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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Species I in the reply filed on 10/16/2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there is a unity of invention, lack of patentable distinction in the structure of Species I, II, and III, no serious search burden, and a lack of evidence of distinctness from MPEP § 806.05.
This is not found persuasive because for the unity of invention, this application is filed as a US application with no PCT record. As such, the unity of invention standard is not used.
Applicant argues that Examiner presented no evidence of distinctness as required from MPEP § 806.05. However, MPEP § 806.05 discusses related invention restrictions. Examiner notes that the office action from 06/10/2025 is not a related invention restriction, but rather an election of species. As such, MPEP § 809.02(a) would apply and there is no requirement for the Examiner to show what was requested.
However, regarding the lack of patentable distinction and no serious search burden, applicant argues in their Conclusion section that all the species are obvious variants. Applicant argues that for Species I (vertical side walls on the detachable bottom cover), Species II (suction cups), and Species III (absence of slits), those features are all obvious variants.
As stated from the office action from 06/10/2025, should applicant traverse on the ground that the species are not patentably distinct, it should be identified on the record that they are obvious variants. In this case, if the examiner finds one of the species unpatentable over the prior art, the evidence or admission may be used in a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 or pre -AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) of the other species.
As a result, the election of species requirement has been withdrawn and all claims are examined below. However, due to applicant’s own admission, for claims 10-16, they have been rejected with similar prior art interpretations as made from claims 1-9 due Species I, II and III being obvious variants.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier.
Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “securing structure…for securing the device” in claim 5.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
The “securing structure” of claim 5 is being interpreted as the suction cups in accordance with the specification.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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.
Claims 6-7, 11, and 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 6 recites the limitations “the securing structure” in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim. For examination purposes, claim 6 will be read as “the securing structure” equating to the “securing structure” in claim 5.
It appears that claim 6 should be dependent upon claim 5 instead of claim 3.
Claim 13 recites the limitations “drawn in by the submersible water pump through the slits at a constant flowrate” in around line 6 from the end. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim as the “slits” do not appear within the claim. For examination purposes, claim 13 will be read as “the slits” equating to the “slits” from claims 1 and 10, where the slits are located on the bottom end of the housing.
Claims 14-16 are also rejected due to their dependency on Claim 13.
Claim 6 also recites the limitation “securing structure is selected from a group comprising a plurality of suction cups and a single suction disc”, where this limitation is a Markush claim that recites a list of alternatively useable species. However, the word “comprising” makes the claim improper as “comprising” makes the list open ended and it is unclear what other alternatives are intended to be encompassed by the claim.
For the purposes of substantive examination, the Examiner is construing claim 6 as though the limitation were written as “selected from a group consisting of”, which is closed ended.
Claims 7, 11, and 14 recites the limitations “submersible water pump is selected from a group comprising an AC-powered…and a DC-powered”, where AC or DC are switched for claim 11, where this limitation is a Markush claim that recites a list of alternatively useable species. However, the word “comprising” makes the claim improper as “comprising” makes the list open ended and it is unclear what other alternatives are intended to be encompassed by the claim.
For the purposes of substantive examination, the Examiner is construing claims 7, 11, and 14 as though the limitation were written as “selected from a group consisting of”, which is closed ended.
