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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Response to Arguments
No response to the Advisory Action (PTOL-303) mailed 08/13/2026, was filed.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by (GB 1530360 A).
Regarding claim 1, (GB 1530360 A) discloses a hair styling apparatus (see Fig. 1) for styling a tress of hair, the apparatus comprising:
a barrel (2 Fig. 1) comprising a circumferential surface about which a tress of hair can be wrapped in use (Col. 2 lines 36 - 40; the hair is placed around the curler rod 2),
a steam generator (7/8/6 Fig. 1) for generating steam (Col. 2 lines 64 - 70);
one or more steam outlets (10 Fig. 1) in fluid communication with the steam generator (7/8/6 Fig. 1) for receipt of steam therefrom (Col. 2 lines 64 - 70), the one or more steam outlets (10 Fig. 1) arranged to discharge steam onto a tress of hair when wrapped about the circumferential surface (Col. 2 lines 31 - 36; steam is discharged to moisten and heat the hair wrapped around the curler (2) via the plurality of holes (10));
an air mover (14 Fig. 1) for moving an airflow through the apparatus (Col. 2 lines 42 - 54); and
one or more airflow outlets (18 Fig. 1) in fluid communication with the air mover for receipt of an airflow therefrom, the one or more airflow outlets (18 Fig. 1) arranged to discharge air external to the apparatus in an axial direction along the barrel so as to provide a barrier to the passage of the discharged steam (see Fig. 1; air discharge via element 18 moves in the direction along the barrel and as depicted forms a barrier to steam discharged from element 10; see annotated Fig. 1 that the air discharged from vent 18 flows along external to the apparatus in an axial direction as illustrated by the arrows annotated “discharged air”).
wherein the hair apparatus is configured to discharge steam from the one or more steam outlets and air from the one or more airflow outlets concurrently (see page 2 lines 54-58: see that the motor 15 and heater 4 have independent switches 20 and 19 for toggling the motor 15 and heater 4 ON or OFF. See page 2 lines 92-100: see that the device is capable to concurrently discharge steam and air at the same time through their respective discharged outlets although concurrent operation reduces the efficacy of the steam moistening the hair. However, the claim requirement is met because the device has all claimed limitations
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and can function as claimed; also see page 2, lines 70-80 which discloses the blower being turned on (which would cause air to flow from the air outlets) and causing residual steam driven out (which would concurrently cause steam to discharge from the steam outlets).
Regarding claim 2, (GB 1530360 A) discloses the claimed invention substantially as set forth in claim 1 above. (GB 1530360 A) further discloses a hair styling apparatus wherein one or more airflow outlets (18 Fig. 1) are configured to discharge the air in the form of an air curtain that is spaced radially from the circumferential surface (see annotated Fig. 1; in this 2- dimensional representation, the direction of the discharged air (annotated in Fig 1) illustrated by the "arrows" spanning substantially the length of the length of element 2 and it is spaced from the surface (which is circumferential in 3-dimension) of 2).
Regarding claim 3, (GB 1530360 A) discloses the claimed invention substantially as set forth in claim 2 above. (GB 1530360 A) further discloses a hair styling apparatus wherein the air curtain extends substantially entirely about the circumferential surface (see annotated Fig. 1; interpreted in 3-dimension, the air curtain (spaced "arrows" extending from element 18) extends substantially entirely about the circumference surface of element 2. See claim 2, the enlarged diameter portion (3) has air flow apertures facing towards the curler tongs (the curler tongs comprises elements 2 and 12) and disposed so that in use, flow of the air due to operation of the air transport device as a blower or as a suction device is, respectively, through the said apertures and around the outside of the curler or vice versa (the said apertures disposed on the side of the enlarged diameter portion facing the curler tong is element 18 as depicted in Fig. 1, and the air discharged via element 18 is around the outside (entire circumferential surface) of the curler (Col. 3 lines 90 - 99)).
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Regarding claim 7, (GB 1530360 A) discloses the claimed invention substantially as set forth in claim 1 above. (GB 1530360 A) further discloses a hair styling apparatus wherein the one or more airflow outlets (18 Fig. 1) are provided on a body (1/3 Fig. 1) from which the barrel (2 Fig. 1) extends (Col. 2 lines 16 - 23).
Regarding claim 8, (GB 1530360 A) discloses the claimed invention substantially as set forth in claim 7 above. (GB 1530360 A) further discloses a hair styling apparatus wherein the body (1/3 Fig. 1) is a handle of the apparatus (see Fig. 1; Col. 2 lines 20 - 23).
Regarding claim 9, (GB 1530360 A) discloses the claimed invention substantially as set forth in claim 1 above. (GB 1530360 A) further discloses a hair styling apparatus wherein the one or more steam outlets (10 Fig. 1) are provided on the circumferential surface of the barrel (2 Fig. 1) (Col. 2 lines 31 - 36; the middle zone is interpreted as the portion of element 2 that is not occupied by elements 7 and 8. The steam outlets (10) are provided on element 2 and since element two is a curler rod, it inherently has a circumferential surface).
