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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of claims 10-25 in the reply filed on November 24, 2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that Inventions I and III require search and consideration of art related to sensing/ determining parameters at washer and dryer appliance, and communication between washer and dryer appliances. This is found persuasive in light of claim amendment.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 13-14 an 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 13 recites the limitation "the first dry load size" and “the second dry load size” in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 14 recites the limitation "the first wet load size " and “the second wet load size” in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 16 recites the limitation "the second wet load size " in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 17 recites the limitation "the second dry load size " in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim
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) 1-4 and 10-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choe (US 2021/0301447 cited in IDS), and in further view of Zeru (US 11,242,632), Grandt (US 11,680,348), and Hein (DE 19946245 A1 machine translation) .
Regarding claim 1, Choe figures 1-10 a system for appliance communication for determining an operational state at a laundry appliance, the system comprising:
a washer appliance (L) the washer appliance comprising a first controller (94) comprising a first communications device (washing machine interface P2 may include a washing machine display 961);
a dryer appliance (100), the dryer appliance comprising a second controller comprising a second communications device configured to communicatively couple to the first communications device to form an interconnected pair of washer and dryer appliances. [0039][0071][0080][0088]
Choe teaches in operation S825 the washing machine may measure the amount of laundry. Choe teaches in operation S830, the washing machine may transmit the laundry amount information to the dryer thereby reading wherein one or both of the first and second controllers is configured to execute instructions that cause the washer appliance and the dryer appliance to perform operations, the operations comprising:
transmitting, via the first communications device to the second communications device, the washer load parameter.[0159-160]
Choe is silent to one or more washer appliance sensors configured to determine a washer load parameter.
Zeru is directed towards an automatic laundry machine wherein figure 2 teaches a plurality of weight sensors 100 calculate the total weight of items placed in the washing drum 90.[col 4 lines 30-35]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to provide weight sensors as taught in Zeru to calculate the total weight of items placed in the washing drum 90.
Choe is silent to one or more dryer appliance sensors configured to determine a dryer load parameter.
Grandt is directed towards a clothes washing and drying machine wherein figure 5 teaches the drying machine 102 further comprises a load sensor 121. The load sensor 121 is a force sensor. The load sensor 121 mounts in the drying machine 102 such that the load sensor 121 detects when a load of clothing is contained in the drying machine 102.[col 3 lines 25-35]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to provide a load sensor as taught in Grandt to detect when a load of clothing is contained in the drying machine.
Choe operation S870 teaches the dryer may check the input laundry and perform a drying operation corresponding thereto thereby reading on determining, via the one or more dryer appliance sensors, the dryer load parameter.[0168]
Choe teaches when the laundry amount is more than a certain amount, the dryer may perform sensing drying, and in this case, the estimated drying time may not be displayed or may be displayed as a preset value to be provided to the user, along with information that sensing drying is performed thereby reading on comparing a difference between the washer load parameter to the dryer load parameter to a difference threshold.[0161; 0168]
Although Choe teaches performing a sensing drying operation when the laundry amount is more than a certain amount thereby reading on generating a fault signal, Choe is silent to incrementing a count when the difference between the washer load parameter to the dryer load parameter exceeds the difference threshold; and generating a fault signal if the count exceeds a count threshold. [0161, 0168]
Hein is directed towards a method of controlling washing program involves use of additional laundry weight measurement wherein when the number of times the predetermined actual weight deviates from the measured weight value suggests a sensor malfunction.[page 2]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to increment a count when the difference between the washer load parameter to the dryer load parameter exceeds the difference threshold to determine if a sensor is malfunctioning.
