DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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(s) 17-19, 22, and 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chiu (U.S. Patent No. 7,931,284).
Regarding claim 17, Chiu discloses a water tank (Figs. 1-7) for a dehumidifier (40) comprising: a box body (Fig. 1), an installation groove (at 20, Fig. 1) being provided at a bottom (Fig. 1) of the box body (Column 2 lines 15-22), and a side wall of the installation groove being provided with a limit groove (inside 21, Fig. 3); a moving wheel (30) provided with a connection seat (31) and a wheel body (32) mounted (Figs. 3-6) at the connection seat (31), a side of the connection seat (31) being configured to be installed (Figs. 3-6) in the limit groove (inside 21); and a limit member (23) disposed at least partially in the installation groove (at 20, Fig. 1), so as to restrict the connection seat (31) from sliding out of the limit groove (inside 21).
Regarding claim 18, Chiu discloses the water tank (Figs. 1-7), wherein: the installation groove (at 20, Fig. 1) includes a first groove body (seating plate 31, Fig. 5) and a second groove body (receiving plate 31, Fig. 4) connected to the first groove body (Fig. 1); a groove side wall (Fig.3) of the first groove body (Fig. 5) is provided with a limit rib (211), and the limit rib (211) is spaced apart from a groove bottom wall (Fig. 3) of the first groove body to form the limit groove (inside 21); the connection seat (31) is configured to slide into the limit groove (inside 21) from the second groove body (Fig. 4); and the limit member (23) is mounted (at 232) at the second groove body (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 19, Chiu discloses the water tank (Figs. 1-7), wherein the limit member (23) is provided with an insertion member (231) configured to be inserted in one end (Figs. 4-5) of the limit groove (inside 21) close to the second groove body (Fig. 4) when the limit member (23) is installed in the second groove body (Figs. 4-5), to limit movement of the connection seat (31) toward the second groove body (Figs. 4-5).
Regarding claim 22, Chiu discloses the water tank (Figs. 1-7), wherein the limit member (23) is engaged with the second groove body (at 232).
Regarding claim 27, Chiu discloses the water tank (Figs. 1-7), wherein the limit member (23) is further provided with a pull-out member (233), and the pull-out member (233) is configured to pull the limit member (23) out from the second groove body (Figs. 4-5).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 17 and 33-35 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang et al. (Pub. No. 2021/0333010) in view of Chiu (U.S. Patent No. 7,931,284).
Regarding claim 17, Yang et al. disclose a water tank (Figs. 1-7) for a dehumidifier (10) comprising: a box body (30), but lacks disclosure of an installation groove being provided at a bottom of the box body, and a side wall of the installation groove being provided with a limit groove; a moving wheel provided with a connection seat and a wheel body mounted at the connection seat, a side of the connection seat being configured to be installed in the limit groove; and a limit member disposed at least partially in the installation groove, so as to restrict the connection seat from sliding out of the limit groove.
Chiu teaches a dehumidifier (40) comprising: a box body (Fig. 1), an installation groove (at 20, Fig. 1) being provided at a bottom (Fig. 1) of the box body (Column 2 lines 15-22), and a side wall of the installation groove being provided with a limit groove (inside 21, Fig. 3); a moving wheel (30) provided with a connection seat (31) and a wheel body (32) mounted (Figs. 3-6) at the connection seat (31), a side of the connection seat (31) being configured to be installed (Figs. 3-6) in the limit groove (inside 21); and a limit member (23) disposed at least partially in the installation groove (at 20, Fig. 1), so as to restrict the connection seat (31) from sliding out of the limit groove (inside 21).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the box body of Yang et al. with a moving wheel as taught by Chiu for the advantage of providing a detachable caster device to enable a portable dehumidifier (Column 1 lines 36-47).
