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 31-44 in the reply filed on February 20,2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that figures 1-6 are different views of the same laundry treating apparatus. This is not found persuasive because figure 4 is directed towards a filter and heat exchanger and figure 6 towards a control panel. Furthermore, the Examiner maintains claims 31-60 lack unity of invention in view of Lee (CN 1989287A machine translation cited in IDS)
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 45-60 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claim Objections
Claims 36-39 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.
Regarding claim 36, Lee taken alone or in view of Chae fails to teach or suggest execution of the steam course or the steam option is completed without change when the insufficiency information is displayed on the display portion.
Lee teaches when there is a water shortage for steam generation overheating and fire can occur.[53]
Claims 37-39 are dependent upon claim 36.
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.
Claim(s) 31, 34-35, 40, and 44 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Lee (WO 2006/129916 A1).
Regarding claim 31, Lee figures 3-5 teach a laundry treating apparatus comprising:
a cabinet (100 machine body); [73]
a drum (300) rotatably provided inside the cabinet and configured to accommodate laundry therein; [73]
a driver (71 driving motor) connected to drum and configured to provide power to rotate the drum; [11]
a steam part (400 steam supply unit) provided inside the cabinet and configured to generate steam and supply the steam to an inside of the drum; [73]
a water supply (500 water inlet pipe) connected to the steam part and configured to supply water to the steam part;[73]
a manipulation portion (control panel shown in figure 5) configured to receive a command for selecting a course or option for performing one or more of rotation of the drum or a supply of steam to the inside of the drum; [61]
a controller (control unit not shown) configured to generate insufficiency information that steam is incapable of being generated by detecting a state in which a supply of water to the steam part is blocked or a supply of water in the steam part is insufficient; [128-129][133-154] and
a display portion (440 display section) coupled to the cabinet and configured to display the insufficiency information.[150]
Lee teaches in the case that the checked water level for steam generation is lower than the predetermined water level, the control unit requests the user to supply water
for steam generation such that the water for steam generation is manually supplied into
the water storage case 410 of the steam supply unit 400 (S120). At this time, requesting the user to supply water for steam generation is preferably accomplished by providing information, through the display screen on the control panel, of the fact that the water for steam generation is insufficient and displaying a message requesting to supply water for steam generation.
if the inspection of the water for producing the steam level is lower than a predetermined level, the control unit requires the user to supply water for generating steam, so manually the water for producing the steam supply steam supply unit of storage housing 400 in 410(S120) thereby reading on wherein the display portion is configured to display the insufficiency information at any one of a booting time point at which power is supplied to the display portion, a selection time point of the course or option, an execution time point at which the course or option is executed, and a completion time point at which the course or option is completed, when the insufficiency information is generated.[134-135]
Regarding claim 34, Lee teaches in the case that the checked water level for steam generation is lower than the predetermined water level, the control unit requests the user to supply water for steam generation such that the water for steam generation is manually supplied into the water storage case 410 of the steam supply unit 400 (S120) thereby reading on the course or option further includes a steam course or a steam option for driving the steam part, and wherein the display portion is further configured to, when the steam course is selected through the manipulation portion, display the insufficiency information at the selection time point.[134]
Regarding claim 35, Lee teaches when the user adds water to the water inlet pipe 500, the control unit continuously checks the water level of the water for steam generation supplied into the water storage case 410 based on the information of the electrical connection checked by the water level detection part 430, and, when the water level of the water for steam generation reaches the predetermined water level, the control unit informs the user that the water supply must be interrupted. At this time, informing the user that the water supply must be interrupted is identical to requesting to further supply water. Specifically, informing the user that the water supply must be interrupted is accomplished by providing information, through the display screen on the control panel, of the fact that the water level of the water for steam generation has reached the maximum water level and displaying a message requesting to interrupt the supply of water for steam generation thereby suggesting an executing portion configured to receive an execution command for executing the selected course or option, wherein the display portion is further configured to, based on the execution command being is input, discontinue display of the insufficiency information and display an execution state of the steam course or the steam option.[137-140]
