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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 12 is objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate of claim 21. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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) 1-10 and 13-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mourad (US 2008/02236604).
Regarding claim 1, Mourad discloses a hair styling apparatus comprising a first arm and a second arm (32, 34) pivotally coupled together and moveable between an open position and a closed position (Figure 3 and 3A), an inner wall of the first arm is arranged to face an inner wall of the second arm (36, 38), wherein the first arm and the second arm are arranged to receive hair within a cavity therebetween (paragraph 36), wherein the cavity is formed between the first arm and the second arm in the closed position, and wherein at least one of the first arm and second arm comprise a plenum, said plenum comprising an air inlet for receiving airflow from a fan unit and an air outlet configured to direct airflow towards the cavity (The cross-sectional diagram shown in Figure 3A of Mourad, shows that each arm includes an air duct through which air is forced by a fan; Paragraph [0040] of Mourad explains that: "The air passageway 42 has an elongate air outlet 52 which is parallel to the arm 32 and extends along the side of the hair receiving surface 36". The air outlet 52 is configured to blow air into the cavity "across the hair receiving surface 36 and thus substantially along the length of hair placed perpendicular to the arm 32 on the surface 36". Therefore, at least one arm of Mourad's hair styling apparatus has a plenum (air passageway) comprising an air inlet that receives airflow from the fan and an outlet 52 that directs such airflow towards the cavity). Regarding the limitation, the air outlet comprises a channel between the plenum and the cavity, the inner wall of the first and/or second arms having a rounded configuration to change the direction of the airflow as it exits the plenum and enters the channel. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have the inner wall of the first and/or second arms be made with a rounded configuration to change the direction of the airflow as it exits the plenum and enters the channel, since it appears that the invention would perform equally well with a rounded or flat configuration to direct the airflow. Furthermore, rounded and flat configurations are well known in hair appliances, both used for hair styling to create different textures in the user’s hair the change is predictable and routing in the art of hair styling.
Regarding claim 2, the air outlet (52) is configured to emit blade-like airflow towards the cavity (52 is a narrow slot which is interpreted to create blade like airflow; Figure 3A).
Regarding claim 3, the air outlet (52) is configured to direct laminar airflow towards the cavity (laminar airflow is interpreted as airflow in parallel layers; Mourad teaches a narrow slot, the narrow slot it will be interpreted as laminar airflow).
Regarding claim 4, the air outlet (52) is adapted to direct airflow into the cavity and towards an exhaust port, wherein the cavity functions as an expansion chamber for the incoming airflow, and wherein the exhaust port is for moisture droplets and the expanded airflow to exit the cavity. Even though Mourad does not explicitly disclose that air flowing inside the air passage does so with higher pressure than atmospheric pressure, it is clear that the airflow inside the air passage must be at a higher pressure than atmospheric pressure because airflow must move from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure, otherwise there would be no movement of air as the air exits the air outlet, it will move into the cavity that is at atmospheric pressure. Since the cavity is at atmospheric pressure, the air flow will expand into the cavity and thus the cavity acts as an expansion chamber for the air flow.
Regarding claim 5, the air outlet (52) comprises a channel from the plenum (air ducts) that terminates with an aperture into the cavity (space between arms 32, 34), and wherein hair received within the cavity is straightened primarily by high pressure airflow (paragraph 43).
Regarding claim 6, wherein the air outlet (52) is located towards an upper portion of at least one of the first and second arms and directs airflow generally downwards (see Figure 3).
Regarding claim 7, wherein the airflow is laminar and vanes (paragraph 43 “the air exiting the elongate air outlet is deflected by a shroud 53 across the hair receiving surface” are located along the air outlet and angled to control the orientation of the laminar airflow (see Figure 3).
Regarding claim 8, wherein the hair styling apparatus is provided with a hair clamp comprising a pair of clamping members (i.e. paragraph 41 teaches 36, 38 are spring loaded) for gripping hair, each clamping member having a clamping face for contacting hair.
Regarding claims 9 and 10 Mourad discloses the claimed invention except for an airflow temperature in the cavity is around 130-170°C and a temperature of the clamping face of each clamping member is lower than the temperature of the airflow; wherein the airflow temperature in the cavity is between 140°C and 160°C. However, one having ordinary skill in the art would find the parameters of the airflow temperature to be deemed matters of design choice, will within the skill of the ordinary artisan, obtained through routine experimentation in determining optimum results.
