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 Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: “connected to forced-air generator” in Line 3 shall be “connected to the forced-air generator”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent 4,782,601 to Gonzalez.
In Reference to Claim 1
Gonzalez discloses a system for air drying a body, comprising:
(a) an in-ground air ventilation subsystem (Fig. 5, 16) onto which the body may stand or be positioned; and
(b) an airflow generator system (Fig. 5, 24) that feeds forced air through at least a section of the air ventilation subsystem over which the body is positioned.
In Reference to Claim 2
Gonzalez discloses the airflow generator system comprises a forced-air generator (Fig. 5, 25) that upon activation generates body-drying air flow; and an air duct system (Fig. 5, 45) connected to forced-air generator that transmits air generated by the generator to and through at least a portion of the ventilation subsystem when the body is positioned over the portion of the vent system.
In Reference to Claims 3-6
Gonzalez discloses the ventilation system as recited. The Office considers that the swimming pool, the water drainage system of the pool, the shower floor and the bathroom floor are working environment of the recited apparatus. Since Gonzalez discloses the recited apparatus, the system of Gonzalez can naturally be used in any places.
In Reference to Claim 7
Gonzalez discloses the ventilation subsystem comprises vent panels.(Fig. 1, 34)
In Reference to Claim 14
Gonzalez discloses the airflow generator system feeds forced air through a section of the air ventilation subsystem (As showed in Fig. 5, the subsystem has an opening to deliver the air to the body) over which the body is positioned that is less than (As showed in Fig. 5, the opening are is less than the air channel 44) the total area of the air ventilation subsystem.
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.
Claims 8-11, 13 and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gonzalez in view of KR101270360 to Lee.
In Reference to Claims 8-11 and 13
Gonzalez discloses the air drying system.
Gonzalez does not teach the automatically activated system. the ventilation subsystem comprises multiple vent panels (Fig. 1, 34),
Lee teaches a foot dryer comprising a detection mean (Fig. 1, 60) activating the system.
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate teachings from Lee into the design of Gonzalez. Doing so, would result in the weight detection sensor of Lee being integrated into the floor panel of Gonzalez. Both inventions of Gonzalez and Lee are for ground dryer, Lee teaches a user friendly design.
Once the weight sensor of Lee is integrated into the design of Gonzalez, it is obvious that a certain period of the time is required to activate the air generator. The Office considers “a predetermined amount of time" and “the sensor is adapted to sense which panel on which the body is positioned” as functional language. Since the sensor is weight sensor, it is obvious that the sensor is activated by the body weight. The use of the function language only requires that apparatus is capable of performing the function, and does not add any specific structural limitations to the apparatus.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Gonzalez and Lee as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of KR20190127477 to Park (The art rejection is made based on the respective English translation by PE2E)1699+138.
In Reference to Claim 12
Gonzalez discloses the multiple vent panels (Fig. 1, 34)
The combination of Gonzalez and Lee as applied to Claim 11 does not teach adjustable air directing blades.
Park teaches the air adjustable air blades (Fig. 6, 110)
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate teachings from Park into the combination of Gonzalez and Lee as applied to Claim 11. Doing so, would result in adjustable air blade design of Park being incorporate into the design of Gonzalez. Both inventions of Park and Gonzalez have air vent with blades, Park teaches an air vent device which can prevent the blade from being damaged by external shock or vibration and reduce the thickness of the blade. So the system reliability is improved.
In Reference to Claims 15 and 16
Gonzalez discloses a method for drying a wet body using an air-drying system having an airflow generator system and an in-ground ventilation system connected to the airflow generator system, comprising:
(a) activating the airflow generator system (Fig. 5, 24) after the body is on the ventilation system, to generate and propel at least one stream of air up (Fig. 5, the air flow is showed by arrows) and through the ventilation system, such that the at least one stream directly contacts the wet body;
(b) maintaining the at least one stream of air (Fig. 5, air flow showed by arrows) for at least part of the time that the body is positioned on the ventilation system; and
(c) deactivating the airflow generator system. (Gonzalez shows the system having a control)
Gonzalez does not teach the system is automatically activated by the body.
Lee teaches a foot dryer comprising a detection mean (Fig. 1, 60) activating the system.
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate teachings from Lee into the design of Gonzalez. Doing so, would result in the weight detection sensor of Lee being integrated into the floor panel of Gonzalez. Both inventions of Gonzalez and Lee are for ground dryer, Lee teaches a user friendly design.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US Patent 109,706.
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DEMING . WAN
Examiner
Art Unit 3762
/DEMING WAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762 1/15/26