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 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.
Claim 6-13, 17-20 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.
Regarding Claim 6 and 17, Claims 6 and 17 cite the limitation “wherein the first portion is circumferentially spaced from the first portion about the longitudinal axis,” which is unclear and indefinite, as it is unclear how a surface could be circumferentially spaced apart from itself. As such for the purposes of Examination, this will be interpreted as “wherein the first portion is circumferentially spaced from the second portion about the longitudinal axis,”
Claims 7-13 and 18-20 are rejected for their dependence on a rejected claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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(s) 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being Anticipated by Vago (US 20040084063 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Vago discloses A brush head assembly for a powered toothbrush, the brush head assembly comprising:
a housing (head 20);
a first brush head (36) supported by the housing (See Figs. 1 and 14);
a second brush head (38, Examiners notes that Vago shows a plurality of different embodiments with different second brush heads, including 138, 238, 338, 438, 538, 638, 738 and 838) supported by the housing (See Figs. 1 and 3); and
a driveshaft (34) positioned in the housing and coupled to the first brush head and the second brush head, the driveshaft having a longitudinal axis (32), wherein a rotation of the driveshaft about a longitudinal axis is configured to pivot the first brush head (See Para [0048] “The first bristle holder 36 includes at least one slot for receiving a remote most end of the rotating shaft 34, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,916. The remote-most end of the shaft 34 is bent or offset from the longitudinal axis 32 of the shaft 34 and engages the slot to oscillate the first bristle holder 36 about a pin (not shown).”) and translate the second brush head relative to the housing (See Para [0049] “A second bristle holder 38 is disposed adjacent the first bristle holder 36. The second bristle holder 38 reciprocates in the same general longitudinal direction as longitudinal axis 30 of the head 20. In this embodiment, the longitudinal direction of reciprocation is also the same as the longitudinal direction of the longitudinal axis 32 of the shaft 34.”).
Regarding Claim 2, Vago discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and in addition discloses wherein the driveshaft includes a first end portion (opposite portion of shaft 34) and a second end portion opposite the first end portion (Portion of 34 connecting to 26, See Fig. 1), wherein the second end portion includes a connector that is configured to couple to a driver (See Para [0051] “As the motor 26 of the electric stainbrush rotates the shaft 34, the remote end of the shaft engages the slot of the first bristle holder 36 to oscillate the first bristle holder.”), and wherein the first end portion includes a first cam assembly that is configured to engage with the first brush head to pivot the first brush head when the driveshaft rotates about the longitudinal axis (See Para [0048] “The remote-most end of the shaft 34 is bent or offset from the longitudinal axis 32 of the shaft 34 and engages the slot to oscillate the first bristle holder 36 about a pin (not shown).”).
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.
Claim(s) 5, and 21-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vago (US 20040084063 A1).
Regarding Claim 5, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 2 but does not explicitly disclose comprising a second cam assembly that is coupled to the driveshaft such that rotation of the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis is configured to engage the second cam assembly with the second brush head to reciprocally translate the second brush head relative to the housing in an axial direction along the longitudinal axis.
However, Vago is concerned with several different embodiments for driving a oscillating translation of a second cleaning head including a second cam assembly (348) that is coupled to the driveshaft (334) such that rotation of the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis is configured to engage the second cam assembly with the second brush head to reciprocally translate the second brush head relative to the housing in an axial direction along the longitudinal axis (See Para [0054] discussing the movement of the second brush head 338 due to the movement of the cam, specifically “The second bristle holder 338 is reciprocatingly driven in the same general longitudinal direction as the longitudinal axis of the head 320 and/or shaft 334. A cam 348 included on the shaft 134 operatively interconnects the shaft 334 with second bristle holder 338.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to modify the second head of Vago to include a second cam assembly in order to produce the desired oscillatory translational movement as advantageously disclosed in Vago (See Para [0004] discussing advantageous of multi-motion electric brushes).
Regarding Claim 21, A brush head assembly for a powered toothbrush, the brush head assembly comprising:
a housing (See body heads 36 and 38 are supported on);
a first brush head (36) supported by the housing;
a second brush head (38, Examiners notes that Vago shows a plurality of different embodiments with different second brush heads, including 138, 238, 338, 438, 538, 638, 738 and 838) supported by the housing; and
a transmission assembly (Shaft 34, motor 26) positioned within the housing (Drive shaft 34 extends into the housing), the transmission assembly comprising:
a driveshaft (34) having a longitudinal axis (32);
a first cam assembly configured to convert a rotation of the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis into a pivot of the first brush head about an axis of rotation that is different from the longitudinal axis (See Para [0048] “The remote-most end of the shaft 34 is bent or offset from the longitudinal axis 32 of the shaft 34 and engages the slot to oscillate the first bristle holder 36 about a pin (not shown).” disclosing a bend/offset portion of the drive shaft engaging a slot to oscillate the first bristle holder); but does not explicitly disclose
a second cam assembly configured to convert the rotation of the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis into an axial translation of the second brush head along the longitudinal axis.
