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 listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
Claim Objections
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Within the first line of claim 10, please delete the space between “an ironing part” and the comma “,”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 2, 4 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over YAO et al. (CN 114753133 A) in view of YU (US 2024/0271357 A1).
Regarding claim 1, YAO discloses an ironing machine, comprising an ironing part (1), wherein the ironing part (1) comprises a heating cabin body (11) and a dust collecting box (124; particularly note box-like section wherein filter 33 is located) being isolated (Figures 1-2) (for future reference please note the dust collection casing 217 of US 2014/0373402 A1 which can be separately inserted into an air suction chamber of the steam ironing apparatus thereof). YAO discloses a heating element assembly (31) being arranged in the heating cabin body (11; 12), and the heating element assembly (31) comprises a heating main body (shown in figure 6) for generating steam, wherein the heating main body is provided with a heat pipe (313) connected in series with a fan (321, 322) (page 5 of specification discusses the heat pipe 313 and the other electrical components being connected in series; however, note that connecting components in series is considered old and known in the art for its simplicity and cost-effectiveness) (Figures 1-2 and 6); a surface (12) of the heating cabin body (11; 12) is provided with a plurality of air injection ports (121), and steam generated by the heating main body is ejected through the air injection ports (121) (Figures 1-5). YAO discloses an air port (125) of the fan being communicated with an inside of the dust collecting box (124), a surface of the dust collecting box is provided with a plurality of adsorption holes (112 as shown in figure 5) communicated with the inside of the dust collecting box (124), and when the fan (321, 322) works, negative pressure is generated in the dust collecting box (124) by pumping air in the dust collecting box (124) (Figures 1-3 and 5). However, YAO fails to disclose the heating main body comprising a main heat pipe and an auxiliary heat pipe connected in parallel.
YU discloses an ironing machine (100) comprising a heating element assembly (20) comprising a heating main body (24) for generating steam, wherein the heating main body (24) is provided with a main heat pipe (one of 21, 22) and an auxiliary heat pipe (the other of 21, 22) connected in parallel (Figures 13, 14, 17 and 18) in order to safely operate the ironing machine while generating a constant steam output without requiring a separate user operation even when the ironing machine is connected to a power supply of either 110V or 220V (para 0027) (Figures 1-18). 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 heating main body of the ironing machine of YAO with a main heat pipe and an auxiliary heat pipe connected in parallel, in light of the teachings of YU, in order to safely operate the ironing machine while generating a constant steam output without requiring a separate user operation even when the ironing machine is connected to a power supply of either 110V or 220V.
Regarding claims 2 and 4, YAO discloses the ironing machine comprising the heating element assembly (31) as discussed above. Even though YAO does disclose the heating element assembly (31) comprising a steam port (312) arranged on one side facing the air injection ports (121), YAO fails to disclose the specific details of the heating element assembly (31) (Figures 1-6). YU discloses a heating element assembly (20) further comprises a heating element upper cover (23) and a heating element lower cover (25); the heating element upper cover (23) and a heating main body (24) are enclosed to form an upper cabin body (2401), and the heating element lower cover (25) and the heating main body (24) are enclosed to form a lower cabin body (2402); the upper cabin body (2401) and the lower cabin body (2402) are two independent cabin bodies; the upper cabin body (2401) and the lower cabin body (2402) are communicated through a communication opening (2405); the heating element upper cover (23) is provided with a water injection port (231), and a water injection tank (area within 2401 below injection port 231) is formed at a position of the upper cabin body (2401) corresponding to the water injection port (231); a plurality of first guide flow plates (243) are arranged in the upper cabin body (2401) to form an upper flow channel, and the upper flow channel is capable of guiding steam in the upper cabin body to the communication opening (2405); a plurality of second guide flow plates (246) are arranged in the lower cabin body (2402) to form a lower flow channel, and the lower flow channel is capable of guiding steam in the lower cabin body to a steam port (251) (Figures 5 and 6). Additionally, YU discloses wherein the main heat pipe (22) and the auxiliary heat pipe (21) are both U-shaped (the overall shape can be considered “U-shaped” or each individual side thereof can also be considered “U-shaped”); one end (244, 245) of the heating main body (24) is provided with a first installation groove (242, 2451) for installing the main heat pipe (22) and a second installation groove (241, 2441) for installing the auxiliary heat pipe (21), wherein the first installation groove and the second installation groove are both U-shaped grooves (have same shape as heat pipes 21, 22); the auxiliary heat pipe (21) is arranged around an outside of the main heat pipe (22), and both ends of the auxiliary heat pipe and both ends of the main heat pipe extend out of one end (244, 245) of the heating main body (24) (Figures 5 and 6). 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 heating element assembly of YAO with the structure as claimed, in light of the teachings of YU, in order to turn water into steam and guide the steam out of the ironing machine to the clothing to be ironed.
For future reference, please note that it is considered old and known in the art for a heating element assembly to be arranged in either a horizontal orientation or vertical orientation within a head of an ironing machine. Note that incorporating a heating element assembly with a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation would only involve the simple rearrangement of parts and thus would only require routine skill in the art. Please note US 2021/0277591 A1 which shows a heating element assembly with two heat pipes (58, 60) being in a vertical orientation in one embodiment (Figures 1-35) and alternatively in a horizontal orientation in another embodiment (Fig. 42).
Regarding claim 5, YAO discloses the ironing machine having a heating main body as discussed above. Additionally, YAO discloses a water storage tank (21), wherein the water storage tank (21) is communicated with a water inlet port (inherent) of a water pump (22), and a water outlet port (inherent) of the water pump (22) is connected to the water injection port (121) through a pipeline (water pipe; discussed in spec but not shown in the figures) (Fig. 2). However, YAO fails to disclose the heating assembly comprising a temperature controller for controlling temperature of the heating main body. YU discloses the heating element assembly (20) (as discussed above) further including a temperature controller (81; 82) for controlling working temperature of the heating main body (24), and the temperature controller (81; 82) being electrically connected with the heat pipes (21, 22) respectively (Figures 13 and 17-18); the upper cabin body (particularly 27 of 2401) is also provided with a temperature control tank (271 has communication within 24) for installing the temperature controller (81; 82) (Figures 5, 6). 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 heating assembly of YAO with a temperature controller, in light of the teachings of YU, in order to produce a constant amount of steam at a desired temperature.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10 has been objected to for a minor informality as discussed above. If the objection is overcome, claim 10 would be considered allowable. Note that the prior art fails to disclose the ironing machine as claimed in combination wherein “the heating tube is connected in parallel with a voltage dividing resistor, and the voltage dividing resistor is connected in series with a fan”.
Claims 3 and 6-9 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record, as cited on attached PTO-892, and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. As discussed in the prior art rejections above, US 2014/0373402 A1 discloses a steam ironing apparatus comprising a dust collection casing 217 which can be separately inserted into an air suction chamber thereof and US 2021/0277591 A1 discloses a steam ironing apparatus comprising a heating element assembly, including two heat pipes (58, 60), being in a vertical orientation in one embodiment (Figures 1-35) and alternatively in a horizontal orientation in another embodiment (Fig. 42).
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NED
/NATHAN E DURHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732