Regarding claim 40, Lee teaches in the case that the checked water level for steam generation is lower than the predetermined water level, the control unit requests the user to supply water for steam generation such that the water for steam generation is manually supplied into the water storage case 410 of the steam supply unit 400 (S120). At this time, requesting the user to supply water for steam generation is preferably accomplished by providing information, through the display screen on the control panel, of the fact that the water for steam generation is insufficient and displaying a message requesting to supply water for steam generation. If the inspection of the water for producing the steam level is lower than a predetermined level, the control unit requires the user to supply water for generating steam, so manually the water for producing the steam supply steam supply unit of storage housing 400 in 410(S120) thereby reading on the course or option further includes a steam course or a steam option for driving the steam part, and wherein the display portion is further configured to, based on the controller generating the insufficiency information during a process in which the steam course or the steam option is executed, display the insufficiency information at the execution time point.[134-135]
Regarding claim 44, Lee teaches After the water level of water for steam generation has reached the maximum water level through the above-described process (the process of further supplying water) with the result that the water supply is interrupted, and the water inlet pipe 500 is closed by the cover part 140 (or in the case that initial water for steam generation has been supplied to the maximum water level), the control unit controls the heater 420 to generate steam (S140) thereby suggesting the display portion is further configured to, based on the steam part being capable of generating steam or water being supplied to the water supply, discontinue display of the insufficiency information.[134-141]
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) 32 and 42-43 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (WO 2006/129916 A1), as applied to claim 31, and in further view of Chae (US 2020/0080251 cited in IDS).
Regarding claim 32, Lee teaches the steam generation requesting the user to supply water for steam generation is preferably accomplished by providing information, through the display screen on the control panel, of the fact that the water for steam generation is insufficient and displaying a message requesting to supply water for steam generation thereby reading on the display portion is further configured to, based on the insufficiency information being present in the storage at the booting time point, display the insufficiency information at the booting time point.[135]
Lee is silent to a storage configured to store the insufficiency information.
Chae is directed towards a laundry treating apparatus having a memory 180 storing a variety of data for the operation of the overall clothing management apparatus.[0061]
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 memory to store a plurality of application programs driven in the clothing management apparatus 100, data and instructions for operating the clothing management apparatus 100.[0061]
Regarding claim 42, Lee teaches the steam generation requesting the user to supply water for steam generation is preferably accomplished by providing information, through the display screen on the control panel, of the fact that the water for steam generation is insufficient and displaying a message requesting to supply water for steam generation.[134]
However, Lee is silent to a storage.
Chae is directed towards a laundry treating apparatus having a memory 180 storing a variety of data for the operation of the overall clothing management apparatus.[0061]
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 memory to store a plurality of application programs driven in the clothing management apparatus 100, data and instructions for operating the clothing management apparatus 100.[0061]
Therefore, Lee in view of Chae suggests a storage configured to store the insufficiency information, wherein, based on the insufficiency information being maintained up to the completion time point, the controller stores the insufficiency information in the storage.
Regarding claim 43, Lee modified by Chae is silent to the controller is configured to block power to one or more of the display portion and the driver after storing the insufficiency information in the storage.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention for the controller to block power to one or more of the display portion and the driver after storing the insufficiency information in the storage as Lee teaches when a water shortage for steam generation happens overheating and fire can occur.[53]
Claim(s) 33 and 41 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (WO 2006/129916 A1), as applied to claim 31.
Regarding claim 33, Lee in view of Chae is silent to the display portion is further configured to discontinue display of the insufficiency information when a reference time elapses from the booting time point.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to discontinue display of the insufficiency information when a reference time elapses from the booting time point as Lee teaches when the water level of the water for steam generation reaches the predetermined water level, the control unit informs the user that the water supply must be interrupted.[139]
Regarding claim 41, Lee is silent to the display portion is further configured to display the insufficiency information at the execution time point, and discontinue display of the insufficiency information when a reference time elapses.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention for the display portion is further configured to display the insufficiency information at the execution time point, and discontinue display of the insufficiency information when a reference time elapses as Lee teaches when the water level of the water for steam generation reaches the predetermined water level, the control unit informs the user that the water supply must be interrupted.[139]
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Lee (US 2009/0038084) directed towards a method of controlling a washing machine determining whether the steam generation unit is abnormal during the steam operation.
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.
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CRISTI J. TATE-SIMS
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1711
/CRISTI J TATE-SIMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1711
Prosecution Insights