However, Vago is concerned with several different embodiments for driving a oscillating translation of a second cleaning head including a second cam assembly (348) that is coupled to the driveshaft (334) such that rotation of the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis is configured to engage the second cam assembly with the second brush head to reciprocally translate the second brush head relative to the housing in an axial direction along the longitudinal axis (See Para [0054] discussing the movement of the second brush head 338 due to the movement of the cam, specifically “The second bristle holder 338 is reciprocatingly driven in the same general longitudinal direction as the longitudinal axis of the head 320 and/or shaft 334. A cam 348 included on the shaft 134 operatively interconnects the shaft 334 with second bristle holder 338.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to modify the second head of Vago to include a second cam assembly in order to produce the desired oscillatory translational movement as advantageously disclosed in Vago (See Para [0004] discussing advantageous of multi-motion electric brushes).
Regarding Claim 22, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 21 and in addition discloses wherein the first cam assembly comprises an eccentric bend in the driveshaft that extends radially away from the longitudinal axis (See Para [0048] “The remote-most end of the shaft 34 is bent or offset from the longitudinal axis 32 of the shaft 34 and engages the slot to oscillate the first bristle holder 36 about a pin (not shown).”), and
wherein the eccentric bend is at least partially inserted within a slot defined on the first brush head (See Above citation of Para [0048]).
Regarding Claim 23, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 22 and in addition discloses wherein the second cam assembly comprises a body (348) having a cam surface (groove 72 formed by 352 and 354), and
wherein the rotation of the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis is configured to slide the second brush head along the cam surface (See Para [0054] “The cam follower 356 is slideably received within the groove 72. As the shaft 334 rotates, a first surface 354 of the spiral groove 72, such as a side wall thereof, comes into contact with a first surface of the cam follower 356 and drives the cam follower 356, and therefore the second bristle holder 338, away from the first bristle holder 36 in a longitudinal direction generally the same as the longitudinal axis of the head 320.”).
Claim(s) 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vago (US 20040084063 A1) in view of Zhuan (US 20030221269 A1)
Regarding Claim 3, Vago discloses all the limitations of claim 2 and suggests but does not explicitly disclose wherein the first cam assembly comprises an eccentric bend in the driveshaft at the first end portion, wherein the first brush head comprises a first side and a second side opposite the first side, wherein a plurality of bristles extends outward from the first side, and wherein the second side includes a slot that is configured to at least partially receive the eccentric bend of the driveshaft therein (See above citation of Para [0048] in the rejection of claim 2, disclosing a bend/offset portion of the drive shaft engaging a slot to oscillate the first bristle holder).
Zhuan discloses a similar oscillating toothbrush wherein a first cam (See bend in crankshaft at 46 in Fig. 4a) assembly comprises an eccentric bend in the driveshaft at the first end portion (See Fig. 4a), wherein the first brush head comprises a first side (side of 14 that 24 extends out of in Fig. 4a) and a second side opposite the first side (See Fig. 4a opposite side of 14 of brush head 14), wherein a plurality of bristles extends outward from the first side (24 as shown in Fig. 4a is analogous to the upper side of a brush head where bristles would extend from), and wherein the second side includes a slot that is configured to at least partially receive the eccentric bend of the driveshaft therein (See Fig. 4a-4c and 5a-5c showing eccentric bend portion inserting into slot 66 which is attached to slot 70 on the second side of the head 14).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the cleaning head and drive shaft such that wherein the bend in the shaft comprises a first cam assembly, wherein the first cam assembly comprises an eccentric bend in the driveshaft at the first end portion, wherein the first brush head comprises a first side and a second side opposite the first side, wherein a plurality of bristles extends outward from the first side, and wherein the second side includes a slot that is configured to at least partially receive the eccentric bend of the driveshaft therein.
As doing would be a simple matter of simply substituting the first cam assembly of Vago and first brush head with the first cam assembly and brush head of Zhaun, as both are methods of translating the rotational motion of a shaft to a rotational oscillation of a brush head in a direction orthogonal to the direction axis of rotation of the drive shaft.
