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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1, 11, 14, 20, 29, and 37 are amended. Claims 2-10, 12-13, 15-19, 21-28, and 30-36 are as previously presented. Therefore, claims 1-37 are currently pending and have been considered below.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on September 25, 2025 has been entered. Applicant’s amendment overcomes the previously set-forth objection to claim 37.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 9-18, filed on 09/25/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-37 under U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of applicant’s amendment regarding the non-fixed cover and newly found prior art regarding that feature.
Applicant argues that a human translation is needed for the reference Lee (KR 101651078 B1). Examiner notes that a STIC request for a human translation requires 1-2 weeks of processing time and in the interest of time constraints, the Examiner has provided an alternative to a human translation. Please see attached for a machine translation from Google Patents, where the language has been fully translated to English. It is the Examiner’s position that this new translation does not change how Lee is being interpreted as prior art and as such, the interpretation of Lee under the U.S.C. 103 rejections remains the same.
Applicant argues that the combination of references Lee with Ishiguro would require impermissible hindsight due to Lee’s cover not being suitable for use outside of kitchen or cooking environments for presenting foodstuff during service operations.
It is the Examiner’s position that this argument is not persuasive as the applicant’s independent claims 1 and 11 do not refer to a foodstuff food service delivery device. Instead, claims 1 and 11 disclose covering food or covering food during transit. Lee can cover food and includes handles 23 that allow for transportation while Ishiguro can cover food and be movable. As a result, it is the Examiner’s position that the references satisfy covering food and can be combined.
Applicant argues that the cover in Lee would have condensation and that it would burn the user. Applicant also argues that Ishiguro mitigates moisture collection but not maintaining visual clarity.
It is the Examiner’s position that the handles in Lee are not in contact with the cover, meaning that they would prevent burns from occurring as there is spacing between the cover and the handle structure. Ishiguro also meets the condensation feature as it includes an antifogging layer, which would prevent fog and keep the cover clear for visual inspection.
Applicant argues that the cover of Ishiguro is not removably coupled and this argument is persuasive. Additional prior art has been found to meet this limitation.
Applicant argues that Gradov cannot be combined with Lee as it is dubious to assert that Gradov is a foodstuff food service delivery device. It is the Examiner’s position that this argument is not persuasive as Gradov states that cooked products can be kept with the device, where foodstuff can be delivered through being placed within the device.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-3, 6-7, and 11-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (KR 101651078 B1) in view of Ishiguro et al. (JP 2019005983 A, hereinafter Ishiguro) and Tolman et al. (WO 2017136747 A1, hereinafter Tolman).
Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses an assembly for covering food or liquid (Page 3, Para. 5, “cover the double-seated by the lid 30”, and Page 3, last Para., “pot (20) to the outer pot (10) to Figure 2, boiling or into water in the pot 20 into the cooking food.”), comprising:
a cover having a first side wall and a second side wall that extend along one another along a portion of the cover (Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “Dual lid (30) is configured as a multi-layer, and the top plate 31 of the semi-spherical shape, a lower plate 32 of the hemispherical shape to be coupled with a space of predetermined distance below the top plate are integrally coupled.”) and wherein the cover is shaped to overlie foodstuff supported by the prepared foodstuff supporting article (Fig. 4, where the dome shaped cover appears to be able to contain an article within); a gap arranged between the first side wall and the second side wall along at least a portion of the cover (Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “Further, the air layer formed in the space portion between the upper plate 31 and lower plate 32, or heat insulating material may be (40) is embedded.”); and
wherein at least a portion of the first side wall and at least a portion of the second side wall are one of transparent or translucent (Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “Top plate 31 and the lower plate 32 may be applied, such as metal or glass or enamel.”, where glass is transparent) and aligned with one another to allow visual inspection of the interior cavity of the cover (Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “Moreover, the top plate 31 and the lower plate 32, the edge can be coupled to the rim (33) made of a metal or silicon in a ring shape integrally to the top plate 31 and the lower panel (32).”, where the top and lower plates or the first and second side walls are coupled together, where being made from glass and containing an air layer between the two, would allow for a user to see inside the cavity).
