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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, Species B in the reply filed on June 11, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 2, 3, 31, 32, 34, 47 and 49 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention and species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on June 11, 2026.
Claims 1 and 4-14 will be examined on the merits, claims 2, 3, 31, 32, 34, 47 and 49 having been withdrawn and claims 15-30, 33, 35-46, 48 and 50 having been cancelled.
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.
Claims 4-13 are 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 4 recites “wherein supplying at least part of a current from a charging power supply…” in lines 1 and 2. It is unclear whether said supplying refers to the supplying step recited in claim 1 or to another, unrecited supplying step. For purposes of examination, the claim will be interpreted as “wherein said supplying at least part of a current from a charging power supply…” Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the battery" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 7 recites “operating in a self-cleaning mode to clean a self-cleaning object of the cleaning device” in line 2. It is unclear whether said supplying refers to the operating step recited in claim 1 or to another, unrecited operating step. For purposes of examination, the claim will be interpreted as “in said operating in a self-cleaning mode to clean a self-cleaning object of the cleaning device” Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 8 recites “charging a battery … among multiple phases” in lines 3-4. It is unclear whether said charging refers to the charging step recited in claim 7 or to another, unrecited charging step. For purposes of examination, the claim will be interpreted as “said charging a battery … among multiple phases” Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 10 recites “operating in a self-cleaning mode to clean a self-cleaning object of the cleaning device” in line 2. It is unclear whether said supplying refers to the operating step recited in claim 1 or to another, unrecited operating step. For purposes of examination, the claim will be interpreted as “in said operating in a self-cleaning mode to clean a self-cleaning object of the cleaning device” Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 11 recites “selecting corresponding power supplies … power supplies” in lines 1-2. It is unclear whether said selecting refers to the selecting step recited in claim 10 or to another, unrecited charging step. For purposes of examination, the claim will be interpreted as “said selecting corresponding power supplies … power supplies” Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 12 recites “wherein loads operating in the same phase…” in line 1. It is unclear whether said “loads” refers to the “at least one load” recited in claim 10, or to a separate, unrecited “loads.” For purposes of examination, claim 12 will be interpreted as “wherein said at least one load …” Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 5, 9 and 13 are rejected for depending on rejected claims 4, 7 and 10 respectively.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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(s) 1, 7, 8 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN113786138A to Liu et al. (see machine translation).
As to claim 1, Liu discloses a charging and discharging method for a cleaning device comprising: operating in a self-cleaning mode to clean a self-cleaning object of the cleaning device; and supplying at least part of a current from a charging power supply to a workload in the self-cleaning mode (see Liu paragraph [0030]).
As to claim 7, Liu discloses that the operating in a self-cleaning mode to clean a self-cleaning object of the cleaning device wherein the self-cleaning mode comprises multiple phases and charging a battery of the cleaning device with a current from a charging power supply in at least part of phases among the multiple phases (see Li paragraphs [0030], [0124], [0138]).
As to claim 8, Liu discloses that the multiple phases can comprise a low-power operation stage (read as preparation phase) and a high-power operation stage (read as washing phase) and charging the battery of the cleaning device with a current from a charging power supply in at least part of phases among the multiple phases comprises obtaining a phase information of a phase in which the cleaning device is in the self-cleaning mode and supplying a part of the current from the charging power supply to a workload and supplying a residual current from the charging power supply to charge the battery of the cleaning device when the phase information relates to the preparation phase (see Liu paragraphs [0124]-[0125] where the base station charges the battery when in the low-power mode).
As to claim 14, Liu discloses a cleaning system comprising: a base equipped with a first electrical connection port which is electrically connectable to a charging power supply via an electrical connector and a cleaning device equipped with a controller and a second electrical connection port, the controller being electrically connected to the second electrical connection port and the second electrical connection port being electrically connected to the first electrical connection port when the cleaning device is docked on the base; wherein the controller is configured to perform the steps according to claim 1 (see Liu paragraphs [0010]-[0012]; and rejection to claim 1 above).
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.
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.
Claim(s) 4-6 and 9-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN113786138A to Liu et al. (see machine translation) as applied to claims 1 and 7 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. 2021/0186283 to Nguyen.
Liu is relied upon as discussed above with respect to the rejection of claims 1 and 7.
