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.
Claims 2-4 and 9 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 2 recites the limitation "the object" in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the adjustable property" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 4 recites the limitation "the property" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "the object" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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) 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Belveal et al. U.S. PGPub 2017/0082991 (hereinafter “Belveal”).
Regarding claims 1, 11 and 12, Belveal discloses a method for operating a household appliance (e.g. laundry machine), the household appliance including a display device (e.g. LED status indicator) having a display theme configured to control an appearance of elements displayed by the display device and a control apparatus configured to control the display device (e.g. ¶37 and 58; Fig. 1-3), the method comprising the steps of: a) detecting an item of activation information (e.g. scannable code) from a physical accessory of the household appliance using an optical sensor of an external device (e.g. user/mobile device) (e.g. ¶41-42 and 56); b) processing the detected activation information to generate an activation signal using a processing unit of the external device (e.g. ¶56, 58, 68, 82, 104 and 119); and c) transmitting the generated activation signal to the control apparatus to activate an adjustment of the display theme, such that the appearance of subsequent elements displayed by the display device of the household appliance is controlled by the adjusted display theme (e.g. ¶56, 58, 68, 82, 104 and 119); wherein the household appliance is selected from the group consisting of a cooking appliance, a refrigeration appliance, a washing appliance, a drying appliance, and a dishwasher (e.g. ¶5 and 35).
Regarding claim 2, Belveal discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the optical sensor is a camera for detecting the item of activation information, and further comprising arranging the activation information on the object or on a packaging of the object (e.g. ¶41-42 and 56).
Regarding claim 3, Belveal discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the adjustable property of the display element includes at least one member shown in the display element and selected from the group consisting of an adjustment of a color tone, a color saturation, a brightness of a color, a theme world which is predetermined in terms of color, and a symbol (e.g. ¶56, 58, 68, 82, 104 and 119).
Regarding claim 4, Belveal discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the generated activation signal is used to initially activate or repeatedly activate the adjustment or to adjust the property of the display element (e.g. ¶56, 58, 68, 82, 104 and 119).
Regarding claim 5, Belveal discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the generated activation signal includes a specific validity which comprises an unlimited validity or a limited validity (e.g. ¶56, 58, 68, 82, 104 and 119).
Regarding claim 6, Belveal discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising carrying out the step c) via a communication interface of the household appliance (e.g. ¶56, 58, 68, 82, 104 and 119; Fig. 1-3).
Regarding claim 7, Belveal discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the activation information comprises a two-dimensional code (e.g. ¶41-42 and 56).
Regarding claim 8, Belveal discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the activation information comprises a Quick Response code (e.g. ¶41-42 and 56).
Regarding claim 9, Belveal discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the optical sensor is a camera, and further comprising: identifying the object by object recognition (e.g. ¶41-42 and 56); and generating the activation signal as a function of the detected and identified object (e.g. ¶56, 58, 68, 82, 104 and 119).
Regarding claim 10, Belveal discloses a computer program product for operating a household appliance, comprising a computer program embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium, wherein the computer program, when loaded into a program-controlled device and executed by the program-controlled device, causes the program-controlled device to perform the method as set forth in claim 1 (e.g. ¶37 and 58; Fig. 1-3).
Regarding claim 13, Belveal discloses the system of claim 12, further comprising a plurality H of household appliances, where H ≥ 2, wherein the control apparatus of each of the plurality of household appliances is designed to adjust the property of the display element of the plurality of household appliances by the transmitted activation signal such that the adjusted properties of the display elements are identical (e.g. ¶56, 58, 68, 82, 104 and 119).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES R KASENGE whose telephone number is (571)272-3743. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30am to 4pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kenneth Lo can be reached at (571) 272-9774. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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CK
July 11, 2026
/CHARLES R KASENGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2116
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