Lee does not disclose:
wherein the cover is shaped to overlie an article disposed within an interior cavity of the cover adjacent a respective one of the first side wall and the second side wall;
the cover non-fixedly cooperates with a prepared foodstuff supporting article; and
constructed to mitigate evaporation and pooling of condensation of prepared foodstuffs disposed under the cover.
For additional support regarding the dome shaped cover, Examiner presents the following prior art reference. Ishiguro discloses, in the similar field of containers for food that include covers (Page 3, Para. 2 from end, “The lid 3 has a substantially circular dome shape having a predetermined height, and has a dome part 35 that covers the opening 24A of the container body 2 in a substantially circular shape.”), where the cover is shaped to overlie an article within the interior cavity adjacent to the side walls of the cover (Page 3, Para. 2 from end, “The lid 3 has a substantially circular dome shape having a predetermined height, and has a dome part 35 that covers the opening 24A of the container body 2 in a substantially circular shape.”, and Fig. 1, where the dome part 35 is shown to have an interior cavity that would be able to contain food items within) and constructed to mitigate evaporation and pooling of condensation to prepared foodstuffs disposed under the cover (Page 2, Para. 2, “a lid 3 subjected to an antifogging process.”, where the entire lid is coated with an antifogging layer, this means that condensation and evaporation is prevented from pooling and the transparent lid is still able to be visually clear). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the cover in Lee to be a dome shape cover with antifogging layer as taught by Ishiguro.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of the cover being made from a molding process that allows a user to choose any shape for their cover structure, where Ishiguro shows that a dome shape is possible, Page 3, Para. 4, “As the polyethylene resin, specifically, high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, or the like is used. In particular, low density polyethylene is suitably used for reasons of molding process stability.”, and Page 3, Para. 2 from end, “The lid 3 has a substantially circular dome shape having a predetermined height”, and where antifogging can be a featured desired by a user and easily added as a laminate, Claim 1, “An antifogging layer comprising a resin composition formed by laminating on the bonding layer and containing an antifogging agent”.
Further, Tolman discloses, in the similar field of food containers (Para. 02, “containers, and more specifically to rigid insulated containers used for beverages or foods.”), where the cover is non-fixedly cooperating with a prepared foodstuff supporting article (Para. 29, “The lid structure 302 may be configured to be fully decoupled from the insulating container 100, rather than hingedly-coupled, as described for the lid structure 102.”), where the cover includes two layers with a gap in between (Para. 27, “Additionally or alternatively, the lid structure 102 may comprise a vacuum-insulated double wall structure.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the transparent cover with an antifog coating of modified Lee to include the non-fixed feature of a double layered cover as taught by Tolman.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to increase thermal resistance through the double layered cover, as stated by Tolman, Para. 27, “In yet another example, the lid structure 102 may comprise one or more vacuum-insulated panel structures, and such that one or more vacuum-insulated panels (not depicted) may be positioned within the lid structure 102 in order to increase thermal resistance.”, and where allowing the lid to be removable can provide a user with additional design choices to use, Para. 46, “As previously described in relation to FIG. 3, the lid structure 102 may be configured to be removable from the insulating container 100.”.
Regarding claim 2, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the gap is formed between interior facing surfaces of the first side wall and the second side wall (Lee, Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “Further, the air layer formed in the space portion between the upper plate 31 and lower plate 32”, where between the two side walls is the air layer, where this would be the interior surface of both side walls), wherein the first side wall defines an inner wall of the cover and faces the interior cavity (Lee, Fig. 4, where the lower plate 32 is the first side wall that faces the interior cavity and is the inner wall to the cover) and the second side wall defines an outer wall of the cover (Lee, Fig. 4, where upper plate 31 is the outer wall of the cover).
Modified Lee does not disclose:
further comprising at least one of an anti-fogging layer, a chemical resistant layer, and a scratch resistant layer associated with at least one of the interior cavity facing surface of the inner wall and an atmosphere facing surface of the outer wall of the cover.
However, Ishiguro discloses where there is an antifog layer associated with the side wall facing the interior cavity (Page 3, last Para., “The anti-fogging layer 33 is provided only in the dome portion 35 that is an inner peripheral side region from the flange portion 36.”, and Fig. 1, where the layer 33 is shown to be connected to the layer 32 or the interior side wall). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the cover in modified Lee to include the anti-fog layer as taught by Ishiguro.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to still see hot food items within the container, as stated by Ishiguro, Page 1, Para. 3 from end, “As such a container, a container that has been subjected to an anti-fogging treatment so that food can be visually recognized even after cooking (for example, Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2).”.
