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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s Arguments/Remarks filed 7/14/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
1. Applicant’s arguments, filed 7/10/2025, with respect to the amended claim(s) have been considered but, are moot due to a new grounds of rejection based upon a new references, SHI (CN 206910531 U) and INGLE (US 20140000648 A1), see below.
2. Additionally, MOON et al. (KR 20080087339 A) discloses rollers (fig. 2, 30) for generating vibration (abstract). Also, movement of the conveyors of the cited references would inherently generate vibration as the conveyors move a mattress.
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.
2. Claim(s) 1-2 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over GAECKLE (EP 1065011 A1) in view of SHI (CN 206910531 U) and further in light of MOON et al. (KR 20080087339 A) and INGLE (US 20140000648 A1).
Regarding claim 1, GAECKLE discloses an automatic mattress sterilization apparatus (fig. 8; 14.8) (pgs. 6 and 9-10) configured to sterilize a mattress (18), comprising:
a frame (of 14.8, 33 with 100) extending in one direction on which the mattress (18) is placed;
a sterilization part (interior of 14.8, containing 60, 62, 64, 66) coupled to an upper portion of the frame (of 14.8, 33) and having an inner space (of 14.8) through which the mattress passes;
a moving part (100) provided in the frame and configured to move the mattress placed on the frame, the moving part (100) including a plurality of moving rollers (fig. 8; of 100, not labeled) rotatably coupled to the frame; and
a control part (pgs. 6 and 9-10) configured to control a rotation of each of the moving rollers (of 100),
wherein the mattress is moved from one side of the sterilization part (interior of 14.8, containing 60, 62, 64, 66) to the other side of the sterilization part through the inner space (fig. 3; see arrow for 18’s movement) of the sterilization part by the moving part (100) (pgs. 6 and 9-10),
wherein a gas spraying part (66) configured to spray
wherein one side and the other side of the inner space (of 14.8) communicate with the outside so that the mattress is moved through the inner space (fig. 8; 18’s movement arrow),
wherein the control part (pgs. 6 and 9-10) controls at least one moving roller (unlabeled, for 100) among the moving rollers to rotate repeatedly in forward
(machine translation, pg. 6; Note conveyor belt 100 automatically can be controlled.)
(machine translation, pgs. 9-10; Note device operated under program control)
(machine translation, pgs. 9-10; Note Sensor devices for controlling the devices (60, 62, 64, 66, 68) and / or the conveyor belt (100))).
But GAECKLE fails to disclose (underlined) a gas spraying part configured to spray pressured gas onto the mattress,
wherein an inlet part configured to open and close the one side of the inner space is provided at the one side of the inner space, and
wherein an outlet part configured to open and close the other side of the inner space is provided at the other side of the inner space,
wherein a first sensor part configured to detect a distance between the inlet part of the sterilization part and one end of the mattress is provided at one side of the sterilization part, and a second sensor part configured to detect a distance between one end of the mattress moving in the inner space and the outlet part of the sterilization part is provided inside the sterilization part,
wherein the control part controls at least one moving roller among the moving rollers to rotate repeatedly in forward and reverse directions, and the number of forward rotations of the at least one moving roller is greater than the number of reverse rotations of the at least one moving roller, and
wherein a control part is configured to control the opening and closing of each of the inlet part and the outlet part, and
wherein the control part controls each of the inlet part and the outlet part to be open based on that the distance detected by each of the first sensor part and the second sensor part is less than or equal to a designated value.
SHI, however, discloses a mattress sterilization device (figs. 1-2 and 5, 0110), that has UV lights (0120, 0121), with an openable and closeable first opening (0111) and second opening (0112); sensors (0150, 0140) and a controller (0130) (pgs. 1-7); and
wherein an inlet part (0111) configured to open and close (pgs. 1-7) the one side of the inner space (of 0110) is provided at the one side of the inner space, and
wherein an outlet part (0112) configured to open and close (pgs. 1-7) the other side of the inner space (of 0110) is provided at the other side of the inner space,
wherein a first sensor part (0140) configured to detect a distance between (pgs. 1-7) the inlet part (0111) of the sterilization part (of 0110 with 0120, 0121) and one end of the mattress (unlabeled) is provided at one side of the sterilization part, and
a second sensor part (0150) configured to detect a distance between (pgs. 1-7) one end of the mattress moving in the inner space (of 0110) and the outlet part (0112) of the sterilization part (of 0110) is provided inside the sterilization part,
wherein the control part (01030) controls at least one moving roller among the moving rollers to rotate repeatedly in forward
wherein a control part (0130) is configured to control the opening and closing of each of the inlet part (0111) and the outlet part (0112) (pgs. 1-7), and
wherein the control part (0130) controls each of the inlet part (0111) and the outlet part (0112) to be open based on that the distance detected by each of the first sensor part (0140) and the second sensor part (0150) is less than or equal to a designated value (pgs. 6-7).
