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
Claims 20-21 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group II and III, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 08/27/2025.
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-3, 5-9, and 11-17 in the reply filed on 08/27/2025 is acknowledged.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. CH01111/20, filed on 09/08/2020.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The Abstract filed on 08/04/2023 exceeds the 150 word limit.
Correction is required.
See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts.
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:
“control unit” in Claim 1
The generic placeholder is “control unit” and the functional language attributed the “control unit” includes: “configured to receive a control input signal as a function of time”.
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.
Reference is made to the Specification filed on 02/13/2023.
Regarding the control unit, on Page 37, “Generating the output control signal respectively its components by the control unit may be based on classical controller designs, for example PID controllers, and/or be based e.g. on fuzzy control algorithms and/or a neuronal network.”, where the control unit is assumed to be a classical controller, such as a PID controller
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 § 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, 13, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (KR 20140109598 A, hereinafter Lee) in view of Zhang (CN 111567829 A) and Eichner (US 20040142078 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses a coffee roaster (Abstract, “coffee bean roasting drum and a roasting device”) comprising:
a) a roasting unit comprising:
- a drum (Abstract, “a roasting device having the same, wherein the coffee bean roasting drum comprises: a drum body”), wherein the drum comprises a drum body with a thermal conductive rear wall (Page 2, Para. 4 from end, “The porous member 112 (shown in FIG. 4) may be formed of a plate of a metal or a metal alloy in which a hole 112a (shown in FIG. 4) is perforated in a large number over an entire area”, where metal is thermally conductive), a drum inlet, a drum outlet (Page 2, Para. 4 from end, “In this embodiment, the drum body 110 has been shown to have a single inlet / outlet port 111, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the inlet and the outlet may be formed independently of each other.”, where the drum inlet and outlet can be independent and separate from each other), and a removable front wall (Page 4, Para. 3, “The main body 200 is connected to the opening so that the hopper 230 can be vertically installed to feed the raw beans into the roasting drum 100 through the entrance 111 and the opening of the door 210”, where the door is the removable front wall),
- a drum rotor, wherein the drum rotor is rotatable arranged inside the drum (Page 2, Para. 2 from end, “The shaft fixing wheel 115 has a ring shape and can be fixed to the rim 111 of the drum body 110 with bolts, nuts, screws or the like, and a boss 115a to which the rotary shaft 113 is fixed is positioned at the center And may be connected by a plurality of arms 115b.”, where the arms are the rotor within the drum),
- a drum rotor drive in operative coupling with the drum rotor (Page 4, Para. 4, “The rotation driving unit 300 includes a motor 310 and a belt 330 connecting the pulleys 320 installed on the rotation axis of the motor 310 and the rotation axis 114 of the roasting drum 100”, where Fig. 7 shows that the motor 310 is connected to the rotation axis 114 that is connected to the rotation shaft 113),
- a hot air supply comprising an air heater (Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “The heating unit 400 includes a heating plate 410 disposed to be spaced apart from the side of the roasting drum 100 to heat the roasting drum 100 and a heating unit 410 installed to heat the heating plate 410”) and a positive pressure device, the positive pressure device including a supply fan, to feed hot air into the drum (Page 5, Para. 6, “The first blower 640 is installed at various positions capable of supplying the air blowing force so as to supply the hot air to the inside of the roasting drum 100 including the front end or the rear end of the duct portion 630 or one side of the heating plate 610.”), and
- a drum heater thermally coupled with the thermal conductive rear wall (Page 5, Para. 2, “a heating unit 610 for heating the heating drum 610 to heat the roasting drum 100 through the porous member 112 provided in the roasting drum 100.”, where the heating unit is thermally coupled to the rear wall of the drum to bring hot air into the drum),
b) a sensor arrangement comprising a roasting bean temperature sensor, wherein the roasting bean temperature sensor is configured to measure a roasting bean temperature of coffee beans positioned inside the drum and to provide a roasting bean temperature signal (Page 4, Para. 2 from end, “the heating unit 420 of the heating unit 400 and a driving switch for indicating the driving state or for measuring the temperature on the roasting drum 100 And a display unit for displaying the temperature of the temperature sensor (not shown) externally.”, where the temperature sensor provides a temperature signal through showing the temperature value externally in the display and where the temperature sensor measures the temperature within the roasting drum, which would be the temperature of the roasting coffee beans),
c) a control unit for controlling execution of a coffee bean roasting process by the coffee roaster (Page 4, Para. 2 from end, “A control unit for controlling the operations of the rotation driving unit 300 and the heating unit 400 so as to produce the coffee beans by heating the raw beans according to a predetermined process such as a rotation speed of the roasting drum 100”).
