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 .
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 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.
Examiner’s Note
This Office Action is in response to application filed on 10/13/2023, where claims 1-20 are currently pending.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 6, 11, 15, and 18 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: regarding claims 5 and 15, the primary reason that the claims are allowable over the US Patent Application Pub. No. 20230258388 (Yu), the US Patent Application Pub. No. 20210274618 (Kamada), the US Patent Application Pub. No. 20220292735 (Hong), the US Patent Application Pub. No. 20130141018 (Kamii), the Chinese Patent Doc. No. 1767439 (Oh), the Non-Patent Literature “Apps Lotus Lantern App User Guide” (Lotus), and the Non-Patent Literature “Adding favorite colors” (Xodo), is because, although the cited prior art teach substantially similar invention of provide the method of changing color of panel(s) of the home appliance; however, neither alone nor in combination the cited prior art teach the panel has a first color when the lighting device is turned off, and the controller controls the lighting device to emit light in a second color so that a third color is displayed on the panel(s) according to input to the color control button. Therefore, the cited prior art does not teach each and every limitation in the specific combination as presented in claims 5 and 15.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: regarding claims 11 and 18, the primary reason that the claims are allowable over the cited prior art, is because, although the cited prior art teach substantially similar invention of provide the method of changing color of panel(s) of the home appliance and an illuminance sensor for sensing light, and that using an illuminance sensor to control light output is known; however, neither alone nor in combination the cited prior art teach the displaying information about illuminance value detected by the illuminance sensor on the user interface, in response to detecting the illuminance value being less than or equal a predetermined value, display a night mode selection button on the user interface, where the night mode selection button when selected by a user, controls the lighting device to a lower brightness output. Therefore, the cited prior art do not teach each and every limitation in the specific combination as presented in claims 11 and 18.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yu et al., (US 20230258388 A1) (hereinafter Yu).
Referring to claim 1, Yu teaches a method for changing a color of a home appliance, the method comprising:
displaying a user interface on a display panel of the home appliance (According to para. [0100] and [0107] of the published specification, the user interface is displayed on a remote device 2; therefore, the limitation is interpreted in consistent with the disclosure of the specification. ¶ [0133], [0137], [0138], fig. 8, the user interface for changing color of the doors of the refrigerator 1-1), the user interface including:
graphic objects corresponding to a plurality of panels of the home appliance (¶ [0137], fig. 8, graphic objects corresponding to plurality of doors of the refrigerator 1-1); and
color control buttons for controlling a color displayed on the plurality of panels (¶ [0133], [0137], fig. 8, receiving user input to select specific color for each of the plurality of doors, where figure 8 shows a list of dropdowns for performing such function);
receiving a selection, via the user interface, of one of the plurality of panels and an input to the color control buttons (¶ [0133], [0137], fig. 8, discloses user provides input command to the user terminal 2 to select a specific color for each of the plurality of doors); and
controlling a lighting device of the home appliance to make the selected panel display color in accordance with the input to the color control buttons (¶ [0137], fig. 8, “when the user selects the color of the upper left door 100a as white, selects the color of the upper right door 100b as beige, selects the color of the lower left door 100c as gray, and selects the color of the lower right door 100d as charcoal, the refrigerator 1-1 controls the EPD panel 150 located on the upper left door 100a to display a white color, controls the EPD panel 150 located on the upper right door 100b to display a beige color, controls the EPD panel 150 located on the lower left door 100c to display a gray color, and controls the EPD panel 150 located on the lower right door 100d to display a charcoal color.” ¶ [0101], “the door panel 102 may be provided as other types of display panels than the EPD panel, for example…a memory liquid crystal display (LCD), an interferometric modulator display (IMOD), and an LCD panel”. Examiner notes the memory LCD and LCD inherently includes a lighting device.)
