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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment and corresponding arguments, filed 7/16/2025, have been reviewed and considered. Claims 1, 6, 8 and 11-13 have been amended and claims 2 and 4 have been canceled. Therefore, claims 1, 3 and 5-14 are currently pending. Applicant’s amendments are considered sufficient in overcoming the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejections of the previous Office Action. Additionally, the amendment to independent claim 1 (incorporation of allowable subject matter) overcomes the prior art rejection(s) of the previous Office Action. However, applicant’s amendment to independent claim 11 and corresponding arguments are not persuasive in overcoming the 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) rejection by ISAACSON (US 2,758,761). Note that the applicant incorporated a portion of allowable claim 12 into claim 11; however, it is the combination of all the limitations of claim 12 that makes it allowable. Note the prior art rejection of claim 11 below. This Office Action is a Final Rejection.
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) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by ISAACSON (US 2,758,761).
Regarding claim 11, ISAACSON discloses a clothes folding machine comprising: a frame part (36; can also include 32, 34) (Fig. 1); a loading part (20, 22) into which clothes are inserted (Fig. 1); and a folding part (24, 26, 28, etc.) that transfers and folds the inserted clothes (Fig. 1). ISAACSON discloses the folding part including: a folding plate (one of 24, 26 and 28) that folds the clothes by rotation (around 38) and a link plate (one of the portions of hinge 30) that is link-coupled (other portions of hinge 30) to the folding plate and rotates around a rotary axis (axis as defined by 38) (Figures 1 and 3). ISAACSON further discloses a folding plate motor (72, 74; described as “a pneumatic motor within claim 3) that applies a rotational force (by using element 40) to the folding plate (24, 26 or 28); a driving disk (40) that rotates according to an operation of the folding plate motor (72, 74); a first link (56) that is link-coupled (functionally and/or physically attached) to the driving disk (40) and is coupled at a position eccentric from a center of the driving disk (40); and a second link (60) (could alternatively be element 38) that is link-coupled (functionally and/or physically attached) to the first link (56) (Figures 1-3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 3 and 5-10 are allowed.
Claims 12-14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHAN E DURHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-8642. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Monday - Friday.
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NED
/NATHAN E DURHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732