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 .
1. Claims 1-16 are presented for examination.
Claim Objections
2. Claims 1-2 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, line 21, “apparatus , and “ should be “apparatus, and”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 2, lines 5 and 7, “the receiving” and “the transmitting” is unclear since the claim has first and second receiving and first and second transmitting. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
3. 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.
3.1 Claim(s) 1-12 and 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi et al. (US 20210301451 A1) in view of Ha et al. (US 20140300447 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 15, Choi discloses clothes treating system (Fig. 1, a laundry treating apparatus), comprising:
a first clothes treating apparatus ([0037, Fig. 1, a dryer, first treating apparatus T) including:
a first drum (drying drum 2);
a first controller (dryer controller 92) configured to control an operation of the first drum ([0115]-[0118], the control method determines whether the temperature of the air discharged from the drying drum 2 is higher than a preset first reference temperature); and
a second clothes treating apparatus ([0090], the washing machine L) including:
a second drum (a washing drum motor rotating 64); and
a second controller (washing machine controller 94) configured to control an operation of the second drum ([0107], controller 94 provided as a step of alternately executing clockwise rotation and counterclockwise rotation of the washing drum 64 by the washing drum driving unit 7), and
the first controller (dryer controller 92); the first controller (dryer controller 92) includes:
a first transmitting end (Fig. 4, signal is periodically transmitted through the communication circuit 98); and a first receiving end (the dryer input units 922 and 923 are means for inputting the control command to the dryer).
However, Choi fails to disclose a diagnostic port connectable to a diagnostic terminal , receive a first diagnosis request signal from the diagnostic port through the first receiving end; identify a diagnosis target based on the received first diagnosis request signal; in response to the diagnosis target being identified as the first clothes treating apparatus, perform a first diagnostic operation of the first clothes treating apparatus, and transmit a first diagnosis result signal including information about a result of the first diagnostic operation to the diagnostic port through the first transmitting end; and in response to the diagnosis target being identified as the second clothes treating apparatus, transmit a second diagnosis request signal to the second controller through the first transmitting end.
Ha discloses a diagnostic port connectable to a diagnostic terminal (Fig. 1, the tag 140 connected wireless to the communication device 2); and a diagnostic port connectable to a diagnostic terminal);
receive a first diagnosis request signal from the diagnostic port through the first receiving end (Fig. 3, tag device of the transmitting and receiving device; the tag device 140 of the washing machine 1 is tagged, the mobile device 2 may include a communication device that may perform data communication);
identify a diagnosis target based on the received first diagnosis request signal ( [0090], 9A, a diagnosis mode (S710), the mobile device may receive an input instructing that a diagnosis mode be executed or carried out course setting and temperature viewing);
in response to the diagnosis target being identified as the first and second clothes treating apparatus, perform a first and second diagnostic operation of the first and second clothes treating apparatus, respectively ([0092]-[0094], [0098], Fig. 9B, the display 451 of the mobile device 2 may display an icon 456 corresponding to course setting and temperature), and
transmit a first diagnosis result signal including information about a result of the first diagnostic operation to the diagnostic port through the first transmitting end (Fig. 11-13, [0089], controlling a home appliance diagnosis system executing a diagnosis mode (S710), determining whether a communication device is activated in order to tag (S720), obtaining state data and diagnosis result data through tagging and receiving and transmitting diagnosis result data indicating whether an error has occurred in an operation state (S730) and displaying the received state data or diagnosis result data (S770)).
Ha and Choi are analogous art. They relate to controlling the home appliance.
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify a home appliance and a method of controlling, taught by Ha, incorporated with the control method for a laundry treating apparatus, taught by Choi, in order to obtain diagnosis result data and a user may quickly determine a diagnosis result, without a separate calculation, with a mobile device.
Regarding claim 2, Ha discloses the diagnostic port (tag device 140) includes a receiving end and a transmitting end (Fig. 3, tag device 140 include receiving device and transmitting device 144); the second controller includes a second transmitting end and a second receiving end the ([0027], controller 110 has transmitting and receiving port); the first transmitting end is connected to the receiving end of the diagnostic port and the second receiving end; and the first receiving end is connected to the transmitting end of the diagnostic port and the second transmitting end ([0027], [0028], The controller 110 may transmit and receive a control signal to and from various elements of the home appliance. The controller 110 may transmit a signal to other elements of the home appliance to control the other elements. In order to process data, the controller 110 may control the display device 120 to display data stored in a memory 150 or may perform a program stored in the memory 150. The tag device 140 and the communication device 2 connected wirelessly with NFC; and the controller has a receiver and transmitter (Fig. 3) and the communication device has receiver and transmitter (Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 3, Choi discloses a signal output through the first transmitting end is transmitted to the diagnostic port (tag device 140) and the second receiving end (Fig. 13, transmitted to the tag device 140 and mobile device 2).
