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.
1. Claim 14 is 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.
2. Claim 14 recites the limitation “the hollow interior volume providing the fluid reservoir is discontinuous”. It is unclear to the examiner as to what “discontinuous” exactly means. Applicant’s specification has placed no criticality on what shape of the hollow interior volume constitutes as “discontinuous”, which renders the claim indefinite. For the purposes of examination, “discontinuous” will be interpreted as an unusual shape with varying dimensions and will be treated as such for the sake of the Current Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. 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.
4. Claims 1-3, 5, 11, 12 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rau (US 20060048331 A1).
5. Regarding claim 1, Rau discloses a floor maintenance machine for cleaning a floor, the floor maintenance machine comprising: one or more brushes or brooms (microfiber pads 39, wherein it is attached to a pad driver and move “in a reciprocating or oscillating motion”, paragraph [0034, Figure 1);
a filter box (box X comprising of elements 13 and 14, Figure 1) adapted to receive a filter (cloth bag filter 24, Figure 1) in a filter-receiving volume (volume inside waste tank 14, Figure 1), the filter box (box X) and the filter-receiving volume (waste tank 14, Figure 1) being defined by walls (solution tank 13, defined by wall A, Figure 1) with a hollow interior volume providing a fluid reservoir configured to hold a fluid (it is understood that solution tank must be hollow to hold fluid which “which may be either water or a solution of water and cleaning chemical”, paragraph [0033], Figure 1);
a sprayer (nozzles 32, Figure 1) in selective fluid communication with the fluid reservoir of the filter box (see Figure 1, wherein supply hose 31 connects to fluid reservoir 13 of the filter box), the sprayer (nozzles 32, Figure 1) positioned to spray the fluid on the floor adjacent to the one or more brushes or brooms (wherein nozzles 32 “extends in front of the cleaning assembly 30 to wet the floor prior to cleaning by the microfiber cleaning element”, paragraph [0033], Figure 1);
and a pump (another similar embodiment discloses pump 59, Figure 4) configured to pump a fluid in the fluid reservoir of the filter box to the sprayer (pump 59 “receives solution from the tank 58 and passes a metered amount of solution into a conduit 60 which feeds a spray nozzle 61 located above a microfiber cleaning assembly 63”, paragraph [0039], Figure 4), thereby selectively placing the fluid reservoir in fluid communication with the sprayer (spray nozzle 61 gathers fluid from tank 58, Figure 4).
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Figure 1 (Rau)
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Rau (Figure 4)
6. Regarding claim 2, Rau discloses the floor maintenance machine of claim 1, and further discloses wherein:
the fluid includes a cleaning detergent (wherein fluid from solution tank 13 “may be either water or a solution of water and cleaning chemical” wherein it is consistent with the same function of a cleaning detergent to clean a floor, paragraph [0033]).
7. Regarding claim 3, Rau discloses the floor maintenance machine of claim 1, and further discloses wherein:
the fluid reservoir surrounds only a portion of the filter-receiving volume (see Figure 1, wherein solution tank 13 surrounds only wall A of the filter-receiving volume).
8. Regarding claim 5, Rau discloses the floor maintenance machine of claim 1, and further discloses wherein:
wherein the filter box (box X, Figure 1) has a filter (cloth bag filter 24, Figure 1) in the filter-receiving volume (waste tank 14), the filter being configured to receive an airflow therethrough (wherein filter 24 “traps solids and particles and permits the filtered air to pass through a lower housing”, paragraph [0032], Figure 1).
9. Regarding claim 11, Rau discloses the floor maintenance machine of claim 1, and further discloses wherein:
the sprayer (spray manifold with nozzles 32, Figure 1) in selective fluid communication with the fluid reservoir (see supply hose 31 connect to the solution tank 13, Figure 1) of the filter box (box X, Figure1) is one of a plurality of sprayers in selective fluid communication with the fluid reservoir of the filter box (nozzles 32 imply plurality of sprayers, wherein it is connected with solution tank 13 via supply hose 31, Figure 1).
10. Regarding claim 12, Rau discloses the floor maintenance machine of claim 11, and further discloses wherein:
wherein the pump (pump 59 of embodiment Figure 4) is configured to pump the fluid in the fluid reservoir (“a metering pump 59 receives solution from the tank 58”, paragraph [0039], Figure 4) of the filter box (wherein pump 59 of Figure 4 be implemented in junction with supply hose 31 and nozzles 32 to draw fluid from solution tank 13 of Figure 1) to the plurality of sprayers (nozzles 32, Figure 1), thereby selectively placing plurality of sprayers in fluid communication with one the interior volume of the fluid reservoir (nozzles 32 are supplied fluid from solution tank 13 via pump 59 and supply hose 31).
11. Regarding claim 14, Rau discloses the floor maintenance machine of claim 1, and further discloses wherein:
the hollow interior volume providing the fluid reservoir is discontinuous (shape of the solution tank 13 is discontinuous, unusual shape, Figure 1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
12. 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.
13. Claim 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rau (US 20060048331 A1).
14. Regarding claim 6, Rau discloses the floor maintenance machine of claim 1, however, it does not disclose wherein:
the filter box is molded from a polymeric material.
In accordance to MPEP 2113, it cites “Even though product-by-process claims are limited by and defined by the process, determination of patentability is based on the product itself. The patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. If the product in the product-by-process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior product was made by a different process.” In re Thorpe, 777 F.2d 695, 698, 227 USPQ 964, 966 (Fed. Cir. 1985).
