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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-3, 15, and 20 are amended. Claims 4-14 and 16-19 are as previously presented. Therefore, claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been considered below.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on May 07, 2026 has been entered. Applicant’s amendment overcomes the Abstract word limit exceeding 150 words. Applicant’s amendment eliminates the word “unit” from “storage unit”, therefore the 112f interpretation of the storage unit has been retracted. Applicant’s argument against the input unit and image capturing unit 112 interpretation is persuasive and the interpretation has been retracted.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 11-19, filed on 05/07/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-20 under U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of applicant’s amendment regarding irradiating a preset dose when the door is changed from being in an open state to being in a closed state and newly found prior art regarding this feature.
Regarding the input unit and image capturing unit, Applicant’s argument that the terms “input” and “image capturing” describe structure in being devices with a generally understood meaning in the mechanical arts is persuasive and the 112f interpretation has been retracted.
The Examiner agrees with the Applicant’s argument as from claim 2, the input unit is described to receive an input of a user, where this provides structure for how the input device functions and would be known in the mechanical arts as being a user interface.
Claim 3 then states that the image capturing unit can capture an image of an item, where this provides a generally understood meaning in the mechanical arts as being a device like a camera.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. KR10-2022-0062994, filed on 05/23/2022.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-3, 5, 7-11, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Winslow et al. (US 20200206373 A1, hereinafter Winslow) in view of Son et al. (KR 20120075825 A, hereinafter Son).
Regarding claim 1, Winslow discloses a refrigerator (Para. 0003, “Many kitchen appliances, such as refrigerators, are in contact with raw meat and vegetables that may contain bacteria.”) comprising:
a body comprising a storage compartment (Para. 0044, “The appliance 400 may be a refrigerator. The appliance 400 may comprise light emitters 402, doors 404, shelving 406, and drawers 410.”);
a door provided on the body and configured to open and close the storage compartment (Para. 0046, “The light emitters 402 may be integrated into the doors 404 and may direct light perpendicular to an inside surface of the doors 404 in a manner such that light is directed onto interior surfaces of the appliance 400 when the doors 404 are closed (e.g., FIG. 4C).”, where the doors to the refrigerator can be opened to open up the storage compartment being the shelves of the refrigerator or the doors can be closed to close up the storage compartment of the shelves);
a door opening and closing sensor configured to detect a door open state and a door closed state (Para. 0057, “The sensors 412 (e.g., a motion sensor, touch sensor, and/or the like) may be used to detect user interaction with the appliance 400 (e.g., an appliance door being open or closed, an appliance handle being touched, etc.). For example, the control system 403 may determine whether the doors are open or closed using measurements from the sensors 412.”);
a temperature sensor (Para. 0054, “The sensors 412 may comprise, for example, motion sensors, voice sensors, light beam sensors, infrared sensors”);
an illuminator provided in the storage compartment and comprising a light-emitting diode (LED) light source configured to emit light having a wavelength of 380 nm to 420 nm, the illuminator being configured to irradiate an item in the storage compartment with the light (Para. 0045, “The light emitters 402 may emit light (e.g., disinfecting light, white light, etc.) with at least a portion of spectral energy or spectral power in a wavelength range of 380 nm-420 nm. The light emitters 402 may be integrated with the appliance 400 in one or more locations ( e.g., in the doors 404, shelving 406, and/or drawers 410).” and Para. 0086, “One or more light emitters (e.g., the light emitters 102, 202, 302, 402, 502) may be any device capable of emitting light. Light emitters may be, for example, light emitting diodes (LEDs)”);
a storage configured to store sterilization information comprising at least one preset dose for sterilization of the item (Para. 0026, “Equation 1 may be used in order to determine irradiance, dosage, or time using one or more data points from Table 1 and/or Table 2:” and where the dosage is determined through a computing device that includes memory to store preset values, Para. 0096, “The computing device 800 may include one or more processors 801, which may execute instructions of a computer program to perform any of the features described herein. The instructions may be stored in any type of tangible computer-readable medium or memory, to configure the operation of the processor 801”, where dosage can be preset based on the equation 1, Para. 0065, “The control system 403 may apply blue light (e.g., 420 nm-500 nm wavelength range using the light emitters 402-2) to the section based on the determination that the contents are leafy green vegetables. The control system may, for example, apply a predetermined dosage of the blue light.”); and
a processor configured to:
drive the illuminator to irradiate the item in the storage compartment with the light at the at least one preset dose, based on a signal output by the door opening and closing sensor indicating that the door is in the door closed state (Para. 0057, “For example, the control system 403 may determine whether the doors are open or closed using measurements from the sensors 412. The control system 403 may activate disinfecting light based on a determination that the door 404 is closed, deactivate the disinfecting light based on a determination that the door 404 is open”, where the disinfecting light is activated based on information from sensors and where the disinfecting light dosage values are predetermined or preset, Para. 0072, “The control system may be configured to apply, using the light emitters and based on the determined occupancy, a predetermined dosage of light.”), and terminate driving of the illuminator, based on an irradiation time period for the at least one preset dose elapsing (Para. 0094, “The controller may deactivate the first light emitter or the second light emitter after a particular (e.g., a predetermined) dosage is achieved.”).
Winslow does not disclose:
a temperature sensor provided in the storage compartment, and configured to detect a temperature of the storage compartment;
drive the illuminator to irradiate the item in the storage compartment with the light at a preset dose based on a signal output by the door opening and closing sensor indicating that the door has changed from being in the door open state to being in the door closed state and on the temperature of the storage compartment measured by the temperature sensor being outside of a preset temperature range as a result of the door being in the door open state.