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, and 5-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pearson (US 20210076861 A1) in view of Lee (KR 20200076546 A) and Parker (US 20190116847 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Pearson discloses a combination, comprising:
a container at least partially filled with a fixed amount of water (Abstract, “A water bath system for cooking includes a conventional kitchen sink”) maintained in a specified temperature range (Abstract, “a control unit connected to the heating unit and responsive to the temperature of the liquid to maintain the liquid in the kitchen sink at a specific temperature”),
one or more frozen food items contained within a leak-proof package, the leak-proof package with one or more frozen food items completely submerged within the fixed amount of water in the container (Abstract, “cooking food inside a cooking bag or container and immersed in the liquid bath for sous vide cooking.”, and where frozen foods can be included within the cooking bag, Para. 0062, “Multi-temperature items can be accommodated readily with the two or three-layer system…One possibility would be using three zones 80, 82, 84, such as shown in FIG. 14, where the bottom layer 86 of the sundae could be cold, frosty or frozen”), and
the device further including:
a housing with slits (Para. 0064, “The pump moves water to the outlet ports 124. It is preferable that ports 124 be arranged around the circumference of the pump and at different heights.”, where modified Fig. 16a shows the housing and where the submersible water pump is within that housing);
where there is a waterproof submersible water pump (Para. 0064, “In operation, water is moved passed the intake separator 126, then flows between the battery case housing 130 and the outer case housing 132.”, where the battery for the pump must be waterproof within the battery case in order to function properly);
the submersible water pump adapted to agitate water from the container that is drawn in by the submersible water pump through the slits at a constant flowrate maintained within a specified flowrate range (Para. 0064, “The pump is positioned in either a vertical or horizontal orientation, provided that the water intake opening 112 is below the water level…The pump 110 produces an even water distribution, resulting in a more even temperature zone.”, where a consistent flowrate is present in order to create an even water distribution and that flowrate must be a value to allow for recirculation), and
an agitator outlet which remains completely submerged within the fixed amount of water in the container throughout the thawing process, the submerged agitator outlet for exhausting the water agitated by the water pump directly back into the existing fixed amount of water within the container so as to be circulated over the one or more frozen food items within the leak-proof package (Para. 0064, “The pump moves water to the outlet ports 124. It is preferable that ports 124 be arranged around the circumference of the pump and at different heights.”, where the outlet ports 124 are completely submerged and exhaust water outwards in order to create a recirculation flow over the sous-vide food cooking packages located within the kitchen sink; regarding the feature of applicant claiming there be one outlet and multiple inlets, it has been held that mere reversal of parts is an obvious modification to make. In re Gazda, 219 F.2d 449, 104 USPQ 400 (CCPA 1955). It is the Examiner’s position that reversing the outlets and inlet within the recirculation pump of Pearson would still be able to achieve inflow and outflow of water).
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Modified Figure 16a, Pearson
Pearson does not disclose:
a device to facilitate thawing the one or more frozen food items in a thawing process in which the device is completely submerged within the fixed amount of water in the container;
a housing having a detachable bottom cover at a lower end of the housing, the detachable bottom cover having a flat bottom wall and vertical side walls, with upper ends of the vertical side walls in contact with the lower end of the housing, each of the vertical sidewalls and flat bottom wall of the detachable bottom cover including a plurality of spaced slits for ingress of the water in the container up through the slits in the detachable bottom cover and into the housing interior, and
a sealed, waterproof submersible water pump provided within the housing interior and directly accessible via removal of the detachable bottom cover; and
the submerged agitator outlet extending outward from and perpendicular to a vertical side of the housing.
Pearson discloses where the temperature of the water within the three zones is enough to thaw frozen food items, however it is not explicitly stated that the frozen bottom layer is thawed (Para. 0060, “As one example, beef steaks in upper zone 70 could be set for well done at 160° F., intermediate zone 72 for medium at 140° and lower zone 74 for 120° for rare.”). However, Lee discloses, in the similar field of sous-vide cooking (Abstract, “sous vide cooker”), where thawing frozen food items is done (Abstract, “The water in the constant temperature water tank is circulated fast at 75 L/min, the thermal diffusion coefficient increases, and the frozen meat can be thawed quickly.”). 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 sous-vide cooking system in Pearson to explicitly state that it thaws frozen food items as taught by Lee.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage being able to improve the water retention within the meat being thawed, where the flavor of the meat is improved, as stated by Lee, Abstract, “The thawed meat using the sous vide cooker is improved in water retention as compared with thawed meat produced by existing thawing methods. As a result, the flavor of the meat is improved. In addition, safe meat can be provided for consumers with microbial growth suppressed and mass production is possible.”.
