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 .
Drawings
Figure 8 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to because in figures 5 and 6 reference number 5 points to the blade instead of the stop assembly as recited the specification; reference number 4 point to the stop assembly instead the blade as recited in the specification. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: In figure 5:6ma, p2a, 6xa, 4a, Ra, x5a,5a,x5,6x,6m, x, xl, Aa, in figure 6: 5L, 5x, xL, 3x, in figure 7: R3, 23,123, 543,513,ap3, C3,m3,xl, f,1f, 54,ap,51,12, in figure 8: f23,f3,apf23,xl3,63,apf2,cf2,f2 f3,1f3,ff Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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) 1-6,9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by CN216873923U to Lin.
Referring to claim 1, Lin discloses a cutting unit for a lawnmower, wherein the cutting unit comprises a cutting disc (see fig. 6, 20) configured to rotate around a rotation axis during operation of the lawnmower and a cutting member (10) freely pivotably arranged on the cutting disc around a pivot axis between a cutting position and a retracted position, wherein the cutting member is configured to assume the cutting position by the centripetal force acting on the cutting member upon rotation of the cutting disc around the rotation axis, wherein the cutting unit comprises a stop assembly ( 215) configured to stop pivoting movement of the cutting member when the cutting member reaches the retracted position ( as broadly claimed the retracted position can be when cutting member hits assembly 215), and wherein an angle between the cutting position and the retracted position is more than 180 degrees ( due to location of pin 215).
Referring to claim 2, Lin discloses wherein the centre of mass of the cutting member is located outside of a peripheral edge of the cutting disc when the cutting member is in the cutting position (see fig. 1) , and is located inside of the peripheral edge of the cutting disc when the cutting member is in the retracted position ( when cutting member is totally within the diameter of disc 20).
Referring to claim 3, Lin discloses the centre of mass of the cutting member (10) passes a line extending between the rotation axis and the pivot axis when the cutting member is pivoted from the cutting position to the retracted position ( due to cutting member being totally within the diameter of disc 20 when in retracted position).
Referring to claim 4, Lin discloses the angle between the cutting position ( at figure 1) and the retracted position when member is against member 215) is within a range of 182 - 235 degrees or is within a range of 185 - 225 degrees.
Referring to claim 5, Lin discloses the stop assembly (215) comprises a stop element arranged on the cutting disc at a distance from the pivot axis of the cutting member, and wherein the stop assembly is configured to stop pivoting movement of the cutting member when the cutting member reaches the retracted position by an abutting contact between the stop element and a first portion of the cutting member.
Referring to claim 6, Lin the cutting member (10) is freely pivotably arranged around the pivot axis between the cutting position and a forwardly inclined position ( leaning against 215 on opposite end) , and wherein the stop assembly is configured to stop pivoting movement of the cutting member when the cutting member reaches the forwardly inclined position.
Referring to claim 9, Lin discloses a lawnmower comprising a cutting unit according to claim 1 and a motor configured to rotate the cutting unit around the rotation axis during operation of the lawnmower (see page 3, second paragraph under Detailed Ways).
Referring to claim 10, Lin discloses wherein the lawnmower is a self-propelled robotic lawnmower (see page 3, second paragraph under Detailed Ways).
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) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN216873923U to Lin.
Referring to claim 7, Lin does not disclose the angle between the cutting position and the forwardly inclined position is within a range of 3 - 25 degrees. MPEP 2144.05 (II)(A) states "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the cutting unit disclosed by Lin to have the angle between the cutting position and the forwardly inclined position is within a range of 3 - 25 degree with a reason expectation of success in order to optimize the angle to help minimize damage that could occur to the cutting member.
Referring to claim 8, Lin discloses the stop assembly (215) is configured to stop pivoting movement of the cutting member when the cutting member reaches the forwardly inclined position by an abutting contact between the stop element and a second portion of the cutting member.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Gold 2654986 discloses a cutting unit with a cutting member and a stop assembly.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GIOVANNA WRIGHT whose telephone number is (571)272-7027. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 am- 5 pm.
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, Nicole Coy can be reached at (571) 272-5405. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Giovanna Wright/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3672
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