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 § 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 1-6, 8, 10-15, and 17 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ueyama (U.S. Pat. No. 9790721) in view of Kobayashi (U.S. Pub. No. 20240132001).
With respect to claim 1, Ueyama discloses a refrigerator appliance comprising: a cabinet (Figs. 1A and 1B, housing 2) defining a chilled chamber (refrigerating room 5); door (door 7B) being rotatably mounted to the cabinet (Fig. 2, door 7B is mounted to housing 2 via hinge unit 9) to provide selective access to the chilled chamber (refrigerating room 5); a harness housing (Fig. 6, connection line lead-out member 18) mounted to the cabinet (housing 2), the harness housing (connection line lead-out member 18) comprising a bottom wall (see annotated Fig. 6 below, bottom wall of connection line lead-out member 18) defining an aperture (outlet 20); and one or more wires (connection lines 23) passing through the aperture (outlet 20).
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Annotated Fig. 6
Ueyama fails to disclose wherein the bottom wall is tapered such that the harness housing is thicker further away from the aperture; a grommet received within the aperture; and one or more wires passing through the grommet.
Kobayashi discloses a harness housing (Fig. 5, bracket 50) comprising a wall (main bracket body 52) defining an aperture (through hole 51), wherein the wall (main bracket body 52) is tapered such that the harness housing is thicker further away from the aperture (see annotated Fig. 5 below, bracket 50 tapers at the curved portion between the vertical wall of through hole 51 and horizontal first portion 53. The thickness/height of bracket 50 at the vertical wall of through hole 51 is less than the thickness/height of bracket 50 at the vertical wall adjacent to fixing portion 56); a grommet (grommet 20) received within the aperture (through hole 51); and one or more wires (wire 60) passing through the grommet (grommet 20).
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the bottom wall and outlet opening of Ueyama such that the bottom wall includes a tapered opening and further includes a grommet, such as taught by Kobayashi, with a reasonable expectation of success in order to form a seal that prevents water or dirt from entering the insulation space of the cabinet (Paragraph 0028). Such a modification would result in the harness housing (connection line lead out member 18) of Ueyama being thicker further away from the aperture (outlet 20). See Annotated Fig. 6 below, the connection line lead-out member 18 has a vertical wall near the outlet 20 that is less thick than the right-most vertical wall of connection lead-out line 18.
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With respect to claim 2, Ueyama in view of Kobayashi discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination (Kobayashi) further discloses wherein the wall (main bracket body 52) defines one or more recesses in a bottom surface of the wall (see annotated Fig. 5 below, bracket body 52 recesses from second portion 54 to first portion 53) where the grommet engages the wall (second flange portion 33 of grommet 20 is engaged within the recess from second portion 54 to first portion 53).
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With respect to claim 3, Ueyama in view of Kobayashi discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination further (Kobayashi) further discloses wherein the top of the grommet (Fig. 5, main body portion 22 of grommet 20) defines a first angled surface (surface of holding portion 23) and a second angled surface (surface of linking portion 26) the first angled surface being shorter than the second angled surface (holding portion 23 is shorter than linking portion 26).
With respect to claim 4, Ueyama in view of Kobayashi discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination further discloses wherein the grommet (Kobayashi, grommet 20) defines an alignment feature (Fig. 5, projection 36) and the harness housing (bottom wall of connection line lead-out member 18 as modified by Kobayashi) has a complementary feature defined around the aperture (lock holes 55 located on recessed first portion 53), wherein the grommet (Kobayashi, grommet 20) is receivable within the aperture when the alignment feature (projection 36) and the complementary feature (lock holes 55) are aligned (grommet 20 of Kobayashi would be fully received/sit flush within the outlet 20 of Ueyama when the projections 36 are aligned and inserted into the locking holes 55).
With respect to claim 5, Ueyama in view of Kobayashi discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination (Kobayashi) further discloses wherein the alignment feature is a protrusion (projection 26 protrudes from grommet 20) and the complementary feature is a recess (lock holes 55 are holes).
With respect to claim 6, Ueyama in view of Kobayashi discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination (Kobayashi) further discloses wherein the grommet (grommet 20) defines a locking groove (see annotated Fig. 5 below, vertical wall that sits within through hole 51), a depth of the locking groove being equal to a height of the bottom wall of the harness housing at an inner edge of the aperture (see annotated Fig. 5 below, vertical wall of through hole 51 is equal the adjacent vertical wall of grommet 20).
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With respect to claim 8, Ueyama in view of Kobayashi discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination (Ueyama) further discloses wherein the harness housing (connection line lead-out member 18) is received within a cabinet aperture in the cabinet (Fig. 6, opening 19 formed in ceiling part of the outer case 3 of the housing 2) and comprises a plurality of clips (see annotated Fig. 6 below, clips on the underside of outer case 3) to secure the harness housing to the cabinet (Col. 3, lines 18-21, “line lead-out member 18 is… fitted into an opening 19”).
