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 .
Priority
The applicant’s claim to priority of KR10-2022-0030885 on 3/11/2022 is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The applicant filed an IDS on 9/10/24, 6/3/25 and 12/31/25. Each has been annotated and considered.
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.
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 18 and 29-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2016047170 (hereinafter ‘170) in view of CN 214875226 (hereinafter ‘226) and further in view of Harwig et al. (US 20060293809 hereinafter Harwig).
Regarding claim 18, ‘170 teaches a robot (See at least: Fig. 4 item 104 “cleaning robot”)comprising:
a motor (See at least: Fig. 1 item 12 “drive motor” Note: Although this refers to embodiment 1, the disclosure notes “The difference from the cleaning robot 101 of the first embodiment is that the cleaning unit 23 and the rotary cleaning body 24 are provided at the center of the bottom of the cleaning robot 104.” Thus this and other citations of different embodiments will be used to disclose parts/functions common across all embodiments.);
a battery (See at least: “Further, the main body of the traveling unit 10 includes a dust collector that causes the cleaning unit 20 to suck dust and the like from the floor, a dust collection container that stores the sucked dust, a control device that controls the entire system, a rechargeable battery”);
a robot body (See at least: Fig. 4 item 10), the motor and the battery being accommodated in the robot body;
but fails to teach a first leg and a second leg, each leg coupled to respective opposite side surfaces of the robot body; a first wheel and a second wheel coupled to the first leg and the second leg, respectively, and
a lower functional assembly detachably coupled to the robot body such that the battery is electrically connected to the lower functional assembly, the lower functional assembly including: a lower functional module body defining an exterior of the lower functional module, the lower functional module body having a space located therein; and a robot body fastener located at a first side of the lower functional module body, the robot body fastener being configured to fix the lower functional module body to the robot body when coupled.
However, ‘226 teaches a first leg and a second leg, each leg coupled to respective opposite side surfaces of the robot body; a first wheel and a second wheel coupled to the first leg and the second leg, respectively (See at least: Figs. 2-5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify ‘170 in view of ‘226 to teach a first leg and a second leg, each leg coupled to respective opposite side surfaces of the robot body; a first wheel and a second wheel coupled to the first leg and the second leg, respectively so that the robot can roll around for mobility in addition to adjusting leg length to modify height.
Modified ‘170 further fails to teach a lower functional assembly detachably coupled to the robot body such that the battery is electrically connected to the lower functional assembly, the lower functional assembly including: a lower functional module body defining an exterior of the lower functional module, the lower functional module body having a space located therein; and a robot body fastener located at a first side of the lower functional module body, the robot body fastener being configured to fix the lower functional module body to the robot body when coupled.
However, Harwig teaches a lower functional assembly detachably coupled to the robot body such that the battery is electrically connected to the lower functional assembly, the lower functional assembly including: a lower functional module body defining an exterior of the lower functional module, the lower functional module body having a space located therein; and a robot body fastener located at a first side of the lower functional module body, the robot body fastener being configured to fix the lower functional module body to the robot body when coupled (See at least: Figs. 2 and 4 item 10 “cleaning cartridge” and 27 “latching device”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to take modified ‘170 in view of Harwig to teach a lower functional assembly detachably coupled to the robot body such that the battery is electrically connected to the lower functional assembly, the lower functional assembly including: a lower functional module body defining an exterior of the lower functional module, the lower functional module body having a space located therein; and a robot body fastener located at a first side of the lower functional module body, the robot body fastener being configured to fix the lower functional module body to the robot body when coupled so different lower functional assemblies can be attached and detached depending on the type of cleaning needed.
Regarding claim 29, modified ‘170 teaches wherein the lower functional module is configured to perform dry cleaning, the lower functional module including: a suction motor located in the lower functional module body, the suction motor being configured to generate a negative pressure; a suction unit located at an upstream of the suction motor, the suction unit being configured to suction dust present in a cleaning area; and a dust bin located at a downstream of the suction motor, the dust bin being configured to collect the dust (Refer to claim 18 for reasoning and rationale; See at least: Figs 2 and 4 of Harwig).
Regarding claim 30, modified ‘170 teaches wherein the lower functional module is configured to perform wet cleaning, the lower functional module including: a mop located at one side of the lower functional module body, the mop being configured to mop an area to be cleaned; and a water container located in the lower functional module body, the water container being configured to store water and supply the water to the mop (Refer to claim 18 for reasoning and rationale; See at least: Harwig Figs 2 and 4; [0067] In operation the hinged lid 38 is retained in an open position such that the dust and particulate matter can be readily directed into the containment bin 30. Following behind the main brush 60 is the cartridge 10 including the cleaning sheet material 44. The cleaning sheet material 44 is retained against the surface to be cleaned by a platen 66 which includes a leaf-spring 64 that insures contact between the surface to be cleaned and the cleaning cloth 44. Also as described above, the reservoir 42 is provided adjacent the cleaning material 44 such that fluids can be applied to replenish the cloth when a wet or moist mop cloth is employed in the cleaning device 12).
Claim 27 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘170 ‘226 in view of Harwig and further in view of Meyer et al. (US 8596693 hereinafter Meyer).
Regarding claim 27, ‘170 fails to teach the following limitation, but Meyer teaches wherein
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to take modified ‘170 in view of Meyer to teach wherein the robot body fastener includes a coupling hook located above the lower functional module body, the coupling hook having a first end configured to be coupled to the robot body so that different lower functional assemblies can be attached and detached depending on the type of cleaning needed.
Claim 31 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘170 ‘226 in view of Harwig and further in view of CN 111890328 (hereinafter ‘328).
Regarding claim 31, modified ‘170 fails to teach the following limitation, but ‘328 teaches wherein a lower functional module includes: a gripper arm movably coupled to the lower functional module body; and a gripper located on an end portion of the gripper arm, the gripper being configured to fix an object to be transported (See at least: Fig. 4 mechanical claw mechanism 3, mechanical claw 3.1, mechanical arm 3.2; “The multifunctional robot of the invention is designed with a mechanical claw mechanism, which can realize the circumferential rotation of the mechanical arm and swing up and down; the mechanical claw realizes the sampling of the lunar vehicle; it effectively improves the efficiency of collecting.").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to take modified ‘170 in view of to teach wherein the lower functional module includes: a gripper arm movably coupled to the lower functional module body; and a gripper located on an end portion of the gripper arm, the gripper being configured to fix an object to be transported so that the robot can have the ability to pick up and move objects as part of its cleaning capabilities.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 19-26, 28 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Harry Oh whose telephone number is (571)270-5912. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday, 9:00-3:00.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abby Lin can be reached on (571) 270-3976. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HARRY Y OH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3657