Regarding claim 33, Yang et al. disclose a dehumidifier (Figs. 1-7) comprising: a body (20); and a water tank (30) including: a box body (30); wherein the dehumidifier (10) is configured to be in: a working state (paragraph 26), in which the body (20) is located at an upper end (Fig. 4) of the water tank (30), and a non-working state (paragraph 26), in which the body (20) is at least partially accommodated (Fig. 3) in the water tank (30), but lacks disclosure of an installation groove being provided at a bottom of the box body, and a side wall of the installation groove being provided with a limit groove; a moving wheel provided with a connection seat and a wheel body mounted at the connection seat, a side of the connection seat being configured to be installed in the limit groove; and a limit member disposed at least partially in the installation groove, so as to restrict the connection seat from sliding out of the limit groove
Chiu teaches a dehumidifier (40) comprising: a box body (Fig. 1), an installation groove (at 20, Fig. 1) being provided at a bottom (Fig. 1) of the box body (Column 2 lines 15-22), and a side wall of the installation groove being provided with a limit groove (inside 21, Fig. 3); a moving wheel (30) provided with a connection seat (31) and a wheel body (32) mounted (Figs. 3-6) at the connection seat (31), a side of the connection seat (31) being configured to be installed (Figs. 3-6) in the limit groove (inside 21); and a limit member (23) disposed at least partially in the installation groove (at 20, Fig. 1), so as to restrict the connection seat (31) from sliding out of the limit groove (inside 21).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the box body of Yang et al. with a moving wheel as taught by Chiu for the advantage of providing a detachable caster device to enable a portable dehumidifier (Column 1 lines 36-47).
Regarding claim 34, Chiu (modified above) teaches wherein: the installation groove (at 20, Fig. 1) includes a first groove body (seating plate 31, Fig. 5) and a second groove body (receiving plate 31, Fig. 4) connected to the first groove body (Fig. 1); a groove side wall (Fig. 3) of the first groove body (Fig. 5) is provided with a limit rib (211), and the limit rib (211) is spaced apart from a groove bottom wall (Fig. 3) of the first groove body to form the limit groove (inside 21); the connection seat (31) is configured to slide into the limit groove (inside 21) from the second groove body (Figs. 4-5); and the limit member (23) is mounted (at 232) at the second groove body (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 35, Chiu (modified above) teaches wherein the limit member (23) is provided with an insertion member (231) configured to be inserted in one end (Figs. 4-5) of the limit groove (inside 21) close to the second groove body (Fig. 5) when the limit member (23) is installed in the second groove body (Fig. 5), to limit movement of the connection seat (31) toward the second groove body.
Claim(s) 29-32 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang et al. (Pub. No. 2021/0333010) in view of Chiu (U.S. Patent No. 7,931,284), and further in view of Liang et al. (Pub. No. US 2021/0381750).
Regarding claim 29, Yang et al. disclose the water tank (Figs. 1-7), wherein the box body (30) is provided with a drain gap (paragraphs 29 and 31), but lacks disclosure wherein the upper end of the box body is provided with the drain gap, and the water tank further comprising: a drain cover detachably mounted at the drain gap.
Liang et al. teach a box body (2) having a mounting gap (4) at an upper end (Fig. 2) of the box body (2) to enable a cover (1) to be detachably mounted to the mounting gap (4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the drain mount of Yang et al. with a mount as taught by Liang et al. for the advantage of having a more convenient and fast mounting of the cover (Column 2 lines 40-43).
Regarding claim 30, Liang et al. (modified above) teach wherein: one of the mounting gap (4) and the cover (1) is provided with a slide rail (Fig, 7), and another one of the drain gap (4) and the cover (1) is provided with a slide groove (12); and the slide groove (12) is slidably matched with the slide rail (Fig. 7) to make the cover (1) fit into the gap (4).
Regarding claim 31, Liang et al. (modified above) teach wherein a lower end (Fig. 11) of the cover (1) is snapped (at 152) with an edge of the gap (4).
Regarding claim 32, Liang et al. (modified above) teach wherein a lower side (Fig. 11) of the cover (1) is provided with a buckle (152), and the edge (Fig. 2) of the gap is provided with a flange (41); the buckle (152) is snapped with the flange (41).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 20-21, 23-26, 28, and 36 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Saito et al. (Pub. No. US 2018/0037058) disclose a bottom with installation groove for a moving wheel and a limit member restricting a connection seat of the wheel.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Reinaldo Sanchez-Medina, telephone number 571-270-5168, fax number 571-270-6168. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (7:30AM-4:00PM EST).
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/REINALDO SANCHEZ-MEDINA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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