Regarding claim 4, Choi discloses a connection circuit board (Fig. 4) configured to connect the first controller and the second controller by wire (Fig. 1-Fig. 4) wherein the first transmitting end is connected to the second receiving end through the connection circuit board, and the first receiving end is connected to the second transmitting end through the connection circuit board (Fig. 4, [0077], The second controller 92 of the dryer and the second controller 96 of the washing machine provided to be communicated with each other through a communication circuit 98).
Regarding claim 5, Choi discloses the connection circuit board (Fig. 4) is configured to convert a signal received from the first and second transmitting end to be decodable by the second and first controller (Fig. 4, Fig. 5, [00,73],[0077], [0120], [0140], controller 92 and 96 and each apparatus are provided to transmit and receive a control command (or control signal) to and from each other, and communicated with each other through a communication circuit 98. Executing the selected control command or inputting a control command requesting a temporary stop of the control command which is being executed).
Regarding claim 6, Ha discloses each of the first diagnosis result signal and the second diagnosis request signal includes identification information about a transmitter and identification information about a receiver ([0094], the mobile device may receive model information of the washing machine and determine whether a diagnosis mode is capable of being performed based on the received model information. The model information may include at least one of a production company and a model name of the washing machine and information on whether the washing machine is capable of communication).
Regarding claim 7, Ha discloses the second controller is configured to, in response to receiving the second diagnosis request signal from the first controller, perform a second diagnostic operation of the second clothes treating apparatus ([0027], controller 110 that receives state data, including raw data detected by the detection device 130, and processes state data and outputs diagnosis result data indicating whether an error has occurred in a particular operation state), and
transmit a second diagnosis result signal including information about a result of the second diagnostic operation to the first receiving end ([0027], a tag device 140 including a tag storage device 142 that stores state data and diagnosis result data and a transmitting and receiving device 144 that transmits state data and diagnosis result data when an external device is tagged), and
in response to receiving the second diagnosis result signal from the second controller through the first receiving end, the first controller is configured to transmit the second diagnosis result signal to the diagnostic port (Abstract, [0028]-[0030], The controller outputs diagnosis result data representing whether or not an error has occurred in the home appliance. The controller 110 may transmit and receive a control signal to and from various elements of the home appliance. The controller 110 may transmit a signal to other elements of the home appliance to control the other element ).
Regarding claim 8, Ha discloses the first controller is configured to perform communication with the second controller or the diagnostic terminal according to a preset communication sequence, in response to the diagnostic terminal being connected to the diagnostic port (Fig. 13, [0018], [0038], [0085], [0100]-0102], a tag device 140, indicating whether an error has occurred during a particular operation state by processing the state data, and a mobile device 2 including a communication device that receives state data and diagnosis result data and a display that displays data received by the communication device through tagging with the tag device 140. The controller 110 may determine whether the tag device 140 is presently tagged with another external device and is communicating with another external device. If the tag device 140 is not presently communicating with another external device, the controller 110 may transmit state data and diagnosis result data to the tag device).
Regarding claim 9, Chang discloses the preset communication sequence includes: a first sequence in which the first transmitting end transmits a signal to the diagnostic terminal, a second sequence in which the first receiving end receives a signal from the diagnostic terminal, a third sequence in which the first transmitting end transmits a signal to the second controller, and a fourth sequence in which the first receiving end receives a signal from the second controller ([0110], [0114], [0118], Fig. 2B, The communication interface 160 may transmit and receive various types of data by performing the communication with an external device (e.g., server or smartphone) according to various types of communication).
Regarding claims 10 and 11, Ha discloses the connection circuit board is configured to ignore a signal output through the first transmitting end, in response to receiver identification information included in the signal output through the first transmitting end corresponding to the diagnostic terminal connected to the diagnostic port ([0060], [0061],[0066], Fig. 7, The controller 410 may determine whether a diagnosis mode that diagnoses the washing machine may be performed based on model information which the communication device 450 receives. For example, the controller 410 may determine a washing machine production company and a washing machine model in supporting a diagnosis mode. The controller 410 may determine whether the washing machine may perform NFC based on model information and whether a diagnosis mode may be performed).
Regarding claim 12, Ha discloses the first controller is configured to identify the diagnosis target as the first and second clothes treating apparatus, in response to receiver identification information, included in the first diagnosis request signal corresponding to the first and second clothes treating apparatus ([0039], [0060], [0061], [0094], The controller 410 may determine whether a diagnosis mode that diagnoses the washing machine may be performed based on model information which the communication device 450 receives. The tag device 140 may store model information of the washing machine 1. The model information may include a production company and a model name of the washing machine and information on whether the washing machine is capable of communication).