Referring to claim 14, Yu teaches a home appliance, comprising:
a cabinet including a storage space;
a door to open and close the storage space, the door including:
a panel forming a front surface of the cabinet (Abstract, refrigerator); and
a lighting device configured to emit light (¶ [0101], memory LCD and LCD panel);
a user interface including a color control button for controlling a color displayed on the panel (¶ [0133], [0137], fig. 8, receiving user input to select specific color for each of the plurality of doors, where figure 8 shows a list of dropdowns for performing such function); and
a controller configured to control the lighting device to change a color displayed on the panel according to an input to the color control button (¶ [0137], fig. 8, “when the user selects the color of the upper left door 100a as white, selects the color of the upper right door 100b as beige, selects the color of the lower left door 100c as gray, and selects the color of the lower right door 100d as charcoal, the refrigerator 1-1 controls the EPD panel 150 located on the upper left door 100a to display a white color, controls the EPD panel 150 located on the upper right door 100b to display a beige color, controls the EPD panel 150 located on the lower left door 100c to display a gray color, and controls the EPD panel 150 located on the lower right door 100d to display a charcoal color.” ¶ [0101], “the door panel 102 may be provided as other types of display panels than the EPD panel, for example…a memory liquid crystal display (LCD), an interferometric modulator display (IMOD), and an LCD panel”.)
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 of this title, 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 2-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu as applied to claim 1 above, and in view of Kamada, (US 20210274618 A1) (hereinafter Kamada).
Referring to claim 2, Yu teaches the method of claim 1. However, Yu does not explicitly teach the user interface for changing color of selected panel includes the color control buttons are configured to adjust the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) values of color.
Kamada teaches an user interface includes the color control buttons are configured to adjust the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) values of color (¶ [0154], fig. 17, “The amounts of fine tuning for the RGB value set are generated based on the amounts of movement of the knobs on the sliders 512 to 514”).
Yu and Kamada are analogous art to the claimed invention because they are concerning with interface for changing color of a device (i.e., same field of endeavor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention having Yu and Kamada before them to modify the refrigerator of Yu to incorporate the function of presenting control buttons for adjusting RGB values as taught by Kamada. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the elements as claimed by known methods as disclosed by Kamada (¶ [0146]-[0158], figs. 5 and 16-18), because the function of presenting control buttons for adjusting RGB values does not depend on the refrigerator. That is the function of presenting control buttons for adjusting RGB values performs the same function independent on which interface it is incorporated onto, and therefore, the result of the combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. The motivation to combine would have been to improve the functionality by providing method to fine tune the color as suggested by Kamada (¶ [0154]).
Referring to claim 3, Yu teaches the limitations above. However, Yu does not explicitly teach the method of claim 2, wherein the color control buttons includes a red slider, a green slider and a blue slider, and
wherein the input to the color control buttons includes adjusting at least one of the red slider, the green slider and the blue slider.
Kamada further teaches the color control buttons includes a red slider, a green slider and a blue slider, and
wherein the input to the color control buttons includes adjusting at least one of the red slider, the green slider and the blue slider (¶ [0154], fig. 17, “The amounts of fine tuning for the RGB value set are generated based on the amounts of movement of the knobs on the sliders 512 to 514”).
Referring to claim 4, Yu teaches the method of claim 1. However, Yu does not explicitly teach wherein the input of the color control buttons includes adjusting the saturation or brightness of the color displayed…
Kamada teaches wherein the input of the color control buttons includes adjusting the saturation or brightness of the color displayed…(¶ [0153], fig. 17, “The staff member at the store A operates the sliders 511 to 514 and checkboxes 515 and 516 to input fine-tuning values for the illuminations of the LEDs of the light source 34.”)
Yu and Kamada are analogous art to the claimed invention because they are concerning with interface for changing color of a device (i.e., same field of endeavor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention having Yu and Kamada before them to modify the refrigerator of Yu to incorporate the function of presenting control buttons for adjusting brightness values as taught by Kamada. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the elements as claimed by known methods as disclosed by Kamada (¶ [0146]-[0158], figs. 5 and 16-18), because the function of presenting control buttons for adjusting brightness values does not depend on the refrigerator. That is the function of presenting control buttons for adjusting brightness values performs the same function independent on which interface it is incorporated onto, and therefore, the result of the combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. The motivation to combine would have been to improve the functionality by providing method to fine tune the illumination as suggested by Kamada (¶ [0154]).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu as applied to claim 14 above, and in view of Oh, (CN 1767439 A) (hereinafter Oh).
Referring to claim 16, Yu teaches the home appliance of claim 14. However, Yu does not explicitly teach further comprising a speaker,
wherein the controller is configured to:
receive sound source information selected by the user; and
control a speaker to output sound according to the sound source information.
