Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-18 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
In Reference to Claim 1
Claim 1 recites a step “classifying a temperature amplitude according to a reference value to classify the clothes into dry and wet clothes” The specification does not disclose how a reference value is determined. According to specification, “a reference value may be calculated as indicated by a solid line of Fig. 17. In this case, the reference value may be a value that changes over time as shown in Fig. 17 and 18.” According to this recitation, the reference value is a variable vs time. It is not clear how this reference value is determined, is it a standard deviation of the data set? What time step is used in the reference value calculation, is this time step the same as the time step for data collection?
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, as based on a disclosure which is not enabling. The disclosure does not enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention without claiming how a amplitude is calculated, which is/are critical or essential to the practice of the invention but not included in the claim(s). See In re Mayhew, 527 F.2d 1229, 188 USPQ 356 (CCPA 1976). Claim 1 recites measuring a temperature of clothes, then calculating a temperature amplitude according to the measured temperature of the clothes. According to the specification, a low-pass filter is used to remove the high frequency noise before the amplitude is calculated. The Office that once the temperature data is collected, a low pass filter is applied to remove the high temperature noise, than calculate the temperature amplitude. Without a low pass filter, the temperature amplitude would be based on the raw data. This temperature amplitude would not be true.
Claim 1 further recites “a first ratio as a ratio of the dry and wet clothes of the closes” It is not clear how the first ratio is calculated. Is the ratio between a predetermined dry temperature and a measured wet clothes temperature? The explanation is required.
Regarding Claims 2-18
Claims 2-18 are rejected by their virtue dependency to Claim 1.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-18 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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential steps, such omission amounting to a gap between the steps. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted steps are: step of applying a low pass filter and the step of determine the reference value.
In Reference to Claims 2-18
Claims 2-18 are rejected by their virtue dependency to Claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: a method to control the laundry apparatus comprising calculating ration between the dry and wet cloth, and calculating a ratio for normalizing the measured temperature then degerming the drying level of clothes
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. WO2019210842, US 10151061 and US 9580860.
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DEMING . WAN
Examiner
Art Unit 3762
/DEMING WAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762 7/14/26
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