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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 02/03/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-15 are currently pending.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2021/0230788 (Lee hereinafter).
Regarding claim 1, Lee teaches a clothes dryer that discloses a cabinet including a front panel having an inlet to accommodate an object (Figure 1, cabinet 1010 with inlet 1011); a drum rotatably arranged in the cabinet and having a front opening and a rear opening (Drum 103 with front opening at 1040 and rear opening at 1050 as shown in Figure 2), the drum configured to have air flow along an interior of the drum from the rear opening to the front opening (Airflow path in Figure 2); a front cover formed to link the inlet of the cabinet and the front opening of the drum (Evident from cover 1040), the front cover including a slope portion formed to have a diameter decreasing toward the inlet of the cabinet from the front opening of the drum (Figure 47, sloped portion 1043 per ¶ 461-462); a rear cover formed to connect to the rear opening of the drum and having an air inlet formed at the rear cover to guide air including moisture to flow toward the rear opening of the drum from an exterior of the drum (Rear cover 1050 as seen in Figure 2 with 1200); and a device arranged on the slope portion for sensing humidity in air including moisture discharged from the front opening of the drum (Sensor mounted at 1046 per ¶ 468), wherein the front cover is arranged in front of the drum in the cabinet and forms a flow path connected to an interior of the drum (Figures 2 and 47 show the front cover 1040 and drum 1030 with the flow path along the inner surfaces of the front cover/drum), and wherein the sensing device includes a sensor facing the flow path (Sensor within mounting 1046 on front cover 1040 per ¶ 486 and Figure 47), and is arranged to match the air inlet along a front-back direction (The Examiner in broadly interpreting the location and direction of the sensor at 1046 matching the air inlet of Figure 1).
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.
Claims 2-4, 6, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2021/0230788 (Lee) in view of US 10669667 (Prajescu hereinafter).
Regarding claim 2, Lee’s modified teachings are described above in claim 1 where Lee would further disclose a fan configured to move the air into the drum (Fan 1710 of Lee); a heat exchanger arranged in the cabinet to cool the air discharged from the front opening of the drum (1100 of Lee per ¶ 216); and an air outlet formed in a lower portion of the front cover so that the air discharged from the front opening of the drum flows to the heat exchanger (Figure 2 of Lee).
Lee is silent with respect that the sensing device is arranged in an upper portion of the front cover.
However, Prajescu teaches a clothes dryer that discloses a sensing device (Sensor 102 in Figures 3-5) and the sensing device arranged on the slope portion for sensing humidity in air discharged from the front opening of the drum (Evident from Figure 3of Prajescu as modifying the location of 1046 of Lee).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the location of the sensor of Lee with the teachings of Prajescu since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Regarding claim 3, Lee’s modified teachings are described above in claim 2 where the combination of Lee and Prajescu would further disclose that the drum is rotated counterclockwise while the drum is viewed from front to back of the drum (¶ 140 of Lee), and wherein the sensing device is arranged to lean to a right side when the drum is viewed from front to back of the drum (Figure 3 of Prajescu).
Regarding claim 4, Lee’s modified teachings are described above in claim 3 where the combination of Lee and Prajescu would further disclose a lighting device adjacent to the sensing device (Light 124 within 112 of Prajescu Figure 3).
Regarding claim 6, Lee’s teachings are described above in claim 1 but are silent with respect that the sensing device includes a sensor including a sensing surface facing inside of the slope portion; and a cover coupled to an inner wall of the slope portion to cover the sensor.
However, Prajescu teaches a clothes dryer that discloses a sensing device (Sensor 102 in Figures 3-5) and the sensing device includes a sensor including a sensing surface facing inside of the slope portion (Sensor 102 as seen in Figure 4); and a cover coupled to an inner wall of the slope portion to cover the sensor (Covering made by the face of the sloped portion with the holes as seen in Figures 3 and 5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the sensor of Lee with the sensor disclosed by Prajescu to allow for the sensor to be protected from the clothing within the dryer.
Regarding claim 7, Lee’s modified teachings are described above in claim 6 where the combination of Lee, and Prajescu would further disclose that the cover includes a cover surface arranged on the inner wall of the slope portion (Figures 4 and 5 of Prajescu); and a through hole penetrating the cover surface for the sensing surface to be exposed to the inside of the slope portion (Holes seen in Figures 3-5 of Prajescu).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2021/0230788 (Lee) in view of US 10669667 (Prajescu) and further in view of US 8701309 (Park hereinafter).
Regarding claim 5, Lee’s modified teachings are described above in claim 4 but are silent with respect to an electrode sensor coupled to a lower portion of the slope portion to sense humidity of the object in the interior of the drum; and a controller configured to determine an operation time for the clothes dryer based on one of humidity sensed by the electrode sensor or humidity sensed by the sensing device.
However, Park teaches a clothes dryer that discloses an electrode sensor coupled to a lower portion of the slope portion to sense humidity of the objects in the interior of the drum (Figure 3, sensor 212); and a controller configured to determine an operation time for the clothes dryer based on one of humidity sensed by the electrode sensor or humidity sensed by the sensing device (Figure 7 of Park).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the sensor of Lee with the sensor of Park to ensure that the dryer is operated with respect to the relative humidity and minimize operation time.