Regarding claim 3, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses, wherein the gap is formed between inner surfaces of the first side wall and the second side wall (Lee, Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “Further, the air layer formed in the space portion between the upper plate 31 and lower plate 32”, where between the two side walls is the air layer, where this would be the interior surface of both side walls), wherein the first side wall is an inner wall of the cover facing the interior cavity (Lee, Fig. 4, where the lower plate 32 is the first side wall that faces the interior cavity and is the inner wall to the cover) and the second side wall is an outer wall of the cover (Lee, Fig. 4, where upper plate 31 is the outer wall of the cover).
Modified Lee does not disclose:
further comprising at least one of the first side wall and the second side wall being formed of at least one of a fogging resistant material, a chemical resistant material, and a scratch resistant material.
However, Ishiguro discloses where there is an antifog layer associated with the side wall facing the interior cavity (Page 3, last Para., “The anti-fogging layer 33 is provided only in the dome portion 35 that is an inner peripheral side region from the flange portion 36.”, and Fig. 1, where the layer 33 is shown to be connected to the layer 32 or the interior side wall). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the cover in modified Lee to include the anti-fog layer as taught by Ishiguro.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to still see hot food items within the container, as stated by Ishiguro, Page 1, Para. 3 from end, “As such a container, a container that has been subjected to an anti-fogging treatment so that food can be visually recognized even after cooking (for example, Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2).”.
Regarding claim 6, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses further comprising one of a volume of air or a vacuum pressure in the gap (Lee, Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “Further, the air layer formed in the space portion between the upper
plate 31 and lower plate 32”).
Regarding claim 7, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses further comprising a handle formed on a top of the cover (Lee, Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “handle through the upper central portion of the top plate 31 and the lower plate 32, 34 is coupled.”, where the handle is 34).
Regarding claim 11, Lee discloses an assembly for covering prepared food or liquid during transit (Page 3, Para. 5, “cover the double-seated by the lid 30”, and Page 3, last Para., “pot (20) to the outer pot (10) to Figure 2, boiling or into water in the pot 20 into the cooking food.”, where the pot and cover could be moved in transit and the cover would prevent food from escaping), the assembly comprising:
a cover assembly wherein a body of the cover assembly is defined by a first wall and a second wall that extend upwardly from a lower perimeter edge of the body (Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “Dual lid (30) is configured as a multi-layer, and the top plate 31 of the semi-spherical shape, a lower plate 32 of the hemispherical shape to be coupled with a space of predetermined distance below the top plate are integrally coupled.”, and Fig. 4, where the two plates 31 and 32 extend upward from the perimeter edge near 33), at least a portion of the first wall and the second wall being at least one of translucent and transparent to maintain visibility through at least a portion of the cover assembly (Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “Top plate 31 and the lower plate 32 may be applied, such as metal or glass or enamel.”, where glass is transparent) and configured to extend over food or liquid (Fig. 4, where the dome shaped cover appears to be able to contain an article within) and
wherein a footprint of a handle of the cover assembly defines a non-transparent portion of at least one of the first wall and the second wall of the cover assembly (Claim 2, “a handle (23) coupled through the top center of the inside pot 20 formed in the upper inner side”, where the handles are spaced apart from the first and second wall of the cover assembly; where it is the Examiner’s position that the material of a handle for one of ordinary skill in the art would be a heat resistant material, where different materials options would be known in the prior art for use depending on a user’s design choices); and
an airtight gap formed between the first and second walls (Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “Further, the air layer formed in the space portion between the upper plate 31 and lower plate 32, or heat insulating material may be (40) is embedded.”, where Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “top plate 31 and the lower plate 32, the edge can be coupled to the rim (33) made of a metal or silicon in a ring shape integrally to the top plate 31 and the lower panel (32).”, where the rim 33 connects the two plates and closes off the gap between the plates).
Modified Lee does not disclose:
the cover assembly being configured to extend over food or liquid disposed under the body of the cover assembly; and
wherein the cover assembly non-fixedly cooperates with a serving article that supports food or liquid disposed under the body; and
wherein the cover assembly is constructed to mitigate condensation and return of moisture condensed on the cover assembly to materials underlying the cover assembly.