Regarding claim 13, wherein hair within the cavity but directly below the hair clamp has a freedom of movement within the volume of the cavity (see Figures 3 and 3A; paragraph 41).
Regarding claim 14, wherein the freedom of movement within the volume of the cavity is limited only by the hair clamp (i.e. spring-loaded plates 36, 38).
Regarding claim 15, wherein the air outlet (52) is located below the hair clamp (see Figure 3).
Regarding claim 16, wherein the air outlet is a slot (52), and wherein the slot is located in parallel alignment with a longitudinal axis of the first and/or second arms and is disposed in proximity to an upper edge of the arm (see Figure 3).
Claim(s) 11 and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mourad (US 2008/0236604) in view of Weatherly et al. (US 2014/0338691).
Regarding claim 11, Mourad discloses the claimed invention except for the clamping face is free of heated plates. Weatherly et al. teaches a clamping face wherein part of the clamping face has heated plate (16) and part of the clamping face is free of heated plates (14) see Figure 7b to create a cooling zone for haircare. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the device of Mourad be made with a clamping plate free of heated plates as taught by Weatherly et al. to allow for a hair cooling section.
Regarding claims 18-20, Mourad a hair styling apparatus comprising a first arm and a second arm (32, 34) pivotally coupled together and moveable between an open position and a closed position (Figure 3 and 3A), an inner wall of the first arm is arranged to face an inner wall of the second arm (36, 38), wherein the first arm and the second arm are arranged to receive hair within a cavity therebetween (paragraph 36), wherein the cavity is formed between the first arm and the second arm in the closed position, and wherein at least one of the first arm and second arm comprise a plenum, said plenum comprising an air inlet for receiving airflow from a fan unit and an air outlet configured to direct airflow towards the cavity (The cross-sectional diagram shown in Figure 3A of Mourad, shows that each arm includes an air duct through which air is forced by a fan; Paragraph [0040] of Mourad explains that: "The air passageway 42 has an elongate air outlet 52 which is parallel to the arm 32 and extends along the side of the hair receiving surface 36". The air outlet 52 is configured to blow air into the cavity "across the hair receiving surface 36 and thus substantially along the length of hair placed perpendicular to the arm 32 on the surface 36". Therefore, at least one arm of Mourad's hair styling apparatus has a plenum (air passageway) comprising an air inlet that receives airflow from the fan and an outlet 52 that directs such airflow towards the cavity). Mourand does not disclose a hair clamp comprising a first clamping member supported by the inner wall of one of the first or second arm wherein the first clamping member is arranged near an upper edge of the inner wall of the one of the first arm or second arm, wherein the first clamping member is elongated along a longitudinal axis, and has a height between 5mm and 15 mm. Weatherly et al. teaches a hair styling apparatus comprising a hair clamp (43a) comprising a first clamping member supported by the inner wall of one of the first or second arm (52) wherein the first clamping member is arranged near an upper edge of the inner wall of the one of the first arm or second arm (Fig 12), wherein the first clamping member is elongated along a longitudinal axis, and has a height (see Fig. 12 and 13). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the hair styling device of Mourand be made with a hair clamping member as taught by Weatherly to allow for the hair to pass through a cooling zone. It further would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art would find the parameters of the clamp height to be deemed matters of design choice, will within the skill of the ordinary artisan, obtained through routine experimentation in determining optimum results. In this instance case, it would have to be within a range to provide a clamping affect while allowing the hair to pass through.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 12 is 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.
Claim 21 is allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/5/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant’s argument that modifying Mourad to have the inner wall of the first and or second arms be made with a rounded configuration would not have been obvious is not persuasive. Flat and rounded hair styling devices are both known, used, and readily available in the hair care art. Modifying the flat inner wall of Mourad a to a rounded configuration would have been predictable, since both shapes provide different designs or curl patterns for the user’s hair. A similar shape that is common in the hair care art would be an obvious design choice for different purposes such as changing the hair curl pattern. The fact that applicant uses the rounded configuration to allow the airflow to turn and increase velocity does not overcome the obvious rejection since the design shape is a well-known obvious design.
In response to applicant’s argument that neither Mourad or Weatherly teach a clamping member free of any heated plates is not persuasive. Weatherly teaches a clamping member (43a) that is free of any heated plate by teaching a cooling zone (Fig. 12 and 13; paragraph 135).
Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RACHEL RUNNING STEITZ whose telephone number is (571)272-1917. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm EST.
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/RACHEL R STEITZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772
6/1/2026s
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