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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 4/7/2026 has been entered.
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 48 is 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.
Claim 48 reads: The surface cleaner of Claim 47, wherein the air chamber air inlet is at a lower end of the air chamber. Claim 47 has been cancelled. It is unclear which claim 48 depends from. As such the claim is determined to be indefinite. For Examination purposes, it will be assumed the claim depends from 32.
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 32, 35-38, 48, and 53 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stickney (US 2012/0079671) in view of Akdag (WO 2005077242A2)
Regarding claim 32, Stickney discloses a surface cleaner comprising:
an air flow path extending from a dirty air inlet, which is provided in a surface cleaning head, to a clean outlet (Paragraph 32);
a suction motor (Item 9) operable to move air along the air flow path;
a wand (Items 15, 13 and 5) moveable relative to the surface cleaning head between an upright storage position and a reclined in use position (rotatable about Item 25)
a handle (Item 35) which, when the wand is in the storage configuration, is positioned above the suction motor,
wherein when the wand is in the storage configuration, the suction motor is positioned above the first and second chambers (Figure 1) and,
the first air chamber is the sole air treatment chamber of the surface cleaner (Item 13 and 15)
Stickney fails to explicitly disclose a wand moveable relative to the surface cleaning head between an upright storage position and a reclined in use position (rotatable about Item 78) wherein, when the wand is in the upright storage position, the wand includes a lower end (Item 28), an upper end (Item 29) axially spaced apart from the lower end and a wand axis intersecting the lower end of the wand and the upper end of the wand, the wand has first and second parallel chambers (Items 50 and 30 respectively) positioned side by side whereby a first plane that is transverse to the wand axis extends through a lower end of the chambers and a second plane that is transverse to the wand axis extends through an upper end of the chambers, each chamber extending only part way around the wand, the second chamber is in flow communication with the first chamber and, wherein the axially extending air chamber defines only a portion of the axially extending sidewall of the wand (Figure 3 or 11) and, wherein the first chamber is an air treatment chamber having a lower air inlet and
Stickney fails to explicitly disclose a wand moveable relative to the surface cleaning head between an upright storage position and a reclined in use position (rotatable about Item 78) wherein, when the wand is in the upright storage position, the wand includes a lower end (Item 28), an upper end (Item 29) axially spaced apart from the lower end and a wand axis intersecting the lower end of the wand and the upper end of the wand, the wand has first and second parallel chambers (Items 50 and 30 respectively) positioned side by side whereby a first plane that is transverse to the wand axis extends through a lower end of the chambers and a second plane that is transverse to the wand axis extends through an upper end of the chambers, each chamber extending only part way around the wand, the second chamber is in flow communication with the first chamber and, wherein the axially extending air chamber defines only a portion of the axially extending sidewall of the wand (Figure 3 or 11) and, wherein the first chamber is an air treatment chamber having a lower air inlet
Akdag teaches a surface cleaner wherein the wand includes a lower end (Figure 4 Item 12 and left thereof), an upper end (Item 11 and to the right) axially spaced apart from the lower end and a wand axis intersecting the lower end of the wand and the upper end of the wand, the wand has first and second parallel chambers (Items 8 and 9 respectively) positioned side by side whereby a first plane that is transverse to the wand axis extends through a lower end of the chambers and a second plane that is transverse to the wand axis extends through an upper end of the chambers, each chamber extending only part way around the wand (Figure 3), the second chamber is in flow communication with the first chamber and, wherein the axially extending air chamber defines only a portion of the axially extending sidewall of the wand and, wherein the first chamber is an air treatment chamber having a lower air inlet. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to simply substitute the cyclone of Stickney for the cyclone as taught by Akdag. Such a modification would allow the cyclone member an easy way to be cleaned (Akdag Paragraph 6)
Regarding claim 35, Stickney in view of Akdag disclose the surface cleaner of Claim 32, wherein the handle houses one or more batteries (Stickney Item 17).