Claim(s) 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vago (US 20040084063 A1) in view of Zhuan (US 20030221269 A1) as modified in claim 3 and in further view of Schaffer (US 20150320529 A1).
Regarding Claim 4, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 3 but does not explicitly disclose wherein at least one of the slot or the eccentric bend is at least partially coated with a thermoplastic elastomer
However, Schaffer discloses a toothbrush with an elastic pivot element wherein thermoplastic elastomer is an ideal material (See Para [0015] “The material from which the elastic pivot element is made also may have damping properties so that e.g. small amplitude high frequencies oscillations (e.g. vibrations) or shock waves are at least to some extent absorbed by the elastic pivot element and are not transferred from the first coupling part to the second coupling part or vice versa. At least some of the properties of the elastic pivot element as mentioned can be fulfilled by an elastic plastic material such as polypropylene or polyethylene (due to their good fatigue resistance) or a natural or artificial rubber, such as a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) such as Hyrtel®.”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the eccentric bend or the at least one slot to be made of or coated with a TPE material as one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that TPE is a known ideal material for such elements in an electric toothbrush and would provide damping properties as discussed in Para [0015] of Schaffer as cited above.
Claim(s) 6, 7, 9-11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vago (US 20040084063 A1) and in further view of Ek (US 20040143917 A1).
Regarding Claim 6, Vago discloses all the limitations of claim 5 and in addition discloses
wherein the second cam assembly includes a body (348) having a cam surface that includes a first portion (352) and a second portion (354),
wherein the rotation of the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis is configured to slidingly engage the second brush head along the cam surface (72) to reciprocally translate the second brush head relative to the housing (See Para [0054] “Referring to FIG. 6, a fourth embodiment of a stainbrush head suitable for use with the electric stainbrush of FIG. 1 will now be described. The head 320 includes a second bristle holder 338 that is slideably mounted in slots (not shown, but which can be the same arrangement as the projection 40 and slot 42 arrangement illustrated in FIG. 2). The second bristle holder 338 is reciprocatingly driven in the same general longitudinal direction as the longitudinal axis of the head 320 and/or shaft 334.”).
wherein the rotation of the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis is configured to slidingly engage the second brush head along the cam surface to reciprocally translate the second brush head relative to the housing (See Para [0054] “The stroke and frequency of the motion imparted to the cam follower 356 by the cam 348 can be varied by changing the shape and dimensions of the groove. For example, the groove 74 of cam 348 is sinusoidal in shape and would provide one complete stroke of the second bristle holder 338 (i.e., one cycle away from and back toward the first bristle holder 36) for one revolution of the shaft 334. FIG. 9 illustrates an alternate cam 348 having a helical groove 472 which is provided in the form of figure eight. This would only provide one-half of a stroke (i.e., only either translation toward or away from the first bristle holder 36) for one revolution of the shaft 334. A cam follower 356 depends from a bottom surface 60 of the second bristle holder 338.”).
But does not explicitly disclose
wherein the first portion is circumferentially spaced from the first portion about the longitudinal axis,
wherein the first portion is axially spaced from the second portion along the longitudinal axis, and
However, Ek discloses a similar toothbrush with a drive shaft second cam assembly (12, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 form the second cam assembly) for translating a rotational movement to an up-down directional translation (See arrows indicating movement in Fig. 1 at 20) including
wherein the second cam assembly includes a body (16) having a cam surface that includes a first portion (upwardly inclined portion of 16) and a second portion (Downwardly inclined portion of 16),
wherein the first portion is circumferentially spaced from the first portion about the longitudinal axis (See Fig. 3 showing the first and second portion spaced circumferentially from the longitudinal axis),
wherein the first portion is axially spaced from the second portion along the longitudinal axis (See Fig. 3 showing the first and second portions spaced axially about the longitudinal axis due to the incline of 16), and
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to simply substitute the second cam assembly of Vago in view of the cam assembly of Ek as both are equivalent methods of providing oscillatory translation movement from rotational movement.
Regarding Claim 7, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 6 and in addition discloses wherein the cam surface extends helically about the longitudinal axis (See 16 of Ek which extends helically about the longitudinal axis).
Regarding Claim 9, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 6 and in addition wherein the cam surface is a planar surface that extends along a plane that extends through longitudinal axis at a non-zero angle (See the inclined cam surface 16 of Ek).
Regarding Claim 10, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 6 and in addition wherein the cam surface is formed on an axial end of the body (Top surface of 16 of Ek is the axial top end of the body).