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.
Claim(s) 4 - 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (GB 1530360 A) in view of Kengo (EP 1894487 A1).
Regarding claim 4, (GB 1530360 A) discloses the claimed invention substantially as set forth in claim 1 above. However, (GB 1530360 A) is silent regarding claim 4 wherein each airflow outlet is configured to discharge airflow in an airflow discharge direction that is angled away from a central longitudinal axis of the barrel.
Kengo teaches a hair iron wherein each airflow outlet (26/27 Fig. 2; element 26 is an outlet for charged water particle, an analogous element that teaches the concept of the claimed limitation) is configured to discharge airflow (A Fig. 2) in an airflow discharge direction that is angled away from a central longitudinal axis of the barrel (Col. 5 lines 45 - 55; elements 26/27 is configured to discharge charged water particles away from the central block (5) or an imaginary longitudinal axis running through the middle of the central block).
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 airflow outlets of the device disclosed by (GB 1530360 A) to be configured to discharge airflow in an airflow discharge direction that is angled away from a central longitudinal axis of the barrel as taught by Kengo. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to prevent the discharged airflow from being directed to the barrel and counteracting the effectiveness of the barrel steam outlets in styling the hair while providing an air cushion between the steam generated at the barrel and the user.
Regarding claim 5, (GB 1530360 A) as modified by Kengo discloses the claimed invention substantially as set forth in claim 4 above. However, (GB 1530360 A)/ Kengo (EP 1894487 A1) is silent regarding claim 5 wherein an angle between the airflow discharge direction of each airflow outlet and the central longitudinal axis is between 30 degrees and 60 degrees.
Kengo further teaches a hair iron wherein an angle between the airflow discharge direction (A Fig. 2) of each airflow outlet (26/27 Fig. 2) and the central longitudinal axis (see annotated Fig. 2) is between 30 degrees and 60 degrees (see annotated Fig. 2; considering an imaginary central longitudinal axis through the main block and a perpendicular axis to the midpoint of the central longitudinal axis, creating four quadrants. The direction of the discharge (A) cuts through the 45 degrees angle from the central longitudinal axis and is qualitatively within the claimed range).
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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 device disclosed by (GB 1530360 A)/ Kengo (EP 1894487 A1) to be configured wherein an angle between the airflow discharge direction of each airflow outlet and the central longitudinal axis is between 30 degrees and 60 degrees. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to create sufficient projection angle away from the central longitudinal axis in order to prevent the discharged airflow from being directed to the barrel and counteracting the effectiveness of the barrel steam outlets in styling the hair while providing an air cushion between the steam generated at the barrel and the user.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (GB 1530360 A) in view of Hafemann (US 7124763 B2).
(GB 1530360 A) discloses the claimed invention substantially as set forth in claim 1 above. (GB 1530360 A) is silent regarding claim 6 wherein each airflow outlet is in the form of a circumferentially extending arcuate slot.
Hafemann teaches an analogous device wherein each airflow outlet (4 Figs. 1 and 2) is in the form of a circumferentially extending arcuate slot (see Figs. 1 and 2; element 4 is a transverse arcuate slot circumferentially extending along the cylindrical base of element 3. As best illustrated in Fig. 2, element 4 has a circumferentially extending arcuate slot configuration. Col. 3 lines 44-47: …sheathing air stream exiting through several circumferentially distributed openings 4…).
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 device of (GB 1530360 A) be configured such that each airflow outlet is in the form of a circumferentially extending arcuate slot, as taught by Hafemann. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to offer smooth air stream flow from the airflow outlet and to direct the air stream across the circumferential surface of the barrel in the longitudinal direction to promote uniform transfer of warm air to the hair.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (GB 1530360 A) in view of Conrad (US 20210307473 A1).
(GB 1530360 A) discloses the claimed invention substantially as set forth in claim 1 above. (GB 1530360 A) is silent regarding claim 10, wherein the airflow discharged from the one or more airflow outlets is provided substantially at or below ambient temperature.
Conrad teaches an analogous device configured such that the airflow discharged from the one or more airflow outlets (56 Figs. 3 - 5) is provided substantially at or below ambient temperature (paragraph 49; in the first operating mode, the device taught by Conrad can dry hair using high air velocity (paragraph 500) which air may be at ambient temperature; paragraphs 491 and 601).
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 device disclosed by (GB 1530360 A) to be configured such that the airflow discharged from the one or more airflow outlets is provided substantially at or below ambient temperature, as taught by Conrad, in order to remove excess moisture from the hair being styled and to protect the hair from damages caused by excessive heat.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (GB 1530360 A) in view of Kishimoto (JP 2008289543 A).
(GB 1530360 A) discloses the claimed invention substantially as set forth in claim 1 above. (GB 1530360 A) is silent regarding claim 11, wherein the steam generator is configured to provide a steam flow rate through the one or more steam outlets of between 5 and 10 g/min.
