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 § 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)(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-### is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20100077787 A1 to Masuda et al. (Masuda).
In reference to independent claim 1, Masuda discloses:
A clothes dryer (1), comprising:
a drum (2) configured to accommodate an object to be dried;
a flow passage (18) configured to guide air discharged from an inside of the drum to an outside of the drum, and then to be introduced back into the inside of the drum;
a heat pump system (3, 4) configured to heat the air that is to be introduced back into the inside of the drum, the heat pump system including a compressor (5), a condenser (9), an expansion valve (10), and an evaporator (11) through which a refrigerant circulates (see [0033], [0037]); and
a controller (20) (see [0036])configured to, in response to receiving a command (operation mode setting unit 21) for an anti-freeze mode operation (see Fig. 4), control the clothes dryer to perform a heating operation (see [0066]-[0074]) in which:
the compressor is driven for a first period of time,
after the compressor is driven for the first period of time, the compressor is stopped for a second period of time, and
the driving of the compressor for the first period of time and the stopping of the compressor for the second period of time is repeated a plurality of times.
In reference to dependent claim 2, Masuda further discloses: a temperature acquisition unit (13) configured to obtain an external temperature value; and a control table including a plurality of operation frequencies for the compressor, the plurality of operation frequencies corresponding to a plurality of external temperatures, respectively, in relation to the anti-freeze mode operation (see [0038]), wherein the controller is configured to, in response to receiving the command for the anti- freeze mode operation, obtain a corresponding operation frequency among the plurality of operation frequencies from the control table based on the obtained external temperature value, and the driving of the compressor for the first period of time includes driving the compressor according to the obtained corresponding operation frequency (see [0069]-[0070]).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masuda.
In reference to dependent claim 6, Masuda is silent regarding the first period of time being shorter than the second period of time.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the prior art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to try various periods of time as the first and second periods desired in order to operate the clothes dryer and yield predictable results.
Claim(s) 3 and 10-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masuda in view of EP 2599912 A1 to Pillot et al. (Pillot).
In reference to dependent claim 3, Masuda further discloses making the refrigerant reach a specified temperature by operating the compressor at a specified operation frequency (see e.g. [0017], [0050] and [0081]).
However, Masuda is silent regarding: a refrigerant temperature sensor configured to obtain a temperature of refrigerant discharged from the compressor.
Pillot teaches a similar clothes dryer further including a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of a refrigerant (see [0061]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the prior art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included a refrigerant temperature sensor in the clothes dryer of Masuda in order to determine the temperature of the refrigerant as taught by Pillot, thus allowing for control and adjustment thereof based on the desired operation frequency.
In reference to dependent claims 10-14, Masuda is silent regarding the generated message, communication unit, display and input unit.
Pillot further teaches a command portion to allow the user to switch between modes (see [0062]) and means to warn the user to switch between the modes when there is potential risk of frost (see [0063]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the prior art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included means to and message and display warnings to the user in order to allow the user to determine the most appropriate operation of the dryer.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masuda in view of EP 2182104 B1 to Kashima et al. (Kashima).
In reference to dependent claim 4, Masuda further discloses a temperature acquisition unit (13) configured to obtain an external temperature value.
However, Masuda is silent regarding a heater installed on the flow passage; a control table including a plurality of turn-on/off conditions for the heater, the plurality of turn-on/off conditions corresponding to a plurality of external temperatures respectively, in relation to the anti-freeze mode operation, wherein the controller is configured to: in response to receiving the command for the anti-freeze mode operation, obtain a corresponding turn-on/off condition among the plurality of turn-on/off conditions for the heater from the control table based on the obtained external temperature value, and repeatedly turn on/off the heater according to the obtained corresponding turn-on/off condition while the compressor is driven for the first period of time.