Oh teaches further comprising a speaker,
wherein the controller is configured to:
receive sound source information selected by the user; and
control a speaker to output sound according to the sound source information (Pg. 4 lines 71-76, “Through the network panel 110, operation function and temperature condition of the refrigerator, to be set. The refrigerator temperature condition, the operation function and work of the refrigerating device and refrigerating device. in addition, it can select television function through the network panel 110, playing the television program. also can be the network panel 110 the audio function to play music.”)
Yu and Oh are analogous art to the claimed invention because they are concerning with interface for an appliance (i.e., same field of endeavor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention having Yu and Oh before them to modify the refrigerator of Yu to incorporate the function of presenting audio playback function as taught by Oh. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the elements as claimed by known methods as disclosed by Oh (Pg. 4 line 13-pg. 5 line 16), because the function of presenting audio playback function does not depend on the refrigerator. That is the function of presenting audio playback function performs the same function independent on which interface it is incorporated onto, and therefore, the result of the combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. The motivation to combine would have been to improve the appliance by enabling a plurality of functionalities as suggested by Oh (Pg. 4 lines 71-79).
Claims 17 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu as applied to claim 14 above, and in view of Lotus Lantern, (“Apps Lotus Lantern APP User Guide”) (hereinafter Lotus).
Referring to claim 17, Yu further teaches the home appliance of claim 14, wherein the lighting device includes a plurality of light sources (¶ [0101], “the door panel 102 may be provided as other types of display panels than the EPD panel, for example…a memory liquid crystal display (LCD), an interferometric modulator display (IMOD), and an LCD panel”. Examiner notes there are a plurality of display panels and thus include a plurality of light sources).
Yu further teaches the limitations above and changing color over time as the internal temperature changes, weather changes, operating mode changes, etc. (Figs. 9, 10, 13 and corresponding descriptions). However, Yu does not explicitly teach control the lighting device to vary…brightness of the plurality of light sources over time.
Lotus teaches control the lighting device to vary…brightness of the plurality of light sources over time (Pg. 6 section Style, discloses color jumping change and color cross fades and brightness adjustment.)
Yu and Lotus are analogous art to the claimed invention because they are concerning with interface for controlling display of color (i.e., same field of endeavor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention having Yu and Lotus before them to modify the refrigerator of Yu to incorporate the function of setting operation time as taught by Lotus. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the elements as claimed by known methods as disclosed by Lotus (Pg. 1-11), because the function of setting operation time does not depend on the refrigerator. That is the function of setting operation time performs the same function independent on which interface it is incorporated onto, and therefore, the result of the combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. The motivation to combine would have been to adding interesting effect(s) as suggested by Lotus (Pg. 6).
Referring to claim 20, Yu teaches The home appliance of claim 14. However, Yu does not explicitly teach display a selecting button for setting an operation time at which the lighting device is operated; and
control the lighting device according to the selected operation time.
Lotus teaches display a selecting button for setting an operation time at which the lighting device is operated; and
control the lighting device according to the selected operation time (Pg. 9-10 section Schedule, discloses at least one button, e.g., schedule on, to allow user to specify when to turn on the RGB LED light).
Yu and Lotus are analogous art to the claimed invention because they are concerning with interface for controlling display of color (i.e., same field of endeavor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention having Yu and Lotus before them to modify the refrigerator of Yu to incorporate the function of setting operation time as taught by Lotus. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the elements as claimed by known methods as disclosed by Lotus (Pg. 1-11), because the function of setting operation time does not depend on the refrigerator. That is the function of setting operation time performs the same function independent on which interface it is incorporated onto, and therefore, the result of the combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. The motivation to combine would have been to improve operation by allowing automatic control based on schedule as suggested by Lotus (Pg. 9-10).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu as applied to claim 14 above, and in view of Xodo, (“Adding favorite colors”) (hereinafter Xodo).
Referring to claim 19, Yu teaches the home appliance of claim 14. However, Yu does not explicitly teach wherein the controller is configured to:
display, on the user interface, an add color button for adding a new color…;
display a plurality of color selection buttons in response to selection of the add color button, the plurality of color selection buttons including a red button, a green button and a blue button; and
change a color displayed on the selected panel in response to a selection of at least one of the red button, the green button and the blue button.
Xodo teaches display, on the user interface, an add color button for adding a new color…;
display a plurality of color selection buttons in response to selection of the add color button, the plurality of color selection buttons including a red button, a green button and a blue button; and
change a color displayed on the selected panel in response to a selection of at least one of the red button, the green button and the blue button (Pg. 1-3, when viewing the images included in pages 1-3 on the original website, which animates the steps, it is clear that the color buttons at least red, blue, and green are presented to the user to allow user to add them to favorite.)