In the instance of the application, Rau discloses a filter box (box X, Figure 1), which serves the same function as applicant’s invention per the specification which provides a filter-receiving volume defined by walls with a hollow interior configured to hold fluid. Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to mold a filter box from a polymeric material since polymeric materials are commonly used in molding processes
15. Regarding claim 7, Rau discloses the floor maintenance machine of claim 1, however, it does not disclose wherein:
the filter box is rotomolded from a polymeric material.
In accordance to MPEP 2113, it cites “Even though product-by-process claims are limited by and defined by the process, determination of patentability is based on the product itself. The patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. If the product in the product-by-process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior product was made by a different process.” In re Thorpe, 777 F.2d 695, 698, 227 USPQ 964, 966 (Fed. Cir. 1985).
In the instance of the application, Rau discloses a filter box (box X, Figure 1), which serves the same function as applicant’s invention per the specification which provides a filter-receiving volume defined by walls with a hollow interior configured to hold fluid. Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to rotomold a filter box from a polymeric material since polymeric materials are commonly used in molding processes.
16. Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rau (US 20060048331 A1) in view of Yates (US 20040256308 A1).
17. Regarding claim 4, Rau discloses the floor maintenance machine of claim 1, however it does not disclose wherein:
the fluid reservoir entirely surrounds the filter-receiving volume.
Yates discloses fluid reservoir configured to hold fluid wherein it also includes a filter-receiving space for a filter media defined by a plurality of walls. Furthermore, Yates discloses wherein the fluid reservoir (fluid reservoir 24, Figure 2) entirely surrounds the filter receiving volume (see Figure 2, wherein fluid reservoir 24 and its fluid reservoir housing 12 entirely surrounds the filter media 70).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have configured Rau’s solution tank to further surround entirely the filter-receiving volume as taught by Yates. One of ordinary skill would recognize allowing fluid reservoir to surround the filter receiving volume allows for more fluid to be placed in the fluid reservoir while still keeping the reservoir and filter in a compact, small space.
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Figure 2 (Yates)
18. Claims 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rau (US 20060048331 A1) in view of Tennant (as retrieved from S16 Operator Manual, September 2020; hereinafter referred to as “Tennant”).
19. Regarding claim 8, Rau discloses the floor maintenance machine of claim 1, however, it does not disclose wherein:
the filter box is positioned beneath an operator seat.
Tennant discloses floor sweeper with a brush roll and pads. Furthermore, it discloses an operator seat (on a hinge, positioned above the interior compartments of the floor maintenance machine, Figure 1).
Rau discloses a removable cover 17 placed above the filter box. Tennant discloses a slidable chair on a hinge above the battery compartment. It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art before the effective filed date of the claimed invention to have substituted the opening seat of Tennant for the removable cover of Rau as a simple substitution of a known element to easily access the interior compartment of a floor maintenance machine. Furthermore, one of ordinary skill would be able to place the seat above the filter box in order to provide easy access.
20. Regarding claim 9, Rau in view of Tennant discloses the floor maintenance machine of claim 8, and further discloses wherein:
the operator seat is moveable to provide access to the filter box (seat of Tennant now resides wherein lid of Rau was, therefore on top of box filter). Furthermore, the seat moves rotatably around a hinge to reveal the interior compartments of floor maintenance machine (see Figure 1 of Tennant), such as the filter box.
21. Regarding claim 10, Rau in view of Tennant discloses the floor maintenance machine of claim 8, and further discloses wherein:
the operator seat is hinged to provide access to the filter box (seat of Tennant now resides wherein the lid of Rau was, therefore on top of box filter - where it was previously established the seat is on a hinge to rotate, and reveal the interior compartments of floor maintenance machine, such as the filter box, Figure 1 of Tennant).
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Figure 1 (Tennant, page 16)
22. Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rau (US 20060048331 A1) in view of Gregory (US 20050160553 A1).
23. Regarding claim 13, Rau discloses the floor maintenance machine of claim 1, and further discloses wherein:
the interior volume of the fluid reservoir (inside of solution tank 13, Figure 1) is fluidly coupled to the plurality of sprayers (nozzles 32, Figure 1) via a plurality of hoses (supply hose 31, Figure 1).
However, Rau does not explicitly disclose a plurality of hoses.
Gregory also discloses a floor maintenance machine wherein it comprises brushes and sprayers coupled to an interior of a solution tank. Furthermore, Gregory discloses wherein a plurality of hoses (hoses 144, Figure 7). Furthermore, hoses 144 are supplied with fluid from solution from vessel 136 via pump 140, wherein fluid is distributed via spray nozzles 138 (Figure 7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have configured Rau’s fluid reservoir to include a plurality of hoses to pump fluid through the sprayers as taught by Gregory. On of ordinary skill would recognize a plurality of hoses would more evenly spread out the plurality of sprayers, thus more effectively spraying the floor with cleaning solution.
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Figure 7 (Gregory)
Conclusion
23. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Field (US 20110132749 A1) discloses a floor maintenance machine with brushes and spray dispensers with a fluid reservoir for cleaning fluid.
24. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIEGO J NG whose telephone number is (571)270-0802. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Fri 9:00am - 5:00pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brian Keller can be reached at (571) 272-8548. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/D.J.N./Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/SHAY KARLS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3723
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