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 Objections
Claims 7-11 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.
Regarding claim 8, Büsing teaches air 14 to be supplied can be blown in laterally below the heater 19 for example and deflected in the upward direction via blade-shaped lamellae. Arbitrary geometries are possible in this case thereby suggesting a plurality of guide ribs.[0055]
Büsing fails to teach or suggest each of the plurality of guide ribs has (i) a front edge that defines an upstream side in the flow direction and (ii) a rear edge that defines a downstream side in the flow direction, wherein each of the plurality of guide ribs extends linearly from the front edge toward the rear edge.
Claims 8-11 are dependent upon claim 7.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Büsing (DE 10 2015211210 A1 machine translation cited in IDS).
Regarding claim 1, Büsing figures 1-8 teach a dish washer comprising:
a tub (2) that defines a washing space configured to accommodate one or more objects to be washed; and
a sorption drying device (12 sorption drying device) configured to absorb moisture from air discharged from the tub and to supply the air to the tub,
wherein the sorption drying device comprises:
a blow fan (GB blower) configured to generate air flow of the air in a flow direction,
a absorbent (15 sorbent) disposed downstream relative to the blow fan in the flow direction,
a heater (19) disposed between the blow fan and the absorbent in the flow direction, the heater being configured to heat the air to be supplied to the absorbent,
a housing (9 container) comprising:
a absorbent receiving portion (internal container 9 space) that defines a absorbent receiving space accommodating the absorbent therein, and
a cover (18) that is coupled to the housing and covers an open surface of the absorbent receiving portion, the cover defining an outlet (17 outflow opening) configured to discharge the air having passed through the absorbent,
wherein the cover (18) is spaced apart from the open surface of the absorbent receiving portion (by 25 upper outlet window) thereby define a discharge flow path configured to guide the air having passed through the absorbent toward the outlet (shown in figure 5).[0030-45]
Regarding claim 2, figure 2 suggests the cover (18 upwardly tapering cover) comprises a cover body having a convex portion that is convex in a direction away from the open surface of the absorbent receiving portion, wherein the outlet (17 outflow opening) passes through the cover body, and wherein a cross-sectional area of the discharge flow path decreases as the convex portion of the cover body extends toward the outlet.
Regarding claim 3, figures 6-8 suggest the convex portion (18 upwardly tapering cover) comprises a plurality of inclined surfaces that define different inclination angles with respect to the open surface of the absorbent receiving portion.
Regarding claim 4, figures 6-8 suggest the convex portion (18 upwardly tapering cover) comprises a plurality of curved surfaces having different curvatures.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 5-6 and 12-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Büsing (DE 10 2015211210 A1 machine translation cited in IDS).
Regarding claim 5, Büsing fails to explicitly teach the cover further comprises a plurality of guide ribs, each of the plurality of guide ribs having (i) a first end that is fixed end connected to an inner surface of the cover body and (ii) a second end that extends along the discharge flow path toward the open surface of the absorbent receiving portion, and wherein the plurality of guide ribs are configured to divide the air flow and to direct the air flow toward the outlet.
However, Büsing teaches air 14 to be supplied can be blown in laterally below the heater 19 for example and deflected in the upward direction via blade-shaped lamellae. Arbitrary geometries are possible in this case thereby suggesting wherein the cover further comprises a plurality of guide ribs, each of the plurality of guide ribs having (i) a first end that is fixed end connected to an inner surface of the cover body and (ii) a second end that extends along the discharge flow path toward the open surface of the absorbent receiving portion, and wherein the plurality of guide ribs are configured to divide the air flow and to direct the air flow toward the outlet to be an obvious modification.[0055]
Regarding claim 6, Büsing teaches air 14 to be supplied can be blown in laterally below the heater 19 for example and deflected in the upward direction via blade-shaped lamellae. Arbitrary geometries are possible in this case thereby suggesting the plurality of guide ribs are arranged around the outlet and spaced apart from one another by an equal angular spacing along a circumferential direction of the outlet to be an obvious modification.[0055]
Regarding claim 12, Büsing figures 4-5 teach the sorption drying device further comprises a absorbent holder (25 outlet window) that defines an upper end of the absorbent receiving space and is configured to block the absorbent from moving out of the absorbent receiving space. [0053] Büsing suggests wherein a shape of the second end of each of the plurality of guide ribs corresponds to a shape of a surface of the absorbent holder facing the outlet to be an obvious modification as the blade-shaped lamellae having arbitrary geometries are possible in this case.[0055]
Regarding claim 13, Büsing teaches the blade-shaped lamellae having arbitrary geometries are possible in this case thereby suggesting the second end of at least one of the plurality of guide ribs is in contact with the surface of the absorbent holder facing the outlet to be an obvious modification.
Regarding claim 14, Büsing teaches the blade-shaped lamellae having arbitrary geometries are possible in this case thereby suggesting the second end of each of the plurality of guide ribs is spaced apart from the surface of the absorbent holder facing the outlet by a predetermined spacing to be an obvious modification.
Regarding claim 15, Büsing teaches the blade-shaped lamellae having arbitrary geometries are possible in this case thereby suggesting the predetermined spacing is less than a thickness of the absorbent holder to be an obvious modification.
Claim(s) 16-20- is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Büsing (DE 10 2015211210 A1 machine translation cited in IDS), as applied to claim 2, and in further view of Maier-Laxhuber (EP 2609981 machine translation cited in IDS).
Regarding claim 16, Büsing figures 4-5 teach the cover (18) further comprises: an outward extension that has a flange shape and extends outward from an outer edge of the cover body.
Büsing is silent to a pair of first sealing ribs that are disposed between an inner edge and an outer edge of the outward extension and protrude toward the open surface of the absorbent receiving portion; and a pair of second sealing ribs that are disposed at an edge of the open surface of the absorbent receiving portion and coupled to the pair of first sealing ribs.
Maier-Laxhuber is directed towards a dishwasher adsorber for dehumidifying air wherein figure 3 teaches cover part 12 also has a circumferential projection 16 which, after heat sealing at the seams 13 provided for this purpose with the lower housing part 11, presses the upper expanded lattice plate 8 firmly onto the sorbent bed 3.[0050]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to projections as taught in Maier-Laxhuber to close off the sorber (2).
Regarding claim 17, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for one of the pair of first sealing ribs is disposed between the pair of second sealing ribs to ensure the sorption drying device is properly sealed..
Regarding claim 18, Büsing figures 2-8 teach the cover further comprises an outer peripheral wall (22 extension)that extends along the outer edge of the outward extension and protrudes toward the absorbent receiving portion.[0050-55]
Regarding claim 19, Büsing figures 2-8 in view of Maier-Laxhuber figure 3 suggests the pair of first sealing ribs and the pair of second sealing ribs are coupled to each other, and wherein the outer peripheral wall is in contact with an outer side surface of the absorbent receiving portion.
Regarding claim 20, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention for a vertical dimension of the outer peripheral wall protruding from the outward extension is greater than a vertical dimension of the pair of first sealing ribs protruding from the outward extension as a change in size/ proportion is an obvious design choice.(MPEP 2144.04)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CRISTI J TATE-SIMS whose telephone number is (571)272-1722. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-6pm.
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CRISTI J. TATE-SIMS
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1711
/CRISTI J TATE-SIMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1711