However, Son discloses, in the similar field of refrigerators with sterilization through ultraviolet light (Section 2, lines 24-25, “refrigerator that is able to automatically sterilize/deodorize the storage room”, and Section 3, lines 53-55, “at least one UV lighting source to irradiate an ultraviolet light toward air inside the storage room”), where a temperature sensor is provided in the storage compartment to detect the temperature of the storage compartment (Section 10, lines 61-63, “For example, it may include a temperature sensor 83 to measure a temperature of either of the storage rooms 40 and 50”), where the illuminator is driven to irradiate an item in the storage compartment with a light at a preset dose based on a signal output by the door sensor indicating that the door has been changed from being open to closed and the temperature of the storage compartment being outside a preset temperature range due to the door being in the open state (Section 16, lines 12-18, “The operation of the UV lighting source 210 may be controlled based on both of the door opening status and the storage room temperature change. For example, when the temperature inside the storage room is increased up to a reference value or more after the door is open and closed, the control unit may operate the UV lighting source 210 for a preset time period.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the preset dose illumination in Winslow to be dependent on the door being opened and then closed and where that door being opened causes the temperature to be outside a preset temperature range as taught by Son.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to save power through selective sterilization during introduction of new foods and internal temperature changes, as stated by Son, Section 16, lines 36-39, “Also, in a case of concern over contamination of food, sterilization may be selectively performed based on the introduction of food or internal temperature change. Because of this, power consumption may be reduced.”.
Regarding claim 2, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses further comprising: an input unit configured to select a type of the item to be sterilized based on an input of a user (Winslow, Para. 0079, “The control system 403 may (e.g., using FRT, one or more sensors, or a user input, etc.) determine (e.g., identify) an item in the drawers 410.”, where user input can be placed through an user interface, Para. 0083, “The "time-of-purchase" may be determined based on a user input provided via the user interface
414.”), wherein the processor is further configured to:
output sterilization information of the storage based on the type of the item selected by the input unit (Winslow, Para. 0089, “The control system may determine a type of contents in the section, and, based on the type, may determine a dosage and/or wavelength/wavelength range of light to be used.”, where the food type can be identified by the user input), and drive the illuminator based on the output sterilization information (Winslow, Para. 0092, “At step 705, the controller may determine a type of item stored in a section of the appliance. The controller may use one or more sensors to determine a type of the item.”, and Para. 0093, “At step 715, the appliance may select first lighting parameters if the appliance determines that the item corresponds to a first item type.”, and Para. 0094, “At step 725, the controller may apply the selected lighting parameters.”, where the lighting parameters include the dosage that the illuminator needs to provide).
Regarding claim 3, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses further comprising: an image capturing unit configured to capture an image of an item stored in the storage compartment, wherein the processor is further configured to identify, based on the image captured by the image capturing unit, a type of the item (Winslow, Para. 0076, “The appliance 400 may comprise and/or be integrated with food recognition technology (FRT). The control system 403, for example, may use one or more sensors ( e.g., infrared sensors, cameras, ultrasonic sensors, weight sensors, and/or the like) and/or user input, to determine presence of item(s) in the appliance, type(s) of item(s) in the appliance 400, locations of item(s) in the appliance 400, and/or quantity of item(s) in the appliance 400.”, where the food recognition technology includes image capturing units in the cameras and infrared sensors, where these images can be used to determine the type of item, Para. 0079, “The control system 403 may (e.g., using FRT, one or more sensors, or a user input, etc.) determine (e.g., identify) an item in the drawers 410.”),
output sterilization information of the storage based on the type of the item (Winslow, Para. 0089, “The control system may determine a type of contents in the section, and, based on the type, may determine a dosage and/or wavelength/wavelength range of light to be used.”, where the food type can be identified by the food recognition technology), and drive the illuminator based on the output sterilization information (Winslow, Para. 0092, “At step 705, the controller may determine a type of item stored in a section of the appliance. The controller may use one or more sensors to determine a type of the item.”, and Para. 0093, “At step 715, the appliance may select first lighting parameters if the appliance determines that the item corresponds to a first item type.”, and Para. 0094, “At step 725, the controller may apply the selected lighting parameters.”, where the lighting parameters include the dosage that the illuminator needs to provide).
Regarding claim 5, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the processor is further configured to stop driving of the illuminator, based on the door open state occurring while driving the illuminator (Winslow, Para. 0041, “The control system 206 may activate disinfecting light, for example, if the door 204 is closed, and deactivate disinfecting light, for example, if the door 204 is open.”, where during activation of the disinfecting light, if the door is open then the light is deactivated; where the control system includes a processor, Para. 0095, “computing device 800 (e.g., a controller), that may perform the methods 600 and/or 700, the functions of various control systems (e.g., control systems 106, 206, 403, 506) described herein”, and Para. 0096, “The computing device 800 may include one or more processors 801, which may execute instructions of a computer program to perform any of the features described herein.”).
Regarding claim 7, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the sterilization information comprises an irradiation time period based on an output (mW/cm2) per unit area of the LED light source (Winslow, Para. 0027, “Irradiance may be determined based on dosage and time (e.g., using Equation 1). An irradiance of approximately 1 m W/cm2 may be needed for inactivation, for example, if a dosage of 30 J/cm2 is required over 8 hours.”).
Regarding claim 8, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the at least one preset dose for sterilization is based on a type of the item (Winslow, Para. 0089, “The control system may determine a type of contents in the section, and, based on the type, may determine a dosage and/or wavelength/wavelength range of light to be used.”), and wherein the at least one preset dose is selected from a range of about 0.1 to about 200 J/cm2 (Winslow, Para. 0028, “A target bacterial population may require a particular dosage (e.g., 20 J/cm2) for inactivation, and a light emitting device may be configured to generate disinfecting light corresponding to a specific irradiance ( e.g., 0.05 m W/cm2).”).