Lee does not disclose:
wherein the control unit is configured to receive a control input signal as a function of time, wherein the control input signal includes the roasting bean temperature signal, wherein the control unit is further configured to automatically generate a control output signal as a function of time in dependence of the control input signal, wherein the control output signal includes a drum heater control signal, a drum rotor drive control signal, and at least one of an air heater control signal or a positive pressure device control signal, thereby controlling operation of the drum heater, the drum rotor drive ,and at least one of the air heater or of the positive pressure device, to roast the coffee beans inside the drum according to a pre-determined selected roasting profile,
wherein the pre-determined selected roasting profile includes a desired roasting bean temperature as a function of time and a target roasting bean temperature,
wherein the control unit is configured to determine if an end-of-roasting-condition is met, wherein the end-of roasting condition includes the coffee beans inside the drum having the target roasting bean temperature.
However, Zhang discloses, in the similar field of coffee bean roasting systems (Abstract, “coffee bean baking system”), where a control unit receives an input signal as a function of time that includes the roasting temperature, where the control unit automatically generates a control output signal as a function of time depending on the input signal (Page 2, Para. 5 from end, “the controller drives the bean baking device according to the baking curve for drying the bean, wherein the invention is in the automatic drying process, the temperature controller can measure the bean drying device for an operation temperature of the bean, and based on the heating time information and a target temperature, an output power of the control heater.”, where the operating temperature of the bean would be a function of time due to being on a baking curve and where the output signal guides the roaster to follow the curve), where the output signal includes a drum heater signal and a fan signal to control those respective devices in order to complete a roasting profile (Page 4, Para. 2, “generate a baking curve, so that the controller 101 can drive the bean drying device 30 according to the baking curve for automatic drying, and the firepower output, the exhaust motor output. heating time and so on set value information, can be automatically loaded from a record generator 105 by the controller 101”, where the baking curve includes control signals for the temperature and motor control, where these controls complete a baking curve or roasting profile). 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 control unit that controls the rotor drive, heater, and air heater in Lee to have the control unit control those devices in order to meet a roasting temperature curve as taught by Zhang, where the control unit in Zhang would be able to control all the devices in Lee.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of a control unit being able to follow a baking curve or roasting profile, where this allows a user to reproduce the same roasting conditions for the coffee beans, as stated by Lee, Abstract, “automatically bake the coffee bean according to the baking curve, so as to make the baking of the raw coffee bean more easily, at the same time, it can ensure the quality stability of the baking of the coffee bean, so as to reach the flavor reproduction.”.
Further, Eichner discloses, in the similar field of roasting coffee beans (Abstract, “Coffee beans and the like are roasted in an enclosed, pressurized roaster”), where the control unit that controls the baking curve from a pre-determined selected roasting profile that includes a desired roasting bean temperature as a function of time (Para. 0021, “preselecting a desired roasting bean temperature versus time profile; monitoring either or both of (1) the temperature of the beans”) and a target roasting bean temperature (Para. 0067, “The roast is stopped when the bean temperature reaches a preselected end-of-roast value.”, where the temperature versus time prolife would have the end-of-roast value being part of the profile), where the control unit determines if an end-of-roasting condition is met and where the end-of-roasting condition includes the coffee beans having the target bean temperature (Para. 0067, “The roast is stopped when the bean temperature reaches a preselected end-of-roast value.”, and Claim 7, “preselecting a desired roasting bean temperature versus time profile; c) monitoring either or both of (1) the temperature of the beans”, where monitoring of the bean temperature occurs throughout the roasting profile, and where the end-of-roasting condition can be determined if met). 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 baking curve in modified Lee to be a preselected roasting temperature versus time profile that can be chosen by a user as taught by Eichner.