Regarding claim 2, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to reset the count if the difference between the washer load parameter to the dryer load parameter is below the threshold as Choe teaches the reference laundry amount is less than or equal to the first reference laundry amount, drying for a fixed time with temperature correction applied may be performed based on the first reference time.[0177]
Regarding claim 3, Choe teaches in operation S825 the washing machine may measure the amount of laundry thereby reading on the washer load parameter comprises one or more of a washer load type, a first dry load size, a first wet load size, or combinations thereof.[0159]
Choe teaches the dryer may additionally perform an operation of checking the laundry amount to compare the difference between the detected laundry amount information and the received laundry amount information thereby reading on the dryer load parameter comprises one or more of a dryer load type, a second wet load size, a second dry load size, or combinations thereof.[0168]
Regarding claim 4, Choe teaches the dryer may additionally perform an operation of checking the laundry amount to compare the difference between the detected laundry amount information and the received laundry amount information. Then, a drying operation may be performed based on the compared result. When a laundry amount exceeding the laundry amount corresponding to the second mode is detected, the drying operation may be performed while sensing the degree of drying instead of drying for a fixed time thereby reading on wherein the fault signal (laundry amount exceeding the laundry amount corresponding to the second mode) is indicative of differing load size detection at the washer appliance and the dryer appliance.[0168]
Regarding claim 10, Choe figures 1-10 teach a computer-implemented method for determining an operational state at a laundry appliance.
Choe teaches in operation S825 the washing machine may measure the amount of laundry thereby reading on determining a washer load parameter, the washer load parameter comprising one or more of a washer load type, a first dry load size, a first wet load size, or combinations thereof.[0159]
Choe teaches in operation S830, the washing machine may transmit the laundry amount information to the dryer thereby reading on transmitting, from the washer appliance to a dryer appliance, the washer load parameter.[0160]
Choe teaches when the laundry amount is more than a certain amount, the dryer may perform sensing drying, and in this case, the estimated drying time may not be displayed or may be displayed as a preset value to be provided to the user, along with information that sensing drying is performed thereby reading on determining a dryer load parameter, the dryer load parameter comprising one or more of a dryer load type, a second wet load size, a second dry load size, or combinations thereof, comparing a difference between the washer load parameter to the dryer load parameter to a difference threshold (a laundry amount is more than a certain amount). [0161, 0168]
Choe is silent to one or more sensors at a washing machine determining a washer load type, a first dry load size, a first wet load size, or combinations thereof.
Zeru is directed towards an automatic laundry machine wherein figure 2 teaches a plurality of weight sensors 100 calculate the total weight of items placed in the washing drum 90.[col 4 lines 30-35]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to provide weight sensors as taught in Zeru to calculate the total weight of items placed in the washing drum 90.
Choe is silent to via one or more sensors at the dryer appliance determining a dryer load parameter, the dryer load parameter comprising one or more of a dryer load type, a second wet load size, a second dry load size, or combinations thereof.
Grandt is directed towards a clothes washing and drying machine wherein figure 5 teaches the drying machine 102 further comprises a load sensor 121. The load sensor 121 is a force sensor. The load sensor 121 mounts in the drying machine 102 such that the load sensor 121 detects when a load of clothing is contained in the drying machine 102.[col 3 lines 25-35]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to provide a load sensor as taught in Grandt to detect when a load of clothing is contained in the drying machine.
Although Choe teaches performing a sensing drying operation when the laundry amount is more than a certain amount thereby reading on generating a fault signal, Choe is silent to incrementing a count when the difference between the washer load parameter to the dryer load parameter exceeds the difference threshold; and generating a fault signal if the count exceeds a count threshold. [0161, 0168]
Hein is directed towards a method of controlling washing program involves use of additional laundry weight measurement wherein when the number of times the predetermined actual weight deviates from the measured weight value suggests a sensor malfunction.[page 2]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to increment a count when the difference between the washer load parameter to the dryer load parameter exceeds the difference threshold to determine if a sensor is malfunctioning.
