Office Action 2: Notice of Allowance (2025-07-01)

CLAIMS:
AMENDMENTS TO THE CLAIMS

1-18. (Canceled)217

19\. (Currently Amended) A laundry treating apparatus comprising:
a tub configured to store water therein;
a drum rotatably located in the tub to receive laundry therein;
a pulsator rotatably located in the drum to agitate the laundry;
a driver coupled to the tub, the driver being configured to provide power to rotate at least one of the drum and the pulsator; and
a clutch located between the driver and the pulsator to transmit the power to the at least one of the drum and the pulsator, the clutch including:a gear assembly rotatably engaged with the driver;
a rotation shaft coupled to the gear assembly to rotate the pulsator;
a housing coupled to the drum to rotate the drum, the housing being configured to receive the gear assembly and the rotation shaft therein; and
a coupler configured to connect and disconnect the driver and the housing to selectively rotate the housing, the coupler being located in the housing,
wherein the driver includes:a stator coupled to the tub;
a rotor configured to be rotated by the stator; and a driving shaft coupled to the rotor and the gear assembly, the driving shaft being located in the housing,
wherein the coupler is configured to selectively couple the housing and the driving shaft to each other,
wherein the driving shaft includes:a shaft body extending from the rotor to the gear assembly; and a power serration disposed on an outer circumferential surface of the shaft body, the power serration configured to be coupled to the coupler to rotate the coupler, and
wherein the housing includes:

a connection housing receiving the driving shaft therein, the connection housing being configured to allow the coupler to ascend and descend therein; and a coupling serration located on an inner circumferential surface of the connection housing, the coupling serration configured to be coupled to the coupler to rotate the connection housing.

20\. (Canceled)

21\. (Currently Amended) The laundry treating apparatus o claim 19,wherein the coupler is configured to ascend and descend along the driving shaft to selectively couple the housing and the driving shaft to each other.

22\. (Canceled)

23\. (Currently Amended) The laundry treating apparatus o claim 19,wherein the coupler includes:
a coupler body configured to receive the shaft body therein, the coupler body being located in the connection housing;
an inner coupling serration located on an inner circumferential surface of the coupler body, the inner coupling serration being configured to be coupled to the power serration; and
a surface coupling serration located on an outer circumferential surface of the coupler, the surface coupling serration being configured to be coupled to the coupling serration.

24\. (Previously Presented) The laundry treating apparatus of claim 23, wherein a length of the coupler body is smaller than a length of the shaft body.

25\. (Currently Amended) The laundry treating apparatus of claim 23, wherein the driving shaft further includes a separation shaft located on top of or beneath the power serration, the separatio shaft being spaced from the inner coupling

portion serration, andwherein the coupling serration is located such that the coupling with the surface coupling serration is maintained when the coupler body ascends or descends.

26\. (Previously Presented) The laundry treating apparatus of claim 25, wherein a length of the coupling serration is equal to or greater than an ascending and descending length of the coupler body.

27\. (Currently Amended) The laundry treating apparatus of claim 25, wherein, when the coupler body is at one of a top point and a bottom point of an ascending and descending length of the coupler body, the coupler body is opposite the separation shaft, and, when the coupler body is at another of the top point and the bottom point of the ascending and descending length of the coupler body, the coupler body is spaced from the separation shaft.

28\. (Currently Amended) The laundry treating apparatus of claim 27, wherein the power serration is coupled to or separated from the inner coupling serration before the coupler body reaches one of the top point and the bottom point.

29\. (Currently Amended) The laundry treating apparatus of claim 27, wherein the separatio shaft has a length equal to or smaller than a length of the coupler body.

30\. (Currently Amended) The laundry treating apparatus of claim 23, wherein the inner circumferential surface of the connection housing includes a separation surface located on top of or beneath the coupling serration to receive the coupler body therein, the separation surface being spaced from the surface coupling serration of the coupler, and
wherein the power serration is configured to maintain contact with the inner coupling serration when the coupler body ascends or descends along the driving shaft.

31\. (Currently Amended) The laundry treating apparatus of claim 30, wherein a length of the power serration is equal to or greater than an ascending and

descending length of the coupler body.

32\. (Previously Presented) The laundry treating apparatus of claim 30, wherein, when the coupler body is at one of a top point and a bottom point of an ascending and descending length of the coupler body, the coupler body is opposite the coupling serration of the connection housing, and, when the coupler body is at another of the top point and the bottom point of the ascending and descending length of the coupler body, the coupler body is spaced from the coupling serration of the connection housing.

33\. (Currently Amended) The laundry treating apparatus of claim 32, wherein the coupling serration is coupled to or separated from the surface coupling serration before the coupler body reaches one of the top point and the bottom point.

34\. (Previously Presented) The laundry treating apparatus of claim 32, wherein a length of the coupling serration is equal to or smaller than a length of the coupler body.
35\. (Currently Amended) The laundry treating apparatus of claim 19, further comprising:
a support configured to lift and lower the coupler; and a restoring spring configured to return the support to an original position after lifting the coupler,
wherein at least a portion of the support and the restoring portion are located outside the housing.

