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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Title
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: REFRIGERATOR SHELF LIGHTING.
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 1-3, 5-17, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Avenwedde et al. (US 2005/0081547, hereinafter Avenwedde).
Regarding Claim 1, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, a refrigerator (2) comprising: a cabinet comprising at least one storage chamber (4); and at least one shelf (Fig. 2, Par. [0023]) disposed within the storage chamber (held via 6), wherein the shelf (Fig. 2) includes: a plate (10); and a first lighting device (plurality of 24 in combination) disposed at a rear side of the plate and irradiating light to a rear surface of the plate (see Fig. 2), and wherein a plurality of pattern portions (28) are disposed on a lower surface of the plate (14) at predetermined intervals (see Fig. 2, Par. [0025]).
Regarding Claim 2, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, the plate (10) and the pattern portions (28) are composed of materials having different refractive indices (the act of etching/sand blasting to form 28 changes the refractive index of these portions as claimed, Par. [0025]).
Regarding Claim 3, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, the plate (10) is composed of glass material (Par. [0023]).
Regarding Claim 5, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, the pattern portions (28) are an engraved pattern recessed into the lower surface of the plate (Par. [0025]).
Regarding Claim 6, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, the plurality of pattern portions (28) are arranged in a front-rear direction of the plate (see Fig. 2), and wherein the intervals between the plurality of pattern portions are constant (in this case, as the space in between each of the patterns is a constant stripe having no pattern applied, it is considered to meet the limitation as claimed).
Regarding Claim 7, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, the plurality of pattern portions (28) are arranged in a front-rear direction of the plate (see Fig. 2), and wherein the intervals between the plurality of pattern portions are different from each other (in this case, in the front rear direction, the interval reduces as you get farther from the lights, meeting the limitation as claimed).
Regarding Claim 8, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, the plurality of pattern portions are arranged in a front-rear direction of the plate (28), and wherein the intervals between the plurality of pattern portions decrease with increasing distance from the first lighting device (in this case, in the front rear direction, the interval reduces as you get farther from the lights, meeting the limitation as claimed).
Regarding Claim 9, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, the intervals between the plurality of pattern portions decrease by a constant amount relative to the adjacent preceding interval (see Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 10, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, the pattern portions (28) are a linear pattern extending along a left-right direction of the plate (see Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 11, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, the pattern portions (28) extend continuously along the left- right direction of the plate (see Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 12, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, the first lighting device (24) comprises a first light-emitting member (single LED of 24, see Fig. 2) including one or more light sources disposed along the rear surface of the plate (see Fig. 2), and wherein opposite side ends of the pattern portions protrude further outwards (to 16 on either edge) than outer ends of the outermost light sources (outermost instances of 24 inward of edges at 16, see Fig. 2), respectively (see Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 13, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, the shelf (Fig. 2) further includes a reflective member extending along and disposed on the front surface of the plate (as no specific details are provided about the reflective member, 30 of 22 and/or “reflecting means” of 24, Par. [0032], are considered to meet this limitation as claimed).
Regarding Claim 14, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, the first lighting device (plurality of 24 in combination) includes: a first light-emitting member including a substrate extending in one direction (34) and one or more light sources (24) disposed on the substrate (see Figs. 2 and 3); and a first cover member (22) storing the first light-emitting member (see Figs. 2 and 3), and wherein the first cover member surrounds an entire surface of the first light-emitting member except at least one of its opposite sides (Illustrated in Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 15, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, the shelf further includes a rear frame (26) storing the first cover member (22) and finishing the rear surface of the plate (see Fig. 3), and wherein the first cover member (22) is composed of an insulating material (required for operability and conduction of 26, see Par. [0023]), and the rear frame (26) includes a metal material (see Fig. 3, required for electrical conduction).
Regarding Claim 16, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, the first cover member is a diffusion member diffusing light emitted from the first light-emitting member (as no specific details are provided about the diffusion member, the inner surfaces of 22 will naturally diffuse light to some degree and thus are considered to meet this limitation as claimed).
Regarding Claim 17, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, a front surface of the first cover member is positioned between the first light-emitting member and the rear surface of the plate (see Fig. 2), and wherein the first light-emitting member (24), the front surface of the first cover member (of 22), and the plate (10) are positioned to overlap with each other in a front-rear direction (illustrated in Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 20, Avenwedde discloses in Figures 1-3, a surface area of a pattern region on the lower surface of the plate (selected area of 28), in which the pattern portions are disposed (see Fig. 2), is greater than a surface area of a non-pattern region on the lower surface of the plate (selected area in between instances of 28), in which no pattern portion is disposed (as “a surface area” is not specifically defined, it can be chosen at will for both the pattern and non-pattern regions to meet this limitation).
Claims 1, 4, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jang et al. (US 2021/0333045, hereinafter Jang).
Regarding Claim 1, Jang discloses in Figures 1-4, a refrigerator (1) comprising: a cabinet comprising at least one storage chamber (11); and at least one shelf (40) disposed within the storage chamber (held via 17), wherein the shelf (40) includes: a plate (200); and a first lighting device (42 with 111 (Par. [0107]) disposed at a rear side of the plate (plurality of lights disposed along entire edge and thus at both rear and front) and irradiating light to a rear surface of the plate (see Fig. 2), and wherein a plurality of pattern portions (221) are disposed on a lower surface of the plate (200b, Par. [0095]) at predetermined intervals (see Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 4, Jang discloses in Figures 1-4, the pattern portions (221) are an embossed pattern (Par. [0133]) protruding downward from the lower surface of the plate (from 200b, Par. 0133]).
Regarding Claim 18, Jang discloses in Figures 1-4, the shelf (40) further includes a second lighting device disposed at a front side of the plate (plurality of lights disposed along entire edge and thus at both rear and front) and irradiating light to a front surface of the plate (see Fig. 2), wherein the plurality of pattern portions (221) are arranged in a front-rear direction of the plate (see Fig. 2), and wherein the intervals between the plurality of pattern portions are constant (illustrated in Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 19, Jang discloses in Figures 1-4, an interval between the front surface of the plate or the rear surface of the plate and an outermost pattern portion is greater than an interval between pattern portions adjacent to each other (as the interval are not specifically defined, it can be chosen at will for both intervals to meet this limitation).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please review the cited references found on the attached PTO-892, namely Bousfield (US 6,210,013), Pinter (US 2004/0062031), Hall et al. (US 2009/0021927), Schmidt et al. (WO 2011/092113 A2), Kendall et al. (US 2015/0023000), and Lee (KR 20200068411 A), which teach either alone or in combination a variety of refrigerator shelves with lighting and patterns similar to that which is currently claimed above.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER K GARLEN whose telephone number is (571)272-3599. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00 PM.
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, Jong-Suk (James) Lee can be reached at (571) 272-7044. 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.
/ALEXANDER K GARLEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
Prosecution Insights