For additional support regarding the dome shaped cover, Examiner presents the following prior art reference. Ishiguro discloses, in the similar field of containers for food that include covers (Page 3, Para. 2 from end, “The lid 3 has a substantially circular dome shape having a predetermined height, and has a dome part 35 that covers the opening 24A of the container body 2 in a substantially circular shape.”), where the cover is shaped to overlie an article within the interior cavity adjacent to the side walls of the cover (Page 3, Para. 2 from end, “The lid 3 has a substantially circular dome shape having a predetermined height, and has a dome part 35 that covers the opening 24A of the container body 2 in a substantially circular shape.”, and Fig. 1, where the dome part 35 is shown to have an interior cavity that would be able to contain food items within) and constructed to mitigate evaporation and pooling of condensation to prepared foodstuffs disposed under the cover (Page 2, Para. 2, “a lid 3 subjected to an antifogging process.”, where the entire lid is coated with an antifogging layer, this means that condensation and evaporation is prevented from pooling and the transparent lid is still able to be visually clear). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the cover in Lee to be a dome shape cover with antifogging layer as taught by Ishiguro.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of the cover being made from a molding process that allows a user to choose any shape for their cover structure, where Ishiguro shows that a dome shape is possible, Page 3, Para. 4, “As the polyethylene resin, specifically, high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, or the like is used. In particular, low density polyethylene is suitably used for reasons of molding process stability.”, and Page 3, Para. 2 from end, “The lid 3 has a substantially circular dome shape having a predetermined height”, and where antifogging can be a featured desired by a user and easily added as a laminate, Claim 1, “An antifogging layer comprising a resin composition formed by laminating on the bonding layer and containing an antifogging agent”.
Further, Tolman discloses, in the similar field of food containers (Para. 02, “containers, and more specifically to rigid insulated containers used for beverages or foods.”), where the cover is non-fixedly cooperating with a prepared foodstuff supporting article (Para. 29, “The lid structure 302 may be configured to be fully decoupled from the insulating container 100, rather than hingedly-coupled, as described for the lid structure 102.”), where the cover includes two layers with a gap in between (Para. 27, “Additionally or alternatively, the lid structure 102 may comprise a vacuum-insulated double wall structure.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the transparent cover with an antifog coating of modified Lee to include the non-fixed feature of a double layered cover as taught by Tolman.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to increase thermal resistance through the double layered cover, as stated by Tolman, Para. 27, “In yet another example, the lid structure 102 may comprise one or more vacuum-insulated panel structures, and such that one or more vacuum-insulated panels (not depicted) may be positioned within the lid structure 102 in order to increase thermal resistance.”, and where allowing the lid to be removable can provide a user with additional design choices to use, Para. 46, “As previously described in relation to FIG. 3, the lid structure 102 may be configured to be removable from the insulating container 100.”.
Regarding claim 12, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses wherein the gap is formed between inner surfaces of the first and second walls (Lee, Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “Further, the air layer formed in the space portion between the upper plate 31 and lower plate 32”, where between the two side walls is the air layer, where this would be the interior surface of both side walls),
Modified Lee does not disclose:
and wherein at least one of a scratch resistant layer, a chemical resistant layer, and a fog resistant layer is arranged on outer surfaces of the first and second walls and at least one of the first wall and the second wall are at least one of formed of a material that is at least one of fog resistant, chemical resistant, and scratch resistant.
However, Ishiguro discloses where there is an antifog layer associated with the side wall facing the interior cavity (Page 3, last Para., “The anti-fogging layer 33 is provided only in the dome portion 35 that is an inner peripheral side region from the flange portion 36.”, and Fig. 1, where the layer 33 is shown to be connected to the layer 32 or the interior side wall), where the side wall’s two layers can be made from a scratch resistant material or chemical resistant material (Page 4, Para. 1, “For the base material layer 31, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, a biaxially stretched nylon film (O-Ny), a polyolefin resin, or the like can be used.”, where PET film is scratch resistant and, Page 4, Para. 3, “The bonding layer 32 can be made of a resin composition such as linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE).”, where LLDPE is chemical resistant). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the cover in modified Lee to include the anti-fog layer and layers to be made of the material as taught by Ishiguro.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to still see hot food items within the container, as stated by Ishiguro, Page 1, Para. 3 from end, “As such a container, a container that has been subjected to an anti-fogging treatment so that food can be visually recognized even after cooking (for example, Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2).”, where the plastic material for the cover shells allow a user to see through the cover.
