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 .
Response to Arguments/Amendments
This Office Action is responsive to the amendment filed 12/3/2025. Claims 1-20 are pending. Claims 1, 8, 10, 15, and 17 have been amended.
The rejection of claims 1-4, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, and 20 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wu et al. (CN 114113848) is withdrawn in response to Applicant’s amendments. Accordingly, the rejections of claims 5-7, 9, 11, 14, 16, and 18 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over combinations of Wu, De Rosa (US 2013/0175248), Kim et al. (US 2004/0006831), and Suzuki (US 2002/0121902) are also withdrawn.
In response to Applicant’s amendments, new ground(s) of rejection are applied below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 8 and 15 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.
Claims 8 and 15 recite the limitation "the main grounding path." There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims. For examination purposes, this limitation has been interpreted as “the main ground path.”
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-7, 9-14, and 16-20 are allowed.
Claims 8 and 15 would be allowable if rewritten 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 and to include 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 control circuit for a washing machine appliance as recited in claim 1; the method for determining a grounding state of a subwasher as recited in claim 10; or the washing machine appliance as recited in 17. There is no apparent teaching, suggestion, or motivation to modify the closest prior art, Wu et al. (CN 114113848), to have the circuit and grounding configuration as claimed. Also see Applicant’s Remarks filed 12/3/2025.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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DAVID G. CORMIER
Examiner
Art Unit 1711
/DAVID G CORMIER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1711