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 select between different roasting profiles, where a user would then be able to choose a desired coffee bean taste, as stated by Eichner, Para. 0070, “Because of the difference in roasting time and bean-temperature-versus-time curve shape, the chemical composition and taste of fast-roasted coffees are different from those of slow-roasted coffees, even when the final roast color is the same.”.
Regarding claim 3, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses - a rear wall temperature sensor, wherein the rear wall temperature sensor is configured to measure a rear wall temperature of the thermal conductive rear wall and to provide a rear wall temperature signal, wherein the control input signal includes the rear wall temperature signal (Lee, Page 4, Para. 2 from end, “a driving switch for indicating the driving state or for measuring the temperature on the roasting drum 100 And a display unit for displaying the temperature of the temperature sensor (not shown) externally.”, where this temperature sensor would be able to measure the temperature of the drum that comes from the rear wall)
Modified Lee does not disclose:
wherein the sensor arrangement further includes at least one of: - a roasting bean color sensor, wherein the roasting bean color sensor is configured to measure a roasting bean color of the coffee beans positioned inside the drum and to provide a roasting bean color signal, wherein the control input signal includes the roasting bean color signal,
- a drum air temperature sensor, wherein the drum air temperature sensor is configured to measure a drum air temperature inside the drum and to provide a drum air temperature signal, wherein the control input signal includes the drum air temperature signal,
- an inlet air temperature sensor, wherein the inlet air temperature sensor is configured to measure an inlet air temperature of hot air that is fed into the drum and to provide an inlet air temperature signal, wherein the control input signal includes the inlet air temperature signal,
- an air humidity sensor, wherein the air humidity sensor is configured to measure a withdrawn air humidity of air that is withdrawn from drum and to provide an air humidity signal, wherein the control input signal includes the air humidity signal,
- an air outlet pressure sensor, wherein the air outlet pressure sensor is configured to measure an air pressure of air that is withdrawn from the drum and to provide an outlet air pressure signal, wherein the control input signal includes the outlet air pressure signal,
- an air inlet pressure sensor, wherein the air inlet pressure sensor is configured to measure an air pressure of hot air that is fed into the drum and to provide an inlet air pressure signal, wherein the control input signal includes the inlet air pressure signal, or
- a crack detection sensor, wherein the crack detection sensor is configured to detect the occurrence of a crack of coffee beans during roasting, and provide a crack detection signal, wherein the control input signal includes the crack detection signal.
However, Eichner discloses where a sensor includes an air inlet air temperature sensor, an air inlet pressure sensor, and an air outlet pressure sensor (Para. 0040, “A gas outlet 82 communicates with the chamber above top screen 16. Gas inlet 80 is provided with an ensemble of sensors 84 (FIG. lA) incorporating a pressure transducer and a thermocouple. Similar sensors 86 are provided in the roasting chamber itself and still further sensors 88 are provided on gas outlet 82.”). 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 air inlet in modified Lee to include an air inlet and outlet that have the sensors as taught by Eichner.
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 the sensors to determine the amount of heat transferred to the gas and allow adjustments to be made so that the heat amount can be maintained to allow the beans to roast according to a predetermine roasting profile, as stated by Eichner, Para. 0049, “The control computer monitors the enthalpy of the inlet gas using pressure and temperature sensors 84 and also monitors the enthalpy of the exhaust gas using sensors 88, as well as the enthalpy of the gas leaving the separator using sensors 148. The control computer adjusts the amount of heat transferred to the gas by controlling valves HMV4 and HMV3 so as to thereby direct some or all of the gas to by-pass heat exchanger 132.”.
