CTNF 18/686,749 CTNF 73830 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claims 1-15 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. Claim 1 recites a limitation of “a shaking motion f periodically varying a rotation speed of the drum in two or more areas”. It is unclear what the claimed “two or more areas” means. Since claims 2-15 depend upon an indefinite claim, those claims are construed to be indefinite by dependency. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Noh et al. (US 2020/0190720 A1) . Noh et al. discloses a method for controlling a laundry treating apparatus 1 including a drum 3 configured to accommodate laundry therein, a driver 6 configured to rotate the drum 3 (Fig. 1), a circulation flow channel 71 providing a space where air of the drum is circulated or moisture contained in air is condensed (paragraph [0114]), and a heat exchanger assembly 8 configured to heat air flowing through the circulation flow channel 71, the method comprising: an air supply step of supplying heated air to the drum 3 via the heat exchanger assembly 8 (Fig. 1, paragraph [0116]); and a rotation step of rotating the drum 3 during the air supply (paragraphs [0007], [0008]);; wherein the rotation step includes a shaking motion of periodically varying a rotation speed of the drum in two or more areas (Fig. 4). Wherein the shaking motion includes periodically varying the rotation speed of the drum to at least two of a first speed (Fig. 4, at 60 RPM) for the laundry to rotate while being attached to an inner wall of the drum, a second speed lower than the first speed (Fig. 4, at 30 rpm), and a third speed lower than the second speed (Fig. 4, at 0 rpm). Wherein the shaking motion includes sequentially varying the speed of the drum to the second speed (Fig. 4, at 30 rpm), the first speed (Fig. 4, at 60 rpm), and the third speed (Fig. 4, at 0 rpm) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noh et al. (US 2020/0190720 A1) in view of Cimetta et al. (WO 2008/119475 A1) . The method of Noh et al. as above includes all that is recite din claims 6-7 except for wherein the rotation step includes a tumbling motion of rotating the drum such that the laundry is separated from or falls from an inner wall of the drum at a point lower than a high point of the drum, wherein the shaking motion is performed after the tumbling motion; wherein the rotation step further includes a hanging motion where a high-speed period where the laundry rotates while being attached to the inner wall of the drum and a low-speed period where the laundry rotates while falling from the inner wall of the drum are periodically performed, wherein the hanging motion is performed after the tumbling motion, wherein the shaking motion is performed after the hanging motion. Cimetta et al. discloses a method for controlling a laundry treating apparatus comprising a rotation step of rotating the drum (abstract, Figs. 1-2); wherein the rotation step includes a shaking motion of periodically varying a rotation speed of the drum in two or more areas (Figs. 4-6). Wherein the shaking motion includes periodically varying the rotation speed of the drum to at least two of a first speed for the laundry to rotate while being attached to an inner wall of the drum, a second speed lower than the first speed, and a third speed lower than the second speed (Fig. 5). Wherein the rotation step includes a tumbling motion of rotating the drum such that the laundry is separated from or falls from an inner wall of the drum at a point lower than a high point of the drum (page 9, line 26 to page 10, line 1), wherein the shaking motion is performed after the tumbling motion (since the shaking motion is periodically repeated, once the first tumbling operation takes place, i.e. first abrupt slowdown in the rotational speed, the remaining part of the sub-cycle C1 follows with a shaking motion after said tumbling motion). Wherein the rotation step further includes a hanging motion where a high-speed period where the laundry rotates while being attached to the inner wall of the drum (Fig. 2) and a low-speed period where the laundry rotates while falling from the inner wall of the drum (Fig. 1) are periodically performed (Figs. 4-6), wherein the hanging motion is performed after the tumbling motion (first abrupt slowdown in the rotational speed. The rotation at high speed after the first tumbling motion implies an hanging motion), wherein the shaking motion is performed after the hanging motion (the remaining part of the sb-cycle C1 follows with a shaking motion). Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the method Noh et al. to include a tumbling motion of rotating the drum such that the laundry is separated from or falls from an inner wall of the drum at a point lower than a high point of the drum, wherein the shaking motion is performed after the tumbling motion; wherein the rotation step further includes a hanging motion where a high-speed period where the laundry rotates while being attached to the inner wall of the drum and a low-speed period where the laundry rotates while falling from the inner wall of the drum are periodically performed, wherein the hanging motion is performed after the tumbling motion, wherein the shaking motion is performed after the hanging motion as taught by Cimetta in order to ensure the drying load will be handled in an optimum manner throughout the drying cycle and thus improve the drying efficiency . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noh et al. (US 2020/0190720 A1) in view of Xu et al. (WO 2008/028688 A1) . The method of Noh et al. as above includes all that is recited in claim 8 except for wherein the rotation step includes a rolling motion of rotating the drum such that the laundry falls from a point lower than a center of the drum, wherein the shaking motion is performed before the rolling motion. Xu et al. discloses the rotation step includes a rolling motion (wrinkle reduction step) of rotating the drum such that the laundry falls from a point lower than a center of the drum (drum rotation at speed 20-30 RPM), wherein the shaking motion(uniform speed steps) is performed before the rolling motion. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the method Noh et al. to include a rolling motion of rotating the drum such that the laundry falls from a point lower than a center of the drum, wherein the shaking motion is performed before the rolling motion as taught by Xu in order to improve the overall drying uniformity of the laundry and improve the drying performance of the laundry treating apparatus . Allowable Subject Matter 07-43-02 AIA Claim s 4-5, 9-15 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. Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Cavarretta et al. (EP 2922993) discloses a method for controlling a laundry dryer with a variable drum rotation speed, the laundry dryer including a drum 12, a circulation flow channel 10, a heat exchanger assembly 14, 16 (Fig. 1) . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSICA J YUEN whose telephone number is (571)272-4878. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MICHAEL G HOANG can be reached at (571) 272-6460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /Jessica Yuen/ Primary Examiner Art Unit 3762 JY Application/Control Number: 18/686,749 Page 2 Art Unit: 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/686,749 Page 3 Art Unit: 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/686,749 Page 4 Art Unit: 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/686,749 Page 5 Art Unit: 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/686,749 Page 6 Art Unit: 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/686,749 Page 7 Art Unit: 3762
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