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 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.
Claim 5 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.
The recitation of “in particular” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 7-10, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lauer US 10582820.
Re claim 1, Lauer discloses a user-portable blower and/or vacuum device 10 [fig. 5], comprising:
a blowing and/or suctioning tube 18 for conveying a blowing and/or suctioning air flow along a tube axis 56 of the blowing and/or suctioning tube;
a fan 26 for generating the blowing and/or suctioning air flow conveyable through the blowing and/or suctioning tube 18;
a housing [62, 82] which carries the blowing and/or suctioning tube 18 and which has a handle 22 and two side sections [as seen in fig. 3 between a reference plane through axis 58], wherein the handle 22 extends within a reference plane [plane of axis 58] of the blower and/or vacuum device containing the tube axis 58, wherein the reference plane runs between the two side sections; and
a first fastening device arranged on one of the two side sections, and a second fastening device arranged on the same side section and at a distance from the first fastening device along the tube axis [buckles seen in fig. 3 connecting sling 138].
Re claim 2, wherein the handle 22 is arranged along the tube axis between the first fastening device and the second fastening device [fig. 3].
Re claim 3, wherein the first fastening device and the housing are connected to each other as one part or as two parts, and/or the second fastening device and the housing are connected to each other as one part or as two parts [fig. 3].
Re claim 4, wherein the housing is formed in several parts [82, 62], and the first fastening device and the second fastening device are arranged on a common housing part of the housing or on different housing parts of the housing [fig. 3].
Re claim 7, wherein the fan 26 is electrically driven to generate the blowing and/or suctioning air flow [“a suction source 26 (e.g., an electric motor and fan assembly)”].
Re claim 8, wherein the user-portable blower and/or vacuum device 10 has an exchangeable electric battery pack 38, carried by the housing 82, for supplying the fan with electrical drive energy, and the battery pack is arranged opposite the handle 22 and at a distance from the tube axis [fig. 3].
Re claim 9, wherein the user-portable blower and/or vacuum device 10 has a strap element 138, the strap element has a first strap end and a second strap end opposite the first strap end, and the first strap end is coupled to the first fastening device and the second strap end is coupled to the second fastening device [fig. 3].
Re claim 10, wherein the strap element has a connecting device [straps on sling 138, see fig. 6] which is arranged between the first strap end and the second strap end, the connecting device is configured for connecting the strap element to a user-borne or user-portable carrying device in the form of a carrying strap [the straps are capable of being connected to a user-borne or user-portable carrying device in the form of a carrying strap] and the connecting device has a strap loop and/or a ring for attachment of a hook of the carrying device [fig. 6].
Re claim 12, wherein the device is a leaf blower and/or a vacuum device [fig. 5].
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) 5-6, 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lauer US 10,582,820 in view of Barth US 9,689,126.
Re claims 5-6, Laurer teaches the invention as claimed above in claim 1. Lauer further teaches wherein the housing has an air-permeable ventilation grille housing part 74, the fan 26 is arranged between the ventilation grille housing part 74 and the blowing and/or suctioning tube 18 in order to convey air for the blowing and/or suctioning air flow through the ventilation grille housing part [fig. 3].
Laurer does not teach the first fastening device is arranged on the ventilation grille housing part, and wherein the first fastening device is molded integrally on the ventilation grille housing part.
However, Bart teaches blower support device comprising a fastening device 110, 212, 242, 258, 278, 290 [figs. 17-33, 37-44] arranged on the ventilation grille housing part 97, 187, 257, and wherein the fastening device is molded integrally on the ventilation grille housing part [see figs. 31, 38, 43, 44].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the fastening device arranged integral to a ventilation grille of Barth with the first fastening device of Lauer in order to yield the predictable result of connecting the sling to a rear part of the vacuum.
Re claim 11, Laurer teaches the invention as claimed above in claim 1. Laurer implicitly teaches wherein an overall center of mass [understood to be arranged at the axis of the suction source 26, since the suction source would be the heaviest part] of the user-portable blower and/or vacuum device is arranged along the tube axis 58 [due to the symmetry of the vacuum 10 see fig. 3] between the first fastening device and the second fastening device.
Lauer fails to specifically teach an overall center of mass along the tube axis and wherein the first fastening device and the second fastening device are each arranged perpendicular to the tube axis with respect to a direction of gravity above the overall center of mass of the user-portable blower and/or vacuum device when the user-portable blower and/or vacuum device is carried by the user jointly via the first fastening device and the second fastening device.
Barth teaches wherein an overall center of mass 17 [fig. 7] of the user-portable blower and/or vacuum device is arranged along the tube axis [center axis of wheel 15], the fastening device 30 is arranged perpendicular to the tube axis with respect to a direction of gravity [F] above the overall center of mass 17 of the user-portable blower and/or vacuum device when the user-portable blower and/or vacuum device is carried by the user jointly via the first fastening device and the second fastening device.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the positional teachings of Barth with the fastening device of Lauer in order to yield the predictable result of having the operator, during operation accommodate the tilting moment about the horizontal pivot axis or about a pivot axis running in the longitudinal direction of the blower [“during operation, the operator must accommodate at most a small tilting moment about the horizontal pivot axis 27 (FIG. 1) or about a pivot axis running in the longitudinal direction of the blower 1. The connector arrangement 9 furthermore has a vertical pivot axis 29, which likewise passes through the center of gravity 17 and intersects the handle 3.”].
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Carlos A. Rivera whose telephone number is (571)270-5697. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM -4PM.
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C. A. R.
Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 3723
/C. A. RIVERA/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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