Regarding claim 9, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 8, as set forth above, discloses wherein the at least one preset dose is selected from a range of about 0.1 to about 100 J/cm2 (Winslow, Table 2, where the predetermined dosages are shown ranging from 20-90 J/cm2, where these dosages would be given for items like vegetables or meats within the refrigerator, however the light wavelength would be adjusted based on the type being vegetables), based on the type of the item being a vegetable (Winslow, Para. 0065, “The control system 403 may apply blue light (e.g., 420 nm-500 nm wavelength range using the light emitters 402-2) to the section based on the determination that the contents are leafy green vegetables. The control system may, for example, apply a predetermined dosage of the blue light.”, where preset dosages are given for vegetables).
Regarding claim 10, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 8, as set forth above, discloses wherein the at least one preset dose is selected from the range of about 0.1 to about 200 J/cm2 (Winslow, Table 2, where the predetermined dosages are shown ranging from 20-90 J/cm2, where these dosages would be given for items like vegetables or meats within the refrigerator, however the intensity would be adjusted based on the type being meat), based on the type of the item being meat (Winslow, Para. 0082, “The control system 403 may be configured to adjust intensities of disinfecting light to increase shelf life of certain items (e.g., meat, fruit, etc.).”).
Regarding claim 11, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the storage compartment comprises a plurality of accommodating portions respectively having an independent storage space (Winslow, Para. 0078, “For example, the drawers 410 may comprise the light emitters 402-2 emitting light in a first wavelength range and light emitters 402-3 emitting light in a second wavelength range.”, wherein the storage compartment, which is the space inside the refrigerator behind the door, there are numerous shelves and drawers that separate into independent storage spaces), and wherein the illuminator is provided below an upper plate of at least one accommodating portion of the plurality of accommodating portions so as to irradiate an item in the at least one accommodating portion (Winslow, Fig. 4B, where the light emitters 402-2 and 402-3 are located below the upper plate of the drawers 410 in order to irradiate the food items within the drawers from below).
Regarding claim 14, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses wherein the illuminator comprises an additional LED light source configured to emit colored light or white light, and wherein the additional LED light source is configured to be driven based on the signal output by the door opening and closing sensor indicating that the door is in the door open state (Winslow, Para. 0057, “The control system may
403, for example, activate the illuminating white light and deactivate the disinfecting light when the door 404 is opened. The control system may replace disinfecting light (e.g., 405 nm light) in the appliance 400 with disinfecting white light based on detecting a user interaction. Disinfecting white light may comprise, for example, light in a visible light wavelength range of 380 nm-750 nm, with at least a portion of its spectral energy ( e.g., greater than 20%) in a wavelength range of 380 nm-420 nm.”).
Claims 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Winslow et al. (US 20200206373 A1, hereinafter Winslow) in view of Son et al. (KR 20120075825 A, hereinafter Son) in further view of Calicioglu et al. (WO 2022025847 A1, hereinafter Calicioglu).
Regarding claim 4, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the processor is further configured to determine that the temperature measured by the temperature sensor is outside of the preset temperature range (Teaching from Son, Section 16, lines 12-18, “The operation of the UV lighting source 210 may be controlled based on both of the door opening status and the storage room temperature change. For example, when the temperature inside the storage room is increased up to a reference value or more after the door is open and closed, the control unit may operate the UV lighting source 210 for a preset time period.”).
Modified Winslow does not disclose:
based on the temperature measured by the temperature sensor being higher than a preset temperature by 2°C.
However, Calicioglu discloses, in the similar field of UV sterilization (Page 2, Para. 2, “Additional, UV light sources are used to eliminate viruses and bacteria in the laundry dryers.”), where the temperature difference can be a threshold set by a producer (Page 2, last Para., “the control unit operates the UV light source if the difference between the temperature value received from the first temperature sensor and the temperature value received from the second temperature sensor is below the first threshold value”, and Page 3, Para. 4, “In an embodiment of the present invention, the first threshold value is 25° C.”, and Page 2, Para. 2 from end, “first threshold value predetermined by the producer”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the temperature difference for UV radiation activation in modified Winslow to be a threshold value that is adjustable depending on the producer or user as taught by Calicioglu.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to set a specific threshold that automated disinfection should occur, where the threshold value can be set depending on a user’s design choices, as stated by Calicioglu, Page 2, last Para., “the control unit operates the UV light source if the difference between the temperature value received from the first temperature sensor and the temperature value received from the second temperature sensor is below the first threshold value”, and Page 2, Para. 2 from end, “first threshold value predetermined by the producer”.
Claims 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Winslow et al. (US 20200206373 A1, hereinafter Winslow) in view of Son et al. (KR 20120075825 A, hereinafter Son) in further view of Safavi et al. (US 10953118 B2, hereinafter Safavi).
Regarding claim 6, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 5, as set forth above, discloses wherein the processor is further configured to drive the illuminator for an adjusted remaining irradiation time period based on the door closed state occurring after the door open state occurring (Winslow, Para. 0059, “The control system 403 may adjust dosage of disinfecting light emitted into the appliance 400, for example, in proportion to a number of times the door 404 has been opened. The control system 403 may adjust dosage of disinfecting light emitted into the appliance 400, for example, in proportion to a duration for which the door 404 is open.”, where after the door is opened and then closed, the illuminator is driven to continue irradiation and the dosage proportion is adjusted).
Modified Winslow does not disclose:
wherein the processor is further configured to drive the illuminator for a remaining irradiation time period based on the door closed state occurring after the door open state occurring.
