CTNF 19/028,929 CTNF 74068 DETAILED ACTION 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 § 102 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 (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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-4, 9-10, 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by US 2010/0177494 to Kim et al. (hereinafter Kim) . As per claim 1, Kim teaches a washing machine comprising: a main body comprising: a first tub (10); a washing tub (12) rotatable inside the first tub; a laundry inlet (13) through which laundry is loaded into the washing tub; a door (14) configured to open and close the laundry inlet; and a manipulation panel assembly (100) configured to receive a manipulation input for wash settings or spin-drying settings and display an operation state of the washing machine (see Fig. 1, para 0041), wherein the manipulation panel assembly comprises: a display board (420), a jog board (400) on which a jog switch (410) is mounted, a first connector on any one of the display board and the jog board, and coupled to the other one of the display board and the jog board; and a manipulation panel accommodating the display board and the jog board (see annotated Fig. 3 below, para 0054-0055, 0064, 0069). PNG media_image1.png 521 749 media_image1.png Greyscale As per claim 2-4, annotated Fig. 3 above of Kim shows that the display board and the jog board are coupled to each other by the connector (claimed first connector) and thus would form a board module as claimed, the jog board being rearward o the display board, and that the jog board is parallel to the display board. As per claim 9, Kim teaches a jog through hole (421) in the display board such that the jog board faces the manipulation panel through the jog through hole (see annotated Fig. 3 above, para 0065). As per claim 10, Kim teaches that the jog board is in one side portion of the display board in a lateral direction that is orthogonal to a thickness direction of the display board, as Kim teaches the jog switch, which is on the jog board, is inserted into the display board (420), which would read on the claimed spatial relationship (Fig. 3). As per claims 14-15, Kim teaches jog indication elements configured to emit light on manipulation of the jog switch on both the jog board and display board (LEDs 414 on the jog board 400 and light guides on the display board 420 read on the claim jog indication elements, as they would emit light, see Fig. 3, para 0065) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. 07-22-aia AIA Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of KR 10-0961780 (hereinafter KR’780) . As per claim 5, Kim teaches all the claimed limitation except that the first connector is soldered to one of the display board and the jog board. However, the use of soldering to attach and assemble features in washing machine panels is commonplace in the art, as shown by KR’780. KR’780 teaches a similar washing machine with a control panel having a rotary switch (job switch) where the switch cover is attached to the circuit board (jog board) by soldering (page. 3-4, Tech-Solution). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to attach the connector of Kim by soldering, since the use of soldering is commonplace when attaching panels in washing machine controls, as shown by KR’780, with the reasonable expectation of providing the desired panel/board attachment in Kim . 07-22-aia AIA Claim s 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 10465331 to De Pellegrin et al. (hereinafter De Pellegrin) . As per claim 6-8, as shown in annotated Fig. 3 below of Kim, Kim teaches the first connector on the display board (420) and the second connector on the jog board (400), which would be coupled to each other in the thickness and lateral directions of the display board as the end of the snap-fit tab of the first connector is inserted in and through the hole of the second connector. PNG media_image2.png 458 476 media_image2.png Greyscale Kim does not teach that the first and second connectors are connected electrically. De Pellegrin teaches a similar washing machine with a rotary knob control, wherein the knob module printed circuit board 64 (analogous to the claimed jog board) appears to be electrically attached to the LCD display (70) so that the display board can emit light when the rotary knob is manipulated (Col. 5, lines 32-66; Fig. 3). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Kim to provide both electrical and mechanical connection between the display panel and jog panel, such that the indication lights are mounted on the display panel and activated by rotation of the jog switch, as the same is known in the art by De Pellegrin, with the expectation as providing the desired light emission/indication of washing course selection upon rotation of the job switch in Kim . 07-22-aia AIA Claim s 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of KR 10-2017530 (hereinafter KR’530) . As per claims 11-13, Kim teaches that the manipulation panel comprises a reflector panel 300 and an exterior panel 200, wherein the reflector panel contains fastening bosses 322, to which the jog board and display board would ultimately be fastened (Fig. 5). Kim fails to teach support ribs to support the job board, as claimed. However, the use of ribs to support and guide attachment is known and conventional in the art. KR’530 teaches support ribs (72) around a fastening boss (70) to guide and support attachment of an object to panel during assembly (page 6 of translation; Figs. 5a, 5b). Therefore, it would have been obvious to modify the control panel assembly of Kim to provide fastening bosses and support ribs, as claimed, to attach the jog board to the manipulation panel, since the use of fastening bosses and support ribs for panel assembly is known and conventional in the art, as shown by KR’530, and would reasonably be expected to provide the desired coupling in Kim by one of ordinary skill in the art. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL BARR whose telephone number is (571)272-1414. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 6:30-4. 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 at 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. MICHAEL BARR Supervisory Patent Examiner Art Unit 1711 /MICHAEL E BARR/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1711 Application/Control Number: 19/028,929 Page 2 Art Unit: 1711 Application/Control Number: 19/028,929 Page 3 Art Unit: 1711 Application/Control Number: 19/028,929 Page 4 Art Unit: 1711 Application/Control Number: 19/028,929 Page 5 Art Unit: 1711 Application/Control Number: 19/028,929 Page 6 Art Unit: 1711 Application/Control Number: 19/028,929 Page 7 Art Unit: 1711 Application/Control Number: 19/028,929 Page 8 Art Unit: 1711
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