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 .
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (CN 102086579), in view of Jeon et al. (US 6,286,344), and further in view of Dickerson et al. (US 2008/0041114).
Regarding claim 1, Huang discloses a reciprocating laundry machine, comprising: a housing (Figure 1: 9); a drum assembly unit including an outer drum in the housing (1), an inner drum in the housing (2), a first motor disposed in the housing (19), a sheave disposed at a second end of the inner drum (18); and a reciprocating unit disposed in the housing and including a second motor disposed externally of a first end of the outer drum (Figures 1-2: 4, 20-24; note element 23), a guide rod passing through the outer drum and a central portion of the inner drum (4), and a reciprocating agitator board (3) wherein the guide rod has a first end and a second end, the second motor engages the first end of the guide rod (4, 23), and the reciprocating agitator board is pivotably secured to the second end of the guide rod so that the second motor is configured to activate the guide rod which in turn moves the reciprocating agitator board forward and backward alternately in the central portion of the inner drum (3, 23; machine translation, paragraph 42).
Huang does not expressly disclose the outer drum and inner drum are inclined in the housing.
Jeon discloses a washing machine with a tilted tub assembly which is convenient to users while putting or taking laundry into or out of the tub assembly (abstract; Figure 2).
Because it is known in the art to have a tilted tub assembly, and the results of the modification would be predictable, namely, providing ease of use, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the outer drum and inner drum are inclined in the housing.
Huang does not expressly disclose a belt rotatably interconnecting the sheave and the first motor wherein the first motor is configured to rotate the belt which in turn rotates the sheave which further in turn rotates the inner drum in the outer drum.
Dickerson discloses a washing machine having a motor (170) coupled to a basket (70) through a motor pulley (172), a belt (174), and a drive pulley (176).
Because it is known in the art to have a belt and pulley system, and the results of the modification would be predictable, namely, providing a known structure for a known purpose, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a belt rotatably interconnecting the sheave and the first motor wherein the first motor is configured to rotate the belt which in turn rotates the sheave which further in turn rotates the inner drum in the outer drum.
Claim 2 is considered to be met by the combination of Huang, in view of Jeon, and further in view of Dickerson, as applied above and which results in: wherein the outer drum includes a first opening through a surface (Huang, Figure 1: top of 1), and the inner drum includes a second opening through a surface (Huang, Figure 1: top of 2), the second opening aligned with the first opening (Huang, Figure 1: see tops of 1 and 2).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (CN 102086579), in view of Jeon et al. (US 6,286,344), and further in view of Dickerson et al. (US 2008/0041114), and further in view of Lynch (US 1,698,162).
Regarding claim 5, Huang, in view of Jeon, and further in view of Dickerson, is relied upon as above, but does not expressly disclose wherein the guide rod includes a swivel head at the second end; further comprising a bearing rotatably interconnecting the swivel head and the guide rod so that the swivel head is configured to rotate 360-degree about the guide rod via the bearing. Rather, Huang discloses that the striking plate (3) is fixed on the connecting rod shaft (4) and can rotate around the connecting shaft (4) freely (paragraph 42).
Lynch discloses a swivel connection between a rod (3) and another rod (10) including bearings (20, 22) located within the swivel joint (Figure 1).
Because it is known in the art to have free rotation of the striking plate, and to use a swivel joint with bearings for a rotatable connection, and the results of the modification would be predictable, namely, providing a known structure for a known purpose, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have wherein the guide rod includes a swivel head at the second end; further comprising a bearing rotatably interconnecting the swivel head and the guide rod so that the swivel head is configured to rotate 360-degree about the guide rod via the bearing.
Claim(s) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (CN 102086579), in view of Jeon et al. (US 6,286,344), in view of Dickerson et al. (US 2008/0041114), and further in view of Jung et al. (2019/0203403).
Regarding claim 8, Huang, in view of Jeon, and further in view of Dickerson, is relied upon as above, but does not expressly disclose wherein the inner drum includes a plurality of holes for water to flow in or exit.
Jung discloses a washing machine having a tub (31), a rotatable drum (40) in the tub, and wherein the drum has a plurality of through holes (47) communicating with the tub and through which the water can pass (paragraphs 63, 120).
Because it is known in the art to have a drum with through holes, and the results of the modification would be predictable, namely, providing a means for washing water to pass through the drum for washing/centrifuging, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have wherein the inner drum includes a plurality of holes for water to flow in or exit.
Regarding claim 9, Huang, in view of Jeon, and further in view of Dickerson, is relied upon as above and further discloses a control panel disposed on a top of the housing (Huang: 15; paragraph 48), and so that the second motor is configured to activate to wash clothes (Huang: 23) and the first motor is configured to activate to dry the clothes respectively (Huang: 19). Huang does not expressly disclose a control unit including a controller disposed in the housing and wherein the controller is electrically connected to the control panel, the first motor, and the second motor respectively.
Jung is relied upon as above. Jung further discloses the washing machine having a control panel (14) on the cabinet (11), and when a user inputs a setting on the control panel, a controller or processor (91) controls the operation of the washing machine, wherein the controller controls the overall operations of the washing machine (Figure 3; paragraphs 72, 73, 77).
Because it is known in the art to have a controller control the washing machine, and the results of the modification would be predictable, namely, providing a means for automating control of the washing machine, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a control unit including a controller disposed in the housing and wherein the controller is electrically connected to the control panel, the first motor, and the second motor respectively.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4, and 6-7 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art does not disclose, or render obvious, the reciprocating laundry machine as defined by the combination of claims 1 and 3, or by the combination of claims 1, 5, and 6. There is no apparent teaching, suggestion, or motivation to modify the closest prior art, Huang (CN 102086579), to further include wherein the outer drum includes a first hole through a central portion of a first end, a cavity disposed in the first hole, and a limit member disposed in the cavity; wherein the inner drum includes a second hole through a first end, the second hole aligned with the first hole; and wherein the guide rod passes through both the first hole and the second hole; or wherein the reciprocating agitator board includes a pivot pivotably secured to the swivel head.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID G CORMIER whose telephone number is (571)270-7386. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30 - 6:00.
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DAVID G. CORMIER
Examiner
Art Unit 1711
/DAVID G CORMIER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1711