Yu and Xodo are analogous art to the claimed invention because they are concerning with interface for controlling display of color (i.e., same field of endeavor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention having Yu and Xodo before them to modify the refrigerator of Yu to incorporate the function of an adding new color button as taught by Xodo. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the elements as claimed by known methods as disclosed by Xodo (Pg. 1-3), because the function of an adding new color button does not depend on the refrigerator. That is the function of an adding new color button performs the same function independent on which interface it is incorporated onto, and therefore, the result of the combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. The motivation to combine would have been to improve user experience by allowing user quick access to favorite color(s).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu et al., (US 20230258388 A1) (hereinafter Yu) in view of Hong et al., (US 20220292735 A1) (hereinafter Hong).
Referring to claim 7, Yu teaches a method for changing a color of a home appliance, comprising:
displaying a user interface on a display panel (¶ [0133], [0137], [0138], fig. 8, the user interface for changing color of the doors of the refrigerator 1-1), the user interface including:
graphic objects corresponding to a plurality of panels of the home appliance (¶ [0137], fig. 8, graphic objects corresponding to plurality of doors of the refrigerator 1-1); and
a plurality of…graphic objects (¶ [0133], [0137], fig. 8, receiving user input to select specific color for each of the plurality of doors, where figure 8 shows a list of dropdowns for performing such function);
receiving a selection, via the user interface, of one of the plurality of panels and one of the plurality of…graphic objects (¶ [0133], [0137], fig. 8, discloses user provides input command to the user terminal 2 to select a specific color for each of the plurality of doors); and
controlling a lighting device of the home appliance to make the selected panel display color in accordance with…information corresponding to the selected…graphic object (¶ [0137], fig. 8, “when the user selects the color of the upper left door 100a as white, selects the color of the upper right door 100b as beige, selects the color of the lower left door 100c as gray, and selects the color of the lower right door 100d as charcoal, the refrigerator 1-1 controls the EPD panel 150 located on the upper left door 100a to display a white color, controls the EPD panel 150 located on the upper right door 100b to display a beige color, controls the EPD panel 150 located on the lower left door 100c to display a gray color, and controls the EPD panel 150 located on the lower right door 100d to display a charcoal color.” ¶ [0101], “the door panel 102 may be provided as other types of display panels than the EPD panel, for example…a memory liquid crystal display (LCD), an interferometric modulator display (IMOD), and an LCD panel”. Examiner notes the memory LCD and LCD inherently includes a lighting device.)
Yu teaches the limitations above. However, Yu does not explicitly teach the graphic objects being theme graphic objects.
Hong teaches theme graphic objects (¶ [0137], fig. 12, “four color scheme graphic objects G62Y_1, G62Y-2, and G62Y_3 and G62Y_4”).
Yu and Hong are analogous art to the claimed invention because they are concerning with interface for changing color of a device (i.e., same field of endeavor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention having Yu and Hong before them to modify the refrigerator of Yu to incorporate the function of presenting theme graphic objects on a mobile device as taught by Hong. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the elements as claimed by known methods as disclosed by Hong (¶ [0096]-[0111], figs. 7 and 8), because the function of presenting theme graphic objects on a mobile device does not depend on the refrigerator. That is the function of presenting theme graphic objects on a mobile device performs the same function independent on which interface it is incorporated onto, and therefore, the result of the combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. The motivation to combine would have been to improve user satisfaction of the home appliances as suggested by Hong (¶ [0004]).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu in view of Hong as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Oh, (CN 1767439 A) (hereinafter Oh).
Referring to claim 8, Yu in view of Hong teach the method of claim 7. However, Yu in view of Hong do not explicitly teach includes sound source information, and
wherein the method further comprises controlling a speaker of the home appliance to output sound in accordance with the sound source information.
Oh teaches includes sound source information, and
wherein the method further comprises controlling a speaker of the home appliance to output sound in accordance with the sound source information (Pg. 4 lines 71-76, “Through the network panel 110, operation function and temperature condition of the refrigerator, to be set. The refrigerator temperature condition, the operation function and work of the refrigerating device and refrigerating device. in addition, it can select television function through the network panel 110, playing the television program. also can be the network panel 110 the audio function to play music.”)