Regarding the rest of the sensors, it is the Examiner’s position that the claim limitation is, “at least one of: A, B, … or H”, where if one of the sensors A through H are met through the prior art, then the claim is satisfied.
Regarding claim 6, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
further comprising a drum inlet shutter, wherein the drum inlet shutter is arranged to alternatively open or close the drum inlet, wherein the selected roasting profile includes a selected pre-roasting condition, wherein the control unit is configured:
- to generate a pre-roasting control output signal as part of the control output signal, and - to determine, based on control input signal, if the selected pre-roasting condition is met and to control the drum inlet shutter to open the drum inlet upon the selected pre-roasting condition being met.
However, Eichner discloses where a drum inlet shutter is present and where the shutter can open or close the drum inlet, where a selected roasting profile includes a pre-roasting condition and when that pre-roasting condition is met, the drum inlet shutter opens the drum inlet (Para. 0047, “Once the system is up to temperature and pressure and free of contaminants, a first charge of green coffee beans is admitted to roasting chamber 12 through inlet lock 34 and bean inlet opening 38. Preferably, bean inlet lock 34 is brought up to the prevailing system pressure by admitting gas from the pressure storage tank 70 before opening valve 36 and passing the beans into the roasting chamber for bean inlet opening 38.”, where the being up to the correct temperature and pressure would be the pre-roasting condition based on the selected roasting profile, where the inlet lock only opens when that condition is met). 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 drum inlet in modified Lee to include the inlet lock that only opens when specific pre-roasting conditions are met as taught by Eichner.
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 ensure that the drum has the correct temperature and pressure profiles at the start of the selected roasting profile so that the beans can correctly follow the roasting profile, as stated by Eichner, Para. 0047, “Once the system is up to temperature and pressure and free of contaminants, a first charge of green coffee beans is admitted to roasting chamber 12 through inlet lock 34 and bean inlet opening 38.”.
Regarding claim 13, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
further comprising a chaff separator, the chaff separator including a cyclone separator.
However, Eichner discloses where there is a chaff separator that includes a cyclone separator (Para. 0029, “The system further includes a chaff separator… The chaff separator may be is a cyclonic separator). 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 coffee roaster in modified Lee to include the cyclone chaff separator as taught by Eichner.
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 separate the beans from the chaff and allow the chaff to be removed as waste, as stated by Eichner, Para. 0076, “The rotating scraper 122 and rotating helical screw 124 propel the wetted chaff through the discharge opening 108 and into discharge lock 112. Chaff will be discharged through this lock on a cyclical basis every time a selected number of roasts (e.g. ten) have been processed.”.
Regarding claim 15, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the control unit is configured to control the positive pressure device to vary an airflow of the hot air (Lee, Page 4, Para. 2 from end, “the operation unit 500 may be configured such that operations of the rotation driving unit 300 and the heating unit 400 and the like are performed manually according to an operator's operation signal”, and Page 5, Para. 3 from end, “Meanwhile, the operation of the second blower 650 can be controlled by the operation unit 500 together with the first blower 640.”) in dependence of a progress of the roasting process (Teaching from Zhang, Page 2, Para. 5 from end, “the controller drives the bean baking device according to the baking curve for drying the bean, wherein the invention is in the automatic drying process, the temperature controller can measure the bean drying device for an operation temperature of the bean, and based on the heating time information and a target temperature, an output power of the control heater.”; teaching from Eichner, Para. 0021, “preselecting a desired roasting bean temperature versus time profile; monitoring either or both of (1) the temperature of the beans”, where the roasting process includes a profile that would have fan settings, where the control unit or operation unit can control the fan depending on the profile selected).
