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) 1-3, 5, 6, 8, 10-13, 15, 16, 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chae (US 20200002873 A1) in view of Garofalo (EP 0962576 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Chae discloses an operation method of a dryer interacting with a washing machine, the operation method comprising:
detecting, by using one or more sensors, first laundry that is loaded into the dryer (para. 236);
obtaining data related to a washing process with respect to second laundry that was loaded into the washing machine before the first laundry is loaded into the dryer (paras. 164, 174);
determining whether the first laundry corresponds to the second laundry, based on the data related to the washing process with respect to the second laundry (para. 184); and
outputting information (output to a display, output from the AI model, or output from a processor) about a drying state of the first laundry, based on at least one of a drying time period set in the dryer (paras. 148, 212-215).
Chae fails to disclose:
based on determining that the first laundry corresponds to the second laundry, determining a weight of the second laundry before washing as a first target dry weight; and
outputting information about a drying state of the first laundry, based on at least one of a drying time period set in the dryer and whether the weight of the first laundry reaches the first target dry weight (note: the italicized limitation is taken to be optional of the claim).
However, Garofalo teaches a washer-dryer and the method of:
determining whether the first laundry corresponds to the second laundry (the controller compares the weight of the laundry in the dryer with the pre-wash dry weight of the laundry), based on the data related to the washing process with respect to the second laundry (para. 23);
based on determining that the first laundry corresponds to the second laundry, determining a weight of the second laundry before washing as a first target dry weight (drying cycle stops when the weight of the laundry is approximately equal to the weight of dry laundry; para. 23); and
outputting information about a drying state of the first laundry (information outputted from the calculation means to the control means), based on whether the weight of the first laundry reaches the first target dry weight (para. 23).
It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art at the time of effective filing of the application to modify Chae’s method to include the steps of: based on determining that the first laundry corresponds to the second laundry, determining a weight of the second laundry before washing as a first target dry weight; and outputting information about a drying state of the first laundry, based on a drying time period set in the dryer and/or whether the weight of the first laundry reaches the first target dry weight. The motivation to combine is to better determine the drying condition of the clothes, so that both the dryness of the clothes and energy consumption are optimized.
Regarding claim 2, modified Chae discloses the operation method of claim 1, wherein the data related to the washing process with respect to the second laundry comprises at least one of the weight of the second laundry before washing (Chae; para. 174), a weight of the second laundry after washing (Chae; para. 174), a flow rate of water introduced in the washing process with respect to the second laundry, a moisture content of the second laundry, and a washing mode applied to the washing process with respect to the second laundry.
Regarding claim 3, modified Chae discloses the operation method of claim 2, wherein the determining of whether the first laundry corresponds to the second laundry comprises determining whether the first laundry corresponds to the second laundry, based on the weight of the second laundry after washing and the weight of the first laundry (Garofolo; para. 23).
Regarding claim 5, modified Chae discloses the operation method of claim 2, wherein the determining of whether the first laundry corresponds to the second laundry comprises determining whether the first laundry corresponds to the second laundry, based on a user input (Chae; para. 195).
Regarding claim 6, modified Chae discloses the operation method of claim 2, further comprising: terminating a drying process of the dryer based on the weight of the first laundry reaching the first target dry weight (Garofolo; para. 23).
Regarding claim 8, modified Chae discloses the operation method of claim 2, further comprising:
determining fabric characteristics of the second laundry (Chae; para. 183), based on the data related to the washing process with respect to the second laundry (Chae; para. 173); and
based on determining that the first laundry corresponds to the second laundry, determining setting values of the dryer for drying the first laundry, based on the fabric characteristics of the second laundry (Chae; paras. 183, 184).
Regarding claim 10, modified Chae discloses the operation method of claim 2, wherein the outputting of the information about the drying state of the first laundry comprises, based on the first target dry weight and a change in the weight of the first laundry (Garofalo; para. 23), except outputting a notification guiding a user to control the dryer.
However, Official Notice is taken that the missing feature is well known and common knowledge. It is common in domestic dryers to continuously output a notification regarding the remaining drying time based on information on the present drying state of the clothes. Once drying is complete, an audio and/or visual alert is sent to the user to take control of the dryer and remove the dried clothes.
It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art at the time of effective filing of the application to modify Chae wherein the outputting of the information about the drying state of the first laundry comprises, based on the first target dry weight and a change in the weight of the first laundry, outputting a notification guiding a user to control the dryer. The motivation to combine is so that the user can know when the drying process is finished and the clothes can be removed.
Regarding claim 11, modified Chae discloses a dryer comprising (see rejection of claim 1 for citations unless otherwise noted):
a communication interface (device(s) for communicating between the washer and dryer) (Chae; para. 164);
an output interface (devices(s) for sending information to the display or to the various devices for controlling the operation of the dryer) (Chae; para. 148 and Fig. 6);
one or more sensors;
a memory storing one or more instructions (Chae; para. 63); and
at least one processor (Chae; Fig. 6) configured to execute the one or more instructions stored in the memory to:
detect, by using the one or more sensors, first laundry that is loaded into the dryer;
obtain, through the communication interface, data related to a washing process with respect to second laundry that was loaded into a washing machine before the first laundry is loaded into the dryer;
determine whether the first laundry corresponds to the second laundry, based on the data related to the washing process with respect to the second laundry;
based on determining that the first laundry corresponds to the second laundry, determine a weight of the second laundry before washing as a first target dry weight; and
output, through the output interface, information about a drying state of the first laundry, based on at least one of a drying time period set in the dryer and whether the weight of the first laundry reaches the first target dry weight.
Regarding claim 12, modified Chae discloses the dryer of claim 11, wherein the data related to the washing process with respect to the second laundry comprises at least one of the weight of the second laundry before washing, a weight of the second laundry after washing, a flow rate of water introduced in the washing process with respect to the second laundry, a moisture content of the second laundry, and a washing mode applied to the washing process with respect to the second laundry (see rejection of claim 2).
Regarding claim 13, modified Chae discloses the dryer of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the one or more instructions to determine whether the first laundry corresponds to the second laundry, based on the weight of the second laundry after washing and the weight of the first laundry (see rejection of claim 3).
Regarding claim 15, modified Chae discloses the dryer of claim 12, further comprising an input interface, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the one or more instructions to determine whether the first laundry corresponds to the second laundry, based on a user input through the input interface (Chae; para. 195).
Regarding claim 16, modified Chae discloses the dryer of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the one or more instructions to terminate a drying process of the dryer when the weight of the first laundry reaches the first target dry weight (Garofalo; para. 23).
Regarding claim 18, modified Chae discloses the dryer of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the at least one instruction to: determine fabric characteristics of the second laundry, based on the data related to the washing process with respect to the second laundry; and based on determining that the first laundry corresponds to the second laundry, determine setting values of the dryer for drying the first laundry, based on the fabric characteristics of the second laundry (see rejection of claim 8).
Regarding claim 19, modified Chae discloses the dryer of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the one or more instructions to, based on the first target dry weight and a change in the weight of the first laundry, output a notification guiding a user to control the dryer (see rejection of claim 10).
Regarding claim 20, modified Chae discloses a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program, which, when executed by a computer, performs the operation method of claim 1 (Chae; para. 68, 69).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 7, 9, 14, 17 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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