CTNF 18/925,457 CTNF 88725 DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE Acknowledgements This office action is in response to the application filed 10/24/2024. Claim 1 is pending and have been examined. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co. , 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. 07-21-aia AIA Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luckman et al. (US 2010/0000264 A1) in view of Joerger et al. (US 2009/0322195 A1) . Re claim 1 , Luckman discloses washing machine (abstract) comprising: a main body (ref. 10); a tub (ref. 16) disposed in the main body to contain water; a drum (ref. 18) rotatably installed in the tub; and a detergent dispenser (ref. 28) including: a detergent dispenser housing (ref. 30); a detergent container (ref. 60) insertable into the detergent dispenser housing; and detergent container covers (top of ref. 672, ref. 120 and ref. 74, see fig. 4) configured to cover the detergent container, wherein the detergent container comprises: a first accommodation portion (ref. 62, 64) configured to accommodate a first detergent and discharge the first detergent from the first accommodation portion through a valve unit (ref. 82 and 100; or also consider ref. 76); and a second accommodation portion (ref. 110) configured to accommodate a second detergent and discharge the second detergent from the second accommodation portion along with water (¶ [0041]-[0042]), and wherein the detergent container cover comprises: an opening (see fig. 32 openings on top of ref. 74) through which the second detergent is supplied to the second accommodation portion (via ref. 68), and Luckman does not explicitly disclose wherein [one of] the detergent container cover comprises an inclined guide formed adjacent to the opening to be downward inclined toward the opening. However, Joerger discloses it is well-known in the washing machine art (abstract) to provide a detergent container cover (ref. 148, see fig. 10) comprising an opening for a second detergent (openings to refs. 105, 106, see figs. 5 and 10) and an inclined guide (see fig. 10 edges of ref. 148 downward inclined toward opening) formed adjacent to the opening to be downward inclined toward the opening. At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the detergent container cover of Luckman to further be a detergent container covering comprising an inclined guide, as suggested by Joerger, in order to direct detergent and/or additives to the desired receptacle. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-7299. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30am to 6:30pm. 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, Michael Barr can be reached on 571-272-1414. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. KEVIN G. LEE Examiner Art Unit 1711 /KEVIN G LEE/Examiner, Art Unit 1711 Application/Control Number: 18/925,457 Page 2 Art Unit: 1711 Application/Control Number: 18/925,457 Page 3 Art Unit: 1711 Application/Control Number: 18/925,457 Page 4 Art Unit: 1711 Application/Control Number: 18/925,457 Page 5 Art Unit: 1711
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