As stated previously for the election/restriction, applicant has acknowledged that Species I, II, and III are obvious variants and the Examiner has chosen to select Species II which is read upon by the Pearson reference regarding the suction cups (Para. 0064, “Magnet 114 on the bottom of the pump attaches the pump to a stainless steel or cast iron sink. Otherwise, suction cups or other attachment elements can be used.”). Since Species II has been mapped to the prior art, the features of Species I that include the detachable bottom cover, vertical side walls, and slits are obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as being variants that would also be read upon by Pearson. However, in the interest of compact prosecution, the Examiner has provided additional prior art support for the detachable bottom for Species I as shown below.
Further, Parker discloses, in the similar field of thawing frozen foods (Abstract, “A device to facilitate thawing frozen food items”), where a sealed, waterproof submersible water pump (Claim 1, “a sealed, waterproof submersible pump provided in the housing, the pump adapted to agitate water from the container that is drawn in by the pump through the slits”) includes a bottom cover with a flat bottom and vertical side walls with a plurality of spaced slits (Para. 0054, “The lower cover 240 includes a plurality of slits 245 in adjacent spaced relation, which as before serve as inlets for the water 190 to be drawn into the pump 250 within the housing body 230”, where the flat bottom wall and vertical side walls connecting to the lower end of the housing are shown in Fig. 9 for cover 240), where a submerged agitator outlet extends outward from and perpendicular to a vertical side of the housing (Para. 0039, “Device 100 further includes an agitator outlet 135 attached to the housing body 130 for exhausting the water 190 agitated by the pump 150 so as to be circulated at a constant flow rate over the one or more frozen food items 195.”). 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 recirculation pump in modified Pearson to include the features as taught by Parker.
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 have a recirculation pump that is simple to use, compact in size, and portable, as stated by Parker, Para. 0007, “Accordingly, what is needed is a device that circulates water around frozen food items or other articles to facilitate thawing thereof that is simple to use, compact in size, and portable so as to be easily adapted for placement into a kitchen sink”.
Regarding the feature of the bottom cover being detachable, it has been held that mere 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 the bottom cover from the teaching of Parker could be removable if it was desired to access the features within the cover, where one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that accessing the pump structure would be beneficial in allowing for increased repairability.
Regarding claim 3, modified Pearson teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Pearson does not disclose:
wherein the submersible water pump maintains the specified constant flowrate of water between 50 gallons per hour (GPH) to 90 GPH during the thawing process.
However, Parker discloses where the flow rate of the water from the pump is between 50-90 GPH (Para. 0042, “As such, the example embodiments envision a flow rate generated by the pump 150 of less than 100 GPH, a preferable example range being a generated flow rate between about 50 to 90 GPH”). 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 flowrate of the pump in modified Pearson to be of the values as taught by Parker.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of allowing the thawing process to speed up, as stated by Parker, Para. 0042, “The inventor has discovered through research and experimentation that a modest but constant flow rate of fluid directed over the surface of the food item, coupled with a lower water temperature (a temperature which inhibits growth of bacteria) appears to speed the thawing of food items.”.
Regarding claim 5, modified Pearson teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the device further includes a securing structure arranged on a surface of the housing for securing the device fixedly in place to the container (Pearson, Para. 0064, “Magnet 114 on the bottom of the pump attaches the pump to a stainless steel or cast iron sink. Otherwise, suction cups or other attachment elements can be used.”).
Modified Pearson does not disclose:
securing structure for fixing the device to a vertical side of the container.
However, Parker discloses where the suction cups can be also be attached to a side of a device for fixing to a vertical surface (Para. 0038, “In this example embodiment, the securing structure is shown as a plurality of suction cups 170 attached to one of the sides of the housing body 130.”). 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 suction cup placement of modified Pearson to include being on the side as taught by Parker.
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 rearrange the suction cup so that other surfaces can be attachable, as stated by Parker, Para. 0038, “In this example embodiment, the securing structure is shown as a plurality of suction cups 170 attached to one of the sides of the housing body 130.”.
