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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on September 21, 2026 has been entered.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 9, 11, 12, 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hosszu et al. (DE 3919773A1).
Regarding claim 1, Figure 1 of Hosszu et al. is reproduced below with labelling indicating the claimed elements. Hosszu et al. teaches a dishwasher (“housing 10 of a dishwasher”) comprising a tub 10 forming a washing chamber, a door 11 configured to open or close the tub 10, and a sealing member 13 configured to seal a gap between the tub and the door (figure 1), the sealing member 13 including a fixed body at 14 coupleable to the tub 10 and a sealing body 16, 17 extending from the fixed body toward the door 11, wherein the sealing body 16, 17 comprises a contact portion 17 configured to be in contact with the door, a support portion (between 17 and 14, depicted below) to connect the fixed body 14 and the contact portion 17, and a bend portion 16 to be bent toward the fixed body while the door is pressing the contact portion (figure 1), the bend portion 16 including a bending end (between 16 and 17) connected to the support portion, and a support protrusion (depicted below) extending toward the fixed body (extending downwardly toward lower portion of 14), wherein the fixed body comprises a seat portion (portion of 14 received in 15) configured such that the support protrusion (depicted below) extends toward the seat portion (extends downwardly as shown in figure 1) along a direction in which the door is pressed (downwardly as shown in figure 1), and the bend portion is configured to be in contact with the seat portion (the support protrusion is an element of the bend portion and adjoins 14), and wherein the bending end (between 16 and 17) is spaced apart from the seat portion (vertically spaced).
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Regarding claim 2, the seat portion (portion of 14 received in 15) is arranged to face the support protrusion 22 (figure 1).
Regarding claim 9, a thickness a of the bending end (at lead line 16) is set to be greater than a thickness of the support protrusion.
Regarding claim 11, a thickness of the support portion (depicted in figure above) decreases from the bending end (joint between 16 and 17) toward the contact portion 17.
Regarding claim 12, the tub 10 comprises a coupling groove 15 formed by a first coupling wall adjacent to the washing chamber 18 and a second coupling wall facing the first coupling wall to allow the fixed body 14 to be coupled (figure 1), and the bend portion is arranged such that the bending end faces the second coupling wall (figure 1).
Regarding claim 14, the sealing body 16, 17 comprises a throughhole at 21, and the through hole has a closed loop shape (figure 1).
Regarding claim 15, the through hole is spaced apart from the seat portion (figure 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4-8, 10 and 13 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed September 21, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Hosszu does not teach that the support protrusion does not extend in the direction in which the door is pressed. It is the examiner’s position that the support protrusion can be the element that engages the inner surface of the tub (as depicted above). With this interpretation, Hosszu teaches a support protrusion which extends in the direction in which the door is pressed (downwardly as shown in figure 1).
Applicant argues that Hosszu does not teach a bend portion configured to in contact with the seat portion. As set forth in claim 1, the bend portion comprises the support protrusion. Hosszu shows that the support protrusion of the bend portion has an upper portion which is in contact with the seat portion 14.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NIKI MARINA ELOSHWAY whose telephone number is (571)272-4538. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 7: 00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
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, Orlando E. Avilés can be reached at 571-270-5531. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NIKI M ELOSHWAY/Examiner, Art Unit 3736
