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 .
This is the First Office action on the Merits from the examiner in charge of this application.
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 limitation in claim 5, line 4 of “a switch that is disposed at each of the first and second positions of the drawer door” 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 § 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)(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) 1-7, and 9-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by USP 10627156 to Kang.
The applied reference has a common assignee with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement.
Kang discloses (Claim 1). A refrigerator 1 comprising: a cabinet 10 having a storage space; a drawer door 30 configured to open and close at least a portion of the storage space, the drawer door 30 being configured to move relative to the cabinet 10; a draw-out rack 34 (Fig. 2) disposed at a bottom surface of the drawer door 30; a draw-out rail 33 disposed at the cabinet 10 and coupled to the drawer door 30, the draw-out rail 33 being configured to support movement of the drawer door 30 relative to the cabinet 10; a pinion gear 141 (Fig. 19) disposed at a bottom portion of the storage space and coupled to the draw-out rack 34; a draw-out motor 14 disposed at the cabinet 10 and configured to move the drawer door 30 into the storage space and to move the drawer door 30 out from the storage space; and a draw-out detection device 15 disposed at the cabinet and configured to detect a position of the drawer door 30; (Claim 2). The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a manipulation part 301 disposed at the drawer door, the manipulation part comprising at least one of (i) a touch sensor, (ii) a button, (iii) a sensor configured to detect proximity or movement of a user, or (iv) an input unit configured to operate the drawer door based on a motion or a voice of the user; (Claim 3). The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the draw-out rack 34 or the draw-out rail 33 defines a draw-out distance limit of the drawer door 30; (Claim 4). The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the draw-out rack 34 is disposed above the pinion gear 141, the draw-out rack 34 comprising a rack gear that is defined at a lower surface of the draw-out rack 34 facing the pinion gear 141 and that is configured to couple to the pinion gear 141; (Claim 5). The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the drawer door 30 is configured to move between (i) a first position in which the drawer door 30 is inserted to the storage space and (ii) a second position in which the drawer door 30 is withdrawn from the storage space, and wherein the refrigerator further comprises a switch (col. 28, lines 45-52) that is disposed at each of the first and second positions of the drawer door and that is configured to detect a draw-out state of the drawer door; (Claim 6). The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the draw-out detection device 15 is configured to detect a draw-out state of the drawer door based on counting a number of rotations of the draw-out motor (col. 28, lines 45-52); (Claim 7). The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the drawer door 30 comprises: a front panel door part 31 configured to open and close at least the portion of the storage space; a drawer part 32 coupled to a rear surface of the front panel door part and configured to move together with the front panel door part; and a pair of door frames 316 disposed at the rear surface of the front panel door part and configured to maintain a coupled state of the front panel door part and the drawer part; (Claim 9). The refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the draw-out detection device 15 is configured to detect a draw-out state of the drawer door 30 based on measuring a distance between the rear surface of the front panel door part and a front end of the cabinet (col. 28, lines 45-52); (Claim 10). The refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the draw-out rack 34 is disposed at the bottom surface of the drawer part and configured to protrude from a rear surface of the drawer part 32 based on the drawer door being moved out from the storage space by a draw-out distance limit; (Claim 11). The refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the draw-out rack 34 is disposed at each side of the bottom surface of the drawer door and is configured to, based on operation of the draw-out motor 14, move the drawer door relative to the storage space; (Claim 12). The refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the draw-out motor 14 is disposed at the bottom portion of the storage space (Fig. 19); (Claim 13). The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein the pinion gear 141 is configured to, based on the draw-out motor being driven, rotate to cause the draw-out rack to move relative to the storage space, and wherein the drawer door is configured to, based on movement of the draw-out rack 34 relative to the storage space, move into the storage space or move out from the storage space; (Claim 14). The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein the draw-out motor 14 is accommodated in a space that is recessed downward from the bottom portion of the storage space (Fig. 19); (Claim 15). The refrigerator according to claim 14, wherein the draw-out motor 14 is positioned rearward relative to the draw-out detection device 15; (Claim 16). The refrigerator according to claim 7, further comprising a plurality of magnets 389 disposed at the bottom surface of the drawer door, the plurality of magnets 389 comprising: a first magnet 389 disposed at a front portion of the bottom surface of the drawer part; and a second magnet 389 disposed at a rear portion of the bottom surface of the drawer part, and wherein the draw-out detection device 15 comprises a detection sensor configured to detect the first magnet and the second magnet; (Claim 17). The refrigerator according to claim 16, wherein the draw-out detection device 15 is configured to be disposed at (i) a first position corresponding to a position of the first magnet based on the drawer door being closed and (ii) a second position corresponding to a position of the second magnet based on the drawer door being moved out from the storage space; (Claim 18). The refrigerator according to claim 7, further comprising: a container 36; an elevation device 51 disposed in the drawer part 32 and configured to elevate the container 36; and a driving device 41 configured to supply power to the elevation device 51; (Claim 19). The refrigerator according to claim 18, further comprising: a height detection device 16 configured to detect a vertical position of the container 36; and a support member 35 that supports the container 36 and that is configured to move vertically, wherein the height detection device 16 comprises a plurality of sensors disposed at the front panel door part, the plurality of sensors being disposed at heights corresponding to (i) an uppermost ascending position of the support member and (ii) a lowermost descending position of the support member; (Claim 20). The refrigerator according to claim 19, wherein the elevation device 51 is disposed at each side surface of the support member 35.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kang in view of US 2012/0306338 to Nagahata et al (hereinafter Nagahata).
Kang discloses all the elements as discussed above including the limitations in claim 8 of wherein the drawer part 32 comprises at least one rail mounting part 382 disposed at a lower end of an outer surface of the drawer part.
The differences being that Kang fails to clearly disclose wherein the draw-out rail 33 comprises: a first fixing rail fixed to the at least one rail mounting part 382 of the drawer part, a second fixing rail disposed vertically below the first fixing rail and fixed to an inner wall surface of the storage space, and an intermediate rail that connects the first fixing rail to the second fixing rail and that is configured to move relative to the first fixing rail and the second fixing rail.
However, Nagahata shows that it is well-known in the art to provide a refrigerator with a cabinet having a storage space; a drawer door; a drawer-out rail 202 disposed at the cabinet and coupled to the drawer door; wherein the draw-out rail 202 comprises: a first fixing rail 223 fixed to at least one rail mounting part of the drawer part, a second fixing rail 221 disposed vertically below the first fixing rail 223 and fixed to an inner wall surface of the storage space, and an intermediate rail 222 that connects the first fixing rail 223 to the second fixing rail 221 and that is configured to move relative to the first fixing rail and the second fixing rail.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, in view of Nagahata, to modify Kang to include the limitations in claim 8 of wherein the draw-out rail 33 comprises: a first fixing rail fixed to the at least one rail mounting part 382 of the drawer part, a second fixing rail disposed vertically below the first fixing rail and fixed to an inner wall surface of the storage space, and an intermediate rail that connects the first fixing rail to the second fixing rail and that is configured to move relative to the first fixing rail and the second fixing rail with a reasonable expectation of success in order to increase the overall versatility of the refrigerator.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, and all show structures similar to various elements of applicant’s disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HANH VAN TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-6868. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00-5:30.
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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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HVT
August 1, 2026
/HANH V TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3637
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