36\. (Currently Amended) A laundry treating apparatus comprising:
a tub configured to store water therein;
a drum rotatably located in the tub to receive laundry therein;
a pulsator rotatably located in the drum to agitate the laundry;
a driver coupled to the tub, the driver being configured to provide power to rotate at least one of the drum and the pulsator; and
a clutch located between the driver and the pulsator to transmit the power to the at least

one of the drum and the pulsator, the clutch including:a gear assembly rotatably engaged with the driver;
a rotation shaft coupled to the gear assembly to rotate the pulsator;
a housing coupled to the drum to rotate the drum, the housing being configured to receive the gear assembly and the rotation shaft therein; and
a coupler configured to connect and disconnect the driver and the housing to selectively rotate the housing, the coupler being configured to reciprocate between an upper end of the housing and a lower end of the housing;
wherein the driver includes:a stator coupled to the tub;
a rotor configured to be rotated by the stator; and a driving shaft coupled to the rotor and the gear assembly, the driving shaft being located in the housing,
wherein the coupler is configured to selectively couple the housing and the driving shaft to each other,
wherein the driving shaft includes:a shaft body extending from the rotor to the gear assembly; and a power serration disposed on an outer circumferential surface of the shaft body, the power serration configured to be coupled to the coupler to rotate the coupler, and
wherein the housing includes:a connection housing receiving the driving shaft therein, the connection housing being configured to allow the coupler to ascend and descend therein; and a coupling serration located on an inner circumferential surface of the connection housing, the coupling serration configured to be coupled to the coupler to rotate the connection housing.

37\. (Canceled)

38\. (Canceled)

OFFICE ACTION:
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 .
Reasons for Allowance
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Applicant has incorporated the allowable subject matter recited in the actions dated 02/26/2025, thus the reasons for allowance remain the same as that recited in the same action and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee.  Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion

APPLICANT REBUTTAL: REMARKSApplicant thanks the Examiner for the thorough consideration given the present application. Reconsideration of this application, as amended, is respectfully requested.Status of the Claims Claims 19, 21 and 23-36 are now present in this application, of which claims 19 and 36 are independent.By this Amendment, claims 20, 22, 37 and 38 have been canceled, and claims 19, 21, 23, 25, 27-31, 33, 35 and 36 have been amended. No new matter has been added.Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 Applicant thanks the Examiner for acknowledging Applicant's claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119, and receipt of the certified priority document.Information Disclosure Citation Applicant thanks the Examiner for considering the references supplied with the Information Disclosure Statement filed October 27, 2023, and for providing Applicant with an initialed copy of the PTO-SB08 form filed therewith.Drawings Applicant thanks the Examiner for indicating that the drawings are accepted.Rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) The Examiner asserts that claims 22-34 and 38 are interpreted as invoking 35 U.S.C.§112(f) because the terms "power transmitting portion," "inner coupling portion," "surface coupling portion," "separation portion," and "restoring portion" are generic placeholders that are not proceeded by a structural modifier.While not conceding the appropriateness of this assertion, but merely to advance prosecution of the present application, Applicant has amended the claims to replace each of those terms with "power serration," "inner coupling serration," "surface coupling serration," "separating shaft," and "restoring spring," respectively.Accordingly, Applicant  submits that none    of the   pending   claims  invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f).Rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103 Claims 19-21, 36 and 37 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Bae and Jang. Claim 35 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Bae and Jang, and further in view of Lim and Yoon. These rejections are respectfully traversed.Complete discussions of the Examiner's rejections are set forth in the Office Action, and are not being repeated here.With regard to the rejections of claims 19-21 and 35-37, while not conceding the appropriateness of the Examiner's rejection, but merely to advance prosecution of the instant application, Applicant respectfully submits that independent claims 19 and 36 have been amended to include the limitations of objected-to allowable claims 22 and 38, respectively, thereby automatically placing independent claims 19 and 36 into condition for allowance, along with dependent claims 21 and 35.Accordingly, reconsideration and withdrawal of these rejections are respectfully requested.Allowable Subject Matter The Examiner states that claims 22-34 and 38 would be allowable if rewritten in independent form.Applicant thanks the Examiner for the early indication of allowable subject matter in this application.As set forth above, the limitations of objected-to claim 22 have been added into independent claim 19, along with intervening claim 20, and therefore independent claim 19 should be in condition for allowance. Also, claims 21 and 23-35 depend, either directly or indirectly, from independent claim 19, and are therefore allowable based on their dependence from claim 19, which is believed to be allowable.In addition, as set forth above, the limitations of objected-to claim 38 have been added into independent claim 36, along with intervening claim 37, and therefore independent claim 36 should be in condition for allowance.Additional Cited References Since the remaining references cited by the Examiner have not been utilized to reject the claims, but have merely been cited to show the state of the art, no comment need be made with respect thereto.Conclusion All of the stated grounds of rejection have been properly traversed, accommodated, or rendered moot. Applicant therefore respectfully requests that the Examiner reconsider all presently outstanding rejections and that they be withdrawn. It is believed that a full and complete response has been made to the outstanding Office Action, and as such, the present application is in condition for allowance.For any outstanding matters in the present application, the Examiner is respectfully requested to contact Chad D. Wells, Registration No. 50,875, at 703-205-8084 to discuss the present application. If unable to reach the above-identified contact, please call the general mailbox number 703-205-8007.If necessary, the Director is hereby authorized in this, concurrent, and future replies to charge any fees required during the pendency of the above-identified application or credit any overpayment to Deposit Account No. 02-2448.Dated: May 27, 2025