However, Safavi discloses, in the similar field of storage devices with UV sterilization (Abstract, “A sterilizing and storage device”), where the illuminator has a preset time period of irradiation that is continued after the door closed state occurs after the door open state (Section 8, lines 48-55, “The sterilization procedure will only execute (and therefore the UV bulbs will only be on) when the door 14 to the unit is fully closed. If, at any point the door is opened, the controller 70 will tum off all the UV bulbs to avoid any harm to the user. When the door is re-closed, the sterilization procedure (or procedures, if running in multiple compartments) will typically resume and continue executing until the predetermined procedure runtime is reached”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the preset irradiation time in modified Winslow to be continued and not compressed as taught by Safavi.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to maintain the same amount of irradiation dosage onto the items within the storage area, where the preset time can just be continued without needing to calculate dosage adjustments, as stated by Safavi, Section 8, lines 48-55, “The sterilization procedure will only execute (and therefore the UV bulbs will only be on) when the door 14 to the unit is fully closed. If, at any point the door is opened, the controller 70 will tum off all the UV bulbs to avoid any harm to the user. When the door is re-closed, the sterilization procedure (or procedures, if running in multiple compartments) will typically resume and continue executing until the predetermined procedure runtime is reached”.
Claims 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Winslow et al. (US 20200206373 A1, hereinafter Winslow) in view of Son et al. (KR 20120075825 A, hereinafter Son) in further view of Jurgen (CH 717989 A1).
Regarding claim 12, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses further comprising: a weight sensor (Winslow, Para. 0059, “The control system 403 may adjust dosage of light emitted into the drawer 410, for example, in proportion to the weight of the drawer 410 or a quantity of items in the drawer 410. Weight sensors and/or image sensors may be used to determine a quantity of items in the drawer 410.”).
Modified Winslow does not disclose:
a distance sensor configured to determine a distance between an item in the at least one accommodating portion and the LED light source, wherein the processor is further configured to control at least one of light output and an irradiation time period of the illuminator based on the determined distance.
However, Jurgen discloses, in the similar field of disinfecting items using UV radiation (Para. 0007, “the surface to be disinfected and/or the fluid to be disinfected is exposed to UV radiation, which destroys and inactivates microorganisms.”), where a distance sensor can determine the distance between an item and the light source (Page 10, last Para., “The control unit 16 always tries to maintain a maximum effective distance between the light source 18 and the objects 40 . Necessary distance corrections are shown to the user on display 13 for implementation.”, and Page 6, Para. 5 from end, “In a particular embodiment, the detection unit determines the distance from a surface or an object”), and where the light output can be controlled depending on the determined distance (Page 6, Para. 5 from end, “In a particular embodiment, the detection unit determines the distance from a surface or an object. As a result, the correspondingly necessary intensity can be set or provided. The control unit can adjust the intensity in real time if, for example, the distance or position changes.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the system in modified Winslow to include a distance sensor and the irradiation output being dependent on the distance between the light source and the surface needing to be irradiated as taught by Jurgen, where the surface irradiated would be the surface of the item from Winslow.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to set the radiation to an required value so pathogens can be eliminated even when the distance from the light source changes, as stated by Jurgen, Page 6, Para. 5 from end, “In a particular embodiment, the detection unit determines the distance from a surface or an object. As a result, the correspondingly necessary intensity can be set or provided. The control unit can adjust the intensity in real time if, for example, the distance or position changes.”.
Claims 13 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Winslow et al. (US 20200206373 A1, hereinafter Winslow) in view of Son et al. (KR 20120075825 A, hereinafter Son) in further view of Jurgen (CH 717989 A1) and Benner et al. (WO 2022005507 A1, hereinafter Benner).
Regarding claim 13, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 12, as set forth above.
Modified Winslow does not disclose:
wherein the processor is further configured to control current applied to the illuminator based on the determined distance.
However, Benner discloses, in the similar field of disinfecting items using UV radiation (Abstract, “A disinfection system includes one or more light sources configured to emit ultraviolet light effective for inactivating pathogens in an environment for human occupancy”), where adjusting the intensity of the ultraviolet light includes controlling the current (Para. 0053, “the light source irradiance at light source-to-head level distance=0 can be preset using an intensity control knob (e.g. a rheostat controlling electrical current of the LEDs 20 of the light source of FIGURE 2)”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the intensity dependance on distance from modified Winslow to include the intensity adjustment done through current adjustment as taught by Benner.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to control the intensity of the light source so that the method from the teaching of Jurgen can be performed, where Benner discloses one such method of controlling the intensity, Para. 0053, “the light source irradiance at light source-to-head level distance=0 can be preset using an intensity control knob (e.g. a rheostat controlling electrical current of the LEDs 20 of the light source of FIGURE 2)”.
