DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claim(s) 21, 34, 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hiroto (KR 20210030856 A) in view of Hirai (JP H10296039 A).
Regarding claim 21, Hiroto discloses a shoes care device comprising:
an inner cabinet having an accommodation space configured to accommodate shoes (Fig. 1 shows the space with three levels for holding shoes);
a module housing coupled to a lower side of the inner cabinet (Fig. 4 shows a housing defining a module chamber for enclosing the blower 31, heater 33, and dehumidifier 32), the module housing having a module chamber in communication with the accommodation space;
a blower (31) located in the module chamber, the blower being configured to blow air in the module chamber; a heater (condenser 33) located in the module chamber, the heater being configured to heat the air in the module chamber;
a dehumidifier (32) located in the module chamber, the dehumidifier being configured to dehumidify the air in the module chamber; and
a drying flow path defining a path for the air of the module chamber passing through the dehumidifier to be re-introduced into the accommodation space (Fig. 4 shows the airflow pathway).
Hiroto fails to disclose:
a regeneration path defining a path for the air of the module chamber passing through the dehumidifier to regenerate the dehumidifier.
Hirai teaches a dehumidifier that uses an adsorbent to dehumidify the air, the dehumidifier comprising a regeneration path (Fig. 1: paths through A and B) defining a path for the air through the dehumidifier to regenerate the dehumidifier (abstract).
It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art at the time of effective filing of the application to substitute the dehumidifier of Hiroto (dehumidifier 32 and heat pump components 33, 315, 325 are replaced, except a heater is retained in lieu of condenser 33 to heat the air) with the dehumidifier of Hirai. The motivation to combine is so that a desiccant dehumidification system (Hirai) is used to remove moisture from the air, instead of a heat pump system (Hiroto). A desiccant dehumidification system is superior in performance to a heat pump dehumidification system in cold conditions, e.g., a cold basement.
Regarding claim 34, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 21, further comprising a dry air duct located at a rear of the shoes care device (Fig. 4 of Hiroto shows a rear vertical duct with airflow 35), the dry air duct being configured to connect the module housing and the inner cabinet, the dry air duct defining at least a portion of the drying flow path.
Regarding claim 35, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 34, wherein the module housing includes a dry air outlet (Fig. 4 of Hiroto shows an outlet for air discharge 34) at a rear of the module housing, and wherein the dry air duct is coupled to the module housing and the inner cabinet while covering the dry air outlet.
Claim(s) 22-24, 29, 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hiroto (KR 20210030856 A) in view of Hirai (JP H10296039 A), as applied to claim 21, and further in view of Ahn (US 20150197882 A1).
Regarding claim 22, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 21, except wherein the module housing is slidably coupled to the lower side of the inner cabinet.
However, Ahn teaches a clothes treating apparatus wherein the module housing (Fig. 2, 100) is slidably coupled to the lower side of the inner cabinet (paras. 44, 45).
It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art at the time of effective filing of the application to modify Hiroto wherein the module housing is slidably coupled to the lower side of the inner cabinet, so that the various components (e.g., dehumidifier) can be easily cleaned, maintained, serviced, or replaced.
Regarding claim 23, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 22, wherein the module chamber includes:
a first module chamber (Hiroto, 31) accommodating the blower therein (the rectangular outline is the housing defining each chamber);
a second module chamber (Hiroto, 33) accommodating the heater therein; and
a third module chamber (Hiroto, 32) accommodating the dehumidifier therein.
Note: even if the rectangular outlines are not chamber walls, having a housing to enclose each of the first, second, and third module chambers would have been obvious at the effective filing date since a housing protects the components of mechanical devices.
Regarding claim 24, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 23, wherein the module chamber is arranged such that air in the module chamber moves sequentially through the first module chamber, the second module chamber, and the third module chamber (see Fig. 4 of Hiroto showing the airflow direction through each module chamber).
