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.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ren et al. (WO 2021/184613 A1).
Ren et al. discloses a laundry treating apparatus comprising: a cabinet 1 including a first inlet defined in a front surface thereof (Fig. 1, at 11); a first chamber 11 located inside the cabinet 1 and configured to accommodate laundry therein via the first inlet; an auxiliary chamber (Fig. 1, below 10, 18, 19) located at a lower side inside the cabinet 1 and defining an installation space separated from the first chamber therein; a door assembly 3 coupled to the cabinet 1 and configured to open and close the first inlet (Figs. 1, 5); a second chamber 31 located inside the door assembly 3 and defined to be separated from the first chamber and the auxiliary chamber (Fig. 7); and an air circulator (translation, page 2, last line, second fan) disposed in the door assembly and configured to circulate air in the second chamber, wherein the air circulator includes: a circulating flow channel (Fig. 6, channel formed between 323 and 322) forming a passage for air in the second chamber to pass through; and a heater 41 disposed in the circulating flow channel and configured to heat air passing through the circulating flow channel (Fig. 7).
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.
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.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (KR 20190139400 A) in view of Heo et al. (KR 20200028185 A) and Jung e tal. (US 2014/0041249 A1).
Lee et al. discloses a laundry treating apparatus comprising: a cabinet 16 including a first inlet defined in a front surface thereof (Fig. 2, between 16 and 17); a first chamber 13 located inside the cabinet 16 and configured to accommodate laundry therein via the first inlet; a door assembly 17 coupled to the cabinet 16 and configured to open and close the first inlet (Figs. 1-2); a second chamber 11 located inside the door assembly 17 and defined to be separated from the first chamber 13 (Fig. 2); and an air circulator 60 (Fig. 3) disposed in the door assembly 17 and configured to circulate air in the second chamber 11, wherein the air circulator 60 includes: a circulating flow channel 70 (Fig. 3) forming a passage for air in the second chamber 11 to pass through; and a heater 63 disposed in the circulating flow channel 70 and configured to heat air passing through the circulating flow channel 70 (Fig. 3). Wherein the circulating flow channel 70 includes: a first circulating duct (Fig. 3, right portion of duct 70) configured to suck air in the second chamber 11; and a second circulating duct (Fig. 3, left portion of duct 70) in communication with the first circulating duct and configured to discharge air that has passed through the first circulating duct into the second chamber 11, wherein the heater 63 is located inside the second circulating duct (Fig. 3). Wherein the air circulator 60 further includes a circulating fan 53 located inside the second circulating duct and configured to rotate to suck air from the second chamber (Fig. 3). Wherein the first circulating duct is located upwardly of the second circulating duct (Fig. 3). However, Lee et al. does not explicit an auxiliary chamber located at a lower side inside the cabinet and defining an installation space separated from the first chamber therein; the circulating fan located inside the first circulating duct. Heo et al. discloses a laundry treating apparatus comprising an auxiliary chamber 15 located at a lower side inside the cabinet 100 and defining an installation space separated from the first chamber 11 therein (Figs. 1, 5). Jung et al. teaches an air circulator includes a circulating flow channel 55 comprising a first circulating duct (Fig. 5, left vertical 55) configured to suck air in the chamber 10, a second circulating duct (Fig. 5, right vertical 55) in communication with the first circulating duct and configured to discharge air that has passed through the first circulating duct into a chamber 10, a circulating fan 30 located inside the first circulating duct (Fig. 5). 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 laundry treating apparatus of Lee et al. to include an auxiliary chamber located at a lower side inside the cabinet and defining an installation space separated from the first chamber therein as taught by Heo et al. in order to provide separate space for installing other components and to further modify the laundry treating apparatus of Lee et al to locate the circulating fan inside the first circulating duct as taught by Jung et al. in order to efficiently suck the air from the second chamber.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-20 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the primary reason for allowance of claims 7-20 is the inclusion of the limitations “the air circulator is located between a top surface of the second chamber and a top surface of an accommodating body” in claim 7, and “the air circulator is located in an upper portion of the door assembly, wherein the air treater is located in a lower portion of the door assembly” in claim 11 in combination with the remaining claimed elements.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Cox (US 2,831,268) discloses a clothes drying device comprising a door 22 with air inlet 26 and air outlet 25.
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.
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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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/Jessica Yuen/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3762
JY
Prosecution Insights