Claims 8-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2021/0230788 (Lee) in view of US 10669667 (Prajescu) and further in view of US 2020/0407903 (Han hereinafter).
Regarding claim 8, Lee’s modified teachings are described above in claim 7 but are silent with respect that the sensing device further includes a filter arranged between the cover surface and the sensor to protect the sensor from foreign materials.
However, Han teaches a clothes dryer that discloses a sensing device and that the sensing device further includes a filter arranged between the cover surface and the sensor to protect the sensor from foreign materials (Filter 210b for the sensor 211).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the sensor of Lee and Prajescu with the intermediate filter of Han to prevent debris from getting to the sensor
Regarding claim 9, Lee’s modified teachings are described above in claim 8 where there combination of Lee, Park, Prajescu, and Han would further disclose that the cover is a first cover (Cover of Prajescu), and wherein the sensing device is couplable to the inner wall of the slope portion (Combination of Lee with Figures 4 and 5 of Prajescu) and includes a second cover receiving the sensor and the filter between the first cover and the second cover (Second cover formed by Han’s structure surrounding the sensor in Figure 6 as mounted to the sloped surface of Lee as shown in Prajescu).
Regarding claim 10, Lee’s modified teachings are described above in claim 9 where there combination of Lee, Park, Prajescu, and Han would further disclose that the sensing device includes a printed circuit board (PCB) (PCB of 211a of Han and chip 126 of Prajescu), wherein the sensor is mounted on the printed circuit board (PCB) (Figure 4 of Prajescu), wherein the PCB is placed on the second cover to be received between the first cover and the second cover (Figure 6 of Han as mounted to the sloped surface of Lee as shown in Prajescu).
Regarding claim 11, Lee’s modified teachings are described above in claim 9 where there combination of Lee, Park, Prajescu, and Han would further disclose that the first cover includes a first guide passing through the slope portion (Broadest reasonable interpretation of back opening of the mounts 132 of Prajescu) and formed to extend to outside of the slope portion from the cover surface to guide a wire electrically connected to the PCB (Broadest reasonable interpretation that the wires would extend from the chip of Prajescu on the backside of the sloped portion and therefore outside of the sloped portion).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2021/0230788 (Lee) in view of US 10669667 (Prajescu) in view of US 2020/0407903 (Han) and further in view of US 2019/0330792 (Del hereinafter).
Regarding claim 12, Lee’s modified teachings are described above in claim 9 but are silent with respect that the second cover includes a second guide couplable to the first guide and passing through the slope portion and formed to extend to outside of the slope portion to guide the wire between the first guide and the second guide.
However, Del teaches a dryer and humidity sensor that discloses a first cover (Equivalent cover of 345 in Figure 7), a second cover (Figure 8, material 805 forming the back cover), and the second cover includes a second guide couplable to the first guide and passing through the slope portion and formed to extend to outside of the slope portion to guide the wire between the first guide and the second guide (Figure 8 shows that the potting material forming the equivalent second cover will feature a guide for the wires 505 to pass through).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the mounting of Lee with the teachings of Del to ensure that the humidity sensor is securely mounted and protected.
Claims 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2021/0230788 (Lee) in view of US 8701309 (Park).
Regarding claim 13, Lee’s modified teachings are described above in claim 1 where Lee would further disclose that the front cover is arranged in front of the drum in the cabinet and forms the flow path connected to an interior of the drum (Front cover 1040 as seen in Figure 2).
Lee is silent with respect that the sensing device includes a sensor facing the flow path, and is arranged to match the air inlet along a front-back direction.
However, Park teaches a dryer that discloses a sensing device that includes a sensor facing the flow path, and is arranged to match the air inlet along a front-back direction (Figure 3, sensors 210 and 212 on the equivalent front cover 204).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the sensor of Lee with the sensor of Park to ensure that the dryer is operated with respect to the relative humidity and minimize operation time.
Regarding claim 14, Lee’s modified teachings are described above in claim 13 where Lee and Park would further disclose that the front cover includes a cover part couplable to the sensing device and formed to slopingly extend from back to front of the front cover to form the flow path (Figure 3 of Park shows that sensor 212 is covered by a body that is being interpreted as the cover part and does form a portion of the flow path).
Regarding claim 15, Lee’s modified teachings are described above in claim 14 where Lee and Park would further disclose an electrode sensor coupled to a lower portion of the cover part to sense humidity of the object in the interior of the drum (Sensor 212 of Park per Column 3 Lines 58-63), and a controller configured to determine an operation time for the clothes dryer based on one of humidity sensed by the electrode sensor or humidity sensed by the sensing device (Park Figure 7).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/03/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments regarding the new claim language added to claim 1 have been reviewed but are not found to be persuasive. The Examiner believes that the Lee reference teaches “wherein the sensing device includes a sensor facing the flow path (Sensor within mounting 1046 on front cover 1040 per ¶ 486 and Figure 47), and is arranged to match the air inlet along a front-back direction (The Examiner in broadly interpreting the location and direction of the sensor at 1046 matching the air inlet of Figure 1).” Applicant’s arguments are directed towards the Park reference and therefore are now found to be moot with this new rejection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CONNOR J. TREMARCHE whose telephone number is (571)272-2175. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 0700-1700 Eastern.
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/CONNOR J TREMARCHE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762