Regarding Claim 11, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 6 and suggests but does not explicitly disclose wherein the cam surface is formed in an annular groove that extends radially into a radially outer surface of the body (Ek shows an annular cam surface 16 which a shaft 12 extends through, and Vago discloses a cam body 348 (Fig. 7) wherein the cam surface (72) is formed in an annular groove (between 354 and 352) that extends radially into a radially outer surface of the body (See Fig. 7)).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the cam of Ek as modified to incorporate the combined teachings of the cam assemblies of Ek and Vago as both are cam assemblies for translating a rotation of a drive shaft to an oscillatory translational movement.
Claim(s) 8, 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vago (US 20040084063 A1) and Ek (US 20040143917 A1) as modified in claim 6 and in further view of Salazar (US 20100330538 A1).
Regarding Claim 8, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 6 but does not explicitly disclose wherein the first portion of the cam surface comprises a hemispherical curvature.
However, Salazar discloses a similar electric toothbrush with a similar cam assembly for producing a oscillatory translational movement wherein the first portion of cam surface (141) comprises a hemispherical curvature, (See Fig. 4 and Para [0065] “A movable portion (143) of the cam assembly is slidably secured about the drive shaft (136) adjacent to the fixed portion (141). A biasing member (144), depicted as a spring, is disposed adjacent to the movable portion (143). As the motor (134) rotates the drive shaft (136), the fixed portion (141) is rotated concurrently, applying a lateral force (146) against the movable portion (143). The shape of the cam portions (141, 143) causes the lateral force (146) to impart an axial force (148) to the movable portion (143), which slides along the drive shaft (136) toward the brush head (132).” Discussing how the cam shaft produced the motion from the rotation of the shaft).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to simply substitute the second cam assembly of Vago in view of Ek for the cam assembly of Salazar as both are equivalent methods of providing oscillatory translation movement from rotational movement.
Regarding Claim 12, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations claim 6 but does not explicitly disclose wherein the second brush head is biased against the cam surface.
However, Vago does disclose wherein the second brush head is biased against a Cam engagement between the second brush head and the first brush head (See Para [0051] “The slots are aligned in generally the same longitudinal direction as the longitudinal axis of the head 20. The second bristle holder 38 is driven in a reciprocating longitudinal motion by the movement of the first bristle holder 36 through a pair of opposed hemispherical protrusions 42, 44 that engage one another to displace the second bristle holder 38 against a biasing element, such as spring 46.”).
And Salazar discloses a brush head (132) which is biased against a cam surface (See Para [0065] discussing the biased cam surface causing the an axial force to act against the brush head).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the second brush head to be biased against the cam surface as Salazar discloses this an additional method of translating rotational motion in to oscillatory translational movement by allowing for the brush head to be returned to the starting position as discussed in Para [0066] of Salazar, also increasing the consistency of the device by ensuring it starts in the same state when the device is activated.
Regarding Claim 13, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 12 and in addition discloses wherein the second brush head is biased against the cam surface with a spring (See Biasing member 144 in Salazar depicted as a spring).
Claim(s) 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vago (US 20040084063 A1) in view of Gaboury (US 20080221387 A1).
Regarding Claim 14, Vago discloses
A powered toothbrush (See Fig. 1) comprising:
a handle (22) including a driver (26); and
a brush head (20) assembly coupled to the handle (22), wherein the brush head assembly comprises:
a housing (main body of 20 that 36 and 38 are seated on);
one or more brush heads (36 and 38) supported on the housing (See Fig. 1 and 2); and
a driveshaft (34) positioned in the housing (See Fig. 1 and 2), the driveshaft including a longitudinal axis (32) such that the driver is configured to rotate the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis to actuate the one or more brush heads relative to the housing.
But does not explicitly disclose and a female connector coupled to the driver, wherein the female connector includes a recess;
and a male connector, wherein the male connector is inserted within the recess of the female connector
the driver is configured to rotate the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis via the male connector and the female connector.