Regarding claim 13, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses wherein a majority of the cover assembly that is defined by the first and second walls is at least one of translucent and transparent (Lee, Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “Top plate 31 and the lower plate 32 may be applied, such as metal or glass or enamel.”, where glass is transparent).
Regarding claim 14, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses wherein the handle is attached to at least one of the first and second walls and shaped to be grasped to lift the cover assembly and the handle removably cooperates with the cover assembly (Lee, Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “handle through the upper central portion of the top plate 31 and the lower plate 32, 34 is coupled.”, where the handle is 34, where the handles lift the bottom pot that the cover is on, which lifts the cover and where the cover is removably cooperating with the handle as the handles are not connected to the cover).
Claims 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (KR 101651078 B1) in view of Ishiguro et al. (JP 2019005983 A, hereinafter Ishiguro) and Tolman et al. (WO 2017136747 A1, hereinafter Tolman) in further view of Chiang et al. (US 20190300263 A1, hereinafter Chiang).
Regarding claim 4, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
wherein the cover is at least one of shaped to be nestable with similarly shaped covers and is dome shaped.
However, Chiang discloses, in the similar field of food containers (Abstract, “food containers”), where the cover can be nestable with similarly shaped covers (Para. 0009, “The base and the cover may each be formed from a single layer of material, and the base and the cover may be sized and dimensioned to be nestable with other bases and covers, respectively.”) and is dome shaped (Para. 0006, “cover including a central dome portion having a substantially downward facing interior surface”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the cover in modified Lee to be nestable and dome shaped as taught by Chiang.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of having the food container be easily stored to reduce space in places with limited space, as stated by Chiang, Para. 0100, “Such nesting feature is advantageous for shipping and for storing the food containers 100 in a small space (e.g., restaurant, vehicle, packaging).”.
Regarding claim 5, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 4, as set forth above, discloses wherein the cover is nestable (Teaching from Chiang, Para. 0009, “The base and the cover may each be formed from a single layer of material, and the base and the cover may be sized and dimensioned to be nestable with other bases and covers, respectively.”) and has at least one of a hemispherical shape, a cloister shape, a non-circular shape, a rounded dome shape, defines a depth of the cover, and a dome shape with a flattened portion proximate an apex of the dome (Teaching from Chiang, Para. 0006, “cover including a central dome portion having a substantially downward facing interior surface”).
Claims 8-10 and 16-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (KR 101651078 B1) in view of Ishiguro et al. (JP 2019005983 A, hereinafter Ishiguro) and Tolman et al. (WO 2017136747 A1, hereinafter Tolman) in further view of Gradov (RU 2678816 C2) and Alexander (WO 2012061527 A1).
Regarding claim 8, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
further comprising an induction chargeable temperature manipulator connected to the cover.
However, Gradov discloses, in the similar field of containers for storage of food (Abstract, “Technical result, which is created by the claimed cooler cover device with the source of cold allows for the technical result to be used: for kitchenware and other containers”), where there is a temperature manipulator connected to the cover (Page 4, Para. 1, “A variant of the cover is possible when the layer M (A) contains at least one heating element, either on the surface (A) or built into its body, which will accelerate the defrost or heat the product in the tank.”, where layer M(A) is part of the cover, Page 3, Para. 4 from end, “Structurally (Fig. 1) the lid covering the dishes / container covering the space, pos. 1, can be made of tightly adjacent layers M (A), M (B) and M (C)”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the cover of the modified Lee to include the temperature manipulator device as taught by Gradov.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of allowing a user to defrost items within the storage container, which can be helpful with controlling the temperature within the storage container, as stated by Gradov, Page 4, Para. 1, “A variant of the cover is possible when the layer M (A) contains at least one heating element, either on the surface (A) or built into its body, which will accelerate the defrost or heat the product in the tank.”.
