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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-8 and 10-11 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-2, 4-5, 7-10, 15-16 and 20-22 of U.S. Patent No. 12,276,061.
Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other. Because the patent claims are much more specific than the application claims, the patent claims are in essence a “species” of the generic invention of the application claims. It has been held that the generic invention is “anticipated” by the “species” within the scope of the generic invention. See In re Goodman, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Additionally, regarding the functional recitations that the film “is configured to press the laundry towards the press plate” (claim 1) and “is configured to press at least one of a left side of the laundry and a right side of the laundry towards the press plate” (claim 2), note that the film (between the press plate and the press door) within the first claim of the patent is considered fully capable of providing this function and therefore these functional recitations are not patentably distinct features. Regardless, note that the function of at least claim 1 of the application can be found within claim 20 of the patent.
Claims 12-13 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 and 17-19 of U.S. Patent No. 12,276,061 in view of LIM et al. (US 2015/0159315 A1).
Claims 1-8 and 10-11 of the application are not patentably distinct from claims 1-2, 4-5, 7-10, 15-18 and 20-22 of the patent for the reasons as addressed above. However, the claims of the patent do not disclose a pants hanger and a clip as recited within claims 12-13 of the application. LIM discloses a clothes treatment apparatus (100) comprising a pants hanger (5 and/or hanger H) that is provided on a door (11) located above a pants crease management device (9) and a clip (85) that is provided on the door (11) located under the pants crease management device (9) in order to hold laundry/pants to be pressed (Fig. 1). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have provided the claimed clothes treatment apparatus of the patent with both a pants hanger and a clip as recited within claims 12-13 of the application, in light of the teachings of LIM, in order to hold laundry/pants to be pressed.
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 1-13 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the laundry" in line 9 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Note that the applicant introduced “pants” within line 7 of claim 1. Is “the laundry” meant to be “the pants”? Additionally, note that claims 2 and 4 recite “the laundry” and claims 12 and 13 recite “pants”. Please make sure all terminology is consistent throughout the claims.
All remaining claims are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being dependent form a rejected base claim.
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(s) 1-6, 8 and 10-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LIM et al. (US 2015/0159315 A1) in view of HANADA et al. (US 5,359,792).
Regarding claims 1, 2, 10 and 11, LIM discloses a clothes treatment apparatus (100) comprising: a case (1) including a treatment chamber (31); a door (11) configured to open or close the treatment chamber (31); and a pants crease management apparatus (9) provided on a side of the door (11) facing the treatment chamber (31) (Figures 1-4). LIM discloses the pants crease management apparatus (9) including a press plate (91; 911) disposed at the door (11) such that pants are in contact therewith and a press door (93; 931) configured to be movable relative to the press plate (91; 911) (Figures 1 and 3). However, LIM fails to disclose the pants crease management apparatus comprising a film disposed between the press plate and the press door.
HANADA discloses a pants crease management apparatus comprising a press plate (1) and a press door (5) movable relative to the press plate (1) (Figures 1-4 and 16). HANADA discloses the pants crease management apparatus further comprising a film (26) (made from a flexible plastic; col. 6, lines 6-10) (note that the plastic itself is “flexible” even though the elements 28, 28 are added to prevent flexing in particular directions) disposed between the press plate (1) and the press door (5) in order to prevent the clothes being pressed from moving disorderly (note first paragraph of summary section) (Figures 1-4 and 15-17). Note that the film of HANADA is fully capable of functioning to press the laundry/pants (at least one of the left side and right side thereof depending on how the laundry/pants are positioned) towards the press plate based on the rotational connection thereto (Figures 3-4 and 16-18). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have provided the pants crease management apparatus of LIM with a film disposed between the press plate and the press door, in light of the teachings of HANADA, in order to prevent the clothes/pants being pressed from moving disorderly.
Regarding claim 3, HANADA discloses the film (26) provided on the press plate (1) based on the rotational connection thereto (Figures 1-4 and 16-17). Additionally note that the top of the film (26) is “provided on” the press plate (1) by the upper portion being in contact with the press plate (1) as shown in figure 16.
Regarding claim 4, the film (26) of HANADA is considered fully capable of contacting the press door (5) when the press door (5) presses the laundry/pants toward the press plate (1) based on the rotational connection (27, 6; 35, 36) between the press door (5), the film (26) and the press plate (1) (Figures 1-5 and 16-17).
Regarding claim 5, HANADA discloses the film (26) includes a first film portion (28 on one side thereof) and a second film portion (28 on the opposite side thereof) that are provided on the press plate (1) (based on the rotational attachment thereto or the top of the film, including both film portions, being in contact directly therewith), and the second film portion is disposed on the opposite side of the first film portion (Figures 1-4 and 15-17).
Regarding claim 6, HANADA discloses wherein the first film portion (28 on one side thereof) and the second film portion (28 on the opposite side thereof) are located to be spaced apart from each other (those specific portions of the film 26) by a predetermined distance (Figures 1 and 5).
Regarding claim 8, HANADA discloses both a first film fixing portion (end of film attached to one side of connection between press plate 1 and press door 5 by being rotatably arranged on shaft 27) and a second film fixing portion (31; 32, 33) configured to couple the film (including both the first film portion and the second film portion) to the press plate (1) (Figures 3-4).
Regarding claim 12, LIM discloses a pants hanger (5 and/or hanger H) that is provided on the door (11) to hang pants on the door and located above the pants crease management apparatus (9) (Figure 1).
Regarding claim 13, LIM discloses a clip (85) that is provided on the door (11) to press pants hanging from the pants hanger (5 and/or hanger H) towards the door (11) and located under the pants crease management apparatus (9) (Figures 1, 3 and 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 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. Additionally, note that claim 7 has also NOT been rejected using prior art; however, claim 7 has been rejected under both the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection above and the double patenting rejection above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record, as cited on attached PTO-892, and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Note that ENGEL (US 4,819,350) discloses an ironing machine wherein a flexible film (103 and/or 104) is provided between upper and lower press plates (101, 102) in order to tension a clothing article to be ironed (Figures 1-5).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHAN E DURHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-8642. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Monday - Friday.
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NED
/NATHAN E DURHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732