However, Gaboury discloses a similar powered toothbrush device including a female connector (52) coupled to the driver, wherein the female connector includes a recess (See Fig. 17, while this is shown as prior art, Gaboury is concerned with providing a toothbrush head, capable of connecting with a handle 26, and shows Fig. 17 as an example of what the head can connect to, See Para [0053] “A perspective view of the prior art grip 26 with female coupling portion 52 is shown in FIG. 17. The motor (not shown) is housed inside of grip 26. The energy created in the motor is conveyed to wand 28 by a prior art coupling 74 between electric toothbrush 26 and wand 28 as shown in FIG. 18. The reader should appreciate that any manner of coupling the electric toothbrush 26 to wand 28 could be used to achieve the same results.”);
and a male connector (50), wherein the male connector is inserted within the recess of the female connector (See Para [0053] cited above)
the driver is configured to rotate the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis via the male connector and the female connector (See Para [0053] cited above, additionally see Fig 9 and 10 showing the male connector connected to the drive shaft 58).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the drive shaft of Vago such that it includes a male connector and a the handle of Vago and a female connector which is connected to the motor similar to that taught by Gaboury as doing so would allow for replaceable brush heads, allowing the user to replace the brush after it has been expended while retaining the functionality of the driven heads, and Gaboury disclosed in Para [0053] as cited above that different connection types can achieve the same results.
Regarding Claim 15, Vago discloses all the limitations of claim 14 and in addition discloses wherein the one or more brush heads comprises a first brush head (36) and a second brush head (38, Examiners notes that Vago shows a plurality of different embodiments with different second brush heads, including 138, 238, 338, 438, 538, 638, 738 and 838), wherein the brush head assembly further comprises:
a first cam assembly that is configured to convert a rotation of the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis into a pivot of the first brush head about an axis of rotation that is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis (See Para [0048] “The remote-most end of the shaft 34 is bent or offset from the longitudinal axis 32 of the shaft 34 and engages the slot to oscillate the first bristle holder 36 about a pin (not shown).” disclosing a bend/offset portion of the drive shaft engaging a slot to oscillate the first bristle holder); and does not explicitly disclose
a second cam assembly that is configured to convert the rotation of the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis into an axial translation of the second brush head along the longitudinal axis.
However, Vago is concerned with several different embodiments for driving a oscillating translation of a second cleaning head including a second cam assembly (348) that is coupled to the driveshaft (334) such that rotation of the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis is configured to engage the second cam assembly with the second brush head to reciprocally translate the second brush head relative to the housing in an axial direction along the longitudinal axis (See Para [0054] discussing the movement of the second brush head 338 due to the movement of the cam, specifically “The second bristle holder 338 is reciprocatingly driven in the same general longitudinal direction as the longitudinal axis of the head 320 and/or shaft 334. A cam 348 included on the shaft 134 operatively interconnects the shaft 334 with second bristle holder 338.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to modify the second head of Vago to include a second cam assembly in order to produce the desired oscillatory translational movement as advantageously disclosed in Vago (See Para [0004] discussing advantageous of multi-motion electric brushes).
Regarding Claim 16, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 15 and in addition discloses wherein the first cam assembly comprises an eccentric bend in the driveshaft (See Para [0048] “The remote-most end of the shaft 34 is bent or offset from the longitudinal axis 32 of the shaft 34 and engages the slot to oscillate the first bristle holder 36 about a pin (not shown).”).
Claim(s) 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vago (US 20040084063 A1) in view of Gaboury (US 20080221387 A1) as modified in claim 14 and in further view of Ek (US 20040143917 A1).
Regarding Claim 17, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 15 and in addition discloses wherein the second cam assembly (348) comprises a body coupled to the driveshaft (334),
wherein the rotation of the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis is configured to slidingly engage the second brush head along the cam surface (72) to reciprocally translate the second brush head relative to the housing (See Para [0054] “Referring to FIG. 6, a fourth embodiment of a stainbrush head suitable for use with the electric stainbrush of FIG. 1 will now be described. The head 320 includes a second bristle holder 338 that is slideably mounted in slots (not shown, but which can be the same arrangement as the projection 40 and slot 42 arrangement illustrated in FIG. 2). The second bristle holder 338 is reciprocatingly driven in the same general longitudinal direction as the longitudinal axis of the head 320 and/or shaft 334.”).
wherein the rotation of the driveshaft about the longitudinal axis is configured to slidingly engage the second brush head along the cam surface to reciprocally translate the second brush head relative to the housing (See Para [0054] “The stroke and frequency of the motion imparted to the cam follower 356 by the cam 348 can be varied by changing the shape and dimensions of the groove. For example, the groove 74 of cam 348 is sinusoidal in shape and would provide one complete stroke of the second bristle holder 338 (i.e., one cycle away from and back toward the first bristle holder 36) for one revolution of the shaft 334. FIG. 9 illustrates an alternate cam 348 having a helical groove 472 which is provided in the form of figure eight. This would only provide one-half of a stroke (i.e., only either translation toward or away from the first bristle holder 36) for one revolution of the shaft 334. A cam follower 356 depends from a bottom surface 60 of the second bristle holder 338.”).
