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 .
Detailed Action
The amendment filed on 09/08/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejection - 35 U.S.C. 112(b)
1. The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
2. Claims 11, 12 and 14-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
(1) In claim 11, line 8, “the skin surface” and “the user” have no antecedent basis.
(2) In claim 16, “a skin surface side” is undefined.
Claim Rejection - 35 U.S.C. 103
1. The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
2. Claims 11, 12 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Coresh (U.S. Patent No. 8,479,398) in view of Andrews (U.S. Patent No. 6,216,345).
Regarding claim 11, Coresh discloses a connection type razor head (180) formed by connecting a plurality of cartridges (C1,C2,C3, see Fig.5 as annotated below) to one another, wherein the plurality of cartridges comprises:
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a first cartridge (C1) comprising a blade body (B1);
a second cartridge (C2) comprising a blade body (B2); and
a third cartridge (C3) comprising a plurality of protrusions (S3), a lubrication member (L3) as well as a blade body (B3).
The mere difference between the claimed invention and Coresh is that the claimed third cartridge has no blade body.
Andrews shows a razor head (12) comprising a first removable cartridge (18, see column 9, lines 17-20) having a blade body (24/26, see Fig.1), and a second removable cartridge (e.g., glide pad 20/22, see column 10, lines 6-13) having, instead of a blade body, a lubrication member. Note the term “cartridge” is given its broadest reasonable interpretation as “a self-contained, removable unit designed to be inserted into a larger device to perform a particular function”. Therefore, Andrews’ removable glide pad (20/22) is deemed to be “a cartridge”.
Thus, to modify Coresh by having one of the cartridges comprising only a lubrication member for lubricating skin surface during shaving as taught by Andrews would have been obvious to one skilled in the art. Moreover, it has been held that omission of an element (in the present case, “a blade body”) and its function in a combination where the remaining elements perform the same functions as before involves only routine skill in the art. In re Karlson, 153 USPQ 184 (CCPA 1963).
Regarding claim 12, Coresh’s first cartridge (C1) comprises a skin contact member (S1) positioned in front of the blade body (B1).
Regarding claim 14, each of Coresh’s cartridges (C1,C2,C3) comprises a connecting portion (190) configured to be detachably connected to at least one other of the cartridges (C1,C2,C3), and the cartridges (C1,C2,C3) are directly connected to one another without any interposed parts therebetween.
Regarding claim 15, Coresh’s connecting portion (190, see Fig.4 as annotated below) is provided at each of both end portions of the cartridge (C1,C2,C3) in a width direction of the cartridge (C1,C2,C3).
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Regarding claim 16, both of Coresh’s end portions (190) protrude toward a skin surface side of a user.
3. Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Coresh (U.S. Patent No. 8,479,398) in view of Andrews (U.S. Patent No. 6,216,345) as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Hoffmann (U.S. Patent No. 5,133,131).
Regarding claim 17, Coresh’s connection type razor head (180) as modified above shows all the claimed limitations except it lacks a handle including an underbar configured to detachably hold the connection type razor head (180).
Hoffmann teaches it is desirable to provide a razor handle (14, see Fig.1) with an underbar (22) configured to detachably hold a razor head (12).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to further modify Coresh by having the razor head (180) releasable attached to the razor head (180) to facilitate manipulating the razor head (180) during shaving and to allow replacement of the razor head (180) when needed as taught by Hoffmann.
Prior Art Citations
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Patent No. 9,999,980 (Fig.10), U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0198161 (see Fig.2) and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0245380 (see paragraph [0069]) each shows a razor head comprising a removable shaving aid.
Remarks
Applicant’s arguments with respect to independent claim 1 has been considered but are moot in light of the above new ground(s) of rejection.
Action Made Final
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Point of Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HWEI-SIU PAYER whose telephone number is (571)272-4511. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday -Friday from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Adam Eiseman, can be reached at telephone number 571-270-3818. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HWEI-SIU C PAYER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3724
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