Further, Alexander discloses, in the similar field of food containers that include temperature manipulators (Para. 0004, “The heating or cooling element is operable to actively heat or cool at least a portion of the body to maintain the solid or liquid food in a heated or cooled state for an extended period of time.”), where the temperature manipulator can be charged through induction (Para. 0035, “ln one embodiment, the wireless power transmitter 240 can be an induction coil and the wireless power receiver 92 can also be an induction coil. Therefore, in one embodiment, the charging base 200 can wirelessly transmit power from the power transmitter 240 to the wireless power receiver 92 via induction coupling.”, and where the temperature manipulator can be within the storage container, Para. 0036, “In one embodiment, the heating or cooling system 55 is advantageously embedded or housed in the body of the plate 100 so that no portion of the heating or cooling system 55 is exposed or can be contacted by a user while holding the plate 100.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the temperature manipulator in modified Lee to be charged through induction as taught by Alexander.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to use one such method of energy transfer that is known in the prior art, where other methods could be used depending on a user’s design needs, as stated by Alexander, Para. 0035, “However, transmission of power from the wireless power transmitter 240 to the wireless power receiver 92 is not limited to inductive coupling. In other embodiments, other forms of short-distance wireless energy transfer can be used (e.g., microwave energy). In still other embodiments, further discussed below, long-distance wireless energy transfer can be used to transmit power to the wireless power receiver 92, without the use of a charging base.”.
Regarding claim 9, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 8, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
wherein the induction chargeable temperature manipulator removeably cooperates with the cover.
However, Gradov discloses where the temperature manipulator can be removably cooperating with the cover (Page 4, Para. 1, “Moreover, part of the lid (options), for example, containing at least one heating element, can be made removable, detachable from the lid, which indicates the design of the lid with a variable axillary space.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the cover or lid of modified Lee to include the removable feature for the temperature manipulator as taught by Gradov.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to detach the heating element for improved repairability of the system, as stated by Gradov, Page 4, Para. 1, “Moreover, part of the lid (options), for example, containing at least one heating element, can be made removable, detachable from the lid, which indicates the design of the lid with a variable axillary space.”;
where it has also been held that merely making separable is an obvious modification to make. In re Dulberg, 289 F.2d 522, 523, 129 USPQ 348, 349 (CCPA 1961). It is the Examiner’s position that if a user would desire to improve repairability that access to a heating element through separating the feature from the cover would be obvious for design purposes.
Regarding claim 10, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 8, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
wherein the induction chargeable temperature manipulator is one of disposed proximate an apex of the cover, extends about a portion of a rim of the cover, and extends in a circumferential direction about a portion of the cover between an apex and a base.
However, Gradov discloses where the temperature manipulator can be located in any location within the cover (Page 4, Para. 1, “A variant of the cover is possible when the layer M (A) contains at least one heating element, either on the surface (A) or built into its body… Moreover, part of the lid (options), for example, containing at least one heating element, can be made removable, detachable from the lid, which indicates the design of the lid with a variable axillary space.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the temperature manipulator in modified Lee to be capable of being placed anywhere within the cover as taught by Gradov.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of allowing a user to choose the specific placement of a heating element, as stated by Gradov, Page 4, Para. 1, “layer M (A) contains at least one heating element, either on the surface (A) or built into its body”.
Further, Alexander discloses where the heating element can be located within an apex of an object, extends towards the rim, and extends in a circumferential direction (Para. 0035, “wireless power receiver 92 can also be an induction coil.”, and Fig. 2 and 3, where the wireless power receiver 92 that powers the heating element 60, where the heating element 60 is shown to be located at an apex and extending in a circumferential direction). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the placement of the temperature manipulator in modified Lee to be in the position as taught by Alexander.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of embedding the temperature manipulator in any location that can prevent it from being exposed to a user, as stated by Alexander, Para. 0036, “In one embodiment, the heating or cooling system 55 is advantageously embedded or housed in the body of the plate 100 so that no portion of the heating or cooling system 55 is exposed or can be contacted by a user while holding the plate 100.”.
Regarding claim 16, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
further comprising an induction chargeable temperature manipulator attached to the cover assembly.
