DETAILED ACTION
Claim Objections
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: “while the distribution motor mounted” should be “while the distribution motor is mounted”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication 20120055518 by Kim et al.
As to claim 1, Kim discloses a dishwasher comprising a tub 11 forming a washing room (fig. 1); a plurality of spray rotors 16, 17; and a sump assembly 20 including a housing including a distribution chamber to accommodate water to the provide to the spray rotors; a distribution disk 130 in the chamber to provide water to at least one of the spray rotors (fig. 8); a distribution motor 110 to rotate the distribution disk (fig. 7); and a connecting shaft 115 positionable coaxially with a motor shaft 112 of the distribution motor and configured to transfer the rotational force to the disk, the connecting shaft including a guide body to guide water leaking from the distribution chamber to outside of the shaft (fig. 11, paras. 118-119).
As to claim 2, Kim discloses that the sump housing further comprises a chamber hole through to the distribution chamber where a part of the connecting shaft passes through the chamber hole (fig. 11); and a flange (162 and/or downward portion from 163) corresponding to the chamber hole, and extending along a longitudinal direction of the connecting shaft, the flange forming a guide flow path which is spaced from a circumferential surface of the connecting shaft and along which leaking water from the distribution chamber flows (fig. 11, paras. 118-119).
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 20120055518 by Kim et al. in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 202100990047 by Zhang et al.
As to claim 4, Kim teaches that the sump assembly comprises a holder (e.g. 118) in which the distribution motor 110 is mountable (figs. 7, 11). Kim does not teach that the holder comprises a guide hole to guide leaking water to outside the sump assembly. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious that guide holes may be used to direct leaking water. Zhang teaches a guide may be used to guide leaking water to a guide hole to direct the water outside an assembly (fig. 14C, para. 115). One of ordinary skill in the art would have thus had motivation to modify the dishwasher taught by Kim to additionally include a guide hole so that water leaking from the shaft and directed away from the distribution motor may be directed outside the sump assembly. Therefore, the claimed invention would have been obvious at its effective filing date.
Claims 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 20120055518 by Kim et al. in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 202100990047 by Zhang et al as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent 5730301 granted to Welch et al.
As to claims 5 and 6, Kim teaches that its holder includes an insertion hole in which the motor shaft 112 is insertable such that it protrudes toward the connecting shaft and a first protrusion extending upward to correspond to the insertion hole (fig. 11). Kim does not explicitly teach that the connecting shaft has a second protrusion extending downward from a side of the shaft adjacent to the distribution motor and covering the first protrusion, the internal diameter of the second protrusion being greater than an external diameter of the first protrusion. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would have readily recognized as obvious to have such interface between a fixed and rotating component (see Welch, fig. 3, annular protrusion of wheel 66 surrounds annular protrusion from fixed rack assembly). Such arrangement would have also been recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art as common in other dishwasher components, such as rotating spray arm assemblies. Based on the known and established implementation of such rotating interface structures, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that claimed first and second protrusions to have been obvious. Therefore, the claimed invention would have been obvious at its effective filing date.
Claims 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 20120055518 by Kim et al. in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 20180213998 by Kim et al. (hereinafter “Kim ‘998”).
As to claim 12, Kim does not teach a switch mountable on a holder and configured to detect a rotation position of the connecting shaft. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to have a switch. Kim ‘998 teaches a switch 578 to detect a rotation position of a connecting shaft of a distribution disk for the purpose of determining a position of the disk so that the distribution motor may be controlled to control the supply of water to a desired spray rotor (fig. 5, paras. 83-84). While Kim ‘998 does not explicitly teach that the switch is mountable on a holder, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious that the switch must necessarily be mounted on a holder to provide structural stability for proper operation. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to include a switch in the dishwasher taught by Kim in order to detect the position of its distribution disk for control of water to the spray rotors. Therefore, the claimed invention would have been obvious at its effective filing date.
As to claim 13, Kim ‘998 teaches that the switch is rotatable between a first position, as the switch is coupled to the holder, and a second position to which the switch has rotated and in contact with the connecting shaft (fig. 6, para. 83, note that signal generator 580 rotates between contact positions with the shaft).
As to claim 14, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious that the holder must have a separation prevention protrusion or equivalent structure to catch a side of the switch in order to keep the switched fixed into position. Protrusions to fix components in place were well-known and common in the art for their established purpose (see e.g. Kim, fig. 10, depicted various protrusions that prevent departure of structural components).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 20120055518 by Kim et al. in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 20180213998 by Kim et al. (hereinafter “Kim ‘998”) as applied to claim 14 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 20170172372 by Chen et al.
As to claim 15, Kim ‘998 does not teach an elastic member to press a side of the switch such that no gap is between a side of the switch and the separation prevention protrusion. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to have an elastic member. Elastic members had an established purpose of pressing a structure against another, as one of ordinary skill in the art would have expected (see Chen, fig. 5, para. 22, biasing element 128). One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized as obvious to use an elastic member to press a side of the switch against a separation prevention protrusion in order to fix the switch and prevent movement. Therefore, the claimed invention would have been obvious at its effective filing date.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 7-11 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art of record, taken alone or in obvious combination, fails to teach the totality of the limitations of claim 3, in particular that the guide body of the connecting shaft has the claimed second guide flow path and penetrating hole. While the claim does not recite particular structures of the guide body that result in the first and second guide flow paths, the structures are interpreted to be within the scope of the structures contemplated by the present inventors as set forth in the disclosure.
Conclusion
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/SPENCER E. BELL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1711
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