Regarding claim 6, modified Pearson teaches the apparatus according to claim 3, as set forth above, discloses wherein the securing structure is selected from a group comprising a plurality of suction cups (Pearson, Para. 0064, “Magnet 114 on the bottom of the pump attaches the pump to a stainless steel or cast iron sink. Otherwise, suction cups or other attachment elements can be used.”) and a single suction disc adapted to be placed over a drain of a container to secure the device to the container while facilitating filling the container with the fixed amount of water.
Regarding claim 7, modified Pearson teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Pearson does not disclose:
wherein the submersible water pump is selected from a group comprising an AC-powered submersible water pump and a DC-powered submersible water pump.
However, Parker discloses where the submersible water pump is an AC-power submersible water pump (Para. 0039, “A sealed, waterproof electric submersible pump 150 is provided within the housing body 130. This pump 150 may be a centrifugal-type submersible pump as is known; one example may be a small AC-powered aquaponic or pond pump which can be purchased online or off-the-shelf retail and which generally has a rated flowrate of 100 GPH or less”). 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 pump in modified Pearson to be AC-powered as taught by Parker.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage being able to use a easily obtainable pump that can be found off-the-shelf retail, as stated by Parker, Para. 0039, “A sealed, waterproof electric submersible pump 150 is provided within the housing body 130. This pump 150 may be a centrifugal-type submersible pump as is known; one example may be a small AC-powered aquaponic or pond pump which can be purchased online or off-the-shelf retail”.
Regarding claim 8, modified Pearson teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the submersible water pump is powered via a battery contained in the housing and connected to the pump (Pearson, Para. 0064, “Pump 66 may include a battery 116 and a charging port 118 for the battery…battery case housing 130 and the outer case housing 132”, where the battery is within the housing of the pump), or is powered from an external source via a plug with a power cord connected to the pump.
Regarding claim 9, modified Pearson teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the container is any of a kitchen sink (Pearson, Para. 0008, “a liquid based sous vide cooking system comprises a new or existing kitchen sink configured for holding an amount of water”), bathroom sink, and a single plastic, metal, or glass food container adapted to be filled with the fixed amount of water.
Regarding claim 10, Pearson discloses a device (Para. 0063, “FIGS. 16a-16e show a recirculation pump 110 which is useful when the water bath is to be maintained at a uniform temperature throughout a heating zone.”) and one or more frozen food items contained within a leak- proof package that is completely submerged along with the device in a fixed amount of water within a container (Abstract, “cooking food inside a cooking bag or container and immersed in the liquid bath for sous vide cooking.”, and where frozen foods can be included within the cooking bag, Para. 0062, “Multi-temperature items can be accommodated readily with the two or three-layer system…One possibility would be using three zones 80, 82, 84, such as shown in FIG. 14, where the bottom layer 86 of the sundae could be cold, frosty or frozen”),
the fixed amount of water maintained within a first temperature range (Claim 12, “controlled to heat water in the interior volume of the kitchen sink to user settable temperatures over substantially an entire temperature range of 120° F.-160° F. for sous vide cooking”) and circulated by the device at a constant flowrate within a second flowrate range over the submerged leak-proof package containing the one or more frozen food items (Para. 0064, “The pump is positioned in either a vertical or horizontal orientation, provided that the water intake opening 112 is below the water level…The pump 110 produces an even water distribution, resulting in a more even temperature zone.”, where a consistent flowrate is present in order to create an even water distribution and that flowrate must be a value to allow for recirculation), comprising:
a housing having a slit (Para. 0064, “intake opening 112”), one or more suction elements arranged on a surface of the housing for securing the device fixedly in place to a surface of the container (Para. 0064, “Magnet 114 on the bottom of the pump attaches the pump to a stainless steel or cast iron sink. Otherwise, suction cups or other attachment elements can be used.”),
a sealed, waterproof submersible water pump (Para. 0064, “In operation, water is moved passed the intake separator 126, then flows between the battery case housing 130 and the outer case housing 132.”, where the battery for the pump must be waterproof within the battery case in order to function properly) provided in the housing and adapted to agitate water from the container that is drawn up through the slits and agitated across an interior bottom surface within the housing (Para. 0064, “The pump is positioned in either a vertical or horizontal orientation, provided that the water intake opening 112 is below the water level…The pump 110 produces an even water distribution, resulting in a more even temperature zone.”), and
an agitator outlet attached to the housing so as to remain completely submerged within the fixed amount of water in the container throughout the thawing process for exhausting the water agitated by the submersible water pump so as to be circulated over the leak-proof package containing the one or more frozen food items (Para. 0064, “The pump moves water to the outlet ports 124. It is preferable that ports 124 be arranged around the circumference of the pump and at different heights.”, where the outlet ports 124 are completely submerged and exhaust water outwards in order to create a recirculation flow over the sous-vide food cooking packages located within the kitchen sink; regarding the feature of applicant claiming there be one outlet and multiple inlets, it has been held that mere reversal of parts is an obvious modification to make. In re Gazda, 219 F.2d 449, 104 USPQ 400 (CCPA 1955). It is the Examiner’s position that reversing the outlets and inlet within the recirculation pump of Pearson would still be able to achieve inflow and outflow of water).
