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) 29, 30, 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Hiroto (KR 20210030856 A) in view of Dupont (US 4420180 A).
Regarding claim 29, Hiroto discloses a shoe care deice comprising:
an inner cabinet having an accommodation space configured to accommodate shoes (Fig. 1 shows the space with three levels for holding shoes);
an opening (Fig. 4: opening adjacent the deodorizing device 50) in a bottom of the inner cabinet to suck air from inside the accommodation space;
a connection path defining a flow path through which air in the accommodation space is introduced from the opening thereinto and then discharged therefrom into the accommodation space (Fig. 4 shows an air flow path in the bottom chamber housing the heat pump 32, 33)
a blower (31) located in the connection path, the blower being configured to move the air along the connection path; and
a dehumidifier (32) located in the connection path, the dehumidifier being configured to dehumidify the air in the connection path; and
a shelf (21) located above the bottom of the inner cabinet, the shelf having an upper surface to support the accommodated shoes.
Hiroto fails to disclose
wherein the shelf has at least one guide rib on an upper surface of the shelf to guide a position of the accommodated shoes.
However, Fig. 1 of Dupont show guide ribs 70 that can be used to guide a position of the accommodated shoes. 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 shelf has at least one guide rib on an upper surface of the shelf to guide a position of the accommodated shoes. With the modification, each shelf would have guide ribs positioned at the front of the shelf and the isolations ribs would be placed behind the guide ribs. The motivation to combine is so that water from the shoes can drain away from the shoes and so that air can circulate underneath the shoes. The result is faster drying.
Regarding claim 30, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 29, wherein the at least one guide rib is a pair of guide ribs symmetrically located across a central part of the inner cabinet to extend toward opposite sides of the inner cabinet (see Fig. 1 of Dupont).
Regarding claim 32, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 29, wherein the at least one guide rib is located at a front of the bottom of the inner cabinet.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 21, 22, 26-28, 33, 34, 36-40 are allowed.
Claim 31 is 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant asserts the following on page(s) of the Remarks filed on 6/2/2026:
PNG
media_image1.png
246
638
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Examiner’s response:
The ribs 70 can be used to guide a position of the accommodated shoes because a user can visually align and position the shoes based on the location and orientation of the ribs.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Hoang can be reached at 571-272-6460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JASON LAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
Prosecution Insights