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 § 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 and 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 216364930.
In regard to claim 1, CN ‘930 discloses a maintenance station (1) configured to store a cleaning robot (4), comprising:
a housing (1) in which a storage space (11) is provided;
a lifting plate (21) configured to move the cleaning robot docked with the housing to the storage space of the housing; and
a door (3) configured to open or close the storage space of the housing, wherein the lifting plate comprises:
a plurality of fixing projections (211) configured to fix the cleaning robot (4) to the lifting plate (21) based on the lifting plate moving between a first location (fig. 1-2) in which the cleaning robot is configured to dock with the housing and a second location (fig. 4) in the storage space (11) of the housing (1).
In regard to claim 10, further comprising:
a locker (22) configured to unlock the lifting plate (21) in the first location, and lock the lifting plate in the second location by being interlocked with an operation of the door (3) opening or closing the storage space (11).
In regard to claim 11, discloses a cleaning robot (4) configured to be fixed to a lifting plate (21) provided in a maintenance station (1), comprising:
a body (4);
a dust bin provided in the body;
a brush provided in an opening of the body and configured to sweep dust into the dust
bin;
a first driving wheel and a second driving wheel provided on a bottom surface of the
body; and
a plurality of coupling portions (4 would have two coupling portions that interact with coupling projections 211) provided on the bottom surface of the body, and configured to prevent detachment of the body in a direction away from the lifting plate (21) of the maintenance station and a direction of gravity.
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.
Claim(s) 2-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 216364930.
In regard to claim 2, CN’930 discloses two fixing projections (211) configured to attach to two coupling portions on the cleaning robot, but CN’930 does not disclose four fixing projections. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the lifting plate (21) with four projections instead of two because duplicating the components of a prior art device is a design consideration within the skill of the art. In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960).
In regard to claim 3, wherein the first fixing projection (211) is configured to insert into the first coupling portion of the cleaning robot (4) in a first direction in which the cleaning robot is configured to dock with the maintenance station, and
wherein the second fixing projection (211) is configured to insert into the second coupling portion of the cleaning robot in the first direction.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-9 and 12-14 are 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.
Claims 15-19 are allowed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kim, Jeong, Lee, Gu, Furuta, Stroop, Fifer, Jasper and Kim disclose similar cleaning robots and maintenance stations that are common and well known in the art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID E. BOCHNA whose telephone number is (571)272-7078. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-5:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew Troutman can be reached at (571) 270-3654. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAVID BOCHNA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3679
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