DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 “camera” [Claim 15] must be clearly shown / labeled / identified within the drawings 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.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “17” has been used to designate both a front panel and a front face. 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. 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 Objections
Claims 9-14 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.75(c) as being in improper form because a multiple dependent claim [such as Claim 9] cannot depend upon another multiple dependent claim [such as Claim 7]. See MPEP § 608.01(n). Accordingly, the claims have not been further treated on the merits.
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.
Claims 3 & 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. As to Claim 3, the position is taken that the claimed limitation of “four storage compartments” is misdescription since the interior space would at best define three compartments when the drawer member is seated within the body of the device (note fig. 11, where D & E actually define a single contiguous compartment). As to Claim 6, the position is taken that the disclosure does not provide support for the roof having a rail (11a) or the base having a channel (13a); and therefore, it is unclear how the “roof or base has at least one rail” and “the roof or base has at least one channel” when the specification and drawings only corroborate the roof having a channel and the base having a rail.
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.
Claims 1-3 & 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 201135251. CN`251 teaches of a device (fig. 3 for instance) for storing footwear (note fig. 2) comprising: a body (1) defining an internal space (shown in fig. 2 view) for storing the footwear and having an opening (viewed as the front opening shown in fig. 5 for instance) for accessing the internal space; a drawer member (3) configured to be slidingly received within the opening (shown), the drawer member configured to support at least one pair of footwear thereon (shown in fig. 2); wherein the drawer member has a front face (30) and at least one support member (22) removably attached thereto, the front face being configured such that when the drawer member is inserted into the internal space of the body the front face closes the opening (such is the case when the drawer member resides within the body – not adjacent drawer members for instance) and the at least one support member being adjustable to separate the footwear of the at least one pair of footwear supported thereon (figs. 1-2). As to Claim 2, the support member is configured to support one item of footwear of a pair of items of footwear in an elevated manner above the other item of footwear in the pair of items of footwear (clearly depicted in fig. 2). As to Claim 3, the drawer member has two support members (multiple support members as shown – fig. 2) removably attached thereto to define four storage compartments in the drawer member (at least six compartments are shown in a manner similar to applicant’s representation), each storage compartment configured to receive one item of footwear of two pairs of items of footwear (shown). As to Claim 7, the front face of the drawer member comprises a panel (shown as a panel in the figures) that is configured to be snugly received within the opening of the body (note snug fit of adjacent drawer members).
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 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN`251 in view of Darnell [US 3,028,207]. CN`251 teaches applicant’s basic inventive claimed device as outlined above, including the body have a roof (top) and a base (bottom); but CN`251 does not necessarily show the roof being configured to be complimentary to the base to facilitate vertical stacking of devices. As to this aspect, Darnell is cited as an evidence reference for the known use of providing stackable devices (fig. 1) where a body (10) houses a drawer member (50), and the body includes a roof (11) and a base (13) with the roof being configured to be complimentary to the base to facilitate vertical stacking of devices (note fig. 3). Accordingly, the position is taken that 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 device of CN`251 so as to incorporate complimentary features along the roof and base in view of Darnell’s teaching, with a reasonable expectation of success, because this arrangement would enhance the versatility of the prior art’s device by providing a positive seating arrangement in which multiple devices could be stacked together thereby providing a maximum amount of storage potential while only occupying a limited amount of floor space in a room as dependent upon the needs and/or preferences of an end user. Regarding Claim 5, as modified, the roof is configured to have a convex configuration (note the convex area along (11) of Darnell’s roof) and the base is configured to have a concave configuration (can be viewed as either the cutout portion along (13) or the concave area defined by (13) and (15) – note fig. 3 of Darnell) such that when one device is stacked atop another device the concave base of the upper device mates with the convex roof of the lower device (shown in fig. 3). Regarding Claim 6, as modified, the base has at least one rail (such as (15)) extending longitudinally along and the roof has at least one channel (defined between (11a) and (12) for instance) extending longitudinally along such that when the devices are stacked in a vertical manner, the at least one rail in the base is received within the channel in the roof (clearly shown in fig. 3 of Darnell).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN`251 in view of Rydell [US 5,228,760]. CN`251 teaches applicant’s basic inventive claimed device as outlined above, but does not show the front panel as having perforations as prescribed by applicant. As to this feature, Rydell is cited as an evidence for the known use of providing perforations (14) within walls / panels (fig. 1) of a device to facilitate air flow into and out of a body (20) when a movable member (26) is in a closed position. Accordingly, the position is taken that 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 device of CN`251 so as to incorporate perforations along the front panel in view of Rydell’s teaching, with a reasonable expectation of success, because this arrangement would enhance the versatility of the prior art’s device by providing a means by which both ventilation external to and within the body is achieved [col. 5], as would be readily appreciated with a device used to contain personal items worn by a user.
Claims 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN`251 in view of Yoo et al., [US 2021/0402029]. CN`251 teaches applicant’s basic inventive claimed device as outlined above, but does not show the internal space as having both a camera and a disinfection system as prescribed by applicant. As to these features, Yoo is cited as an evidence for the known use of a device (100) having a body with an internal space (note fig. 1A), wherein the internal space includes a camera (432) to provide a user with a visual indication of the contents of the device, and further comprises a disinfection system to provide disinfection of the footwear stored therein, wherein the disinfection system (422) comprises one or more LEDs mounted to an internal surface of the body to emit short-wavelength ultraviolet light in the UC (UV-C) spectrum to irradiate the internal space [0164]-[0165]. Accordingly, the position is taken that 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 device of CN`251 so as to incorporate both a camera and a disinfection system within the internal space in view of Yoo’s teaching, with a reasonable expectation of success, because this arrangement would enhance the versatility of the prior art’s device by providing both a means by which a user can acquire a shoe-related image as dependent upon the needs of an end user [0149] and disinfect shoes via a ultraviolet light / photocatalyst emitting.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure – see the attached Form PTO-892 showing various devices that are capable of storing footwear.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES O HANSEN whose telephone number is (571)272-6866. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8 am - 4:30 pm.
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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JOH
June 16, 2026
/James O Hansen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637
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