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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the second stopper & second fitting part (cl. 8-10 & 19) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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, 13-15, & 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR20210082785) in view of Slivon (5992956).
Regarding claim 1, Kim teaches the structure substantially as claimed, including an onboard refrigerator (1) that comprises: a cabinet (3); a drawer (2), wherein the drawer is slidably provided inside the cabinet (Figs. 5-7) via sliding means (22); but fail(s) to teach a sliding component having an included angle. However, Slivon teaches a sliding component (30, 35, 42-43, 50), wherein the sliding component comprises a first sliding member (52) and a second sliding member (51), the first sliding member is provided on a drawer (40), the second sliding member is provided at an inner wall surface (25) of a cabinet (11), the second sliding member has a sliding surface (i.e., surface of 50 facing 53) that is sliding-fitted to the first sliding member (Fig. 4), and the sliding surface of the second sliding member and a plane orthogonal to a height direction of the cabinet have an included angle (between 24 & 37, or between 28 & 32) therebetween in a first direction, wherein the first direction is orthogonal to the height direction and a front-rear direction of the cabinet (Fig. 4). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to substitute a sliding component, as taught by Slivon, for each of the sliding means of Kim, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to facilitate extension & retraction of the drawer, and because such an outcome would have been a predictable result of such a substitution of one known sliding means for another.
Regarding claim 2, Slivon teaches a sliding component (30, 35, 42-43, 50) that further comprises a fixing base (30, 35), the fixing base is provided inside a cabinet (Fig. 4), the second sliding member (51) is provided on the fixing base, the fixing base has an oblique surface (32, 37), the oblique surface forms the included angle with the plane (Fig. 4), the second sliding member is provided on the oblique surface (Fig. 4), and the sliding surface of the second sliding member is parallel to the oblique surface (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 3, Kim as modified teaches two first sliding members (52 of Slivon) & two second sliding members (51 of Slivon), each of the first sliding members corresponds to one instance of the second sliding members (as in Fig. 4 of Slivon), the oblique surface is a plurality of oblique surfaces, and each of the second sliding members corresponds to one instance of the plurality of oblique surfaces (as in Fig. 4 of Slivon).
Regarding claim 4, Kim as modified teaches a fixing base (30 & 35 of Slivon) that comprises a first side surface (32 of Slivon) and a second side surface (37 of Slivon) that are provided opposite to each other in the first direction (as in Figs. 1-3c of Kim, showing sliding means (22) on laterally-opposite sides of the cabinet (3)), the oblique surface (32, 37 of Slivon) comprises the first side surface and the second side surface, the first side surface extends in a direction from bottom to top and inclines toward the second side surface, the second side surface extends in the direction from bottom to top and inclines toward the first side surface (as in Fig. 4 of Slivon), one instance of the second sliding members (51 of Slivon) corresponds to the first side surface, and another instance (51 of Slivon) of the second sliding members corresponds to the second side surface (as in Fig. 4 of Slivon).
Regarding claim 5, Slivon teaches an included angle (between 24 & 37, or between 28 & 32) greater than 30 degrees and equal to 60 degrees (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 6, Kim as modified teaches a second sliding member (51 of Slivon) connected to an oblique surface (32, 37 of Slivon) via unspecified fastening means. Additionally, Slivon further teaches using screws (Fig. 4) to secure a sliding member (52) to an oblique surface (42, 43). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to substitute screws, as taught by Slivon, for the fastening means of Kim as modified, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to facilitate repair & replacement of the second sliding members.
Regarding claim 13, Kim teaches a vehicle (par. 1-2), comprising: a vehicle body (par. 2); and an onboard refrigerator provided inside the vehicle body (par. 2).
Regarding claim 14, Kim as modified teaches a first sliding member (52 of Slivon) and a drawer (2 of Kim) that are fixed to each other, a second sliding member (51 of Slivon) and a cabinet (3 of Kim) that are fixed to each other, and the first sliding member is slidable in a length direction of the second sliding member (as in Fig. 3 of Slivon).
Regarding claim 15, Kim as modified teaches an inner wall surface (i.e., inner surface of 3 of Kim) of a cabinet (3 of Kim) that comprises a bottom wall (i.e., bottom wall of 3 of Kim), the fixing base (30, 35 of Slivon) is provided on the bottom wall (as in Fig. 4 of Slivon), and the second sliding member (51 of Slivon) is provided on the fixing base.