but does not explicitly disclose
wherein the body includes a cam surface that includes a first portion and a second portion,
wherein the first portion is circumferentially spaced from the first portion about the longitudinal axis,
wherein the first portion is axially spaced from the second portion along the longitudinal axis, and
However, Ek discloses a similar toothbrush with a drive shaft second cam assembly (12, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 form the second cam assembly) for translating a rotational movement to an up-down directional translation (See arrows indicating movement in Fig. 1 at 20) including
wherein the second cam assembly includes a body (16) having a cam surface that includes a first portion (upwardly inclined portion of 16) and a second portion (Downwardly inclined portion of 16),
wherein the first portion is circumferentially spaced from the first portion about the longitudinal axis (See Fig. 3 showing the first and second portion spaced circumferentially from the longitudinal axis),
wherein the first portion is axially spaced from the second portion along the longitudinal axis (See Fig. 3 showing the first and second portions spaced axially about the longitudinal axis due to the incline of 16), and
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to simply substitute the second cam assembly of Vago in view of the cam assembly of Ek as both are equivalent methods of providing oscillatory translation movement from rotational movement.
Regarding Claim 18, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 17 and in addition wherein the cam surface is formed on an axial end of the body (Top surface of 16 of Ek is the axial top end of the body).
Regarding Claim 19, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 17 and suggests but does not explicitly disclose wherein the cam surface is formed in an annular groove that extends radially into a radially outer surface of the body (Ek shows an annular cam surface 16 which a shaft 12 extends through, and Vago discloses a cam body 348 (Fig. 7) wherein the cam surface (72) is formed in an annular groove (between 354 and 352) that extends radially into a radially outer surface of the body (See Fig. 7)).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the cam of Ek as modified to incorporate the combined teachings of the cam assemblies of Ek and Vago as both are cam assemblies for translating a rotation of a drive shaft to an oscillatory translational movement.
Claim(s) 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vago (US 20040084063 A1) in view of Gaboury (US 20080221387 A1) as modified in claim 14 and in further view of Ek (US 20040143917 A1) as modified in claim 17 and in further view of Salazar (US 20100330538 A1).
Regarding Claim 20, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations claim 17 but does not explicitly disclose wherein the second brush head is biased against the cam surface.
However, Vago does disclose wherein the second brush head is biased against a Cam engagement between the second brush head and the first brush head (See Para [0051] “The slots are aligned in generally the same longitudinal direction as the longitudinal axis of the head 20. The second bristle holder 38 is driven in a reciprocating longitudinal motion by the movement of the first bristle holder 36 through a pair of opposed hemispherical protrusions 42, 44 that engage one another to displace the second bristle holder 38 against a biasing element, such as spring 46.”).
And Salazar discloses a brush head (132) which is biased against a cam surface (See Para [0065] discussing the biased cam surface causing the an axial force to act against the brush head).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the second brush head to be biased against the cam surface as Salazar discloses this an additional method of translating rotational motion in to oscillatory translational movement by allowing for the brush head to be returned to the starting position as discussed in Para [0066] of Salazar, also increasing the consistency of the device by ensuring it starts in the same state when the device is activated.
Claim(s) 24 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vago (US 20040084063 A1) and Simonian (US 20130223915 A1)
Regarding Claim 24, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 23 but does not explicitly disclose wherein the driveshaft includes a male connector that is configured to be inserted within a recess of a female connector of a handle of the powered toothbrush.
However, Simonian discloses a similar electronic brush device wherein the drive shaft includes a male connector that is configured to be inserted within a recess of a female connector of a handle of the powered brush (See Female connector 142 in element 140 which is in the handle 122 in Figs. 16 and 17, Simonian Para [0064] discusses a corresponding male connector on the drive shaft “Drive coupling 141 on inner shell 140 may be configured with a driven socket 142 with a non-circular cross-section shape, such as a plus-shape as shown in FIG. 16, such that drive coupling 141 may be mated with an output drive shaft with an opposing corresponding shape in order to produce effective transfer of rotational power to inner shell 140.”).
Regarding Claim 25, Vago as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 24 and in addition discloses wherein the male connector comprises a Phillips-head shape (See Para [0064] of Simonian discussing a drive shaft with a shape corresponding to the cross section 142 which is a plus shape).
Conclusion
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/T.J.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/DAVID S POSIGIAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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