Regarding claim 20, Winslow discloses a refrigerator (Para. 0003, “Many kitchen appliances, such as refrigerators, are in contact with raw meat and vegetables that may contain bacteria.”) comprising:
a body comprising a storage compartment (Para. 0044, “The appliance 400 may be a refrigerator. The appliance 400 may comprise light emitters 402, doors 404, shelving 406, and drawers 410.”) in which a plurality of accommodating portions are provided (Para. 0078, “For example, the drawers 410 may comprise the light emitters 402-2 emitting light in a first wavelength range and light emitters 402-3 emitting light in a second wavelength range.”, wherein the storage compartment, which is the space inside the refrigerator behind the door, there are numerous shelves and drawers that separate into independent storage spaces);
a door provided on the body and configured to open and close the storage compartment (Para. 0046, “The light emitters 402 may be integrated into the doors 404 and may direct light perpendicular to an inside surface of the doors 404 in a manner such that light is directed onto interior surfaces of the appliance 400 when the doors 404 are closed (e.g., FIG. 4C).”, where the doors to the refrigerator can be opened to open up the storage compartment being the shelves of the refrigerator or the doors can be closed to close up the storage compartment of the shelves);
a door opening/closing sensor configured to detect whether the door is open or closed (Para. 0057, “The sensors 412 (e.g., a motion sensor, touch sensor, and/or the like) may be used to detect user interaction with the appliance 400 (e.g., an appliance door being open or closed, an appliance handle being touched, etc.). For example, the control system 403 may determine whether the doors are open or closed using measurements from the sensors 412.”);
a temperature sensor (Para. 0054, “The sensors 412 may comprise, for example, motion sensors, voice sensors, light beam sensors, infrared sensors”);
a plurality of illuminators respectively provided in the plurality of accommodating portions, wherein each of the plurality of illuminators comprises a light-emitting diode (LED) light source configured to emit light having a wavelength of about 380 nm to about 420 nm, and the plurality of illuminators are configured to irradiate items accommodated in the plurality of accommodating portions with the light (Para. 0045, “The light emitters 402 may emit light (e.g., disinfecting light, white light, etc.) with at least a portion of spectral energy or spectral power in a wavelength range of 380 nm-420 nm. The light emitters 402 may be integrated with the appliance 400 in one or more locations ( e.g., in the doors 404, shelving 406, and/or drawers 410).”, and Para. 0086, “One or more light emitters (e.g., the light emitters 102, 202, 302, 402, 502) may be any device capable of emitting light. Light emitters may be, for example, light emitting diodes (LEDs)”, where there can be a plurality of illuminators for the plurality of accommodating portions from Fig. 4B, where the light emitters 402-2 and 402-3 are located below the upper plate of the drawers 410 in order to irradiate the food items within the drawers from below);
a weight sensor (Para. 0059, “The control system 403 may adjust dosage of light emitted into the drawer 410, for example, in proportion to the weight of the drawer 410 or a quantity of items in the drawer 410. Weight sensors and/or image sensors may be used to determine a quantity of items in the drawer 410.”);
a storage configured to store sterilization information comprising at least one preset dose for sterilization based on a type of the item (Para. 0026, “Equation 1 may be used in order to determine irradiance, dosage, or time using one or more data points from Table 1 and/or Table 2:” and where the dosage is determined through a computing device that includes memory to store preset values, Para. 0096, “The computing device 800 may include one or more processors 801, which may execute instructions of a computer program to perform any of the features described herein. The instructions may be stored in any type of tangible computer-readable medium or memory, to configure the operation of the processor 801”, where dosage can be preset based on the equation 1, Para. 0065, “The control system 403 may apply blue light (e.g., 420 nm-500 nm wavelength range using the light emitters 402-2) to the section based on the determination that the contents are leafy green vegetables. The control system may, for example, apply a predetermined dosage of the blue light.”); and
a processor configured to: drive the at least one of the plurality of illuminators so as to irradiate the item accommodated in the at least one of the plurality of accommodating portions with the light at the at least one preset dose, based on a signal output by the door opening and closing sensor indicating that the door is closed (Para. 0057, “For example, the control system 403 may determine whether the doors are open or closed using measurements from the sensors 412. The control system 403 may activate disinfecting light based on a determination that the door 404 is closed, deactivate the disinfecting light based on a determination that the door 404 is open”, where the disinfecting light is activated based on information from sensors and where the disinfecting light dosage values are predetermined or preset, Para. 0072, “The control system may be configured to apply, using the light emitters and based on the determined occupancy, a predetermined dosage of light.”), and
terminate driving of the at least one of the plurality of illuminators, based on an irradiation time period for the at least one preset dose elapsing (Para. 0094, “The controller may deactivate the first light emitter or the second light emitter after a particular (e.g., a predetermined) dosage is achieved.”).
Winslow does not disclose:
a temperature sensor provided in the storage compartment, and configured to detect a temperature of the storage compartment;
a distance measurement sensor configured to determine a distance between an item in at least one of the plurality of accommodating portions and an LED light source of at least one of the plurality of illuminators;
drive the illuminator to irradiate the item in the storage compartment with the light at a preset dose based on a signal output by the door opening and closing sensor indicating that the door has changed from being in the door open state to being in the door closed state and on the temperature of the storage compartment measured by the temperature sensor being outside of a preset temperature range as a result of the door being in the door open state,
control a current applied to the at least one of the plurality of illuminators, based on the determined distance.
However, Son discloses, in the similar field of refrigerators with sterilization through ultraviolet light (Section 2, lines 24-25, “refrigerator that is able to automatically sterilize/deodorize the storage room”, and Section 3, lines 53-55, “at least one UV lighting source to irradiate an ultraviolet light toward air inside the storage room”), where a temperature sensor is provided in the storage compartment to detect the temperature of the storage compartment (Section 10, lines 61-63, “For example, it may include a temperature sensor 83 to measure a temperature of either of the storage rooms 40 and 50”), where the illuminator is driven to irradiate an item in the storage compartment with a light at a preset dose based on a signal output by the door sensor indicating that the door has been changed from being open to closed and the temperature of the storage compartment being outside a preset temperature range due to the door being in the open state (Section 16, lines 12-18, “The operation of the UV lighting source 210 may be controlled based on both of the door opening status and the storage room temperature change. For example, when the temperature inside the storage room is increased up to a reference value or more after the door is open and closed, the control unit may operate the UV lighting source 210 for a preset time period.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the preset dose illumination in Winslow to be dependent on the door being opened and then closed and where that door being opened causes the temperature to be outside a preset temperature range as taught by Son.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to save power through selective sterilization during introduction of new foods and internal temperature changes, as stated by Son, Section 16, lines 36-39, “Also, in a case of concern over contamination of food, sterilization may be selectively performed based on the introduction of food or internal temperature change. Because of this, power consumption may be reduced.”.