Pearson does not disclose:
a device to facilitate thawing the one or more frozen food items in a thawing process in which the device is completely submerged within the fixed amount of water in the container;
a housing having a plurality of slits at the bottom end;
wherein the first temperature range is 35°F to 42°F during the thawing process,
the second flowrate range is a constant flowrate of 50 gallons per hour (GPH) to 90 GPH during the thawing process, and
the combination of maintaining the first temperature range and the second flowrate range of water over the completely submerged one or more food items within the leak-proof package during the thawing process prevents the one or more frozen food items within the leak-proof package from reaching an internal temperature in excess of 40°F.
Pearson discloses where the temperature of the water within the three zones is enough to thaw frozen food items, however it is not explicitly stated that the frozen bottom layer is thawed (Para. 0060, “As one example, beef steaks in upper zone 70 could be set for well done at 160° F., intermediate zone 72 for medium at 140° and lower zone 74 for 120° for rare.”). However, Lee discloses, in the similar field of sous-vide cooking (Abstract, “sous vide cooker”), where thawing frozen food items is done (Abstract, “The water in the constant temperature water tank is circulated fast at 75 L/min, the thermal diffusion coefficient increases, and the frozen meat can be thawed quickly.”). 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 sous-vide cooking system in Pearson to explicitly state that it thaws frozen food items as taught by Lee.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage being able to improve the water retention within the meat being thawed, where the flavor of the meat is improved, as stated by Lee, Abstract, “The thawed meat using the sous vide cooker is improved in water retention as compared with thawed meat produced by existing thawing methods. As a result, the flavor of the meat is improved. In addition, safe meat can be provided for consumers with microbial growth suppressed and mass production is possible.”.
As stated previously for the election/restriction, applicant has acknowledged that Species I, II, and III are obvious variants and the Examiner has chosen to select Species II which is read upon by the Pearson reference regarding the suction cups (Para. 0064, “Magnet 114 on the bottom of the pump attaches the pump to a stainless steel or cast iron sink. Otherwise, suction cups or other attachment elements can be used.”). Parker further discloses features from Species II as shown below.