Yu, Hong, and Oh are analogous art to the claimed invention because they are concerning with interface for an appliance (i.e., same field of endeavor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention having Yu in view of Hong and Oh before them to modify the refrigerator of Yu in view of Hong to incorporate the function of presenting audio playback function as taught by Oh. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the elements as claimed by known methods as disclosed by Oh (Pg. 4 line 13-pg. 5 line 16), because the function of presenting audio playback function does not depend on the refrigerator. That is the function of presenting audio playback function performs the same function independent on which interface it is incorporated onto, and therefore, the result of the combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. The motivation to combine would have been to improve the appliance by enabling a plurality of functionalities as suggested by Oh (Pg. 4 lines 71-79).
Claims 9 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu in view of Hong as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Lotus Lantern, (“Apps Lotus Lantern APP User Guide”) (hereinafter Lotus).
Referring to claim 9, Yu further teaches the method of claim 7, wherein the lighting device includes a plurality of light sources (¶ [0101], “the door panel 102 may be provided as other types of display panels than the EPD panel, for example…a memory liquid crystal display (LCD), an interferometric modulator display (IMOD), and an LCD panel”. Examiner notes there are a plurality of display panels and thus include a plurality of light sources). Yu further teaches the limitations above and changing color over time as the internal temperature changes, weather changes, operating mode changes, etc. (Figs. 9, 10, 13 and corresponding descriptions). However, Yu in view of Hong do not explicitly teach wherein the theme information further includes control information for varying…brightness of the plurality of light sources over time, and
wherein the controlling the lighting device further includes implementing dynamic effects…according to the control information by displaying a plurality of changing colors and/or shapes.
Lotus teaches wherein the theme information further includes control information for varying…brightness of the plurality of light sources over time (Pg. 6 section Style, discloses color jumping change and color cross fades and brightness adjustment), and
wherein the controlling the lighting device further includes implementing dynamic effects…according to the control information by displaying a plurality of changing colors and/or shapes (Pg. 6 section Style, discloses the lighting device can be controlled to change color by displaying a plurality of changing colors user interface elements, e.g., central scroll section to select the user’s intended color mode).
Yu, Hong, and Lotus are analogous art to the claimed invention because they are concerning with interface for controlling display of color (i.e., same field of endeavor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention having Yu in view of Hong and Lotus before them to modify the refrigerator of Yu in view of Hong to incorporate the function of setting operation time as taught by Lotus. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the elements as claimed by known methods as disclosed by Lotus (Pg. 1-11), because the function of setting operation time does not depend on the refrigerator. That is the function of setting operation time performs the same function independent on which interface it is incorporated onto, and therefore, the result of the combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. The motivation to combine would have been to adding interesting effect(s) as suggested by Lotus (Pg. 6).
Referring to claim 13, Yu in view of Hong teach the method of claim 7. However, Yu in view of Hong do not explicitly teach displaying a selecting button for setting an operation time at which the lighting device is operated, and
wherein, in the controlling the lighting device, the lighting device operates according to the set operation time.
Lotus teaches displaying a selecting button for setting an operation time at which the lighting device is operated, and
wherein, in the controlling the lighting device, the lighting device operates according to the set operation time (Pg. 9-10 section Schedule, discloses at least one button, e.g., schedule on, to allow user to specify when to turn on the RGB LED light).
Yu, Hong, and Lotus are analogous art to the claimed invention because they are concerning with interface for controlling display of color (i.e., same field of endeavor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention having Yu in view of Hong and Lotus before them to modify the refrigerator of Yu in view of Hong to incorporate the function of setting operation time as taught by Lotus. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the elements as claimed by known methods as disclosed by Lotus (Pg. 1-11), because the function of setting operation time does not depend on the refrigerator. That is the function of setting operation time performs the same function independent on which interface it is incorporated onto, and therefore, the result of the combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. The motivation to combine would have been to improve operation by allowing automatic control based on schedule as suggested by Lotus (Pg. 9-10).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu in view of Hong and Lotus as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Kamii, (US 20130141018 A1) (hereinafter Kamii).
Referring to claim 10, Yu in view of Hong and Lotus teach the method of claim 9. However, Yu in view of Hong and Lotus do not explicitly teach to be in a night mode in response to an illuminance value, detected by an illuminance sensor of the home appliance, being below a predetermined illuminance value,
wherein the night mode includes reducing the brightness of the lighting device to a preset brightness value.