Jurgen discloses, in the similar field of disinfecting items using UV radiation (Para. 0007, “the surface to be disinfected and/or the fluid to be disinfected is exposed to UV radiation, which destroys and inactivates microorganisms.”), where a distance sensor can determine the distance between an item and the light source (Page 10, last Para., “The control unit 16 always tries to maintain a maximum effective distance between the light source 18 and the objects 40 . Necessary distance corrections are shown to the user on display 13 for implementation.”, and Page 6, Para. 5 from end, “In a particular embodiment, the detection unit determines the distance from a surface or an object”), and where the light output can be controlled depending on the determined distance (Page 6, Para. 5 from end, “In a particular embodiment, the detection unit determines the distance from a surface or an object. As a result, the correspondingly necessary intensity can be set or provided. The control unit can adjust the intensity in real time if, for example, the distance or position changes.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the system in modified Winslow to include a distance sensor and the irradiation output being dependent on the distance between the light source and the surface needing to be irradiated as taught by Jurgen, where the surface irradiated would be the surface of the item from Winslow.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to set the radiation to an required value so pathogens can be eliminated even when the distance from the light source changes, as stated by Jurgen, Page 6, Para. 5 from end, “In a particular embodiment, the detection unit determines the distance from a surface or an object. As a result, the correspondingly necessary intensity can be set or provided. The control unit can adjust the intensity in real time if, for example, the distance or position changes.”.
Further, Benner discloses, in the similar field of disinfecting items using UV radiation (Abstract, “A disinfection system includes one or more light sources configured to emit ultraviolet light effective for inactivating pathogens in an environment for human occupancy”), where adjusting the intensity of the ultraviolet light includes controlling the current (Para. 0053, “the light source irradiance at light source-to-head level distance=0 can be preset using an intensity control knob (e.g. a rheostat controlling electrical current of the LEDs 20 of the light source of FIGURE 2)”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the intensity dependance on distance from modified Winslow to include the intensity adjustment done through current adjustment as taught by Benner.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to control the intensity of the light source so that the method from the teaching of Jurgen can be performed, where Benner discloses one such method of controlling the intensity, Para. 0053, “the light source irradiance at light source-to-head level distance=0 can be preset using an intensity control knob (e.g. a rheostat controlling electrical current of the LEDs 20 of the light source of FIGURE 2)”.
Claims 15-16 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Winslow et al. (US 20200206373 A1, hereinafter Winslow) in view of Son et al. (KR 20120075825 A, hereinafter Son) and Vinyard et al. (EP 3682745 A1, hereinafter Vinyard).
Regarding claim 15, Winslow discloses a refrigerator (Para. 0003, “Many kitchen appliances, such as refrigerators, are in contact with raw meat and vegetables that may contain bacteria.”) comprising:
a body comprising a storage compartment (Para. 0044, “The appliance 400 may be a refrigerator. The appliance 400 may comprise light emitters 402, doors 404, shelving 406, and drawers 410.”) in which a plurality of accommodating portions are provided (Para. 0078, “For example, the drawers 410 may comprise the light emitters 402-2 emitting light in a first wavelength range and light emitters 402-3 emitting light in a second wavelength range.”, wherein the storage compartment, which is the space inside the refrigerator behind the door, there are numerous shelves and drawers that separate into independent storage spaces);
a door provided on the body and configured to open and close the storage compartment (Para. 0046, “The light emitters 402 may be integrated into the doors 404 and may direct light perpendicular to an inside surface of the doors 404 in a manner such that light is directed onto interior surfaces of the appliance 400 when the doors 404 are closed (e.g., FIG. 4C).”, where the doors to the refrigerator can be opened to open up the storage compartment being the shelves of the refrigerator or the doors can be closed to close up the storage compartment of the shelves);
a door opening and closing sensor configured to detect whether the door is open or closed (Para. 0057, “The sensors 412 (e.g., a motion sensor, touch sensor, and/or the like) may be used to detect user interaction with the appliance 400 (e.g., an appliance door being open or closed, an appliance handle being touched, etc.). For example, the control system 403 may determine whether the doors are open or closed using measurements from the sensors 412.”);
a temperature sensor (Para. 0054, “The sensors 412 may comprise, for example, motion sensors, voice sensors, light beam sensors, infrared sensors”);
a plurality of illuminators respectively provided in the plurality of accommodating portions, wherein each of the plurality of illuminators comprises a light-emitting diode (LED) light source configured to emit light having a wavelength of about 380 nm to about 420 nm, and the plurality of illuminators are configured to irradiate items accommodated in the plurality of accommodating portions with the light (Para. 0045, “The light emitters 402 may emit light (e.g., disinfecting light, white light, etc.) with at least a portion of spectral energy or spectral power in a wavelength range of 380 nm-420 nm. The light emitters 402 may be integrated with the appliance 400 in one or more locations ( e.g., in the doors 404, shelving 406, and/or drawers 410).”, and Para. 0086, “One or more light emitters (e.g., the light emitters 102, 202, 302, 402, 502) may be any device capable of emitting light. Light emitters may be, for example, light emitting diodes (LEDs)”, where there can be a plurality of illuminators for the plurality of accommodating portions from Fig. 4B, where the light emitters 402-2 and 402-3 are located below the upper plate of the drawers 410 in order to irradiate the food items within the drawers from below);
a storage configured to store dosage information based on a type of an item (Para. 0026, “Equation 1 may be used in order to determine irradiance, dosage, or time using one or more data points from Table 1 and/or Table 2:” and where the dosage is determined through a computing device that includes memory to store preset values, Para. 0096, “The computing device 800 may include one or more processors 801, which may execute instructions of a computer program to perform any of the features described herein. The instructions may be stored in any type of tangible computer-readable medium or memory, to configure the operation of the processor 801”, where dosage can be preset based on the equation 1, Para. 0065, “The control system 403 may apply blue light (e.g., 420 nm-500 nm wavelength range using the light emitters 402-2) to the section based on the determination that the contents are leafy green vegetables. The control system may, for example, apply a predetermined dosage of the blue light.”), the first dose and the second dose selected from a range of about 0.1 to about 200 J/cm2 (Table 2, where the predetermined dosages are shown ranging from 20-90 J/cm2, where these dosages would be given for items like vegetables or meats within the refrigerator);
an input unit configured to select a type of each item of the items accommodated in the plurality of accommodating portions based on an input of a user (Para. 0079, “The control system 403 may (e.g., using FRT, one or more sensors, or a user input, etc.) determine (e.g., identify) an item in the drawers 410.”, where user input can be placed through an user interface, Para. 0083, “The "time-of-purchase" may be determined based on a user input provided via the user interface 414.”); and
a processor configured to independently drive the plurality of illuminators so as to irradiate the items in the plurality of accommodating portions with the light based the dosage information corresponding to the type of each item selected by the input unit, based on a signal output by the door opening and closing sensor indicating that the door is closed (Para. 0057, “For example, the control system 403 may determine whether the doors are open or closed using measurements from the sensors 412. The control system 403 may activate disinfecting light based on a determination that the door 404 is closed, deactivate the disinfecting light based on a determination that the door 404 is open”, where the disinfecting light is activated based on information from sensors and where the disinfecting light dosage values are predetermined or preset, Para. 0072, “The control system may be configured to apply, using the light emitters and based on the determined occupancy, a predetermined dosage of light.”).
