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 .0
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.
Claim(s) 16-22, 24, 26-27, and 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by MAENG (KR 10-2004-0009946).
Re Claim 16, MAENG teaches a laundry treating apparatus comprising: a cabinet 1; a tub 2 located inside the cabinet, the tub being configured to store water therein; a drum 3 rotatably located in the tub, the drum being configured to accommodate laundry therein; a top cover coupled to an upper portion of the cabinet, the top cover having an inlet defined therein to allow the laundry to be inserted therethrough and a door pivotably coupled to the top cover to open and close the inlet (this structure is implied with the window showing on the front right of Fig. 1 where a window-door would open and close and allow the laundry to be inserted); a store 10 to store detergent therein, the storage being detachably mounted on the mounting portion; and a fixing portion 13 a least partially accommodated inside the storage, the fixing portion being configured to be inserted into and withdrawn from the storage to be selectively inserted into the mounting portion to fix the storage to the mounting portion.
Re Claim 17, the width direction is arbitrary and can be any direction as it is an imaginary reference with no further details claimed.
Re Claim 18, the mounting portion is taught to include a mounting body and a restricting surface at an inner side (reads on the surface including 4/5, Fig. 1).
Re Claim 19, 10 and 20 read on the storage body detachably mounted; and a push portion 15 partially exposed to the outside, which is perpendicular to the fixing portion moving direction. See Fig. 1.
Re Claim 20 the front and rear direction are arbitrary and read on the pressing direction, and the fixing portion is withdrawn in a height direction (up and down).
Re Claims 21 and 33, the fixing portion includes a fixing body (the structure “behind” the push button 15) a locking hook 14 protruding downward, and an elastic portion (spring 34) connecting the fixing body to the locking hook.
Re Claim 22, the locking hook 14 extends towards the push portion 15.
Re Claim 24, the holes 5 engage with ribs of the fixing portion.
Re Claim 26, the push portion 15 is at a side of the body different from the first side which is the bottom side.
Re Claim 27, a bottom side reads on an inner side of the storage body.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims23, 25, 28-32, 34-35 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 claimed specifics of the storage do not appear to be taught or made obvious to combine in view of the prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON Y KO whose telephone number is (571)270-7451. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00-6:00.
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JASON Y. KO
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1711
/JASON Y KO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1711