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 .
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 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.
Status of Claims
Claims 1 – 20 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/18/2024 was filed before the first office action. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Haiyong (CN215605441 U) as cited by Applicant – Please see machine translation provided.
Regarding Independent Claim 1, Haiyong teaches a floor cleaning device (Fig. 1), comprising: a brush assembly (floor brush, 1); a frame (post pole, 2), connected with the brush assembly (1); a clean tank (clean water tank, 4), arranged on the frame (2) and being in fluid communication with the brush assembly (1); a dirty tank (waste water tank, 3), arranged on the frame (2) and being in fluid communication with the brush
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assembly (1); a suction assembly (Paragraph [n0005]), arranged on the frame and connected with the dirty tank (3; Paragraph [n0021]); a battery assembly (51 and 52; Fig. 1), arranged on the frame (2), and at least comprising a first battery pack (battery pack, 51) and a second battery pack (power unit, 52); and a control system (power unit, 5), configured to control the clean tank (4) to supply water to the brush assembly (1) and control the suction assembly to recycle sewage cleaned by the floor brush assembly (1) to the dirty tank (3; Paragraphs [n0005 and n0021]).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2 – 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haiyong (CN215605441 U) as cited by Applicant – Please see machine translation provided in view of Lee et al. (U. S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0142235 A1).
Regarding Claim 2, Haiyong teaches the floor cleaning device (Fig. 1) wherein, at least one of the first battery pack (51) and the second battery pack (52) is chargeable independently of the floor cleaning device (Paragraph [n0023]), the first battery pack (51) is charged independently of the floor cleaning device (Paragraph [n0023]), and at least one of the first battery pack (51) and the second battery pack (52) is detachably mounted on the frame (2; Fig. 1).
Haiyong does not teach the second battery pack is charged through an adapter of the floor cleaning device, the control system controls the first battery pack to be discharged prior to the second battery pack.
Lee, however, teaches the second battery pack (120, 432) is charged through an adapter (140) of the floor cleaning device (10), the control system (battery management unit, 460) controls the first battery pack (431) to be discharged prior to the second battery pack (432; Paragraphs [0097] – [0100]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Haiyong to further include the second battery pack is charged through an adapter of the floor cleaning device, the control system controls the first battery pack to be discharged prior to the second battery pack, as taught by Lee to allow the device to maintain the health of the batteries and preserve the lifespan.
Regarding Claim 3, Haiyong, as modified, teaches the floor cleaning device (Fig. 1) wherein, the first battery pack (51) and the second battery pack (52) are arranged on a same side of the frame (2; Fig. 1), the first battery pack (51) is arranged above the second battery pack (52), the first battery pack (51) is assembled or disassembled along a longitudinal axis direction (51 is slide up the longitudinal axis) of the floor cleaning device (Fig. 1), the second battery pack (52) is assembled or disassembled along a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis direction (the battery is slide away from the axis perpendicular to the device) of the floor cleaning device (Fig. 1), one side of the frame (2) is provided with a first battery accommodating cavity and a second battery accommodating cavity (Paragraph [n0022]).
Haiyong does not explicitly teach a bottom of the first battery accommodating cavity is provided with a first connecting terminal matched with the first battery pack, the second battery accommodating cavity is provided with a second connecting terminal matched with the second battery pack, and the first connecting terminal and the second connecting terminal are electrically connected with the control system respectively.
Lee, however, teaches a bottom of the first battery accommodating cavity (Fig. 7) is provided with a first connecting terminal (202) matched with the first battery pack (Fig. 7), the second battery accommodating cavity (Fig. 7) is provided with a second connecting terminal (202) matched with the second battery pack, and the first connecting terminal and the second connecting terminal are electrically connected with the control system respectively (460).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Haiyong to further include a bottom of the first battery accommodating cavity is provided with a first connecting terminal matched with the first battery pack, the second battery accommodating cavity is provided with a second connecting terminal matched with the second battery pack, and the first connecting terminal and the second connecting terminal are electrically connected with the control system respectively, as taught by Lee to allow the device to maintain the health of the batteries and preserve the lifespan.
Regarding Claim 4, Haiyong, as modified, teaches the floor cleaning device (Fig. 1) of claim 3 as discussed above.
Haiyong in view of Lee further teaches the batteries being secured to the frame of the device but doesn’t explicitly teach a bottom of the first battery accommodating cavity is provided with a pin and a latch, the first battery pack is inserted and mounted in the first accommodating cavity and is locked through the latch, an outside of the second battery pack is provided with a battery pack inner bracket and a battery pack outer bracket, the battery pack outer bracket wraps on an outside of the battery pack inner bracket, a top end of the battery pack outer bracket is provided with a pressing device, and the second battery pack is clamped in the second battery accommodating cavity through the pressing device; however, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Haiyong to further include a bottom of the first battery accommodating cavity is provided with a pin and a latch, the first battery pack is inserted and mounted in the first accommodating cavity and is locked through the latch, an outside of the second battery pack is provided with a battery pack inner bracket and a battery pack outer bracket, the battery pack outer bracket wraps on an outside of the battery pack inner bracket, a top end of the battery pack outer bracket is provided with a pressing device, and the second battery pack is clamped in the second battery accommodating cavity through the pressing device, as claimed, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known connection on the basis of its suitability for the intended use of the device (MPEP 2144.07).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haiyong (CN215605441 U) as cited by Applicant – Please see machine translation provided in view of Lee et al. (U. S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0142235 A1) and Buehler et al. (U. S. Patent Publication No. 2018/0368646 A1).