Further, Parker discloses, in the similar field of thawing frozen foods (Abstract, “A device to facilitate thawing frozen food items”), where a sealed, waterproof submersible water pump (Claim 1, “a sealed, waterproof submersible pump provided in the housing, the pump adapted to agitate water from the container that is drawn in by the pump through the slits”) includes a bottom cover with a flat bottom and vertical side walls with a plurality of spaced slits (Para. 0054, “The lower cover 240 includes a plurality of slits 245 in adjacent spaced relation, which as before serve as inlets for the water 190 to be drawn into the pump 250 within the housing body 230”, where the flat bottom wall and vertical side walls connecting to the lower end of the housing are shown in Fig. 9 for cover 240),
where the first temperature range is 35°F to 42°F during the thawing process (Para. 0042, “contemplate a lower water temperature range, above freezing but less than ambient room temperature to ensure food safety, a preferable example range of cold water temperature (such as cold water from a tap) being between about 35° F. to 42° F”),
where the second flowrate range is a constant flowrate of 50 GPH to 90 GPH (Para. 0042, “The inventor has discovered through research and experimentation that a modest but constant flow rate of fluid directed over the surface of the food item, coupled with a lower water temperature (a temperature which inhibits growth of bacteria) appears to speed the thawing of food items. As such, the example embodiments envision a flow rate generated by the pump 150 of less than 100 GPH, a preferable example range being a generated flow rate between about 50 to 90 GPH”), and
where the combination of the first temperature range and second flowrate range of water over the food items prevents the internal temperature of the food items to exceed 40°F (Para. 0043, “The cold water temperature range is consistent with governmental guidance which suggests that thawing frozen foods so that the internal temperature of the frozen food remains about 40° F. or less optimizes food safety.”). 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 recirculation pump in modified Pearson to include the features as taught by Parker.
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 have a recirculation pump that is simple to use, compact in size, and portable, as stated by Parker, Para. 0007, “Accordingly, what is needed is a device that circulates water around frozen food items or other articles to facilitate thawing thereof that is simple to use, compact in size, and portable so as to be easily adapted for placement into a kitchen sink”, and where the temperature range and flowrate prevent the growth of bacteria while also speeding up the thawing process, which improves the safety of the food and reduces the time it takes to thaw, Para. 0042, “The inventor has discovered through research and experimentation that a modest but constant flow rate of fluid directed over the surface of the food item, coupled with a lower water temperature (a temperature which inhibits growth of bacteria) appears to speed the thawing of food items.”.
Regarding claim 11, modified Pearson teaches the apparatus according to claim 10, as set forth above.
Modified Pearson does not disclose:
wherein the submersible water pump is selected from a group comprising a DC-powered submersible water pump powered via a battery contained in the housing and connected to the pump, and an AC-powered submersible water pump powered from an external source via a plug with a power cord connected to the pump.
However, Parker discloses where the submersible water pump is an AC-power submersible water pump that is powered via a plug with a power cord connected to the pump (Para. 0039, “A sealed, waterproof electric submersible pump 150 is provided within the housing body 130. This pump 150 may be a centrifugal-type submersible pump as is known; one example may be a small AC-powered aquaponic or pond pump which can be purchased online or off-the-shelf retail and which generally has a rated flowrate of 100 GPH or less… In this example, pump 150 is AC-powered via a cord 160 connected to pump 150 at one end through an aperture in the upper cover 120, the other end of cord 160 terminating in a plug 165 adapted for connection to AC wall power or another AC outlet source.”). 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 pump in modified Pearson to be AC-powered as taught by Parker.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage being able to use a easily obtainable pump that can be found off-the-shelf retail, as stated by Parker, Para. 0039, “A sealed, waterproof electric submersible pump 150 is provided within the housing body 130. This pump 150 may be a centrifugal-type submersible pump as is known; one example may be a small AC-powered aquaponic or pond pump which can be purchased online or off-the-shelf retail”.
Regarding claim 12, modified Pearson teaches the apparatus according to claim 10, as set forth above, discloses wherein the one or more suction elements is embodied as a plurality of suction cups (Pearson, Para. 0064, “Magnet 114 on the bottom of the pump attaches the pump to a stainless steel or cast iron sink. Otherwise, suction cups or other attachment elements can be used.”).