Kamii teaches to be in a night mode in response to an illuminance value, detected by an illuminance sensor of the home appliance, being below a predetermined illuminance value,
wherein the night mode includes reducing the brightness of the lighting device to a preset brightness value (¶ [0330], “The illuminance sensor mode refers to a mode for controlling the dimming ratio based on a result of obtainment by illuminance sensor 28 so as to achieve preset illuminance.” ¶ [0333], “Prior to the illuminance sensor mode, a target illuminance is set. Pressing of "environment registration" button 69 of remote controller 50 by the user causes setting of a target illuminance. Namely, when CPU 22 receives a signal generated as a result of pressing of "environment registration" button 69, then, CPU 22 calculates measured value M2 described above, and obtains calculated measured value M2 as a value indicating the illuminance at that time.” ¶ [0373], “By performing such operations, even when brightness in the surroundings has become extremely low such as when a curtain is closed, a target illuminance can appropriately be achieved.”)
Yu, Hong, Lotus, and Kamii are analogous art to the claimed invention because they are concerning with interface for controlling lighting device (i.e., same field of endeavor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention having Yu in view of Hong and Lotus and Kamii before them to modify the refrigerator of Yu in view of Hong and Lotus to incorporate the function of adjusting brightness according illuminance value as taught by Kamii. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the elements as claimed by known methods as disclosed by Kamii (¶ [0329]-[0377]), because the function of adjusting brightness according illuminance value does not depend on the refrigerator. That is the function of adjusting brightness according illuminance value performs the same function independent on which interface it is incorporated onto, and therefore, the result of the combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. The motivation to combine would have been to improve user experience by automatically maintaining desired illuminance value regardless of the lighting condition as suggested by Kamii (¶ [0373]).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu in view of Hong as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Xodo, (“Adding favorite colors”) (hereinafter Xodo).
Referring to claim 12, Yu teaches the method of claim 7. However, Yu does not explicitly teach displaying, on the user interface, an add color button for adding a new color to the home appliance;
displaying, on the user interface, a plurality of color selection buttons, the plurality of color selection buttons including a red button, a green button and a blue button; and
changing a color displayed on the selected panel in response to a selection of at least one of the red button, the green button and the blue button.
Hong further teaches displaying, on the user interface, a plurality of color selection buttons, the plurality of color selection buttons including a red button, a green button and a blue button (¶ [0105], figs. 7 and 8, “a red group graphic object G43 corresponding to the red group…a blue group graphic object G45 corresponding to the blue group, and a green group graphic object G46 corresponding to the green group.”); and
changing a color displayed on the selected panel in response to a selection of at least one of the red button, the green button and the blue button (¶ [0109], figs. 7-9, “in response to selecting the yellow group graphic object G41, a color graphic object G50Y representing a plurality of colors included in the yellow group may be displayed on the first region R1 of the color recommendation user interface U2.” ¶ [0112], figs. 7-9, “one of the plurality of colors may be selected through one G52Y of the plurality of color graphic objects. In response to selecting a color, the selected color may be applied to the selected door graphic object G31 among the plurality of door graphic objects G31, G32, G33, and G34 displayed on the second region R2.”)
Yu in view of Hong teach the user interface for changing color displayed on the home appliance. However, Yu in view of Hong do not explicitly teach the user interface includes an add color button for adding a new color...
Xodo teaches displaying, on the user interface, an add color button for adding a new color... (Pg. 1-2, the methods 1 and 2 teach adding a new color to the favorite list).
Yu, Hong, and Xodo are analogous art to the claimed invention because they are concerning with interface for controlling display of color (i.e., same field of endeavor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention having Yu in view of Hong and Xodo before them to modify the refrigerator of Yu in view of Hong to incorporate the function of an adding new color button as taught by Xodo. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the elements as claimed by known methods as disclosed by Xodo (Pg. 1-3), because the function of an adding new color button does not depend on the refrigerator. That is the function of an adding new color button performs the same function independent on which interface it is incorporated onto, and therefore, the result of the combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. The motivation to combine would have been to improve user experience by allowing user quick access to favorite color(s).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
US 20140091731 (Fushimi) – discloses a method of controlling lighting system via an user interface.
US 20090231248 (Dorff) – discloses graphical user interface for configuring color of a device cover.
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/MONG-SHUNE CHUNG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2118