As to claim 4, Liu further discloses supplying a part of the current from the charging power supply to the workload and supplying a residual current from the charging power supply to charge the battery of the cleaning device when the phase information meets a third preset condition (see Liu paragraphs [0124]-[0125] where the base station charges the battery when in the low-power mode (read as meeting a third preset condition)). While Liu further discloses stopping the current supply to the charging power supply to charge the battery when the phase information meets a fourth preset condition (see Liu paragraphs [0124]-[0125] where the base station stops charging the battery when in the high-power mode (read as meeting a fourth preset condition)), Liu does not explicitly disclose discharging the battery of the cleaning device to supply electrical energy to the workload when the phase information meets the fourth preset condition. Nguyen discloses a similar method wherein the battery is also used to power the self-cleaning (see Nguyen paragraph [0323]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify Liu to include using the battery to power the self-cleaning in the high-powered stage in order to ensure that the required power draw is met for optimal self-cleaning.
As to claim 5, Liu discloses that the low-power operation stage (read as preparation phase and the third preset condition) and a high-power operation stage (read as washing phase and the fourth preset condition) and charging the battery of the cleaning device with a current from a charging power supply in the low-power stage (read as preparation phase or third preset condition)). Furthermore. The combination of Liu and Nguyen discloses that a sterilizing liquid can be used during the preparation stage (see Liu paragraph [0126] disclosing keeping the cleaning section wet during the low-power stage; Nguyen paragraph [0324 disclosing a detergent can be used to clean the apparatus).
As to claim 6, Nguyen discloses monitoring the status of the battery and the battery charging circuit that controls recharging of the battery and optimizing the discharging and recharging process (see Nguyen paragraph [0321]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to include monitoring the status of the battery and discharging and recharging the battery based on the remaining charge level as is well known in the art.
As to claim 9, while Liu discloses supplying the current from the charging power supply to the workload when the phase information relates to the washing phase, Liu does not explicitly disclose supplying a current output by the battery of the cleaning device or discharging the battery of the cleaning device to supply power to the workload in the self-cleaning mode when the phase information relates to the washing phase. Nguyen discloses a similar method wherein the battery is also used to power the self-cleaning (see Nguyen paragraph [0323]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify Liu to include using the battery to power the self-cleaning in the high-powered stage in order to ensure that the required power draw is met for optimal self-cleaning.
As to claim 10, Liu discloses operating in a self-cleaning mode to clean a self-cleaning object of the cleaning device, wherein the self-cleaning mode comprises multiple phases and determining, in at least part of phases among the multiple phases, at least one load operating in a current phase of the cleaning device (see, e.g., Liu paragraphs [0124]-[0135]). Liu does not explicitly disclose selecting corresponding power supplies for the at least one load from a plurality of power supplies wherein the plurality of power supplies comprise a power supply from the charging power supply and a battery of the cleaning device. Nguyen discloses a similar method wherein the battery is also used to power the self-cleaning and selecting the corresponding power supplies for the at least one load from a plurality of power supplies (see Nguyen paragraph [0323]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify Liu to include using the battery to power the self-cleaning in the high-powered stage in order to ensure that the required power draw is met for optimal self-cleaning.
As to claims 11-13, the combination of Liu and Nguyen discloses that the self-cleaning mode comprises multiple phases and that the multiple phases require different loads (e.g., a low-power operation stage and a high-power operation stage) and that the different loads can be supplied from a plurality of power supplies depending on the load requirements (see Liu paragraphs [0124]-[0135]; Nguyen paragraph [0323]). It is understood or reasonably expected that one of ordinary skill in the art would obtain the energy consumption attributes of the at least one load and select the power supplies adapted to the respective energy consumption attributes for the at least one load from the plurality of power supplies, and to select corresponding power supplies for the at least one load from a plurality of power supplies by selecting different power supplies for a first load and the second load from the plurality of power supplies and that the multiple phases comprise at least a first phase and a second phase and a power supply corresponding to the first phase is different from a power supply corresponding to the second phase and selecting corresponding power supplies for the at least one load from a plurality of power supplies by determining a power supply corresponding to a current phase of the cleaning device and selecting the power supply corresponding to the current phase of the cleaning device for the at least one load (since the combination of Liu and Nguyen discloses that the different phases require a different power load and to provide the power from either the charging power supply and/or the battery based on the power needed).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOUGLAS LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-3296. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:30pm.
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/DOUGLAS LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1714
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