Regarding claim 13, Pearson discloses a combination, comprising:
a container at least partially filled with a fixed amount of water (Abstract, “A water bath system for cooking includes a conventional kitchen sink”) maintained at a water temperature in a first range (Abstract, “a control unit connected to the heating unit and responsive to the temperature of the liquid to maintain the liquid in the kitchen sink at a specific temperature”),
one or more frozen food items contained within a leak-proof package, the leak-proof package with one or more frozen food items completely submerged within the fixed amount of water in the container (Abstract, “cooking food inside a cooking bag or container and immersed in the liquid bath for sous vide cooking.”, and where frozen foods can be included within the cooking bag, Para. 0062, “Multi-temperature items can be accommodated readily with the two or three-layer system…One possibility would be using three zones 80, 82, 84, such as shown in FIG. 14, where the bottom layer 86 of the sundae could be cold, frosty or frozen”), and
the device further including:
a housing with slits (Para. 0064, “The pump moves water to the outlet ports 124. It is preferable that ports 124 be arranged around the circumference of the pump and at different heights.”, where modified Fig. 16a shows the housing and where the submersible water pump is within that housing);
the submersible water pump (Para. 0064, “In operation, water is moved passed the intake separator 126, then flows between the battery case housing 130 and the outer case housing 132.”, where the battery for the pump must be waterproof within the battery case in order to function properly) adapted to agitate water from the container that is drawn in by the submersible water pump through the slits at a constant flowrate within a second flowrate range (Para. 0064, “The pump is positioned in either a vertical or horizontal orientation, provided that the water intake opening 112 is below the water level…The pump 110 produces an even water distribution, resulting in a more even temperature zone.”, where a consistent flowrate is present in order to create an even water distribution and that flowrate must be a value to allow for recirculation).
Pearson does not disclose:
a device to facilitate thawing the one or more frozen food items in a thawing process in which the device is completely submerged within the fixed amount of water in the container;
a housing having a detachable bottom cover at a lower end of the housing for access to the interior of the housing, and a sealed, waterproof submersible water pump provided within the housing interior and directly accessible via removal of the detachable bottom cover,
wherein the first temperature range is 35°F to 42°F during the thawing process,
the second flowrate range is a constant flowrate of 50 gallons per hour (GPH) to 90 GPH during the thawing process, and
the combination of maintaining the first temperature range and the second flowrate range of water over the completely submerged one or more food items within the leak-proof package during the thawing process prevents the one or more frozen food items within the leak-proof package from reaching an internal temperature in excess of 40°F.
Pearson discloses where the temperature of the water within the three zones is enough to thaw frozen food items, however it is not explicitly stated that the frozen bottom layer is thawed (Para. 0060, “As one example, beef steaks in upper zone 70 could be set for well done at 160° F., intermediate zone 72 for medium at 140° and lower zone 74 for 120° for rare.”). However, Lee discloses, in the similar field of sous-vide cooking (Abstract, “sous vide cooker”), where thawing frozen food items is done (Abstract, “The water in the constant temperature water tank is circulated fast at 75 L/min, the thermal diffusion coefficient increases, and the frozen meat can be thawed quickly.”). 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 sous-vide cooking system in Pearson to explicitly state that it thaws frozen food items as taught by Lee.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage being able to improve the water retention within the meat being thawed, where the flavor of the meat is improved, as stated by Lee, Abstract, “The thawed meat using the sous vide cooker is improved in water retention as compared with thawed meat produced by existing thawing methods. As a result, the flavor of the meat is improved. In addition, safe meat can be provided for consumers with microbial growth suppressed and mass production is possible.”.
As stated previously for the election/restriction, applicant has acknowledged that Species I, II, and III are obvious variants and the Examiner has chosen to select Species II which is read upon by the Pearson reference regarding the suction cups (Para. 0064, “Magnet 114 on the bottom of the pump attaches the pump to a stainless steel or cast iron sink. Otherwise, suction cups or other attachment elements can be used.”). Parker further discloses features from Species III as shown below.
