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 § 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) 1-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Harrison (US 2022/0160096) in view of Choi (US 8,230,868).
Harrison et al. disclose a hair styling appliance comprising a first arm (14) and a second arm (16) coupled together for reciprocal movement towards and away from each other, and arranged to receive hair within a region between each other; a plenum (15, 17) disposed within at least one of the first arm and the second arm, the plenum comprising an air inlet for receiving airflow from an air outlet of a fan unit (38) and an air outlet for emitting airflow towards the hair within the region; and a hair clamp comprising first and second clamping members (20a, 22a) for gripping hair therebetween, wherein: the first clamping member comprises a first clamping surface (20a) for contacting the hair; and the second clamping member comprises a second clamping surface (22a) for contacting the hair (Fig. 10) Harrison et al. does not disclose wherein the first clamping surface has a higher coefficient of friction than the second clamping surface. Choi teaches a hair clamp comprising first and second clamping members (12,40) for gripping hair therebetween, wherein: the first clamping member comprises a first clamping surface (40) for contacting the hair; and the second clamping member comprises a second clamping surface (12) for contacting the hair wherein the first clamping surface (40) has a higher coefficient of friction than the second clamping surface (col. 3, lines 50-60 and col. 4,lines 20-30). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the first clamping surface of Harrison be made from a higher coefficient of friction than the second clamping surface as taught by Choi to allow to reduce damage done to the hair by the heating plates.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Harrison and Choi disclose wherein the first clamping surface (i.e. silicone) and the second clamping surface (metallic) comprise relatively different materials for contacting the hair (Choi; col. 4, lines 20-30).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Harrison and Choi disclose wherein the first clamping surface comprises a more resiliently deformable material (silicone) than the second clamping surface (metallic) (Choi; col. 4, lines 20-30).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Harrison and Choi disclose wherein the first clamping surface (40) comprises a polymer (Choi; col. 3, lines 50-65).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Harrison and Choi disclose wherein the first clamping surface (40) comprises an elastomer (Choi; col. 3, lines 50-65).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Harrison and Choi disclose wherein the second hair engaging material clamping surface comprises a metallic material and/or a ceramic material (Choi; col. 4, lines 20-30).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Harrison and Choi disclose wherein at least one of the first clamping member and the second clamping member is mounted to move relative to the arm upon which it is supported (open and closed position), between an extended position and a retracted position, and wherein the movement is biased towards the extended position.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Harrison and Choi disclose extended position (Choi; Fig. 3B), the distance between the first and second clamping surfaces is less than the distance between an inner wall of the first arm and an inner wall of the second arm (Choi; Fig. 3B and 4).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Harrison and Choi disclose wherein the second clamping surface (12) comprises a metallic material and/or a ceramic material (Choi; col. 4, lines 25-30).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Harrison and Choi disclose wherein the first clamping surface (40) comprises an elastomer (Choi; col. 4, line 20-30).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Harrison and Choi disclose wherein the elastomer is silicone (Choi; col. 4, lines 20-30).
Conclusion
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
8/27/2026