However, Gradov discloses where there is a temperature manipulator connected to the cover (Page 4, Para. 1, “A variant of the cover is possible when the layer M (A) contains at least one heating element, either on the surface (A) or built into its body, which will accelerate the defrost or heat the product in the tank.”, where layer M(A) is part of the cover, Page 3, Para. 4 from end, “Structurally (Fig. 1) the lid covering the dishes / container covering the space, pos. 1, can be made of tightly adjacent layers M (A), M (B) and M (C)”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the cover of the modified Lee to include the temperature manipulator device as taught by Gradov.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of allowing a user to defrost items within the storage container, which can be helpful with controlling the temperature within the storage container, as stated by Gradov, Page 4, Para. 1, “A variant of the cover is possible when the layer M (A) contains at least one heating element, either on the surface (A) or built into its body, which will accelerate the defrost or heat the product in the tank.”.
Further, Alexander discloses where the temperature manipulator can be charged through induction (Para. 0035, “ln one embodiment, the wireless power transmitter 240 can be an induction coil and the wireless power receiver 92 can also be an induction coil. Therefore, in one embodiment, the charging base 200 can wirelessly transmit power from the power transmitter 240 to the wireless power receiver 92 via induction coupling.”, and where the temperature manipulator can be within the storage container, Para. 0036, “In one embodiment, the heating or cooling system 55 is advantageously embedded or housed in the body of the plate 100 so that no portion of the heating or cooling system 55 is exposed or can be contacted by a user while holding the plate 100.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the temperature manipulator in modified Lee to be charged through induction as taught by Alexander.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to use one such method of energy transfer that is known in the prior art, where other methods could be used depending on a user’s design needs, as stated by Alexander, Para. 0035, “However, transmission of power from the wireless power transmitter 240 to the wireless power receiver 92 is not limited to inductive coupling. In other embodiments, other forms of short-distance wireless energy transfer can be used (e.g., microwave energy). In still other embodiments, further discussed below, long-distance wireless energy transfer can be used to transmit power to the wireless power receiver 92, without the use of a charging base.”.
Regarding claim 17, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 16, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
wherein the induction chargeable temperature manipulator further comprising at least one of a location indicator, a temperature indicator, and an available discharge indicator.
However, Alexander discloses where the temperature manipulator can be connected to a user interface so that a user can control the desired temperature (Para. 0068, “For example, one of the user selection members 695a can be used to turn off the heating or cooling element 660 (e.g., if the user does not want to continue to heat or cool the contents of the travel mug 600). In another embodiment, one or more of the user selection members 695a can be used to control the
heating or cooling element 660 to provide a desired temperature”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the temperature manipulator in modified Lee to include the user interface for control over the manipulator as taught by Alexander.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to allow a user to have increased customization over the temperature within the food enclosure, as stated by Alexander, Para. 0068, “The thermostat can advantageously be adjusted to one of multiple temperature settings by the user to control the heating or cooling element 660 within the travel mug 660 (or other dishware or drinkware device) in order to maintain its contents at a specified temperature or within a specified temperature range.”.
Regarding claim 18, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 16, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
further comprising a charging station that is constructed to change an energy level of the induction chargeable temperature manipulator.
However, Alexander discloses where the temperature manipulator can be used with a charging station (Para. 0070, “The heating or cooling module can then be placed on a corresponding charging station for use at a later time when it can again be coupled to a travel mug 600 to heat or cool food on the travel mug 600.”), where induction charging is possible (Para. 0035, “Therefore, in one embodiment, the charging base 200 can wirelessly transmit power from the power transmitter 240 to the wireless power receiver 92 via induction coupling.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the temperature manipulator in modified Lee to include the charging station as taught by Alexander.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to remotely charge the temperature manipulator without the need for a direct connection, as stated by Alexander, Para. 0035, “Therefore, in one embodiment, the charging base 200 can wirelessly transmit power from the power transmitter 240 to the wireless power receiver 92 via induction coupling.”.
Regarding claim 19, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 16, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
wherein the induction chargeable temperature manipulator and cover assembly are dishwasher safe.
