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 .
This is the First Office action on the Merits from the examiner in charge of this application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-7, and 9-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by USP 10697692 to Akalan et al (hereinafter Akalan).
Akalan discloses (Claim 1). A household appliance 78, comprising (such as shown in Figs. 1, 3-8): a housing 80; a storage compartment 84 defined by said housing 80; a bottom compartment 16 attached to said housing 80; at least one toe-kick cover part 10’ covering at least a side of said bottom compartment 16; at least one fastening member 110’ having a flexing arm 116 securing said at least one toe-kick cover part 10’ to said bottom compartment 16; at least one fixation portion 122 for engaging with said at least one fastening member 110’, wherein said flexing arm 116 is configured to allow said at least one fastening member 110’ to disengage with said at least one fixation portion 122 only when an external force is applied to said flexing arm 116; and at least one shielding member (defined as the plurality of fins 32c’: such as shown in Fig. 18B) for covering at least a part of said flexing arm 116, said at least one shielding member having at least one access cut-out (defined as the gap formed between two fins 32c’) formed therein and providing an access to said flexing arm 116 from outside; (Claim 2). The household appliance according to claim 1, wherein said at least one access cut-out is configured to be positioned in a substantially middle region of said at least one shielding member; (Claim 3). The household appliance according to claim 1, wherein: said at least one shielding member is one of at least two shielding members (32c’); and said at least one access cut-out is provided between two of said shielding members; (Claim 4). The household appliance according to claim 1, wherein said flexing arm 116 has at least one notch 62 with a form fitting into at least a part of said at least one access cut-out; (Claim 5). The household appliance according to claim 1, wherein: said at least one fixation portion 122 has a grabbing surface (such as shown in Fig. 6); and said flexing arm 116 has a fitting surface (such as shown in Fig. 5B) configured thereon for engaging with said grabbing surface of said at least one fixation portion; (Claim 6). The household appliance according to claim 5, wherein said fitting surface is a surface defining a recess or a surface of a protrusion; (Claim 7). The household appliance according to claim 1, wherein said at least one fixation portion is in a form of a frame (Fig. 6); (Claim 9). The household appliance according to claim 1, wherein said at least one shielding member is configured to be positioned on a body of said at least one toe-kick cover part 10’; (Claim 10). The household appliance according to claim 1, wherein said at least one fastening member 110’ is configured to be disposed on said at least one toe kick-cover part 10’, and wherein said at least one fixation portion is configured to be disposed on a side of said bottom compartment 16 (Figs. 7-8); (Claim 11). The household appliance according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of said at least one toe-kick cover part 10’ is in a form of a component housing part (defined at least in part by 34a’,36c’ and portion that receives water filter 106 therein); (Claim 12). The household appliance according to claim 11, further comprising an openable toe-kick cover part 58b’, wherein said component housing part is covered by said openable toe-kick cover part; (Claim 13). The household appliance according to claim 11, wherein said at least one shielding member is configured to be positioned on a body of said component housing part; (Claim 14). The household appliance according to claim 1, further comprising at least one guiding aid 114 for assisting to align said at least one fastening member with said at least one fixation portion; (Claim 15). The household appliance according to claim 1, wherein the household appliance is a cooling appliance; (Claim 16). The household appliance according to claim 11, wherein said component housing part is a water filter housing part which houses a water filter element 106; (Claim 17). The household appliance according to claim 12, wherein said openable toe-kick cover part 58b’ is a slidably removable, a slidably insertable or a hingeable toe-kick cover part; (Claim 18). The household appliance according to claim 15, wherein the household appliance is a refrigerator.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8 is 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, and all show structures similar to various elements of applicant’s disclosure.
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HVT
September 24, 2025
/HANH V TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637