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 .
Response to Arguments/Amendments
This Office Action is responsive to the amendment filed 2/9/2026. Claims 14-25, and 27-32 are pending. Claims 14, 16, 22, 24, and 27 have been amended. Claims 28-32 are new.
The objection to claim 22 is withdrawn in response to Applicant’s amendments.
The rejection of claims 14-16, 18-21, and 24 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (US 2019/0048511) is withdrawn in response to Applicant’s amendments. Accordingly, the rejection of claims 25-27 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2019/0048511) is also withdrawn.
The rejection of claims 14-16, 18-19, 22, and 23 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jang et al. (US 2020/0190726) is withdrawn in response to Applicant’s amendments.
The rejection of claims 14-21, and 24 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al. (US 2020/0048819) is withdrawn in response to Applicant’s amendments.
In response to Applicant’s amendments, new ground(s) of rejection are applied below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 28 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 28 recites the limitation “wherein a maximum length of the open area located at the central portion of the coil is smaller than a minimum length of the coil in either the first direction or the second direction between an edge of the open area and an outside of the coil,” which does not appear to have sufficient original support. Claim 28 appears to be drawn to the embodiment of the coil depicted in Figure 10 and which has a central portion 121 that is smaller than the length L2 and width L2 of the induction module, and the induction module or the coil of the induction module has a minimum shape corresponding to a cube (paragraph 184). The central portion (121) is shown in Figure 10 as necessarily having a diameter that is smaller than the length L2 and width L2 of the induction module, but there are no dimensions shown that establish original support for the “maximum length of the open area” to be “smaller than a minimum length of the coil . . . between an edge of the open area and an outside of the coil.” Additionally, there is no indication that these elements of the figures have been drawn to scale.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-25, 27, and 29-32 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art does not disclose, or render obvious a laundry treating apparatus as defined by either claim 14 or 24. There is not apparent teaching, suggestion, or motivation to modify any of the closest prior art, Kim et al. (US 2019/0048511), Jang et al. (US 2020/0190726), or Lee et al. (US 2020/0048819), to further include wherein a rearmost end of the induction module is disposed forward of the fixing end portion and rearward of the central portion with respect to a horizontal direction and is located closer to a front surface of the end portion than a front surface of the central portion with respect to the horizontal direction.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID G CORMIER whose telephone number is (571)270-7386. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30 - 6:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael 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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DAVID G. CORMIER
Examiner
Art Unit 1711
/DAVID G CORMIER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1711
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