DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 21, 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Hiroto (KR 20210030856 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);
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.
Regarding claim 22, Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 21, wherein the shelf is detachably mounted to the bottom of the inner cabinet (shelf 21(3) can be removed from the bottom of the inner cabinet) (pg. 8, “In this way, by allowing . . . partitions 21 to be separated…”).
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) 23, 24, 29, 30, 32-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hiroto (KR 20210030856 A) in view of Dupont (US 4420180 A).
Regarding claim 23, Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 21, except wherein the shelf includes at least one isolation rib protruding upward from an upper surface of the shelf.
However, Dupont teaches a floor mat for wet shoes, wherein the floor mat includes at least one isolation rib (Fig. 1, 32) protruding upward from an upper surface of the mat.
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 includes at least one isolation rib protruding upward from an upper surface of the shelf. 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 24, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 23, wherein the at least one isolation rib extends in an oblique direction between a front surface and a rear surface of the inner cabinet [in the combination, the pan 16 of Dupont would be positioned on the shelf such that the front facing part of the pan (part adjacent the forward portion 14) would be placed near the door of the shoe care device).
Regarding claim 29, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 23, except 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.
Regarding claim 33, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 23, wherein the shelf has a convex cross- sectional shape when viewed along a longitudinal axis of the shelf (see Fig. 3 of Hiroto).
Regarding claim 34, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 23, wherein at least a portion of the shelf is spaced apart from the bottom of the inner cabinet (see Fig. 2 of Hiroto).
Regarding claim 35, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 23, wherein the shelf includes a water stop rib extending along a perimeter of the shelf (see Fig. 12 of Hiroto showing a sidewall extending around each shelf).
Regarding claim 36, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 35, wherein the water stop rib contacts an inner surface of the inner cabinet (see Fig. 12 of Hiroto).
Claim(s) 23, 27, 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hiroto (KR 20210030856 A) in view of Abraitis (US 7766174 B2).
Regarding claims 23, 27, Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 21, except wherein the shelf includes at least one isolation rib protruding upward from an upper surface of the shelf (as recited in claim 23); and wherein the shelf includes at least one through hole opposite the opening in the bottom of the inner cabinet (as recited in claim 27).
However, Abraitis teaches a shoe rack comprising a shelf (Fig. 1, 90),
wherein the shelf includes at least one isolation rib (94) protruding upward from an upper surface of the shelf; and
wherein the shelf includes at least one through hole (118a, 118b) opposite the opening in the bottom of the cabinet (30).
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 includes at least one isolation rib protruding upward from an upper surface of the shelf; and wherein the shelf includes at least one through hole opposite the opening in the bottom of the inner cabinet. The motivation to combine is so that excess water can be drained out from each of the shelves and into the drainage tank (Hiroto, 71). The result is faster drying and a cleaner shelf.
Regarding claim 28, modified Hiroto discloses the shoes care device of claim 27, wherein the opening is located at a front of the bottom of the inner cabinet (Hiroto, Fig. 4), and wherein the shelf is inclined downwardly from a rear surface of the inner cabinet toward the front of the bottom of the inner cabinet (Fig. 1 of Abraitis shows where the shelves are inclined downwardly from a rear toward the front).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 25, 26, 31, 37-40 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.
Conclusion
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/JASON LAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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