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 .
Rejections 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1)
1. 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.
Claim is 20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Publication (2012/0137454) to Huy et al.
Regarding independent claim 20, Huy et al. discloses a main body (100) including a surface (120) having a first reflectance (opaque plastic), and a reflective pattern on the surface (120) and having a second reflectance (reflectance from the neck (140) surface being translucent) different from the first reflectance (note the reflectance from the surface (120) that is opaque plastic will different than the surface for the neck (140) that is translucent or transparent) (See paragraph [0022]).
Allowable Subject Matter
2. Claims 1-19 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the closest prior art of record is U.S. Patent Publication (2022/0167808) to Inoue et al. discloses a cleaner (100) having a cleaning brush (50) and a suction port (12). Inoue et al. additionally discloses an input unit (70) and a storage unit (80) (See paragraphs [0038]-[0040]). However, Inoue et al. is silent regarding that “…. a cleaning member detachably couplable to the rotation part and having at least one reflective pattern provided on a surface thereof; and an optical sensor disposed at a position adjacent to the rotation part, emitting light toward the cleaning member and obtaining a light reflection amount reflected by the cleaning member…. the at least one reflective pattern has a different reflectance from a remaining region of the surface not provided with the at least one reflective pattern”, as required in independent claim 1 or “..rotating a rotation part of the robotic vacuum cleaner; emitting light to a cleaning member provided with a reflective pattern through an optical sensor (180) and detecting an amount of light reflected from the cleaning member through the optical sensor; detecting a pattern change in the light reflection amount by the reflective pattern based on the light reflection amount detected by the optical sensor; and determining a state of the cleaning member based on the detected pattern change”, as required in independent claim 15.
Claims 2-14 and 15-19 are allowed for their dependency on claims 1 and 15.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
3. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL D. JENNINGS whose telephone number is (571)270-1536. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4:30pm. EST.
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 S. 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.
/MICHAEL D JENNINGS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723
Prosecution Insights