Regarding claim 14, Choi discloses the first clothes treating apparatus (Fig. 1, Fig. 4, a laundry treating apparatus 100) is a washing machine (washing machine L) and the second clothes treating apparatus is a dryer (dryer T).
Regarding claim 16, Ha discloses in response to receiving the second diagnosis request signal from the first controller, performing a second diagnostic operation (Fig. 5-13, [0101] The controller 110 of the washing machine 1 may determine whether an event that would trigger an update to state data and diagnosis result data has occurred. A detection device 130 of the washing machine 1 newly detects an operation state, when an error occurs, when power is turned off, when a plug is unplugged, and other such events), and transmitting, by the second controller, a second diagnosis result signal including information about a result of the second diagnostic operation to the first receiving end ([0089], [0103], obtaining state data and diagnosis result data through tagging and receiving diagnosis result data indicating whether an error has occurred in an operation state), and in response to receiving the second diagnosis result signal from the second controller through the first receiving end, transmitting, by the first controller, the second diagnosis result signal to the diagnostic port ([0089]-[0098],[106], displaying the received state data or diagnosis result data).
3.2 Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi et al. (US 20210301451 A1) in view of Ha et al. (US 20140300447 A1) further in view of Park et al. (US 20080006064 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Choi in view of Ha disclose the limitations of claim 1. In addition, Choi discloses the first clothes treating apparatus includes a housing to accommodate the first drum (drum 64), and a door formed on the housing to open or close (Fig. 1, [0055], door 55 provided to be opened or close) an opening corresponding to the first drum (Fig. 1, [0040], [0061], drum 64). However, Choi and Ha fail to disclose the diagnostic port is below the door.
Park discloses in the Abstract, [0058] the connection port 30 are fitted to the rear surface and side surface, respectively. When the connection port 30 is fitted to a rear surface, the washing machine looks neat and tidy as the connection port 30 is not in view of the user, but Park does not specifically disclose the diagnostic port is below the door.
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to one of ordinary skill in the art to select the position/location for installing the data input port on the device since it looks neat and tidy as the connection port is not in view of the user and for better prevention of water infiltration than an upper surface, and better look than a case connection port 30 is fitted to the front.
Citation Pertinent prior art
4. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Soo et al. (KR20070075547A) discloses a washing and drying machine having an external input unit is provided to allow a controller input section or a display section to manipulate another machine. A washing and drying machine includes a body and a controller. The controller includes an input section, a main control section performing a determination and a control according as a signal is transferred from the input section.
Lyu et al. (US20060225301A1 ) discloses provided is an apparatus and method for controlling a washing/drying system including a washing machine and a dryer used in one pair. Since the washing machine can communicate with the dryer according to a wireless communication regulation, the dryer can operate more conveniently.
Chang (US 20210017686 A1) discloses the diagnosis information with information include a device ID, model of the washing machine and error code, and the processor may check abnormality of the heater; diagnosis information regarding the washing machine while the cleaning course is performed, and provide the obtained diagnosis information to a user by an external device (e.g., server or smartphone) via the communication interface.
A reference to specific paragraphs, columns, pages, or figures in a cited prior art reference is not limited to preferred embodiments or any specific examples. It is well settled that a prior art reference, in its entirety, must be considered for allthat it expressly teaches and fairly suggests to one having ordinary skill in the art. Stated differently, a prior art disclosure reading on a limitation of Applicant's claim cannot be ignored on the ground that other embodiments disclosed wereinstead cited. Therefore, the Examiner's citation to a specific portion of a single prior art reference is not intended to exclusively dictate, but rather, to demonstrate an exemplary disclosure commensurate with the specific limitations being addressed. In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33,216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006, 1 009, 158 USPQ 275, 277 (CCPA 1968)). In re: Upsher-Smith Labs. v. Pamlab, LLC, 412 F.3d 1319, 1323, 75 USPQ2d 1213, 1215 (Fed. Cir. 2005); In re Fritch, 972 F.2d 1260, 1264, 23 USPQ2d 1780, 1782 (Fed. Cir. 1992); Merck& Co. v. Biocraft Labs., Inc., 874 F.2d804, 807, 10 USPQ2d 1843, 1846 (Fed. Cir. 1989); In re Fracalossi, 681 F.2d 792,794 n.1, 215 USPQ 569, 570 n.1 (CCPA 1982); In re Lamberti, 545 F.2d 747, 750, 192 USPQ 278, 280 (CCPA 1976); In re Bozek, 416 F.2d 1385, 1390, 163USPQ 545, 549 (CCPA 1969).
Conclusion
5. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed Kidest Worku whose telephone number is 571-272-3737. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Ali Mohammad can be reached on 571-272-4105. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KIDEST WORKU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2119
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