Regarding Claim 5, Haiyong, as modified, teaches the floor cleaning device (Fig. 1) of claim 3 as discussed above.
Haiyong doesn’t explicitly teach the clean tank the dirty tank and the suction assembly are arranged on one side of the frame opposite to the battery assembly; however, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Haiyong to further include the dirty tank and the suction assembly are arranged on one side of the frame opposite to the battery assembly, as claimed, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art (MPEP 2144.04).
Haiyong does not teach at least one of the first battery pack and the second battery pack is configured to supply power to a second device, and at least one of the first battery pack and the second battery pack is provided with a USB port and/or a TYPE-C port.
Buehler, however, teaches at least one of the first battery pack and the second battery pack is configured to supply power to a second device, and at least one of the first battery pack and the second battery pack is provided with a USB port and/or a TYPE-C port (Paragraph [0049])
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Haiyong to further include at least one of the first battery pack and the second battery pack is configured to supply power to a second device, and at least one of the first battery pack and the second battery pack is provided with a USB port and/or a TYPE-C port, as taught by Buehler to provide a device that is capable of charging other devices, thus providing a universal charging port.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haiyong (CN215605441 U) as cited by Applicant – Please see machine translation provided in view of Lee et al. (U. S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0142235 A1) and Gao (U. S. Patent Publication No. 2021/0369072 A1).
Regarding Claim 6, Haiyong, as modified, teaches the floor cleaning device (Fig. 1) of claim 2 as discussed above.
Haiyong doesn’t explicitly teach a top of the dirty tank is provided with an air suction port, the dirty tank is communicated with the suction assembly through the air suction port, and an inside of the dirty tank is provided with an air passage communicated with the brush assembly.
Gao, however, teaches a top of the dirty tank (dirty water tank, 41) is provided with an air suction port (air suction port, 42) , the dirty tank (41) is communicated with the suction assembly through the air suction port (Paragraph [0055]), and an inside of the dirty tank (41) is provided with an air passage (331) communicated with the brush assembly (Fig. 6).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Haiyong to further include a top of the dirty tank is provided with an air suction port, the dirty tank is communicated with the suction assembly through the air suction port, and an inside of the dirty tank is provided with an air passage communicated with the brush assembly, as taught by Buehler to provide a device that is capable of venting or purging air from the tank during cleaning or maintenance, thus making it easier to remove contaminants, sludge, or debris, and reduces the risk of trapped air pockets that could interfere with operations.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7, 11, 13 and 18 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Although Haiyong (CN215605441 U) in view of Lee et al. (U. S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0142235 A1) teach
a floor cleaning device, the references alone or in combination fail to teach, suggest or make obvious a control structure and a leak-proof structure, connected with the control structure, and provided with an opening-closing unit; wherein, the clean tank is convertible between a first state and a second state, in the first state, the clean tank is mounted on the frame, the opening-closing unit and the control structure are opened by the frame, and the fluid tank provides fluid to the brush assembly, in the second state, the clean tank is separated from the frame, the control structure is reset, the opening-closing unit is automatically closed, and the fluid tank stops providing fluid to the brush assembly, with the additional limitations and as required by claim 7; a control structure, arranged in the outlet, and a leak-proof structure, connected with the control structure, and comprising: a bracket, provided with a first cavity space to accommodate the control structure therein, an elastic protective cover, connected with the bracket, at least partially located below the bracket, and a second cavity space to store leakage being arranged inside a part of the elastic protective cover that is located below the bracket, and an opening-closing unit, arranged at one end of the second cavity space away from the bracket, and comprising a cutting slit or a plurality of cross cutting slits arranged on the elastic protective cover; with the additional limitations and as required by claim 11; the rear housing comprises a separating wall separating the first housing cavity from the accommodating cavity, a first through hole and a second through hole are arranged on the separating wall, the first through hole is configured to communicate the first housing cavity with the accommodating cavity, and the second through hole is configured to communicate the accommodating cavity with the sewage recovery passage; with the additional limitations and as required by claim 13; a protruding first mounting block is arranged at a first side of the connecting frame, a protruding second mounting block is arranged at a second side of the connecting frame arranged oppositely, the filter plate is correspondingly provided with a first matching block and a second matching block, after the first mounting block is clamped and matched with the first matching block, the filter plate is rotated, so that the second matching block is buckled to the second mounting block, the filter plate is rotated until a top of the first mounting block abuts against the first matching block and a bottom of the second matching block abuts against the second mounting block; ; with the additional limitations and as required by claim 18.
Claims 8 – 10, 12, 14 – 17 and 19 – 20 are further objected as being dependents of objected claims 7, 11, 13 and 18.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KATINA N HENSON whose telephone number is (571)272-8024. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday; 5:30am to 3:30pm.
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/KATINA N. HENSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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