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
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2017/043290 to Iwasaki.
Regarding independent claim 1, Iwasaki (in Figs. 1, 5-6, 10, and associated text) discloses a washing machine (1), including:
a water holding barrel (water tank 12);
a circulation filtration pipeline (21-24), wherein, a water inlet end (21) and a water outlet end (16) of the circulation filtration pipeline are respectively connected with the water holding barrel (see Figs. 5-6);
a filter device (26,204), arranged in the circulation filtration pipeline, and having a first water inlet (26a), a filtered water outlet (26b) and a first sewage outlet (31a, 31b, and/or 31c);
a sewage pipeline (25), being used for receiving sewage discharged from the first sewage outlet;
a control valve assembly (V1-V8), arranged between the water inlet end of the circulation filtration pipeline and the filter device, wherein,
the control valve assembly includes a first valve chamber (V1) and a second valve chamber (V6-V8) that are independent from each other, and the first valve chamber communicates with the water holding barrel and the first water inlet of the filter device, and the second valve chamber communicates with the sewage pipeline and the first sewage outlet of the filter device (see Fig. 10); wherein,
in a first working state (follow arrows in Fig. 5), the control valve assembly is connected with the water holding barrel and the first water inlet, and disconnected from the first sewage outlet and the sewage pipeline; in a second working state (follow arrows in Fig. 6), the control valve assembly is disconnected from the water holding barrel (12) and the first water inlet (26a), and connected with the first sewage outlet (31a-c) and the sewage pipeline (25) (it is noted that the structural configuration of the washing machine of Iwasaki is fully capable of performing the recited working state operations).
Regarding claim 9, Iwasaki further discloses switching the control valve assembly to be in the first working state, so water in the water holding barrel enters the filter device through the first valve chamber for filtering, and a filtered water flows back to the water holding barrel (see flow path of arrows in Fig. 5); and switching the control valve assembly to be in the second working state, so the sewage in the filter device is discharged into the sewage pipeline through the second valve chamber (see flow path of arrows in Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 10, Iwasaki further discloses wherein, the washing machine includes an external drainage pipeline (25) for draining water to an outside;
the first valve chamber is provided with a circulation water outlet connected with a first water inlet (see arrow flowpath through valve chamber V1 in Fig. 5)), and a discharge port (bottom of valve V1) connected with the external drainage pipeline (25); the control valve assembly is switched to be in the first working state, the circulation water outlet is opened and the discharge port is blocked, so the water in the water holding barrel is delivered into the first valve chamber, and discharged into the filter device from the circulation water outlet (see arrow flowpath in Fig. 5); and
the control valve assembly is switched to be in the second working state, the circulation water outlet is blocked and the discharge port is opened, so the water in the water holding barrel is delivered into the first valve chamber, discharged from the discharge port, and discharged to the outside of the washing machine through the external drainage pipeline (see arrow flowpath in Fig. 6).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwasaki.
Regarding claim 8, Iwasaki (above) discloses the claimed invention including a circulation pump (27). Iwasaki does not expressly disclose the claimed pump arrangement of claim 8 between the water inlet end of the circulation filtration pipeline and the control valve assembly. However, the position is taken that it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to rearrange the pump location as desired in the circulation pathway, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP § 2144.04(VI)(C) regarding Obviousness and Rearrangement of Parts.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-7 and 11-14 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 prior art of record fails to teach or suggest the claimed washing machine control valve assembly with valve body and plural valve chambers connected to water inlets and sewer outlets, along with a switch mechanism for the different working states. Such novel and non-obvious control valve configuration provides advantages not contemplated by the prior art of record. As described in Applicant’s USPGPUB 2025/0223748 at ¶ [0043], “[t]he control valve assembly controls the water holding barrel to be connected with and disconnected from the water inlet of the filter device, and controls the sewage outlet of the filter device to be connected with and disconnected from the sewage pipeline, which are the two independent waterways to be controlled at the same time. So the filter device can be switched to perform two working processes of filtration and sewage discharge, which can simplify the control structure of the waterways in the washing machine and be beneficial for reducing production costs.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH L PERRIN whose telephone number is (571)272-1305. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael E. Barr can be reached at 571-272-1414. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Joseph L. Perrin, Ph.D.
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1711
/Joseph L. Perrin/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1711