Regarding claim 11, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to reset the count if the difference between the washer load parameter to the dryer load parameter is below the threshold as Choe teaches the reference laundry amount is less than or equal to the first reference laundry amount, drying for a fixed time with temperature correction applied may be performed based on the first reference time.[0177]
Regarding claim 12, Choe teaches when the laundry amount is more than a certain amount, the dryer may perform sensing drying, and in this case, the estimated drying time may not be displayed or may be displayed as a preset value to be provided to the user, along with information that sensing drying is performed thereby suggesting the fault signal is indicative of differing load size detection at the washer appliance and the dryer appliance. [0161, 0168]
Regarding claim 13, Choe teaches when the laundry amount is more than a certain amount, the dryer may perform sensing drying, and in this case, the estimated drying time may not be displayed or may be displayed as a preset value to be provided to the user, along with information that sensing drying is performed thereby suggesting comparing the difference between the washer load parameter to the dryer load parameter to the difference threshold comprises comparing the first dry load size to the second dry load size. [0161, 0168]
Regarding claim 14, Choe teaches when the laundry amount is more than a certain amount, the dryer may perform sensing drying, and in this case, the estimated drying time may not be displayed or may be displayed as a preset value to be provided to the user, along with information that sensing drying is performed thereby suggesting wherein comparing the difference between the washer load parameter to the dryer load parameter to the difference threshold comprises comparing the first wet load size to the second wet load size.
Regarding claim 15, Choe teaches dryer interface P1 is provided to include a dryer display 921 and the washing machine interface P2 may include a washing machine display 961.[0071] It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to transmit, from the dryer appliance to the washer appliance via a second communications device of the dryer appliance to a first communications device of the washer appliance, the dryer load parameter, to determine a sensor malfunction.[Hein page 2]
Zeru teaches the operating status of the combination washer/dryer with automated interface 10 may be monitored remotely on a personal electronic device (such as a smart phone) 80 via use of a radio frequency (RF) link 85 including, but not limited to: Wi-Fi, cellular data connection, Bluetooth®, or the like thereby reading on wherein the first and second communications devices each comprise a short-range communications device.[col 4 lines 20-27]
Regarding claim 16, Choe operations S825 and S830 teach the washing machine measures the laundry amount and transmits the laundry amount information to the dryer. Choe teaches in operation S870 the dryer may additionally perform an operation of checking the laundry amount to compare the difference between the detected laundry amount information and the received laundry amount information. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to measure a the laundry amount during the dehydration operation as it’s the final step prior to starting a drying operation.[0165] Therefore, the combination of Choe, Zeru, Grandt, and Hein suggests obtaining, via the washer appliance, a third wet load size after obtaining, via the dryer appliance, the second wet load size; determining a difference between the third wet load size and the second wet load size; and comparing the difference between the third wet load size and the second wet load size to a wet load second difference threshold.
Regarding claim 17, Choe operations S825 and S830 teach the washing machine measures the laundry amount and transmits the laundry amount information to the dryer. Choe teaches in operation S870 the dryer may additionally perform an operation of checking the laundry amount to compare the difference between the detected laundry amount information and the received laundry amount information. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to measure a the laundry amount during the dehydration operation as it’s the final step prior to starting a drying operation.[0165] Therefore, the combination of Choe, Zeru, Grandt, and Hein suggests obtaining, via the washer appliance, a third dry load size after obtaining, via the dryer appliance, the second dry load size; determining a difference between the third dry load size and the second dry load size; and comparing the difference between the third dry load size and the second dry load size to a dry load difference threshold.
Regarding claim 18, Zeru teaches the operating status of the combination washer/dryer with automated interface 10 may be monitored remotely on a personal electronic device (such as a smart phone) 80 via use of a radio frequency (RF) link 85 including, but not limited to: Wi-Fi, cellular data connection, Bluetooth®, or the like thereby reading transmitting, to a network-connected computing device, the fault signal if the count exceeds the count threshold.[col 4 lines 20-27]
Regarding claim 19, Hein teaches comparing predetermined weight values to measured weight values to be useful in determining if a sensor is malfunctioning. Therefore, the combination of Choe, Zeru, Grandt, and Hein suggests obtaining, at the network-connected computing device, a plurality of fault signals from a plurality of interconnected pair of washer and dryer appliances; comparing the plurality of fault signals to the count threshold; comparing diagnostic data corresponding to respective interconnected pair of washer and dryer appliances to the plurality of fault signals to determine a correlation between diagnostic data and the fault signal.