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Annotated Fig. 6
With respect to claim 10, Ueyama discloses a refrigerator appliance comprising: a cabinet (Figs. 1A and 1B, housing 2) defining a chilled chamber (refrigerating room 5); door (door 7B) being rotatably mounted to the cabinet (Fig. 2, door 7B is mounted to housing 2 via hinge unit 9) to provide selective access to the chilled chamber (refrigerating room 5); a harness housing (Fig. 6, connection line lead-out member 18) mounted to the cabinet (housing 2), the harness housing (connection line lead-out member 18) comprising a bottom wall (see annotated Fig. 6 below, bottom wall of connection line lead-out member 18) defining an aperture (outlet 20); and one or more wires (connection lines 23) passing through the aperture (outlet 20).
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Ueyama fails to disclose wherein the bottom wall defines one or more recesses in a bottom surface of the bottom wall; a grommet received within the aperture, wherein the grommet engages the bottom wall over the one or more recesses; and one or more wires passing through the grommet.
Kobayashi discloses a harness housing (Fig. 5, bracket 50) comprising a wall (main bracket body 52) defining an aperture (through hole 51), wherein the wall (main bracket body 52) defines one or more recesses in a bottom surface of the wall (see annotated Fig. 5 below, bracket body 52 recesses from second portion 54 to first portion 53); a grommet (grommet 20) received within the aperture (through hole 51), wherein the grommet engages the bottom wall over the one or more recesses (second flange portion 33 of grommet 20 is engaged within the recess from second portion 54 to first portion 53); and one or more wires (wire 60) passing through the grommet (grommet 20).
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the bottom wall and outlet opening of Ueyama such that the bottom wall includes a recessed portion and further includes a grommet, such as taught by Kobayashi, with a reasonable expectation of success in order to form a tight seal that prevents water or dirt from entering the insulation space of the cabinet (Paragraph 0028).
With respect to claim 11, Ueyama in view of Kobayashi discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination further discloses wherein the bottom wall (bottom wall of connection line lead-out member 18 of Ueyama as modified to include the recessed wall structure of Kobayashi) is tapered (see annotated Fig. 5 below, bracket 50 tapers at the curved portion between the vertical wall of through hole 51 and horizontal first portion 53) such that the harness housing is thicker further away from the aperture (see annotated Fig. 6 below, the connection line lead out member 18 of Ueyama is thicker further away from the outlet 20. The connection line lead-out member 18 has a vertical wall near the outlet 20 that is less thick than the right-most vertical wall of connection lead-out line 18).
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With respect to claim 12, Ueyama in view of Kobayashi discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination further (Kobayashi) further discloses wherein the top of the grommet (Fig. 5, main body portion 22 of grommet 20) defines a first angled surface (surface of holding portion 23) and a second angled surface (surface of linking portion 26) the first angled surface being shorter than the second angled surface (holding portion 23 is shorter than linking portion 26).
With respect to claim 13, Ueyama in view of Kobayashi discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination further discloses wherein the grommet (Kobayashi, grommet 20) defines an alignment feature (Fig. 5, projection 36) and the harness housing (bottom wall of connection line lead-out member 18 as modified by Kobayashi) has a complementary feature defined around the aperture (lock holes 55 located on recessed first portion 53), wherein the grommet (Kobayashi, grommet 20) is receivable within the aperture when the alignment feature (projection 36) and the complementary feature (lock holes 55) are aligned (grommet 20 of Kobayashi would be fully received/sit flush within the outlet 20 of Ueyama when the projections 36 are aligned and inserted into the locking holes 55).
With respect to claim 14, Ueyama in view of Kobayashi discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination (Kobayashi) further discloses wherein the alignment feature is a protrusion (projection 26 protrudes from grommet 20) and the complementary feature is a recess (lock holes 55 are holes).
With respect to claim 15, Ueyama in view of Kobayashi discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination (Kobayashi) further discloses wherein the grommet (grommet 20) defines a locking groove (see annotated Fig. 5 below, vertical wall that sits within through hole 51), a depth of the locking groove being equal to a height of the bottom wall of the harness housing at an inner edge of the aperture (see annotated Fig. 5 below, vertical wall of through hole 51 is equal the adjacent vertical wall of grommet 20).
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With respect to claim 17, Ueyama in view of Kobayashi discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination (Ueyama) further discloses wherein the harness housing (connection line lead-out member 18) is received within a cabinet aperture in the cabinet (Fig. 6, opening 19 formed in ceiling part of the outer case 3 of the housing 2) and comprises a plurality of clips (see annotated Fig. 6 below, clips on the underside of outer case 3) to secure the harness housing to the cabinet (Col. 3, lines 18-21, “line lead-out member 18 is… fitted into an opening 19”).
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Claims 7, 9, 16, and 18 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ueyama (U.S. Pat. No. 9790721) in view of Kobayashi (U.S. Pub. No. 20240132001) in further view of Buchser (U.S. Pat. No. 4715512).
