DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Korea on 8/3/23. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the second course is before being performed” (last line) requires grammatical correction. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: “andwherein” should be “and wherein”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-11, 14, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 20210164145 by Kim et al. in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 20080022465 by Jun et al. and KR20030084363A by Ko.
As to claim 1, Kim teaches a laundry treating apparatus comprising first and second treating apparatuses with respective first and second treating units to receive laundry (fig. 1); an output unit in the first or second apparatus to output a screen (fig. 5); an input unit (e.g. buttons, dial) in the first or second apparatus to receive a user command for selecting a target to be displayed (fig. 5); start-stop buttons 51s in the first or second apparatus (fig. 5), wherein the output unit outputs a first course selection screen on which a first course to be performed by the first apparatus is displayed for selection and a second course selection screen on which a second course to be performed by the second apparatus is displayed for selection (see e.g. fig. 24).
Kim teaches respective start-stop buttons 51sT, 51sB (fig. 5) that cause respective courses of the first and second apparatuses to be performed when respective course selection screens are output (see e.g. figs. 24, 25). Kim does not teach a single start-stop button that operates such that when it is manipulated when the first course selection screen is output the first course of the first apparatus is performed, and when it is manipulated when the second course selection screen is output the second course of the second apparatus is performed. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to modify the laundry apparatus taught by Kim to have a single start-stop button that causes the course output on the output unit to be performed when manipulated.
Ko teaches that reducing the number of buttons on a laundry apparatus input unit is desirable because it reduces production cost (para. 24). Jun teaches a laundry apparatus having first and second treating apparatuses, the laundry apparatus having a single start-stop button and selecting buttons to select which of the treating apparatus to configure and operate (fig. 1, para. 62). One of ordinary skill in the art would have motivated to modify the laundry apparatus taught by Kim to have a single start-stop button in order to reduce production cost, as taught by Ko, and would have had sufficient direction to do so based on the teachings of Jun that demonstrate an application of a single start-stop button in a laundry apparatus having first and second treating apparatuses.
Therefore, the claimed invention would have been obvious at its effective filing date.
As to claim 2, Kim teaches that its output unit is configured to output a progress screen to display progress information of a course (fig. 4). Upon the obvious modification discussed above, the start-stop button would cause the course to pause or resume when the course progress screen is displayed as the intended and expected operation of the button.
As to claim 3, Kim teaches a mode selection object 51B to display the second treating apparatus as selectable (fig. 5) that may be displayed on a course progress screen (para. 136, inputs 51 may be integrated onto the screen) that would, when selected, cause the output unit to output the second course selection screen even when the first course is being performed (para. 152).
As to claim 4, Kim teaches that first courses may be provided in plural (see fig. 9). One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious that when the start-stop button is manipulated while a course is being performed the course would be paused (para. 154) and the output unit would output the course selection screen on which the course is displayed (see fig. 4).
As to claim 5, Kim teaches that the output unit is configured to output a simultaneous screen to display progress information of both first and second courses, the screen comprising a first course object to display the progress of the first course and a second course object to display the progress of the second course (fig. 26).
As to claims 6 and 7, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to maintain progress of the first and second courses when the start-stop button is manipulated on the simultaneous screen, in particular when neither apparatus is selected for input control (see Kim, para. 152); and to output a message to select the first or second course when the start-stop button is manipulated on the simultaneous screen. Based on the teachings of Kim and implied function of the apparatus selector buttons and start-stop button of Jun, one of ordinary skill in the art would have understood that if neither apparatus is selected the start-stop button would have no consequence if manipulated, and would have recognized as obvious to output a message to prompt a user to select an apparatus to control so the user’s intent to stop or pause a course may be carried out.
As to claim 8, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious that when one of the first or second course objects is selected and the start-stop button is manipulated the respective course would be paused or resumed since selection of a course object would cause the start-stop button to pause or resume the respective course, as expected based on the teachings of Kim and Jun.
As to claim 9, Kim teaches that its output unit is configured to output an option screen displaying option information of a course (fig. 12). One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious that the option screen would display option information of a respective course that is selected on a selection screen (see fig. 12, note that the options are displayed according to a selected course).