Winslow does not disclose:
a temperature sensor provided in the storage compartment, and configured to detect a temperature of the storage compartment;
drive the plurality of illuminators to irradiate the item in the storage compartment with the light at a preset dose based on a signal output by the door opening and closing sensor indicating that the door has changed from being in the door open state to being in the door closed state and on the temperature of the storage compartment measured by the temperature sensor being outside of a preset temperature range as a result of the door being in the door open state;
where the dosage information comprising a first dose at a lower limit, and a second dose at an upper limit.
However, Son discloses, in the similar field of refrigerators with sterilization through ultraviolet light (Section 2, lines 24-25, “refrigerator that is able to automatically sterilize/deodorize the storage room”, and Section 3, lines 53-55, “at least one UV lighting source to irradiate an ultraviolet light toward air inside the storage room”), where a temperature sensor is provided in the storage compartment to detect the temperature of the storage compartment (Section 10, lines 61-63, “For example, it may include a temperature sensor 83 to measure a temperature of either of the storage rooms 40 and 50”), where the illuminator is driven to irradiate an item in the storage compartment with a light at a preset dose based on a signal output by the door sensor indicating that the door has been changed from being open to closed and the temperature of the storage compartment being outside a preset temperature range due to the door being in the open state (Section 16, lines 12-18, “The operation of the UV lighting source 210 may be controlled based on both of the door opening status and the storage room temperature change. For example, when the temperature inside the storage room is increased up to a reference value or more after the door is open and closed, the control unit may operate the UV lighting source 210 for a preset time period.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the preset dose illumination in Winslow to be dependent on the door being opened and then closed and where that door being opened causes the temperature to be outside a preset temperature range as taught by Son.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to save power through selective sterilization during introduction of new foods and internal temperature changes, as stated by Son, Section 16, lines 36-39, “Also, in a case of concern over contamination of food, sterilization may be selectively performed based on the introduction of food or internal temperature change. Because of this, power consumption may be reduced.”.
Further, Vinyard discloses, in the similar field of disinfecting items using UV radiation (Para. 0001, “a decontamination unit comprising a flashlamp for pulsed emissions of ultraviolet light.”), where the radiation dosage can have a lower and upper limit (Para. 0127, “The sensor 102 may include means for measuring the ultraviolet radiation and/or means for determining the magnitude of the radiation within the disinfection chamber including means for comparing the magnitude of the radiation with a predetermined upper and/or lower threshold.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the predetermined dosage of radiation in modified Winslow to include the stored predetermined lower and upper dosage limits as taught by Vinyard.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to reduce the accuracy needed for radiation dosage, where making the dosage a range instead of a singular number can reduce the computer complexity needed, where setting the lower and upper limits can also allow for warnings to be sent about the dosage and help a user understand when the dosage value deviates, as stated by Vinyard, Para. 0073, “The determination means may cause a warning signal if the ultraviolet light irradiation exceeds a (upper, first) predetermined dosage threshold. The determination means may cause a warning signal if the ultraviolet light irradiation does not exceed a (lower, second) predetermined dosage threshold.”.
Regarding claim 16, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 15, as set forth above, discloses wherein the dosage information comprises an output (mW/cm2) per unit area and an irradiation time period of an LED light source of the plurality of illuminators based on the type of the item (Winslow, Para. 0027, “Irradiance may be determined based on dosage and time (e.g., using Equation 1). An irradiance of approximately 1 m W/cm2 may be needed for inactivation, for example, if a dosage of 30 J/cm2 is required over 8 hours.”, and Para. 0089, “The control system may determine a type of contents in the section, and, based on the type, may determine a dosage and/or wavelength/wavelength range of light to be used.”).
Regarding claim 18, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 15, as set forth above, discloses wherein the dosage information further comprises an irradiation time period for a preset dose based on a light output (mW/cm2) per unit area of an LED light source (Winslow, Para. 0027, “Irradiance may be determined based on dosage and time (e.g., using Equation 1). An irradiance of approximately 1 m W/cm2 may be needed for inactivation, for example, if a dosage of 30 J/cm2 is required over 8 hours.”), and
wherein the processor is further configured to individually terminate driving of the plurality of illuminators, based on the irradiation time period elapsing (Winslow, Para. 0094, “The controller may deactivate the first light emitter or the second light emitter after a particular (e.g., a predetermined) dosage is achieved.”).
Claims 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Winslow et al. (US 20200206373 A1, hereinafter Winslow) in view of Son et al. (KR 20120075825 A, hereinafter Son) and Vinyard et al. (EP 3682745 A1, hereinafter Vinyard) in further view of Jurgen (CH 717989 A1) and Benner et al. (WO 2022005507 A1, hereinafter Benner).
