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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Korea on 5/26/22. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the KR10-2022-0064958 application as 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 dishwasher main body or frame 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 § 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 2 and 12 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claims 2 and 12 it is unclear what is meant by “the fixing groove is recessed in a horizontal direction with the support panel”. It is unclear how the fixing groove is meant to be recessed with the support panel, it appears that the claim may be meant to claim that the fixing groove is recessed in a horizontal direction of the support panel, as this is what was meant to be claimed per the examiner’s best understanding of the claimed invention.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Lesko et al.(US10859306).
[claim 1] Lesko teaches a compressor fixing device(fig 3), comprising: a base(7); a protruding member(295) protruding from an upper surface of the base; a buffering member(102); a support panel(35) having a through hole(285); and a clip member(300) including: a first region(310) in which a fixing groove is formed(receiving protruding member 295 in fig 8), a second region(305) facing the first region and in which a fixing hole(325) is formed, and a third region(315) connecting the first region and the second region, wherein the base, the protruding member, the buffering member, the support panel, and the clip member are configured to be assembled together to fix a compressor(27) to a product(150) and so that, when assembled together and fixing the compressor to the product, the support panel is connected to the compressor, the protruding member penetrates the buffering member so as to be surrounded by the buffering member, a top of the protruding member and a top of the buffering member penetrate the through hole so that the buffering member is secured to the through hole(fig 3,7), the top of the protruding member is inserted into the fixing groove and penetrates the fixing hole, and a lower surface of the first region is in contact with the buffering member, and the base is secured to the product, so that the compressor is thereby fixed to the product(fig 7,8).
[claim 2] wherein, when the base, the protruding member, the buffering member, the support panel, and the clip member are assembled together, the fixing groove is recessed in a horizontal direction with the support panel(fig 7).
[claim 3] wherein the third region is connected to one end of the first region and one end of the second region(fig 7), and the clip member has a U-shape(fig 7) in which the first region(310), the third region(315) and the second region(305) are sequentially connected.
[claim 4] wherein the second region has a first end connected to the third region, and a second end that is opposite the first end and is bent away from the first region(as seen in fig 7).
[claim 5] wherein the top of the protruding member has a cross-sectional region that decreases in an upward direction at a position corresponding to the second end of the second region(tapered upper end of 295 seen in figs 7,8).
[claim 6] wherein the protruding member has a concave portion(A in annotated fig 8 below) that is recessed inwardly, and when the base, the protruding member, the buffering member, the support panel, and the clip member are assembled together, the concave portion is fitted into the fixing groove(fig 7).
[claim 7] wherein the buffering member has a cylindrical shape(fig 6) and has a hollow through the cylindrical shape(fig 8), and the protruding member penetrates the buffering member through the hollow(fig 8).
[claim 8] wherein, when the base, the protruding member, the buffering member, the support panel, and the clip member are assembled together, the top of the protruding member protrudes past an upper portion of the buffering member(fig 7).
[claim 9] wherein the buffering member is made of an elastic material(C3 L55-59).
[claim 10] wherein the buffering member includes a recess(240) formed along a perimeter of the buffering member, and when the base, the protruding member, the buffering member, the support panel, and the clip are assembled together, the recess of the buffering member is secured to the through hole(C4 L16-20).
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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.
The factual inquiries 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.
Claim(s) 11-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lesko et al(US10859306) in view of Lokhande et al.(US10408526).
[claim 11] Lesko teaches an appliance comprising, a main body(2), a compressor(27) housed in the main body; and a compressor fixing device(fig 3) including: a base(7) secured to the main body or a frame of the appliance, a buffering member(102), a protruding member(295) protruding from an upper surface of the base and penetrating the buffering member so as to be surrounded by the buffering member(fig 8), a support panel(35) connected to the compressor and having a through hole(285), and a clip member(300) including a first region(310) in which a fixing groove(receiving protruding member 295 in figs 7,8) is formed, a second region(310) facing the first region and in which a fixing hole(325) is formed, and a third region(315) connecting the first region and the second region, wherein a top of the protruding member and a top of the buffering member penetrate the through hole so that the buffering member is secured to the through hole(fig 7), and the top of the protruding member is inserted into the fixing groove and penetrates the fixing hole(fig 7,8), and a lower surface of the first region is in contact with the buffering member(fig 7,8). Lesko teaches an appliance as detailed above, with the appliance being a refrigerator. Lesko however may not teach that the appliance is a dishwasher. Lokhande teaches a similar appliance with a compressor, and further teaches that compressors can be used in refrigerators and dishwashers(C2 L44-49). As such it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date to use the compressor and compressor fixing device of Lesko in a dishwasher, as Lokhande teaches dishwashers use compressors, and this would provide a means for mounting a compressor in a dishwasher.
[claim 12] wherein the fixing groove is recessed in a horizontal direction with the support panel(fig 7).
[claim 13] wherein the third region is connected to one end of the first region and one end of the second region(fig 7), and the clip member has a U-shape(fig 7) in which the first region(310), the third region(315) and the second region(305) are sequentially connected.
[claim 14] wherein the second region has a first end connected to the third region, and a second end that is opposite the first end and is bent away from the first region(as seen in fig 7).
[claim 15] wherein the top of the protruding member has a cross-sectional region that decreases in an upward direction at a position corresponding to the second end of the second region(tapered upper end of 295 seen in figs 7,8).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US6912865, US3308635, US20050265857, US11747078.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRADLEY H DUCKWORTH whose telephone number is (571)272-2304. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6.
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, Terrell McKinnon can be reached at 5712724979. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRADLEY DUCKWORTH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3632