Kashima teaches a similar dryer including a heater (60) (see Fig. 13A) in in the flow passage (26). The heater (60) is controlled to turn on or off based on measured temperature (see [0087]-[0088]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the prior art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the clothes dryer of Masuda to include the heater in the flow passage as taught by Kashima in order to heat the air in the flow passage, thus compensating for a reduction in heating performance of the heat pump as taught by Kashima (see [0092]).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masuda in view of Kashima further in view of Pillot.
In reference to dependent claim 5, Masuda and Kashima are silent regarding a refrigerant temperature sensor configured to obtain a temperature of refrigerant discharged from the compressor, wherein the corresponding turn-on/off condition for the heater is determined based on the obtained temperature of the refrigerant.
Pillot teaches a similar clothes dryer further including a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of a refrigerant (see [0061]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the prior art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included a refrigerant temperature sensor in the clothes dryer of Masuda in order to determine the temperature of the refrigerant as taught by Pillot, thereby allowing for the control of the heater based on the refrigerant temperature.
Claim(s) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masuda in view of EP 2733257 B1 to Giovannetti et al. (Giovannetti).
In reference to dependent claims 7-8, Masuda is silent regarding the controller being configured to, in response to receiving the command for the anti-freeze mode operation, control the clothes dryer to perform a preparatory operation of waiting for a predetermined time with the compressor turned off before starting the heating operation; and a blower fan configured to cause air to move in the flow passage, wherein the controller is configured to control the blower fan to be driven while the preparatory operation is performed.
Giovannetti teaches a similar clothes dryer, including an air blower that is started before the compressor and heater (see [0032]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the prior art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the clothes dryer of Masuda to include an air blower and to operate it while the heater and compressor are still off in order to better detect ambient temperature as taught by Giovannetti.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masuda in view of Kashima further in view of US 20080235977 A1 to Kuwabara et al. (Kuwabara).
In reference to dependent claim 9, Masuda is silent regarding a heater installed on the flow passage; and a blower fan configured to cause air to move in the flow passage, wherein the controller is configured to control the blower fan to be driven with the compressor and the heater turned off for a predetermined time after the heating operation is performed the plurality of times.
Kashima teaches a similar dryer including a heater (60) (see Fig. 13A) in in the flow passage (26).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the prior art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the clothes dryer of Masuda as taught by Kashima as discussed above.
Kuwabara teaches a washing/drying machine with a similar clothes drying capability (see Fig. 3). Kuwabara further teaches a cooling-down process including turning off the heat pump cycle (see [0023] and [0034]), i.e. compressor.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the prior art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the clothes dryer of Masuda as taught by Kuwabara in order to reduce the high temperature of the laundry after drying (see [0034]) as taught by Kuwabara.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masuda in view of Kashima and Kuwabara.
In reference to independent claim 15, Masuda discloses:
A method of performing an anti-freeze mode operation (see Fig. 4) in a clothes dryer, the clothes dryer including a temperature sensor (13), a drum (2) configured to accommodate an object to be dried, a flow passage (18) configured to guide air discharged from an inside of the drum to an outside of the drum, and then to be introduced back into the inside of the drum, a heat pump system (3, 4) configured to heat the air that is to be introduced back into the inside of the drum, the heat pump system including a compressor (5), a condenser (9), an expansion valve (10), and an evaporator (11) through which a refrigerant circulates, the method comprising:
performing a heating operation (see [0066]-[0074]) including:
driving the motor, the compressor, and the heater for a first period time based on an operation specification determined according to a temperature measured by the temperature sensor,
after driving the compressor for the first period of time, stopping the compressor for a second period of time, and
repeating, for a plurality of times, the driving of the compressor for the first period of time and the stopping of the compressor for the second period of time.
Masuda is silent regarding a blower fan configured to cause air to move in the flow passage, a motor configured to rotate the blower fan, and a heater configured to heat the air that is to be introduced back into the inside of the drum; and after performing the heating operation, performing a cooling operation in which the motor is driven to rotate the fan for a third period of time with the compressor and the heater stopped.
These deficiencies are cured by Kashima and Kuwabara as already discussed above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ngoc T Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)272-7176. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/NGOC T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799
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