Regarding claim 20, Slivon teaches a first sliding member (52) provided with a sliding rail (52), and a second sliding member (51) provided with a guide groove (i.e., groove along length of 51 - see Fig. 4), and the sliding rail is sliding-fitted inside the guide groove (Fig. 4).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR20210082785) & Slivon (5992956) in view of Chiang (20100244643). Kim as modified teaches the structure substantially as claimed, including a fixing base (30 & 35 of Slivon) and a drawer (2 of Kim); but fail(s) to teach a first stopper & a first fitting part. However, Chiang teaches stopping means (11, 22) comprising a first stopper (11) provided at a front end of a fixing base (i.e., base to which 10 is attached), and a first fitting part (22) is provided at a rear end of a drawer (i.e., drawer to which 20 is attached), and the first stopper is capable of fitting to the first fitting part to restrict a maximum opening degree of the drawer (Fig. 4). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add stopping means, as taught by Chiang, to the structure of Kim as modified, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to prevent over-extension of the drawer.
Claims 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR20210082785) & Slivon (5992956) in view of Ohshima (5135294). Kim as modified teaches the structure substantially as claimed, including a fixing base (30 & 35 of Slivon) and a drawer (2 of Kim); but fail(s) to teach a rack or damping gear. However, Ohshima teaches braking means (5, 9) comprising a rack (5) is provided on a fixing base (3a), a damping gear (16) provided on a drawer (2a), and the damping gear and the rack are fitted (Fig. 4 & col. 4, line 7), and an installation frame (9a, 9b), the installation frame is provided at a bottom wall of the drawer (Fig. 3), the damping gear is provided on the installation frame (Figs. 4-5), and the rack is provided on the fixing base and extends in a length direction (Fig. 3) of a second sliding member (3). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add braking means, as taught by Ohshima, to the structure of Kim as modified, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to brake the drawer as it approaches the cabinet (as suggested by col, 4, lines 38-49 of Ohshima), thereby preventing damage to the drawer & the cabinet while reducing the noise produced by closure of the drawer.
Claims 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR20210082785) & Slivon (5992956) in view of Malinowski (5544998). Kim as modified teaches the structure substantially as claimed, including a sliding component (30, 35, 42-43, 50 of Slivon); but fail(s) to teach connectors. However, Malinowski teaches connecting means (40) comprising a rail (40) having two connectors (42) provided at two ends (Fig. 1) of a first sliding member (28), and the connectors are connected to the first sliding member and the drawer. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add connecting means, as taught by Malinowski, to the structure of Kim as modified, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide additional support to the drawer (as suggested by col. 3, lines 21-22 of Malinowski). Hence, Kim as modified would teach connectors (42) that are plate members made of an unspecified material & connected to both the drawer & the first sliding member by unspecified securing means. Additionally, the examiner takes OFFICIAL NOTICE that making a rail from metal is well-known in the art. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to make each of the connecting means of Kim as modified from metal, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to increase their strength & durability. Hence, Kim as modified would teach connectors (42 of Malinowski) that are each metal-plate members. Additionally, Malinowski broadly teaches using thread members (18) to connect one component to another component. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to substitute thread members, as taught by Malinowski, for the unspecified securing means of Kim as modified, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to facilitate repair & replacement of the drawer, connecting means, & first sliding member. Hence, Kim as modified would teach connectors (42 of Malinowski) detachably connected to a first sliding member (52 of Slivon) and a drawer (2 of Kim), one end of each connector is connected to the first sliding member by a thread member (18 of Malinowski), and the other end of each connector is connected to the drawer by a thread member (18 of Malinowski).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR20210082785) & Slivon (5992956) in view of Kueng (5584550). Kim as modified teaches the structure substantially as claimed, including a fixing base (30, 35 of Slivon) and a second sliding member (51 of Slivon) connected to each other by screws (see above); but fail(s) to teach first & second installation sites. However, Kueng teaches securing means (16 & corresponding holes in 22) comprising a plurality of first installation sites (i.e., locations of 22 corresponding to 16) provided on a fixing base (22) that are separate in a length direction of the fixing base, a plurality of second installation sites (16) provided on a second sliding member (10) that are separate in a length direction of the second sliding member, and the plurality of first installation sites and the plurality of first installation sites correspond one to one (Fig. 4). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to add securing means, as taught by Kueng, between the fixing base & second sliding member of Kim as modified, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide a stronger connection therebetween. Hence, Kim as modified would teach thread members (i.e., screws - see par. 11 above) that are connected to the plurality of first installation sites and the plurality of second installation sites (as in Fig. 4 of Kueng).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-10 & 19 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW ING whose telephone number is (571)272-6536. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.. 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.
/MATTHEW W ING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637