With respect to claims 7 and 16, Ueyama in view of Kobayashi discloses the limitation set forth above. Ueyama further discloses wherein the harness housing is made of plastic (Col. 3, lines 18-19, “connection line lead-out member 18 is, for example, made of a synthetic resin”). The combination fails to disclose wherein the grommet is made of plastic.
Buchser discloses a grommet (Fig. 1, grommet 32) made of plastic (Col. 5, lines 5-7, “grommet 32 is formed of… polyvinyl chloride”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the grommet of Ueyama in view of Kobayashi such that it is made of polyvinyl chloride since it has been held to be within general skill of a worker in the art to select known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. See MPEP 2144.07.
With respect to claims 9 and 18, Ueyama in view of Kobayashi discloses the limitation set forth above. The combination (Ueyama) further discloses foam (Fig. 6, heat-insulating foam material 4) in the cabinet (housing 2) below the harness housing (connection line lead-out member 18). Ueyama is silent to the foam being a spray foam.
Buchser discloses spray foam injected into the cabinet (Col. 5, lines 21-22, “introducing foam-in-place insulation into the space between the liner and shell”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heat-insulating foam material of Ueyama such that it is a spray foam-in-place insulation, such as taught by Buchser, with a reasonable expectation of success in order to fill the spaces between the inner and outer refrigerator cases and provide efficient thermal insulation. It is further noted that using spray foam insulation within refrigerator liners is well known in the art to thermally insulate the inside of the refrigerator appliance.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/30/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding Applicant’s arguments on page 5 that because Kobayashi’s bracket 50 is “formed by ‘bending and pressing a metal plate material’… bracket 50 has a constant thickness as clearly shown in Fig. 5 – not a tapered thickness as recited in claim 1. Moreover, there is no tapering of the “bottom wall” of bracket 50 as recited in the claims”, the Examiner respectfully takes the position that the main bracket body 52 does taper, or gradually change size, at the curved portions as shown in the annotated Fig. 5 below. The Examiner also notes that the thickness of the bottom wall of the instant application is measured from a lowermost point to an uppermost point in a vertical direction, such as show in Fig. 9, where the increased “thickness” of bottom wall 274 is a vertical height from the uppermost point of 274 to the lowermost point of the angled wall 290. Therefore, the thickness of the bottom wall at any given point is the vertical thickness or height of the wall. The thickness of the bracket body in a vertical direction (height) at point A, nearest the through hole 51, tapers in a curved manner to reach the vertical thickness (height) at point B then tapers again to reach the vertical thickness (height) at point C and so on. The tapering of main bracket body 52 results in an increased vertical thickness (height) of the overall bracket 50 at point E as shown in the annotated Fig. 5. Therefore, the bottom wall (main bracket body 52) tapers such that the harness housing (bracket 50) is thicker further away from the aperture (through hole 51) as claimed in claim 1.
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Applicant further argues that the “height does not increase away from the aperture, but instead decreases, contrary to the claim 1”, however the examiner notes that the language of claim 1 does not require a single taper resulting in an increased thickness. The claim language “wherein the bottom wall is tapered such that the harness housing is thicker further away from the aperture” does not preclude the bottom wall from decreasing in thickness, such as from point A to point B, and then increasing in thickness, such as from point B to point C.
Furthermore, the Examiner notes that it is the combination of Ueyama in view of Kobayashi that teaches all of the elements of claim 1. As stated on pages 4-5 of the non-final rejection dated 3/16/2026, modifying the bottom wall and outlet opening 20 of Ueyama to include a tapered opening and grommet of Kobayashi “would result in the harness housing (connection line lead out member 18) of Ueyama being thicker further away from the aperture (outlet 20).” The examiner notes that the language of claim 1 clearly states that the harness housing (210) is thicker further away from the aperture, it does not state that the bottom wall itself is thicker further from the aperture. Claim 1 requires only the overall thickness (height) of the harness housing to be thicker at a point further away from the aperture than at a point near the aperture. The annotated Fig. 6 shown below, also included in the non-final rejection dated 3/16/2026, shows the tapered wall of Kobayashi that receives grommet 50 is included at the lower opening of outlet 50 of Ueyama. The overall vertical thickness (height) of the connection line lead out member 18 (the harness housing) is smaller at a point near the outlet 20 than it is a point farther away from the outlet 20, such as the vertical wall of 18 shown below. Therefore, the combination of Ueyama in view of Kobayashi teaches all of the elements of claim 1.
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Regarding Applicant’s statement on page 6 that independent claim 10 has been amended to include similar limitations as claim 1, the Examiner notes that the language of claim 10 has not been amended to include any further limitations therefore the rejection made in the Non-Final Rejection (3/16/2026) is maintained.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, and all show structures similar to various elements of applicant’s disclosure.
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.
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/E.I.A./Examiner, Art Unit 3637
/HANH V TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637
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