Regarding claim 20, Choe teaches when a laundry amount exceeding the laundry amount corresponding to the second mode is detected, the drying operation may be performed while sensing the degree of drying instead of drying for a fixed time thereby suggesting transmitting, from the network-connected computing device to the washer appliance or the dryer appliance, a control parameter adjustment signal corresponding to a change in control parameter at the washer appliance, the dryer appliance.[0168]
Regarding claim 21, the combination of Choe, Zeru, Grandt, and Hein teaches a system for appliance communication, the system comprising:
a washer appliance (Choe figure 1 L) comprising one or more washer appliance sensors (Zeru figure 2 100 weight sensor) configured to determine a washer load parameter, the washer appliance comprising a first controller (Choe 94 first washing machine controller) comprising a first communications device (washing machine interface P2 may include a washing machine display 961);
a dryer appliance (Choe figure 1 100) comprising one or more dryer appliance sensors (Grandt figure 5 121 load sensor) configured to determine a dryer load parameter, the dryer appliance comprising a second controller (Choe 91 first dryer controller) comprising a second communications device (Choe dryer interface P1 is provided to include a dryer display 921) configured to communicatively couple to the first communications device to form an interconnected pair of washer and dryer appliances;
wherein one or both of the first and second controllers is configured to execute instructions that cause the washer appliance and the dryer appliance to perform operations, the operations comprising steps of the computer-implemented method of claim 10.
Regarding claim 22, Zeru teaches the operating status of the combination washer/dryer with automated interface 10 may be monitored remotely on a personal electronic device (such as a smart phone) 80 via use of a radio frequency (RF) link 85 including, but not limited to: Wi-Fi, cellular data connection, Bluetooth®, or the like thereby reading on the first and second communications devices each comprise a short-range communications device.[col 4 lines 20-27]
Regarding claim 23, Zeru teaches the operating status of the combination washer/dryer with automated interface 10 may be monitored remotely on a personal electronic device (such as a smart phone) 80 via use of a radio frequency (RF) link 85 including, but not limited to: Wi-Fi, cellular data connection, Bluetooth®, or the like thereby reading wherein one or both of the first and second communications devices comprise an internet communications device, the operations comprising: transmitting, via the internet communications device to a network-connected computing device, the fault signal if the count exceeds the count threshold.[col 4 lines 20-27]
Regarding claim 24, Hein teaches comparing predetermined weight values to measured weight values to be useful in determining if a sensor is malfunctioning. Therefore, the combination of Choe, Zeru, Grandt, and Hein suggests obtaining, at the network-connected computing device, a plurality of fault signals from a plurality of interconnected pairs of washer and dryer appliances ;comparing the plurality of fault signals to the count threshold; comparing diagnostic data corresponding to respective interconnected pair of washer and dryer appliances to the plurality of fault signals to determine a correlation between diagnostic data and the fault signal.
Regarding claim 25, Hein teaches comparing predetermined weight values to measured weight values to be useful in determining if a sensor is malfunctioning thereby suggesting transmitting, from the dryer appliance to the washer appliance, the dryer load parameter to be an obvious modification.
Choe operations S825 and S830 teach the washing machine measures the laundry amount and transmits the laundry amount information to the dryer. Choe teaches in operation S870 the dryer may additionally perform an operation of checking the laundry amount to compare the difference between the detected laundry amount information and the received laundry amount information. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to measure a the laundry amount during the dehydration operation as it’s the final step prior to starting a drying operation.[0165] Therefore, the combination of Choe, Zeru, Grandt, and Hein suggests performing a test cycle, the test cycle comprising: obtaining, via the washer appliance, a second washer load parameter after obtaining, via the dryer appliance, the dryer load parameter; determining a difference between the second washer load parameter and the dryer load parameter; and comparing the difference between the second washer load parameter and the dryer load parameter to a second difference threshold to be an obvious modification.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CRISTI J TATE-SIMS whose telephone number is (571)272-1722. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-6pm.
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 Barr can be reached at 571-272-1414. 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.
CRISTI J. TATE-SIMS
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1711
/CRISTI J TATE-SIMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1711