However, Alexander discloses where the food enclosure and temperature manipulator can be dishwasher safe (Para. 0054, “Therefore, the mug 400 can advantageously be exposed to water or other liquids, e.g., in a sink or in a dishwasher, without exposing the heating or cooling system 455 to said water or liquids, thereby inhibiting damage to the heating or cooling system 455. Additionally, by being embedded in the body of the mug 460, the mug 460 can be aesthetically pleasing as it looks like a conventional mug.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the enclosure’s cover and temperature manipulator in modified Lee to be dishwasher safe as taught by Alexander.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of the embedded temperature manipulator allowing for no liquids to enter, which can prevent the temperature manipulator from not working; where the dishwasher safe feature allows a user to automate washing of the food enclosure to save effort and for a more aesthetically pleasing look for the food enclosure as well, as stated by Alexander, Para. 0054, “Therefore, the mug 400 can advantageously be exposed to water or other liquids, e.g., in a sink or in a dishwasher, without exposing the heating or cooling system 455 to said water or liquids, thereby inhibiting damage to the heating or cooling system 455. Additionally, by being embedded in the body of the mug 460, the mug 460 can be aesthetically pleasing as it looks like a conventional mug.”.
Claims 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (KR 101651078 B1) in view of Ishiguro et al. (JP 2019005983 A, hereinafter Ishiguro) and Tolman et al. (WO 2017136747 A1, hereinafter Tolman) in further view of Gradov (RU 2678816 C2).
Regarding claim 15, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses further comprising a base member that is defined by at least one of the cover assembly (Lee, Abstract, “seating portion 22 formed on the upper inner pot ( 20) double-cap 30 to seal the interior”, where the upper inner pot is construed to be the base member) and the base member being shaped to at least one of cooperate with a rim of the cover assembly or be surrounded by the cover assembly and support or contain the food or liquid disposed under the cover assembly (Lee, Abstract, “seating portion 22 formed on the upper inner pot ( 20) double-cap 30 to seal the interior”, where the upper inner pot cooperates with the cover assembly rim so that an enclosure is created to support food items).
Modified Lee does not disclose:
a dishware or a tray constructed to be disposed under the cover assembly.
However, Gradov discloses where there can be a dishware inserted into the enclosure formed by the cover and base member (Page 3, Para. 3, “the lid covering the dishes / container covering the space, pos. 1”, wherein Fig. 1, the dishware is represented by 1 and the cover is made up of layers M(A), M(B), and M(C) and where the base is 5). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the enclosure of modified Lee to be able to hold dishware as taught by Gradov.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to alter the temperature of not just food items, but also the utensil and dishware that can be used with food items, as stated by Gradov, Page 2, last Para., “most efficient use of the energy of the cold source due to its placement inside the volume of dishes (containers), the contents of which need to be cooled, or due to the fact that the cooler lid so tightly covers the cooled utensils (capacity) that the loss of cold is much less than the amount of cold required to cool the contents of the utensils (capacity).”.
Claims 20-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (KR 101651078 B1) in view of Gradov (RU 2678816 C2) and Alexander (WO 2012061527 A1) and Ishiguro et al. (JP 2019005983 A, hereinafter Ishiguro) and Tolman et al. (WO 2017136747 A1, hereinafter Tolman).
Regarding claim 20, Lee discloses a food service foodstuffs delivery system comprising:
a cover constructed to cooperate with a plurality of foodstuff supports (Page 3, Para. 5, “cover the double-seated by the lid 30”, and Page 3, last Para., “pot (20) to the outer pot (10) to Figure 2, boiling or into water in the pot 20 into the cooking food.”).
Lee does not disclose:
an induction chargeable temperature manipulator secured to the cover and configured to manipulate a temperature of at least one of a volume between the cover and the foodstuff support, the foodstuff support, and the cover;
a cover repeatedly and removably cooperate with one of a plurality of foodstuff supports and mitigate evaporation and collection of condensation originating from covered foodstuffs.
However, Gradov discloses where there is a temperature manipulator connected to the cover (Page 4, Para. 1, “A variant of the cover is possible when the layer M (A) contains at least one heating element, either on the surface (A) or built into its body, which will accelerate the defrost or heat the product in the tank.”, where layer M(A) is part of the cover, Page 3, Para. 4 from end, “Structurally (Fig. 1) the lid covering the dishes / container covering the space, pos. 1, can be made of tightly adjacent layers M (A), M (B) and M (C)”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the cover of the Lee to include the temperature manipulator device as taught by Gradov.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of allowing a user to defrost items within the storage container, which can be helpful with controlling the temperature within the storage container, as stated by Gradov, Page