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 . In communications filed on 02/16/2026. Claims 1-2, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 17 are amended. Claims 6-7, and 13-15 are cancelled. Claims 18-24 newly added. Claims 1-5, 8-12, and 16-24 are pending in this examination.
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 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. This examination is in response to US Patent Application No. 18/843,365.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/16/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive:
Applicant submits on page 9 of remarks filed on 02/16/2026 that Applicant notes that the drawings of a patent application are not intended to describe item numbers. Instead, the specification of a patent application identifies and describes the numbered elements of the figures. Applicant respectfully requests withdrawal of the objection to the drawings.
To the extent that the Office intends to maintain the objection to the drawings, Applicant requests a more complete explanation of the deficiencies of the drawings and an identification of the MPEP section(s) supporting the objection so that Applicant can adequately respond to the objection.
Examiner respectfully disagrees with applicant argument regarding drawing objection filed on 02/16/2026 on page 9 of remarks and refers applicant to MPEP section below:
1825 The Drawings [R-08.2017]
11.11 Words in Drawings
(a) The drawings shall not contain text matter, except a single word or words, when absolutely indispensable, such as “water,” “steam,” “open,” “closed,” “section on AB,” and, in the case of electric circuits and block schematic or flow sheet diagrams, a few short catchwords indispensable for understanding.
Examiner Maintain the drawing objection.
Drawings
New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in this application because [the drawing filed on 09/03/2024 does not describe what the item numbers are in the FIG 1 -FIG 3]. Applicant is advised to employ the services of a competent patent draftsperson outside the Office, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office no longer prepares new drawings. The corrected drawings are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The requirement for corrected drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Examiner Note
Household appliance has been described in the specification as: household appliance comprises a laundry treating machine, or a food preservation appliance, like a refrigerator or a freezer, or a dishwasher, or a cooking appliance, like an oven.
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 16-22 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
The independent claim 16 recite “… communicating, with the household appliance, the fourth code stored in the household appliance to the cloud computing system when the third code received from the cloud computing system corresponds to the third code stored in the household appliance to verify a second security condition based upon which the cloud computing system authorizes or prevents a connection between the cloud computing system and the household appliance.” Which renders the claim indefinite because the specification states that “when said third code received from cloud computing system matches said third code stored in said household appliance, verifying a second security condition when said fourth code received from said household appliance corresponds to said fourth code stored in said cloud computing system, and authorizing or preventing the connection of the household appliance to said cloud computing system”. However, these limitations are not explained in the claimed limitations. As a result, the metes and bounds of the claim are not clear and the Examiner is unable to search for appropriate prior art.
Claims 21-22 do not cure the deficiency of claim 16 and are rejected under 35 USC 112, 2nd paragraph, for their dependency upon claim 16.
The independent claim 17 recite “… communicating, by the cloud computing system, the third code stored in the cloud computing system based on a first security condition being verified… receiving, by the cloud computing system, a fourth code stored in the household appliance…” Which renders the claim indefinite because the specification states that “communicating by said cloud computing system said third code of security data stored in said cloud computing system to the household appliance, comparing by said household appliance said third code received from said cloud computing system with said third code of security data stored in said household appliance”. However, these limitations are not explained in the claimed limitations. As a result, the metes and bounds of the claim are not clear and the Examiner is unable to search for appropriate prior art.
Claims 18-20 do not cure the deficiency of claim 17 and are rejected under 35 USC 112, 2nd paragraph, for their dependency upon claim 17.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5, 8-12, and 23-24 are allowed. The reason for allowance is that none of closest prior arts mentioned mention in submitted 892 teaches or suggests, alone or in combination, the particular combination of steps or elements as recited in the independent claims 1 such as: ” communicating, by said cloud computing system, said third code stored in said cloud computing system to the household appliance, comparing, by said household appliance, said third code received from said cloud computing system with said third code of security data stored in said household appliance, communicating said fourth code associated with the third code stored in said household appliance to said cloud computing system, when said third code received from said cloud computing system matches with said third code stored in said household appliance, verifying a second security condition when said fourth code received from said household appliance corresponds to said fourth code stored in said cloud computing system”, and the steps in claim 12 such as: “said cloud computing system is configured to communicate said third code of security data stored in said cloud computing system to the household appliance when said first security condition is verified and before authorizing the connection between said household appliance and said cloud computing system, said household appliance is configured to compare said third code received from said cloud computing system with said third code of security data stored in said household appliance and to communicate said fourth code associated with the third code stored in said household appliance to said cloud computing system when said third code received from said cloud computing system matches with said third code stored in said household appliance ,said cloud computing system is configured to verify a second security condition when said fourth code received from said household appliance corresponds to said fourth code stored in said cloud computing system”.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's
disclosure.
See submitted 892 for more relevant references.
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 SHAHRIAR ZARRINEH whose telephone number is (571)272-1207. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5:30pm.
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, Jorge Ortiz-Criado can be reached at 571-272-7624. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHAHRIAR ZARRINEH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2496
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