As to claims 10 and 11, based on the teachings of Kim and Jun discussed above, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious that the start-stop button would be operable to perform or stop the respective course displayed on the option display screen (i.e. start or stop whichever course’s option screen is actively displayed and being controlled, see Kim, para. 152).
As to claim 14, Kim teaches that the input unit is provided in the output unit and may be configured to detect a touch signal of a user on the screen (para. 136).
As to claim 15, Kim teaches a laundry treating apparatus comprising first and second treating apparatuses with respective first and second treating units to receive laundry (fig. 1); an output unit in the first or second apparatus to output a screen (fig. 5); an input unit (e.g. buttons, dial) in the first or second apparatus to receive a user command for selecting a target to be displayed (fig. 5); start-stop buttons 51s in the first or second apparatus (fig. 5), wherein the output unit is configured to output a simultaneous screen to display progress information of both first and second courses, the screen comprising a first course object to display the progress of the first course and a second course object to display the progress of the second course (fig. 26).
Kim teaches respective start-stop buttons 51sT, 51sB (fig. 5) that cause respective courses of the first and second apparatuses to be performed when respective course selection screens are output (see e.g. figs. 24, 25). Kim does not teach a single start-stop button. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to modify the laundry apparatus taught by Kim to have a single start-stop button. Ko teaches that reducing the number of buttons on a laundry apparatus input unit is desirable because it reduces production cost (para. 24). Jun teaches a laundry apparatus having first and second treating apparatuses, the laundry apparatus having a single start-stop button and selecting buttons to select which of the treating apparatus to configure and operate (fig. 1, para. 62). One of ordinary skill in the art would have motivated to modify the laundry apparatus taught by Kim to have a single start-stop button in order to reduce production cost, as taught by Ko, and would have had sufficient direction to do so based on the teachings of Jun that demonstrate an application of a single start-stop button in a laundry apparatus having first and second treating apparatuses.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to maintain progress of the first and second courses when the start-stop button is manipulated on the simultaneous screen, in particular when neither apparatus is selected for input control (see Kim, para. 152); and to output a message to select the first or second course when the start-stop button is manipulated on the simultaneous screen. Based on the teachings of Kim and implied function of the apparatus selector buttons and start-stop button of Jun, one of ordinary skill in the art would have understood that if neither apparatus is selected the start-stop button would have no consequence if manipulated, and would have recognized as obvious to output a message to prompt a user to select an apparatus to control so the user’s intent to stop or pause a course may be carried out.
Therefore, the claimed invention would have been obvious at its effective filing date.
Claims 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 20210164145 by Kim et al. in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 20080022465 by Jun et al. and KR20030084363A by Ko as applied to claims 1 and 9 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 20140067131 by Park et al.
As to claim 12, Kim does not explicitly teach that either of the first or second option display screens are configured such that the respective option selection objects are not selectable during progress of a course and the option selection objects are selectable when the course is paused. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to modify the apparatus taught by Kim to perform this function. Park teaches that a function that is not an instant control of a course in progress (i.e. does not change functions being performed; rather, is a function that is performed after the conclusion of the course) may be selected during progress of the course (para. 377). Based on the teachings of Park, one of ordinary skill in the art would have inferred that pausing the course would be necessary to select course options that affect a course currently in progress (see paras. 376-378). Based on the teachings and suggestions of Park, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to configure the screen of Kim such that an option is not selectable during a course in progress but is selectable in a state in which a course is paused. Therefore, the claimed invention would have been obvious at its effective filing date.
As to claim 13, Kim does not explicitly teach a schedule setting screen. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to provide a schedule setting screen on which a plurality of time setting objects representing different completion times for a course are displayed for selection, and based on the start-stop button being manipulated when one of the time setting objects is selected, scheduling of the course is completed. Park teaches providing a schedule setting screen on which a plurality of time setting objects representing different completion times for a course are displayed for selection (fig. 31). One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to provide a schedule setting screen in order to allow a user to select a desired course completion time (see Park, para. 384). One of ordinary skill in the art would have further recognized as obvious to indicate completion of scheduling of a course when the start-stop button is manipulated since manipulation of a start button indicated a user’s intent to proceed to starting a course after completing configuration of the course.
Conclusion
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/SPENCER E. BELL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1711