Regarding claim 29, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 21, except wherein the inner cabinet includes a sliding guide extending in a rear-to-front direction of the shoes care device, and wherein the module housing includes: a module case defining the module chamber, the module case having a module opening facing upward, an area of the module opening being equal to or larger than an area of the module chamber when viewed from above; a module cover coupled to the module case, the module cover being configured to cover an upper side of the blower, the heater, and the dehumidifier, the module cover having an opening through which the air of the accommodation space is suctioned to the module chamber; and a slider at one of the module case or the module cover, the slider being configured to slidably move along the sliding guide.
However, Ahn teaches wherein the inner cabinet includes a sliding guide (Fig. 2, 231) extending in a rear-to-front direction of the shoes care device, and wherein the module housing includes:
a module case (Figs. 2/5: lateral walls 115 and base 113 of element 100) defining the module chamber, the module case having a module opening facing upward (see Fig. 5; the module opening is the upper opening defined by the lateral walls 115, and is partially covered by the top panel that defines opening 117), an area of the module opening being equal to or larger than an area of the module chamber when viewed from above (Fig. 5);
a module cover (Fig. 5; top panel that defines opening 117) coupled to the module case, the module cover being configured to cover an upper side of the blower (150), the heater (143), and the dehumidifier (141), the module cover having an opening (131a) through which the air of the accommodation space is suctioned to the module chamber; and
a slider (119) at one of the module case or the module cover, the slider being configured to slidably move along the sliding guide.
It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art at the time of effective filing of the application to modify Hiroto to include the limitations recited in claim 29, so that the various components (e.g., dehumidifier) can be easily cleaned, maintained, serviced, or replaced.
Regarding claim 31, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 29, wherein the inner cabinet includes a main opening at a front of the shoes care device, and wherein the shoes care device further comprises a door to open and close the main opening (Hiroto, Fig. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 25-28, 30, 32, 33, 36-40 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.
Reasons for Allowance
The bolded limitations below are not found in Hiroto and it would not have been obvious to modify Hiroto to include the bolded limitations.
25. (New) The shoes care device of claim 24, further comprising a sump configured to accommodate condensed water, wherein the module housing includes: a module case defining a portion of the module chamber, the module case including: a suction module chamber, the suction module chamber defining a part of the module chamber, a bottom surface of the suction module chamber being inclined downward toward the first module chamber; a dry air outlet to discharge the air in the third module chamber to the accommodation space; and a wet air outlet to discharge the air in the third module chamber to the sump; and a module cover coupled to the module case, the module cover being configured to cover an upper side of the blower, the heater, and the dehumidifier, the module cover having an opening through which the air of the accommodation space is suctioned to an upper side of the suction module chamber, and wherein, when a direction in which the module housing is slidably coupled at the lower side of the inner cabinet is a rear-to-front direction of the shoes care device, the suction module chamber, the first module chamber, the third module chamber, and the dry air outlet are placed in order in a front-to-rear direction.
36. (New) The shoes care device of claim 34, further comprising: a steam generator configured to generate steam, the steam generator being located at a lower side of the module housing; and a steam separator, the steam separator including: a separating base coupled to a rear of the module housing, the separating base defining an internal space; a separating inlet located at one side of the separating base, the separating inlet being connected to the steam generator; and a separating outlet located at a lower side of the separating base, the separating outlet being configured to discharge condensed water condensed inside the separating base, wherein the module housing includes a steam inlet at the rear of the module housing, the steam inlet being in communication with the accommodation space and the internal space of the separating base.
37. (New) The shoes care device of claim 21, wherein the module housing includes: a module case defining the module chamber, the module case having a module opening facing upward; and a module cover coupled to the module case, the module cover being configured to cover an upper side of the blower, the heater, and the dehumidifier, the module cover having an opening through which the air of the accommodation space is suctioned to the module chamber, wherein the module cover is coupled to a lower end of the inner cabinet to be slidably movable with respect to the inner cabinet, wherein the inner cabinet, the module housing, the blower, the heater, and the dehumidifier are provided as two or more inner cabinets, two or more module housings, two or more blowers, two or more heaters, and two or more dehumidifiers, and wherein the two or more inner cabinets are vertically stacked and integrally formed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON LAU whose telephone number is (571)270-7644. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00.
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/JASON LAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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