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 .
This is the First Office action on the Merits from the examiner in charge of this application.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore:
The refrigeration system of claim 1 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). The specification describes the refrigerator system may include a cooling pad or a fan (Specification, Page 6, lines 27-29), however there is no corresponding structure for the refrigeration system shown in the Figures.
The “opening/closing sensing modules includes a first member disposed at an upper end of the door unit and a second member disposed at a lower end of the light storage unit closer to the first member” of claim 5 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). The specification describes the opening/closing sensing module having a first member and second member (Specification, Page 4, lines 5-8), however no structure corresponding to the opening/closing sensing module, first member, or second member are shown in the Figures.
No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: partition plate 151 (Spec, page 6, line 30). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to because:
In Fig. 4, reference character “500” which designates the light unit is also used to designate the partition wall.
In Fig. 5, reference character “120” which designated the back plate is used to designate the side plate.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure.
A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art.
If the patent is of a basic nature, the entire technical disclosure may be new in the art, and the abstract should be directed to the entire disclosure. If the patent is in the nature of an improvement in an old apparatus, process, product, or composition, the abstract should include the technical disclosure of the improvement. The abstract should also mention by way of example any preferred modifications or alternatives.
Where applicable, the abstract should include the following: (1) if a machine or apparatus, its organization and operation; (2) if an article, its method of making; (3) if a chemical compound, its identity and use; (4) if a mixture, its ingredients; (5) if a process, the steps.
Extensive mechanical and design details of an apparatus should not be included in the abstract. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length.
See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it contains 183 words. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
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.
Claims 1-8 are 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 1 contains the trademark/trade name “Bluetooth” in line 11. Where a trademark or trade name is used in a claim as a limitation to identify or describe a particular material or product, the claim does not comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph. See Ex parte Simpson, 218 USPQ 1020 (Bd. App. 1982). The claim scope is uncertain since the trademark or trade name cannot be used properly to identify any particular material or product. A trademark or trade name is used to identify a source of goods, and not the goods themselves. Thus, a trademark or trade name does not identify or describe the goods associated with the trademark or trade name. In the present case, the trademark/trade name is used to identify/describe a speaker module and, accordingly, the identification/description is indefinite.
Claims 2-8 are rejected for depending from claim 1.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "the partition wall" in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For examination purposes, this limitation will be read as “the partition plate”.
Claims 3-8 are rejected for depending from claim 2.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chern (U.S. Pub. No. 20070028854) and Massara (U.S. Pat. No. 8282227) in view of Kind (U.S. Pat. No. 2252288) in further view of Kim (U.S. Pub. No. 20200268148).
With respect to claim 1, Chern discloses a cosmetic cabinet comprising: a casing (Fig. 1, cabinet body 10) that has an array space (accessory compartment 11) formed therein by a bottom plate (platform 20), a back plate (back wall of cabinet body 10), a top plate (ceiling panel 52), and side plates (side walls of cabinet body 10); a door unit (fencing doors 13) coupled to the casing through hinge units and opening/closing the array space (Abstract, “two fencing doors pivotally mounted at the front opening to fold between a storage position and a dressing position”); a storage unit including a drawer casing (base portion 14) and a drawer (storage drawer 142) that can slide in the drawer casing under the array space (Figs. 1 and 2 show drawer 142 slides in and out of base portion 14); a light unit (illuminator 33); a light storage unit (top compartment 51) disposed over the array space (accessory compartment 11) and coupled with the light unit therein (Fig. 2 shows illuminator is coupled to a bottom panel of top compartment 51. Further, items such as additional light bulbs may reasonably be stored within top compartment 51).
Chern fails to disclose a light unit in which an LED module emitting light and a speaker equipped with a built-in Bluetooth module are integrated.
