DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
Acknowledgements
This office action is in response to the application filed 1/17/2025.
Claims 1-17 are pending and have been examined.
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 § 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 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.
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.
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN205934471U (“CN’471”) (machine translation attached)
Re claim 1, CN’471 teaches a laundry treating apparatus (abstract, Technical Field) comprising:
a cabinet (inherent in conventional washing machine, Technical Field “a washing machine”; see also claim 10 a kind of washing machine; it further being conventionally known and obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art of washing machine to incorporate a cabinet, tub and drum);
a tub disposed inside the cabinet and accommodating water therein (conventional);
a drum rotatably disposed inside the tub and accommodating laundry therein (conventional);
a detergent storage (see fig. 3) disposed in the cabinet and storing detergent therein;
a detergent outlet (bottom of ref. 7) connected to the detergent storage to receive the detergent, wherein the detergent outlet discharges the detergent along with water into the tub; and
a detergent detector (detection electrode 5, see claims 1 and 3) disposed in the detergent outlet, wherein the detergent detector is configured to detect the detergent present in the detergent outlet.
Re claim 17, Independent claim 17 defines over claim 1 only in the recitation of a detergent outlet disposed inside the cabinet, wherein the detergent outlet mixes water supplied from outside with detergent to form a mixture and discharges the mixture into the tub. CN’471 further discloses the detergent outlet disposed inside the cabinet (ref. 5 is a drawer to be inserted into washing machine housing), wherein the detergent outlet mixes water supplied from outside with detergent to form a mixture and discharges the mixture into the tub (“Detergent is put into the mixing chamber 25…flows…under the action of water flow”).
Re claim 2, wherein the detergent outlet includes a detergent inlet hole allowing the detergent to be introduced therethrough (see figs. 2-3 ref. 22, 23 flows into ref. 7) and a detergent discharge hole (ref. 3) allowing the detergent and water to be discharged into the tub, wherein the detergent detector is disposed on a flow path where the detergent introduced into the detergent inlet hole flows toward the detergent discharge hole (see fig. 2 flow from back to ref. 5 and to ref. 3).
Re claim 3, Regarding “wherein the detergent storage includes a plurality of storage spaces divided from each other to store respective detergents therein, wherein the respective detergents stored in the plurality of storage spaces are supplied to the detergent outlet, wherein the detergent detector is disposed in the detergent outlet on a flow path where the respective detergents introduced from the plurality of storage spaces gather and flow”, see fig. 3 at least refs. 24, 22 storage spaces, detection electrode 5 located behind ref. 23.
Re claim 4, Regarding “wherein the detergent outlet includes a first bottom, a second bottom located downwardly of the first bottom, and a step wall connecting the first bottom with the second bottom in a stepwise manner, wherein the detergent introduced into the detergent inlet hole flows to sequentially pass the first bottom, the step wall, and the second bottom and reaches the detergent discharge hole, wherein the detergent detector is disposed on the step wall”, CN’471 teaches a sloped bottom including a slope bottom (see fig. 2 bottom of ref. 7) and a step wall (drop to ref. 3) and the second bottom (at ref. 3). Regarding the position of the detergent detector, the mere rearrangement of the detergent detector to a lowest point would be prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, for purposes of measuring even small quantities of detergent. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C) Rearrangement of Parts.
Re claim 5¸ Regarding “wherein the detergent outlet further includes a detergent guide wall having at least a portion positioned facing the step wall, wherein the detergent guide wall allows the detergent delivered from the first bottom to flow between the step wall and the detergent guide wall”, CN’471 teaches lateral sides of ref. 1 that satisfy a “detergent guide wall” guiding towards ref. 3.
Re claims 6-12, wherein the detergent outlet allows at least a portion of introduced water to flow toward the detergent detector (via mixing chamber 25). wherein the detergent outlet includes: a detergent inlet hole allowing the detergent to be introduced therethrough (back of ref. 25 see figs. 2-3); a water inlet hole (ref. 4 “the box body is provided with a water outlet”, see also claim 7) allowing water to be introduced therethrough; and a water guide allowing at least a portion of water introduced via the water inlet hole to flow toward the detergent inlet hole (either via mixing chamber 25 walls or see also claim 7 “box body…forms water outlet Mouthful”). wherein the water guide includes a water guide rib having one end facing the water inlet hole and the other end facing the detergent inlet hole (inherent in flow that the guide must slope in some manner from the water inlet hole to the back of mixing chamber 25). wherein the detergent outlet further includes a water diffuser disposed between a bottom thereof and the water inlet hole to diffuse water introduced via the water inlet hole and discharge water to the bottom, wherein the water diffuser includes a water guide (bottom of mixing chamber 25 or the side walls of mixing chamber 25 “diffuse water” before entering ref. 7). wherein the water inlet hole is located in a ceiling of the detergent outlet and discharges water into the detergent outlet (see fig. 2 ref. 4 in ceiling), wherein the water diffuser is disposed to cross an area between the bottom and the ceiling of the detergent outlet (see fig. 2), wherein the water diffuser includes a plurality of water delivery holes allowing water introduced via the water inlet hole to be discharged to the bottom (regarding “plurality of water delivery holes, the mere duplication of holes for greater and more even flow is prima facie obvious. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B) Duplication of Parts. wherein the detergent outlet includes a first space where the detergent inlet hole is located (see figs. 2-3 back of ref. 25) and a second space where the water inlet hole and a detergent discharge hole are located (region surrounding ref. 4 and ref. 7 to ref. 3), wherein the water diffuser crosses the first space and the second space together (ref. 25 sits in center of ref. 7 between ref. 4 and bottom of ref. 7, and the water guide is located in the first space (bottom of ref. 25). wherein the detergent outlet is formed as the first space protrudes rearward from the second space (regarding the position of the detergent outlet, the mere rearrangement of the detergent outlet rearward of the first space, i.e. at a rear of ref. 7, would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, utilizing rear space and/or locating the detergent outlet at the detector. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C) Rearrangement of Parts.
Re claim 13-15, wherein the detergent detector includes a pair of electrodes in contact with the detergent inside the detergent outlet (“detection electrodes”, see also claim 2). wherein the detergent detector is configured to detect the detergent mixed in water when water and the detergent are mixed with each other (behind mixing chamber 25). wherein the detergent detector includes an electrode sensor (“detection electrodes”, see also claim 2), wherein the laundry treating apparatus further includes a controller (claim 9 “controller”) connected in a signal manner to the electrode sensor and configured to determine whether the detergent is mixed in water based on a measured value of the electrode sensor.
Re claim 16, Regarding “wherein the cabinet is equipped with a laundry inlet defined in a top surface thereof, wherein the laundry is put into the laundry inlet, wherein the tub and the drum have open top surfaces to accommodate water and the laundry therein, respectively, wherein the detergent outlet is located upwardly of the tub and discharges water and the detergent into the tub and the drum”, the implementation of CN’471 into a vertical washing machine would have been an obvious engineering expedient, it being expected that the detergent outlet be vertically upward of the tub, in order to use gravitational force to feed detergent and water. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C) Rearrangement of Parts.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20100000265 A1 note detergent detection applicable to horizontal and vertical axis machiens.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-7299. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30am to 6:30pm.
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KEVIN G. LEE
Examiner
Art Unit 1711
/KEVIN G LEE/Examiner, Art Unit 1711
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