(pgs. 1-7)
(pgs. 6-7; Note instruction signal is output)
(pg. 7; Note detected occlusion or reflection).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA applications) to combine/modify the invention of GAECKLE, with first and second opening parts and sensors with a controller for controlling opening and closing based on mattress detection, as taught by SHI, to use for opening/closing the inlet/outlet parts of the sterilizer so that a mattress is loaded and the inlet/outlet parts are closed when sterilizing the mattress for automated operation, loading, unloading and prevention of harmful UV rays being exposed to outside users.
But GAECKLE as modified by SHI fails to disclose a gas spraying part configured to spray pressured gas onto the mattress,
wherein the control part controls at least one moving roller among the moving rollers to rotate repeatedly in forward and reverse directions, and the number of forward rotations of the at least one moving roller is greater than the number of reverse rotations of the at least one moving roller.
MOON, however, discloses a mattress sterilizer device (fig. 2) utilizing
a gas spraying part (31, 32) configured to spray pressured gas onto the mattress (1), UV sterilizers (52); vibration rollers (30) to generate vibration, and that turn with the conveyor rollers (20, 21, 2b), a vacuum/dust inhalers (40, 42); and
wherein the control part (24) controls at least one moving roller (20, 21) among the moving rollers to rotate repeatedly (abstract) in forward and reverse directions, and the number of forward rotations of the at least one moving roller is of the at least one moving roller (20, 21)
(pgs. 1, 3, 5-7 and 10-11).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA applications) to combine/modify the invention of GAECKLE as modified by SHI, with a pressurized gas spraying part and repeated forward and reverse mattress movements via conveyor rotations , as taught by MOON, to use to clean/sterilize the mattress and move the mattress through out the mattress sterilizer device, from its inlet to its outlet, for thorough repeated sterilizing cleaning.
But GAECKLE as modified by SHI and MOON fails to explicitly disclose that the number of forward rotations of the at least one moving roller is greater than the number of reverse rotations of the at least one moving roller
INGLE, however, discloses a mattress sterilizer device (fig. 3, 10) utilizing UV light assemblies (2), a conveyor belt (8), with rollers (unlabeled); and IR heaters (6) and vacuum system (4) and
wherein the conveyor belt (8), moves the mattress (unlabeled), via a number of forward rotations of the at least one moving roller (of belt 8) and a number of reverse rotations of the at least one moving roller (of 8) to be UV treated (2), vacuumed (4), IR heated (6) and vacuumed again (via 4, after reverse rotations) before being ejected out the sterilizer device outlet (of 10).
GAECKLE and SHI disclose a mattress sterilizer device with a conveyor that moves a mattress from a sterilizer’s inlet (on one side of the sterilizer) to the sterilizer’s outlet (on an opposite side of the sterilizer) via forward conveyor roller movement.
MOON discloses repeated forward and reverse belt roller movements for increased cleaning of a mattress.
INGLE discloses a mattress conveyor that moves a mattress in forward and reverse directions via conveyor roller rotations to initially vacuum (via 4) a mattress and then move the mattress in reverse to vacuum again (via 4), before the mattress is output to the sterilizer’s outlet.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA applications) to combine moving a mattress, via forward roller rotations, between a sterilizer device’s inlet and opposite side outlet, of GAECKLE and SHI, with repeated forward and reverse conveyor roller rotations of MOON, and
further with sterilizing and vacuuming once and then vacuuming again, via reverse belt roller rotations, to move the mattress, as taught by INGLE, back and forth for repeated vacuum treatment to further remove any dust and increase the mattresses sterilization/cleanliness for increased downstream user comfort and experience.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, that having forward and reverse conveyor roller rotations for initial vacuuming and then later vacuuming, by the same vacuum system, of a mattress (as taught by INGLE), in the conveyor configuration of GAECKLE and SHI, would necessitate that the number of forward rotations of the at least one moving roller (of the conveyor) is greater than the number of reverse rotations (to go back to the vacuum again, at least) of the at least one moving roller, in order to eventually move the mattress from the sterilizer’s inlet (on one side) to the sterilizer’s outlet on the opposite side.
Regarding claim 2, GAECKLE discloses that an ultraviolet lamp (60) (abstract) configured to sterilize the mattress (18) is provided inside the sterilization part (interior of 14.8, containing 60, 62, 64, 66).
Regarding claim 10, GAECKLE discloses a vibration application part (68) configured to apply vibration to the mattress (18) is provided in the sterilization part (interior of 14.8, containing 60, 62, 64, 66).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
Also, applicant's submission of an information disclosure statement under 37 CFR 1.97(c) with the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(p) on 7/10/2025, prompted the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 609.04(b). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Andrew Smyth whose telephone number is 571-270-1746. The examiner can normally be reached between 9:00AM - 6:00PM; Monday thru Friday.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert Kim can be reached on 571-272-2293. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW SMYTH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2881