Massara discloses a light unit (Fig. 2b, audio lamp 11) in which an LED module emitting light (light emitting diodes 36) and a speaker equipped with a built-in wireless speaker module (speaker/exciter 38 connected to wireless modules 71) are integrated.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the cabinet of Chern by replacing the light bulb with an audio lamp such as taught by Massara with a reasonable expectation of success in order to provide a lighted area while also allowing a user to play their music or take phone calls. It is further noted that the simple substitution of one known element (illuminator of Chern) for another (audio lamp of Massara) yields predictable results. See MPEP 2143 I(B).
Chern in view of Massara fails to disclose a music box disposed in an internal space of the drawer and operating when the internal space is opened by sliding the drawer; a fixed magnetic body fixed to the drawer casing and controlling operation of the music box in accordance with the position of the drawer.
Kind discloses a music box (Fig. 1 music assembly of elements 26-50 enclosed by partition 24) disposed in an internal space of a storage compartment (box bottom made up of bottom 10, front wall 13, side walls 14 and 15, rear wall 16) and operating when the internal space is opened by moving the storage compartment away from the lid (Col. 3, lines 23-37, “the lid 18 is open and the magnet 54 is situated at such a distance from the weight 53 that is has no effect thereon… thereby producing a musical tune”); a fixed magnetic body fixed to the casing (magnet 54 fixed within lid 18) and controlling operation of the music box in accordance with the position of the storage compartment (Col 3, lines 45-57, “As soon as the lid 18 is closed… the weight 52 will be situated within the magnetic field of the magnet 54… the lever 46 will swing upwardly and its projection 44 will move into the path of rotation of the fly wheel 41… and the entire music box works will be stopped also.”)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the storage unit (drawer and base portion) of Chern in view of Massara in include a music assembly and magnet such as taught by Kind with a with a reasonable expectation of success in order to easily produce a musical tune upon opening the storage unit without the need for electrical power, wires, or other electronic technology, and to just as easily stop the music from playing by closing the storage unit. It is further noted that rearranging parts of an invention (music assembly/magnet of Massara, disposed on the box bottom/box lid, being rearranged on the drawer/upper panel of base portion of Chern) involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04 VI (C).
Chern in view of Massara in further view of Kind fails to disclose a refrigeration system providing cold air to the array space, in which cosmetics are kept, to maintain temperature and humidity of cosmetics arrayed or kept in the array space.
Kim discloses a refrigeration system (Fig. 11, cooler unit) providing cold air to the array space (accommodation space 102), in which cosmetics are kept (Fig. 11 shows cosmetic products within accommodation space 102), to maintain temperature and humidity of cosmetics arrayed or kept in the array space (cooler unit 400 is a fan which reduces temperature and humidity).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the array space of Chern in view of Massara in further view of Kind to include a refrigerator system such as taught by Kim with a reasonable expectation of success in order to easily keep contents within the array space (such as medicine, grooming products, food or beverages) cool, and to further prevent those items from going bad.
Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chern (U.S. Pub. No. 20070028854), Massara (U.S. Pat. No. 8282227), and Kind (U.S. Pat. No. 2252288) in view of Kim (U.S. Pub. No. 20200268148) in further view of Pistone (U.S. Pat. No. 2488035).
With respect to claim 2, Chern and Massara in view of Kind in further view of Kim discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination (Chern) further discloses a mirror (mirror 32) is disposed on an inner surface of the door unit (Fig. 2, mirror 32 is located on inner surface of fencing door 13).
The combination fails to disclose a partition plate partially dividing the array space is disposed in the array space and a mirror is disposed on a front surface of the partition wall.
Pistone discloses a partition plate (Fig. 1, glass panel 22) partially dividing an array space is disposed in the array space (Fig. 2, shows panel 22 divides lower compartment 18 into front and back compartments) and a mirror is disposed on a front surface of the partition wall (Col. 2, lines 47-52, “the rear surfaces 26 of the panels 22 and 23 are silvered… a mirrored surface is presented”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the cabinet of Chern and Massara in view of Kind in further view of Kim to include mirrored divider panels such as taught by Pistone with a reasonable expectation of success in order to provide an easily accessible hidden rear compartment and to further reflect light to the front compartment, making it easier to see objects stored within the front compartment.
