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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 6 recites a “spray configured to spray” in lines 3 and 4, which is confusing as to how a spray has a structural configuration to spray itself? What structure and/or configuration is being recited by such feature?
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.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-6 and 8-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2023-066643 A to Kitayama et al. (“Kitayama”) in view of USPGPUB 2020/0385916 to Kim et al. (“Kim”).
Regarding independent claim 1, Kitayama (in Figs. 1-5 and associated text) discloses a clothes care apparatus comprising:
a cabinet (housing 2);
a care room (clothes storage room 4) inside the cabinet and configured to accommodate clothes;
a clothes supporting member (hanger 8) detachably couplable to an upper side of the care room, and configured to support clothes;
a door (doors 2b) configured to open and close the care room; and
a spot cleaning device (cleaning head 20) on a side wall of the care room, and configured to be movable relative to the side wall (note head moving device 30) to, when the clothes supporting member is coupled to the upper side of the care room and clothes are supported by the clothes supporting member, spot clean the clothes supported by the clothes supporting member.
Kitayama discloses the claimed clothes care apparatus with the exception of a fixing portion on a side wall of the care room and configured to fix a lower part of the clothes. Kim teaches an art-related clothes care apparatus with a cabinet and clothes treating device on a side wall of the care room, and use of a fixing portion (fixing member 243) on a side wall of the care room and configured to fix the bottom part of the clothes for the purpose of maintaining tension on the clothes to keep them flat during treatment.
Therefore, the position is taken that it would have been obvious at the time of effective filing to provide the clothes care apparatus of Kitayama with a fixing portion such as that taught in Kim to yield the same and predictable results of fixing articles of clothing during treatment.
Regarding claim 2, Kitayama further discloses wherein the clothes supporting member is configured to spray air toward the clothes supported by the clothes supporting member (note the spray head 20 of Kitayama has a configuration fully capable of the intended use of spraying air toward the clothes).
Regarding claims 3-4, Kim further discloses wherein the fixing portion includes: a bar (see Fig. 12) crossing the side wall of the care room in a horizontal direction, and a fixing member (clip 243a) configured to be movable along the bar in the horizontal direction, and to hold a portion of the clothes supported by the clothes supporting member so as to fix the portion of the clothes held by the fixing member in place (see Kim at Fig. 12), wherein the fixing member includes: a moving member (243b) configured to be movable along the bar in the horizontal direction, and a rotating member (clips 243a) coupled to the moving member (via a horizontal bar) so as to be rotatable toward and away from the moving member, and the rotating member is configured to be elastically biased in a direction toward the moving member to fix the portion of the clothes between the rotating member and the moving member (note the clips are elastically biased).
Regarding claim 5, Kitayama discloses both horizontal and vertical guides (see Fig. 4), and the combination of Kim would read on the invention as claimed.
Regarding claims 6 and 8, Kitayama further discloses wherein the spot cleaning device includes: a water spray configured to spray water (water is sprayed out of an opening in mesh 23b), a cleaning liquid spray configured to spray a cleaning liquid (cleaning liquid, e.g. water, is sprayed out of another of the openings in mesh 23b), and a suction portion (note suction space 21c) configured to intake water sprayed from the water spray, cleaning liquid sprayed from the cleaning liquid spray, and foreign material from the clothes supported by the clothes supporting member, wherein the spot cleaning device includes: a water supply container (40) configured to store water that is to be supplied to at least one of the water spray and the cleaning liquid spray, and a drain container (42) configured to store water, cleaning liquid, and foreign material taken in through the suction portion, and the water supply container and the drain container are detachably couplable to the spot cleaning device (see description of Fig. 3 disclosing the tanks being capable of being taken in and out).
Regarding claims 9-11, Kitayama further discloses a moving device (Y-axis slider 31, X-axis slider 32, and Z-axis slider 33 at p. 5, para. 6 of translation) configured to move the spot cleaning device along at least one of a first direction and a second direction intersecting the first direction on the side wall of the care room, wherein the moving device includes: a first motor configured to provide a driving force to move the spot cleaning device along the first direction, and a second motor configured to provide a driving force to move the spot cleaning device along the second direction (each slider includes a servomotor, see p. 5, para. 6 of translation), wherein the moving device includes: a frame supporting the spot cleaning device (shown in Fig. 4), a first shaft provided in the frame, the first shaft coupled to the spot cleaning device and extending longitudinally in the first direction, and a second shaft coupled to the frame and extending longitudinally in the second direction, and the spot cleaning device is configured to be movable along the first direction within the frame (see configuration in Fig. 4 showing each slider comprising shafts for guiding the sliders; also note the bracket coupling the cleaning head 20 to the slider shafts, which also reads on a “shaft”).
Regarding claim 12, Kitayama discloses plural motors to move the cleaning head in different direction but Kitayama does not expressly disclose rotating the cleaning head. However, the position is taken that it would have been obvious at the time of effective filing to modify the motors as desired to achieve the desired movement of the cleaning heads in order to clean the article of clothing.
Regarding claim 13, the spot cleaning device of Kitayama has a configuration that is fully capable of the intended use of mixing water and detergent.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kitayama view of Kim, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of CN 114452417 A to Zhang et al. (“Zhang”).
Kitayama and Kim, supra, disclose the claimed invention including use of a spot cleaning head. Neither discloses use of a vibrating portion and rolling portion for cleaning. Zhang teaches an art-related clothes care cabinet utilizing a roller (27) and vibration force to press the laundry and remove impurities (see translation at p. 7, para. 2). Therefore, the position is taken that it would have been obvious at the time of effective filing to provide the clothes care apparatus in the combination of Kitayama and Kim with vibration and rollers, such as that taught in Zhang, to yield the same and predictable result of pressing and cleaning clothing.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH L PERRIN whose telephone number is (571)272-1305. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael E. 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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Joseph L. Perrin, Ph.D.
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1711
/Joseph L. Perrin/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1711