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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDS filed on 22 July 2025 fails to properly display in the Document Application Viewer. Examiner has sent an email/filed a ticket to have the document rescanned. However, if Applicant were to refile the document this may expedite matters.
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 1-15 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.
Regarding claim 1 and 8, the term “strength” in claims 1 and 8 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “strength” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. When Applicant claims that one material having a higher strength than another, does Applicant mean tensile strength, yield strength, compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, hardness, or something else? This language will be treated as an intended use and not given patentable weight thereto.
Regarding claims 2-15, these claims are rejected for depending upon claim 1 and thereby containing all of the same indefiniteness issues thereof.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-15 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is an Examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance, the prior art fails to disclose or make obvious the limitations of claim 1, claiming a clothes treating apparatus comprising: a tub including a tub back forming a rear side of the tub, the tub back having: a first region including a plurality of reinforcing ribs, and a second region including a duct mounting portion; a drum inside the tub and configured to accommodate laundry; a rotatable shaft connected to the drum and configured to rotate the drum; a bearing housing coupled to the tub and supporting the rotatable shaft; an exhaust duct on the tub back and including a duct body mounted on the duct mounting portion, coupled to the bearing housing; and a drying device above the tub and configured to remove moisture from air discharged from the tub through the exhaust duct, heat the discharged air from which the moisture was removed, and supply the heated air back to the tub.
The closest prior art of record is that of KR 20230057787 to Kang et al. (Kang). Kang discloses a clothes treating apparatus comprising: a tub including a tub back forming a rear side of the tub, the tub back having: a first region including a plurality of reinforcing ribs, and a second region including a duct mounting portion; a drum inside the tub and configured to accommodate laundry; a rotatable shaft connected to the drum and configured to rotate the drum; a bearing housing coupled to the tub and supporting the rotatable shaft; an exhaust duct on the tub back and including a duct body mounted on the duct mounting portion; and a drying device above the tub and configured to remove moisture from air discharged from the tub through the exhaust duct, heat the discharged air from which the moisture was removed, and supply the heated air back to the tub. Kang does not disclose or make obvious wherein the exhaust duct including duct body are coupled to the bearing housing.
The advantage of the current invention over that of prior art to Kang is that of the configuration of the exhaust duct including duct body coupled to the bearing housing wherein this provides further reinforcement and structural support to the bearing housing and tub overall thereby increasing service life of the clothes treating apparatus.
Claims 2-15, which depend upon claim 1, would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN LEE OSTERHOUT whose telephone number is (571)270-7379. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00am-5:00pm.
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BENJAMIN LEE OSTERHOUT
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1711
/BENJAMIN L OSTERHOUT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1711
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