With respect to claim 3, Chern, Massara, and Kind in view of Kim in further view of Pistone discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination (Kind) further discloses wherein the music box (Figs. 1 and 2 music assembly of elements 26-50 enclosed by partition 24) includes a power transmitter (gear wheel 28) that is rotated by power transmitted through a power generator (Col. 2, lines 34-36, “the spring 25 proceeds to unwind itself, it transmits its force to a gear wheel 28 which meshes with a pinion 29”), a drum (drum 31) that is rotated by power transmitted through the power transmitter (Col. 2, lines 36-38, “pinion 29 is firmly connected with a large gear wheel 30 which is rotatable along with a drum 31”), a player (reed 33) that is operated in contact with the drum (reed 33 engages hammers 32 of drum 31), and a stopper (stopper assembly of lever 43, projection 44, pivot 45, support 46, and end 47) that limits power that is transmitted to the drum (31) by stopping operation of the power transmitter (Fig. 5 shows stopper assembly moved towards flywheel 41 so that projection 44 stops the motion of the flywheel, stopping the rotation of drum 31); and the stopper includes a supporting plate (support 46), an elastic plate (lever 43 pivotable at 45, Note that the claimed elastic plate itself is not disclosed to have any elastic properties, rather the elastic plate moves back and forth along a pivot/hinge point that exists between the elastic plate and the supporting plate) extending from an end of the supporting plate (see modified Fig. 2 below, lever 43 extends past support 46) and being perpendicular to the supporting plate (see modified Fig. 6 (A) below, vertical plane of lever 43 is perpendicular to horizontal flange portion of support 46), a coupling plate (end 47) coupled to an end of the elastic plate (Col. 3, lines 9-11, “end portion 47 of the lever 43 which may… be connected therewith by any suitable means”) and coupled with a moving magnetic body (weight 52 “made of a magnetizable material”) being movable forward and backward by the fixed magnetic body (from aerial view of Fig. 2, magnet 54 causes weight 52 to move “forward” toward the top of the box and “backward” toward the bottom of the box), and a moving plate (projection 44) extending from an end of the coupling plate (projection 44 extends from end 47 via lever 43) and being parallel with the supporting plate (See modified Fig. 6 (B) below, a portion of projection 44 is parallel to vertical plane of support 46).
PNG
media_image1.png
414
681
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Modified Fig. 2
PNG
media_image2.png
250
457
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Modified Fig. 6 (A)
PNG
media_image3.png
318
217
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Modified Fig. 6 (B)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-8 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 4 would be allowable for disclosing the fixed magnetic body and the moving magnetic body have the same pole, so when the fixed magnetic body and the moving magnetic body come close to each other, the moving magnetic body can be moved forward by magnetic force of repulsion; when the moving magnetic body is moved forward, the moving plate is moved forward, whereby operation of the power transmitter is stopped; and the magnetic force of repulsion is larger than a restoring force of the elastic plate, so when the fixed magnetic body and the moving magnetic body come close to each other, an upper portion of the elastic plate is moved forward, whereby the moving magnetic member can be moved forward.
Kind discloses the music box stopper is actuated by a magnet (54) attracting a magnetized weight (52) to stop the music box from moving, and when the magnet (54) is removed from the weight (52) by opening the lid, the weight (52) drops due to gravity. Kind fails to disclose any repulsion of magnetic poles causing the stopper to actuate. Based on the configuration, it would be improper hindsight to modify Chern, Massara, and Kind in view of Kim in further view of Pistone to include magnets using a repulsive force to actuate the stopper.
Claims 5-8 would be allowable for depending from claim 4.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH IRENE ARTALEJO whose telephone number is (571)272-4292. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-6.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Daniel Troy can be reached at (571) 270-3742. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/E.I.A./Examiner, Art Unit 3637 /DANIEL J TROY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3637