 4d) which is formed to protrude from the cover body toward the cleaning object, is formed to be spaced from the cleaning object by a predetermined distance (distance D1, Figure 4b), wherein the damper (rear seal 6) becomes in contact with the flap according to the elastic deformation of the damper (when nozzle is placed on surface Plane P, rear seal 6 will deform that if enough force is applied, it will make contact with flap Detail Z). PNG media_image7.png 586 834 media_image7.png Greyscale Figure 4d (Lloyd) 22. Regarding claim 13, Lloyd discloses a cleaner nozzle comprising: A nozzle housing (cleaner head housing 4, Figure 3) in which a suction inlet (suction chamber 12, Figure 3a) that sucks dust-containing air is formed (where “dirt is able to enter the suction chamber 12” paragraph [0031]); a damper (rear seal 6) which is provided behind the suction in let (where it is “located at the rear of the cleaner head”, paragraph [0030], also see Figure 3a, in which rear seal 6 is behind suction inlet 12) of the nozzle housing (cleaner head housing 4) and elastically supports a cleaning object (“when the cleaner head 1 is placed on surface, the hollow deformable rear seal 6 deforms”, paragraph [0035]); the damper (rear seal 6) is provided on the nozzle housing (cleaner head housing 4) and has an inner empty space (cavity 21, Figure 3a, paragraph [0033]), and the damper has a non-uniform thickness (see Figure 3c, where if you were to take cross sections from top to bottom of the damper, thickness will vary throughout, thus non uniform). Conclusion 07-96 AIA 23. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kasper (US 20150059123) Discloses a vacuum cleaner nozzle in which a blade assembly is disposed behind suction nozzle. Blade assembly helps guide dirt and can pivot while placed on a surface. Bo sang (EP 2689701) discloses an autonomous cleaning device consisting of a main body with flexible blades to help guide dust to inner main body. Blades are of uneven thickness, have front and rear inclination angles and makes contact with on a surface. 24. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIEGO J NG whose telephone number is (571)270-0802. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Fri 7:30am - 5:00pm. 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, Brian Keller can be reached at 571-272-8548. 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. /DIEGO J NG/Examiner, Art Unit 3723 /BRYAN R MULLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723 10 June 2026 Application/Control Number: 18/731,596 Page 2 Art Unit: 3723 Application/Control Number: 18/731,596 Page 3 Art Unit: 3723 Application/Control Number: 18/731,596 Page 4 Art Unit: 3723 Application/Control Number: 18/731,596 Page 5 Art Unit: 3723 Application/Control Number: 18/731,596 Page 6 Art Unit: 3723 Application/Control Number: 18/731,596 Page 7 Art Unit: 3723
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