Regarding claim 17, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 16, as set forth above, discloses further comprising: a weight sensor (Winslow, Para. 0059, “The control system 403 may adjust dosage of light emitted into the drawer 410, for example, in proportion to the weight of the drawer 410 or a quantity of items in the drawer 410. Weight sensors and/or image sensors may be used to determine a quantity of items in the drawer 410.”).
Modified Winslow does not disclose:
a distance sensor configured to determine a distance between an item in an accommodating portion of the plurality of accommodating portions and the LED light source of a corresponding illuminator of the plurality of illuminators, wherein the processor is further configured to control current applied to the corresponding illuminator based on the determined distance.
However, Jurgen discloses, in the similar field of disinfecting items using UV radiation (Para. 0007, “the surface to be disinfected and/or the fluid to be disinfected is exposed to UV radiation, which destroys and inactivates microorganisms.”), where a distance sensor can determine the distance between an item and the light source (Page 10, last Para., “The control unit 16 always tries to maintain a maximum effective distance between the light source 18 and the objects 40 . Necessary distance corrections are shown to the user on display 13 for implementation.”, and Page 6, Para. 5 from end, “In a particular embodiment, the detection unit determines the distance from a surface or an object”), and where the light output can be controlled depending on the determined distance (Page 6, Para. 5 from end, “In a particular embodiment, the detection unit determines the distance from a surface or an object. As a result, the correspondingly necessary intensity can be set or provided. The control unit can adjust the intensity in real time if, for example, the distance or position changes.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the system in modified Winslow to include a distance sensor and the irradiation output being dependent on the distance between the light source and the surface needing to be irradiated as taught by Jurgen, where the surface irradiated would be the surface of the item from Winslow.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to set the radiation to an required value so pathogens can be eliminated even when the distance from the light source changes, as stated by Jurgen, Page 6, Para. 5 from end, “In a particular embodiment, the detection unit determines the distance from a surface or an object. As a result, the correspondingly necessary intensity can be set or provided. The control unit can adjust the intensity in real time if, for example, the distance or position changes.”.
Further, Benner discloses, in the similar field of disinfecting items using UV radiation (Abstract, “A disinfection system includes one or more light sources configured to emit ultraviolet light effective for inactivating pathogens in an environment for human occupancy”), where adjusting the intensity of the ultraviolet light includes controlling the current (Para. 0053, “the light source irradiance at light source-to-head level distance=0 can be preset using an intensity control knob (e.g. a rheostat controlling electrical current of the LEDs 20 of the light source of FIGURE 2)”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the intensity dependance on distance from modified Winslow to include the intensity adjustment done through current adjustment as taught by Benner.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to control the intensity of the light source so that the method from the teaching of Jurgen can be performed, where Benner discloses one such method of controlling the intensity, Para. 0053, “the light source irradiance at light source-to-head level distance=0 can be preset using an intensity control knob (e.g. a rheostat controlling electrical current of the LEDs 20 of the light source of FIGURE 2)”.
Claims 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Winslow et al. (US 20200206373 A1, hereinafter Winslow) in view of Son et al. (KR 20120075825 A, hereinafter Son) and Vinyard et al. (EP 3682745 A1, hereinafter Vinyard) in further view of Safavi et al. (US 10953118 B2, hereinafter Safavi).
Regarding claim 19, modified Winslow teaches the apparatus according to claim 18, as set forth above, discloses wherein the processor is further configured to: stop driving of the plurality of illuminators, based on the door being opened while driving the plurality of illuminators (Winslow, Para. 0041, “The control system 206 may activate disinfecting light, for example, if the door 204 is closed, and deactivate disinfecting light, for example, if the door 204 is open.”, where during activation of the disinfecting light, if the door is open then the light is deactivated; where the control system includes a processor, Para. 0095, “computing device 800 (e.g., a controller), that may perform the methods 600 and/or 700, the functions of various control systems (e.g., control systems 106, 206, 403, 506) described herein”, and Para. 0096, “The computing device 800 may include one or more processors 801, which may execute instructions of a computer program to perform any of the features described herein.”), and
drive the plurality of illuminators for an adjusted remaining irradiation time based on the door being closed after the door was opened (Winslow, Para. 0059, “The control system 403 may adjust dosage of disinfecting light emitted into the appliance 400, for example, in proportion to a number of times the door 404 has been opened. The control system 403 may adjust dosage of disinfecting light emitted into the appliance 400, for example, in proportion to a duration for which the door 404 is open.”, where after the door is opened and then closed, the illuminator is driven to continue irradiation and the dosage proportion is adjusted).
Modified Winslow does not disclose:
drive the plurality of illuminators for a remaining irradiation time based on the door being closed after the door was opened.
However, Safavi discloses, in the similar field of storage devices with UV sterilization (Abstract, “A sterilizing and storage device”), where the illuminator has a preset time period of irradiation that is continued after the door closed state occurs after the door open state (Section 8, lines 48-55, “The sterilization procedure will only execute (and therefore the UV bulbs will only be on) when the door 14 to the unit is fully closed. If, at any point the door is opened, the controller 70 will tum off all the UV bulbs to avoid any harm to the user. When the door is re-closed, the sterilization procedure (or procedures, if running in multiple compartments) will typically resume and continue executing until the predetermined procedure runtime is reached”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the preset irradiation time in modified Winslow to be continued and not compressed as taught by Safavi.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to maintain the same amount of irradiation dosage onto the items within the storage area, where the preset time can just be continued without needing to calculate dosage adjustments, as stated by Safavi, Section 8, lines 48-55, “The sterilization procedure will only execute (and therefore the UV bulbs will only be on) when the door 14 to the unit is fully closed. If, at any point the door is opened, the controller 70 will tum off all the UV bulbs to avoid any harm to the user. When the door is re-closed, the sterilization procedure (or procedures, if running in multiple compartments) will typically resume and continue executing until the predetermined procedure runtime is reached”.
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).
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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.
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/KEVIN GUANHUA WEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
07/14/2026
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