Kishimoto teaches an analogous device wherein the steam generator (12 Fig. 11) is configured to provide a steam flow rate through the one or more steam outlets (7 Fig. 9) of between 5 and 10 g/min (Paragraph 114; the conditions of hot steam are steam generation amount 6 cc/min (cubic centimeters per min). water being the source of steam and using the density of water, 6 cc/min equals 6 g/min, which is within the 6 g/min and 10 g/min range).
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 steam generator of the device disclosed by (GB 1530360 A) be configured to provide a steam flow rate through the one or more steam outlets of between 5 and 10 g/min, as taught by Kishimoto. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to create a steam generator that provides a steam at the flow rate that ensures a gentle, controlled, and consistent steam to moisten the hair and improve the hair styling process.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (GB 1530360 A) in view of Boateng et al. (GB 2542207 A).
(GB 1530360 A) discloses the claimed invention substantially as set forth in claim 1 above. (GB 1530360 A) is silent regarding claim 12, wherein the air mover is configured to provide an air flow rate through the one or more airflow outlets of between 6 and 10 L/s.
Boateng et al. teaches an apparatus for drying hair wherein the air mover (26 Fig. 1) is configured to provide an air flow rate through the one or more airflow outlets of between 6 and 10L/s (Page 23 line 17; the air mover provides air flow rate of 0.03 m³/min to 2 m³/min which is equivalent to 0.5 L/s to 33 L/s, covering the claimed invention requirement of an air flow rate of between 6 and 10 L/s).
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 air mover of the device disclosed by (GB 1530360 A) be configured to provide an air flow rate through the one or more airflow outlets of between 6 and 10 L/s. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to make this modification in order to create a hair styling device configured with an air mover that provides air at a flow rate that provide good heat transfer by convection and minimizing heat damage as suggested by Boateng et al.
Claim(s) 14 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (GB 1530360 A) in view of Sahm (CH 687056 A5).
Regarding claim 14, (GB 1530360 A) discloses the claimed invention substantially as set forth in claim 1. (GB 1530360 A) is silent regarding claim 14, comprising a flow diverter moveable between: a first position in which the flow diverter directs airflow to the one or more airflow outlets; and a second position in which the flow diverter directs airflow to the one or more steam outlets or to one or more further airflow outlets arranged to discharge airflow onto hair being styled by the apparatus in use.
Sahm teaches a hair roller comprising a flow diverter (9/10/16 Fig. 1) moveable between: a first position (8 closed and 7 open) in which the flow diverter directs airflow to the one or more airflow outlets (7 Fig. 1); and a second position (8 open and 7 closed) in which the flow diverter directs airflow to the one or more steam outlets or to one or more further airflow outlets (8 Fig. 1) arranged to discharge airflow onto hair being styled by the apparatus in use (Col. 3 lines 49 - 64: The sleeves 9, 10 are rotated into that position (which can be accomplished before or after winding) in which the air outlet openings 8 are blocked. Thereafter, the treatment for producing perms is carried out according to the known procedure. The heating is now carried out by the warm air exiting only axially from the air outlet openings 7 of the hollow flange section 2. After the hair has been rinsed out, the sleeves 9, 10 are rotated into the release position of the air outlet openings 8 of the outer sleeve 10, so that the hair is dried uniformly from the inside through the openings 8 and from the outside through the openings 7).
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 device disclosed by (GB 1530360 A) to be configured with a flow diverted moveable between a first position in which the flow diverter directs air to one or more airflow outlets, and a second position in which the flow diverter directs airflow to the one or more steam outlets or to one or more further airflow outlets arranged to discharge airflow onto hair being styled by the apparatus in use, as taught by Sahm. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to create a device with two operable positions that allows for uniform drying of hair by allowing direction of airflow to distinct airflow outlets as prompted by the user's hair styling needs.
Regarding claim 15, (GB 1530360 A) as modified by Sahm discloses the claimed invention substantially as set forth in claim 14. (GB 1530360 A) further discloses a first mode in which steam is discharged from the one or more steam outlets and air is discharged from the one or more airflow outlets (the claim as stated is interpreted as the steam and air being discharged concurrently. see page 2 lines 54-58: see that the motor 15 and heater 4 have independent switches 20 and 19 for toggling the motor 15 and heater 4 ON or OFF. The first mode can be achieved by turning switches 19 and 20 ON at the concurrently. See page 2 lines 92-100: see that the device is capable of concurrently discharging steam and air at the same time through their respective discharged outlets although concurrent operation reduces the efficacy of the steam moistening the hair. However, the claim requirement is met because the device has all claimed limitations and can function as claimed); and a second mode in which steam is not discharged from the one or more steam outlets and airflow is discharged from the steam outlets or from the one or more further airflow outlets (the second mode is achieved by turning ON only the blower via switch 20 resulting in only air being discharged from the one or more further airflow outlets; see page 2 lines 92-100).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHIEMERIE C AZUBUOGU whose telephone number is (571)272-0664. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8:00 AM - 6:00PM.
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/C.A./Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3772 /ERIC J ROSEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3772
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