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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 12/23/2024 and 8/5/2024 are being considered.
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 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Castaldo (US 2020/0128946).
Regarding claim 20, Castaldo discloses a method of manufacturing a head of an oral care implement comprising:
a) providing a base structure (Item 700), the base structure comprising a front surface (Figure 14 left) and an opposite rear surface (Figure 14 right);
b) forming a first tuft block (Item 800) comprising a plurality of tuft holes (Paragraph 240) extending from a front surface, the first tuft block in contact with a first portion of the front surface of the base structure or a first portion of the rear surface of the base structure(by Item 850); and
c) encapsulating the front and rear surfaces of the base structure while leaving the front surface of the first tuft block exposed to form a head subassembly (Item 400 is open for Item 900).
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 1-13 and 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view of Castaldo (US 2020/0128946).
Regarding claim 1, Castaldo discloses an oral care implement comprising:
a handle (Item 3); and
a head (Item 2) coupled to the handle, the head comprising:
a neck portion (Item 10); and
a head portion (Item 7) coupled to the neck portion, the head portion comprising:
a base structure (Item 4);
a plurality of tuft blocks (Item 51) in contact with the base structure, each of the plurality of tuft blocks comprising a front surface, a rear surface, a perimeter extending from the front surface to the rear surface, and a plurality of bristle tufts extending from the front surface of each of the plurality of tuft blocks; and
In this embodiment, Castaldo fails to explicitly disclose a guard structure, the guard structure encapsulating the base structure and surrounding the perimeter of a first one of the plurality of tuft blocks.
In the second embodiment, Castaldo teaches a guard structure (Item 400), the guard structure encapsulating the base structure and surrounding the perimeter of a first one of the plurality of tuft blocks (Paragraph 242). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Castaldo to allow for the method step of overmolding as taught by the second embodiment. Such a modification would allow for a stiff inner member, with the option of softer material such that the user does not damage their gums.
Regarding claim 2 and 13, Castaldo discloses the oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of tuft blocks comprises a plurality of tuft holes formed in the front surface, the plurality of tuft holes receiving the plurality of bristle tufts (Paragraph 167 discusses how the bristles are held in holes).
Regarding claim 3 and 15, Castaldo discloses the oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the base structure comprises an aperture (Item 412), a coupling portion (Item 514) of the first one of the plurality of tuft blocks extending through the aperture.
Regarding claim 4 and 16, Castaldo discloses the oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the plurality of tuft blocks comprise a front portion, a rear portion, and a coupling portion, the front portion in contact with a front surface of the base structure and the rear portion in contact with a rear surface of the base structure, the coupling portion joining the front portion to the rear portion (Figure 3).
Regarding claim 5 and 17, Castaldo discloses the oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the base structure has a front surface and an opposite rear surface, a first portion of the front surface of the base structure in direct surface contact with the first one of the plurality of tuft blocks (Figure 2).
Regarding claim 6, Castaldo discloses the oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the first one of the plurality of tuft blocks comprises a plurality of protuberances (Item 513) extending from the rear surface of the first one of the plurality of tuft blocks, wherein the guard structure covers the rear surface of the first one of the plurality of tuft blocks (back end of Item 511), the plurality of protuberances remaining exposed.
Regarding claim 7, Castaldo discloses the oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the front surface of the first one of the plurality of tuft blocks and the guard structure are flush at an interface (best shown in Figure 3).
Regarding claim 8, Castaldo discloses the oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the head portion comprises a concave wall (best shown In figure 3 near marker 52) and a plurality of fingers extending from the wall (Item 416).
Regarding claim 9, Castaldo discloses the oral care implement according to claim 8 wherein the plurality of fingers each comprise a horizontal portion extending from the wall along a horizontal plane, and wherein each of the plurality of fingers comprise a bend and a tip portion, the tip portion of the fingers diverging from the horizontal plane at the bend.
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Regarding claim 10, Castaldo discloses the oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the base structure has a front surface and an opposite rear surface, the guard structure encapsulating the rear surface of the base structure (best shown in Figure 14).
Regarding claim 11, Castaldo discloses the oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the base structure has a front surface (Figure 3 left of page) and an opposite rear surface (Figure 3 right of page), the base structure and the plurality of tuft blocks collectively covering an entirety of the rear surface of the base structure.
Regarding claim 12, Castaldo discloses head of an oral care implement comprising:
a neck portion (Item 10); and
a head portion (Item 7) coupled to the neck portion, the head portion comprising:
a base structure (Item 4) having a front surface and an opposite rear surface;;
a plurality of tuft blocks (Item 51), each of the plurality of tuft blocks comprising a front surface, a rear surface, a perimeter extending from the front surface to the rear surface, and a plurality of bristle tufts extending from the front surface of each of the plurality of tuft blocks; and
wherein a first portion of the front surface of the base structure is in direct surface contact with a first one of the plurality of tuft blocks (Figure 6).
In this embodiment, Castaldo fails to explicitly disclose a guard structure, the guard structure encapsulating the base structure
In the second embodiment, Castaldo teaches a guard structure (Item 400), the guard structure encapsulating the base structure and surrounding the perimeter of a first one of the plurality of tuft blocks (Paragraph 242). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Castaldo to allow for the method step of over molding as taught by the second embodiment. Such a modification would allow for a stiff inner member, with the option of softer material such that the user does not damage their gums.
Regarding claim 18, Castaldo discloses the head according to claim 12 wherein each of the plurality of tuft blocks comprises a perimeter extending from the front surface to the rear surface (Figures 6 and 7).
Regarding claim 19, Castaldo discloses the head according to claim 18 wherein the base structure intersects the perimeter of the first one of the plurality of tuft blocks (within Item 514).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view of Castaldo (US 2020/0128946) in view of Goldberg (US 1,707,188)
Regarding claim 14, Castaldo discloses the head according to claim 13. Castaldo fails to explicitly disclose wherein the plurality of tuft holes extend through the base structure.
Goldberg teaches a toothbrush wherein the plurality of tuft holes extend through the base structure (Figure 1 Item 14). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Castaldo to drill completely through the brush head such that the tuft holes went through the tuft blocks and thus the base structure as taught by Goldberg. Such a modification would is inexpensive to manufacture (Goldberg Page 1 Lines 23-36). Further it is known that different bristles have different styles of tufts. Incorporating the tuft of Goldberg would lead to the predictable result of the bristles being properly held.
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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