Regarding claim 36, Stickney in view of Akdag disclose the surface cleaner of Claim 35, wherein at least one battery is aligned lengthwise along an axis of the wand. (Stickney Figure 1)
Regarding claim 37, Stickney in view of Akdag disclose the surface cleaner of Claim 32, wherein the lower end of the wand comprises a connector inlet (Stickney Item 21).
Regarding claim 38, Stickney in view of Akdag disclose the surface cleaner of Claim 37, wherein the surface cleaning head removably connects to the connector inlet (Stickney Paragraph 33).
Regarding claim 48, Stickney in view of Akdag disclose the surface cleaner of Claim 32, wherein the air chamber air inlet is at a lower end of the air chamber (Stickney Figure 1 ; Akdag Figure 1 and 2).
Regarding claim 53, Stickney in view of Akdag disclose the surface cleaner of Claim 32. wherein a width of the wand in a plane transverse to the wand axis is constant from a lower end of the wand to the upper end of the wand (Akdag Figure 4).
Claim 39 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stickney (US 2012/0079671) in view of Akdag (WO 2005077242A2) in view of Korf (US 2002/0178696)
Regarding claim 39, Stickney in view of Akdag disclose the surface cleaner of Claim 38. Stickney fails to explicitly disclose wherein when the surface cleaning head is removed, a vacuum accessory connects to the connector inlet, the vacuum accessory includes one or more of a rigid air flow conduit, a crevice tool, and a mini brush.
Korf teaches a vacuum cleaner wherein when the surface cleaning head is removed, a vacuum accessory connects to the connector inlet, the vacuum accessory includes one or more of a rigid air flow conduit, a crevice tool, and a mini brush (Paragraph 72). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Stickney to include the accessory cleaning tools of Korf. Different cleaning surfaces/scenarios require different vacuum tools. The vacuum head of Stickney is efficient at cleaning a flat floor surface. While a smaller crevice tool is more beneficial for vacuuming stairs, couches, and other areas that aren't flat. By reducing the inlet area, a greater suction force can be generated.
Claim 45 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stickney (US 2012/0079671) in view of Akdag (WO 2005077242A2) in view of Conrad (US 6334234)
Regarding claim 45, Stickney in view of Akdag disclose the surface cleaner of Claim 32. Stickney fails to explicitly disclose wherein the surface cleaning head includes a powered brush roll.
Conrad teaches a surface cleaner wherein the surface cleaning head includes a powered brush roll (Item 26). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Stickney to include the brush roll as taught by Conrad. Such a modification would allow for the brush roll to aid the suction motor to pick up entrained dirt (Conrad Column 7 Line 20-25), thus allowing for more dirt to be picked up by the cleaner.
Claims 54-56 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stickney (US 2012/0079671) in view of Akdag (WO 2005077242A2) in view of Milne (US 2009/0307863)
Regarding claim 54, Stickney in view of Akdag disclose the surface cleaner of Claim 53. Stickney fails to explicitly disclose wherein the suction motor is within an axial projection of the wand.
Milne teaches a surface cleaner wherein the suction motor is within an axial projection of the wand (Figure 2). Milne and Stickney are both Dyson products. Milne just gives a better view of Stickney. In the fact there are slight differences, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the shape of the motor as taught by Milne. Larger motors provide more suction.
Regarding claim 55, Stickney in view of Akdag in view of Milne disclose the surface cleaner of Claim 54, wherein the handle is within an axial projection of the wand (Milne Figure 2).
Regarding claim 56, Stickney in view of Akdag in view of Milne disclose the surface cleaner of Claim 55, wherein the handle houses one or more batteries (Stickney Item 17).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 4/7/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 32 under Tsuji in view of Stickney in view of Korf have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Stickney in view of Akdag.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TOM R RODGERS whose telephone number is (313)446-4849. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday 8AM-5PM EST.
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/TOM RODGERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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