Further, Parker discloses, in the similar field of thawing frozen foods (Abstract, “A device to facilitate thawing frozen food items”), where a sealed, waterproof submersible water pump (Claim 1, “a sealed, waterproof submersible pump provided in the housing, the pump adapted to agitate water from the container that is drawn in by the pump through the slits”) includes a bottom cover with a flat bottom and vertical side walls with a plurality of spaced slits (Para. 0054, “The lower cover 240 includes a plurality of slits 245 in adjacent spaced relation, which as before serve as inlets for the water 190 to be drawn into the pump 250 within the housing body 230”, where the flat bottom wall and vertical side walls connecting to the lower end of the housing are shown in Fig. 9 for cover 240),
where the first temperature range is 35°F to 42°F during the thawing process (Para. 0042, “contemplate a lower water temperature range, above freezing but less than ambient room temperature to ensure food safety, a preferable example range of cold water temperature (such as cold water from a tap) being between about 35° F. to 42° F”),
where the second flowrate range is a constant flowrate of 50 GPH to 90 GPH (Para. 0042, “The inventor has discovered through research and experimentation that a modest but constant flow rate of fluid directed over the surface of the food item, coupled with a lower water temperature (a temperature which inhibits growth of bacteria) appears to speed the thawing of food items. As such, the example embodiments envision a flow rate generated by the pump 150 of less than 100 GPH, a preferable example range being a generated flow rate between about 50 to 90 GPH”), and
where the combination of the first temperature range and second flowrate range of water over the food items prevents the internal temperature of the food items to exceed 40°F (Para. 0043, “The cold water temperature range is consistent with governmental guidance which suggests that thawing frozen foods so that the internal temperature of the frozen food remains about 40° F. or less optimizes food safety.”). 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 recirculation pump in modified Pearson to include the features as taught by Parker.
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 have a recirculation pump that is simple to use, compact in size, and portable, as stated by Parker, Para. 0007, “Accordingly, what is needed is a device that circulates water around frozen food items or other articles to facilitate thawing thereof that is simple to use, compact in size, and portable so as to be easily adapted for placement into a kitchen sink”, and where the temperature range and flowrate prevent the growth of bacteria while also speeding up the thawing process, which improves the safety of the food and reduces the time it takes to thaw, Para. 0042, “The inventor has discovered through research and experimentation that a modest but constant flow rate of fluid directed over the surface of the food item, coupled with a lower water temperature (a temperature which inhibits growth of bacteria) appears to speed the thawing of food items.”.
Regarding the feature of the bottom cover being detachable, it has been held that mere 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 the bottom cover from the teaching of Parker could be removable if it was desired to access the features within the cover, where one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that accessing the pump structure would be beneficial in allowing for increased repairability.
Regarding claim 14, modified Pearson teaches the apparatus according to claim 13, as set forth above.
Modified Pearson does not disclose:
wherein the submersible water pump is selected from a group comprising an AC-powered submersible water pump and a DC-powered submersible water pump.
However, Parker discloses where the submersible water pump is an AC-power submersible water pump (Para. 0039, “A sealed, waterproof electric submersible pump 150 is provided within the housing body 130. This pump 150 may be a centrifugal-type submersible pump as is known; one example may be a small AC-powered aquaponic or pond pump which can be purchased online or off-the-shelf retail and which generally has a rated flowrate of 100 GPH or less”). 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 pump in modified Pearson to be AC-powered as taught by Parker.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage being able to use a easily obtainable pump that can be found off-the-shelf retail, as stated by Parker, Para. 0039, “A sealed, waterproof electric submersible pump 150 is provided within the housing body 130. This pump 150 may be a centrifugal-type submersible pump as is known; one example may be a small AC-powered aquaponic or pond pump which can be purchased online or off-the-shelf retail”.
Regarding claim 15, modified Pearson teaches the apparatus according to claim 13, as set forth above, discloses wherein the submersible water pump is powered via a battery contained in the housing and connected to the pump (Pearson, Para. 0064, “Pump 66 may include a battery 116 and a charging port 118 for the battery…battery case housing 130 and the outer case housing 132”, where the battery is within the housing of the pump), or is powered from an external source via a plug with a power cord connected to the pump.
Regarding claim 16, modified Pearson teaches the apparatus according to claim 13, as set forth above, discloses wherein the container is any of a kitchen sink (Pearson, Para. 0008, “a liquid based sous vide cooking syste