Claims 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (KR 20140109598 A, hereinafter Lee) in view of Zhang (CN 111567829 A) and Eichner (US 20040142078 A1) in further view of Jung (KR 20130087157 A).
Regarding claim 2, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
wherein the front wall is transparent.
However, Jung discloses, in the similar field of coffee bean roasters (Abstract, “A coffee roaster is provided to ensure fast and reliable roasting and the automatic discharge of roasted coffee beans.”), where the front wall is transparent (Page 4, Para. 4, “a transparent window 712 may be provided on the first panel 710 so that the user can visually check how much the coffee bean is roasted. The transparent window 712 is formed at a portion of the first panel 710 covering the front end of the drum 110 to expose the internal space of the drum 110 to the outside”). 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 front wall of modified Lee to include being transparent as taught by Jung.
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 check in real time the amount of coffee beans located within the drum without needing to open the door, which can save the user time, as stated by Jung, Page 4, Para. 4, “The transparent window 712 is formed at a portion of the first panel 710 covering the front end of the drum 110 to expose the internal space of the drum 110 to the outside, so that the user can use the drum (712) through the transparent window 712. 110) it is possible to check in real time how much the coffee beans inside. At this time, the transparent window 712 should be made of heat-resistant glass so as not to break even at high temperatures.”.
Claims 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (KR 20140109598 A, hereinafter Lee) in view of Zhang (CN 111567829 A) and Eichner (US 20040142078 A1) in further view of Ghighi (FR 2645716 A1).
Regarding claim 5, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the thermal conductive rear wall comprises an outer layer in thermal contact with the drum heater, a core layer of aluminum (Lee, Page 2, Para. 4 from end, “A porous member 112 (shown in Fig. 4) for allowing entry may be provided at the other end. In this embodiment, the drum body 110 has been shown to have a single inlet / outlet port 111, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the inlet and the outlet may be formed independently of each other. The porous member 112 (shown in FIG. 4) may be formed of a plate of a metal or a metal alloy in which a hole 112a (shown in FIG. 4) is perforated in a large number over an entire area”, where this rear wall 112 has a thickness and is made of a metal, where the outer layer is thermally in contact with the drum heater through hot air flow exchanging heater to the metal, where the interior layer of 112 is then the core layer and can be made from any metal including aluminum).
Modified Lee does not disclose:
a food-grade inner layer.
However, Ghighi discloses, in the similar field of roasting coffee beans (Abstract, “a container for cooking, in particular roasting, solid food products such as coffee beans”), where a drum that holds coffee beans includes a rear wall and where all of the drum is made from food-grade material (Abstract, “This drum has, for example, a circular cylindrical shape and includes a cylindrical wall 2 and two end walls 3”, and Claim 12, “drum is made of stainless steel, food grade.”). 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 layer of the rear wall that contacts the coffee beans or inner layer in modified Lee to include food grade material as taught by Ghighi.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of providing safety for the drum so that users can use the coffee beans without metal contamination and where the food-grade stainless steel gives a long shelf life and prevents deterioration, as stated by Ghighi, Page 2, Para. 5, “Preferably, the drum is made of food-grade stainless steel, which gives it a long shelf life and prevents deterioration in the quality of the products.”.
Claims 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (KR 20140109598 A, hereinafter Lee) in view of Zhang (CN 111567829 A) and Eichner (US 20040142078 A1) in further view of Sandhu et al. (US 20190320703 A1, hereinafter Sandhu).
Regarding claim 7, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
further comprising a drum outlet shutter, wherein the drum outlet shutter is arranged to alternatively open or close the drum outlet,
wherein the control unit is configured to control the drum outlet shutter to open the drum outlet upon the end-of-roasting condition being met.
However, Eichner discloses where a drum outlet shutter is present and where the shutter can open or close the drum outlet (Para. 0026, “the shaft having a hub mounted thereon below the shutter, the shaft being axially movable between an operating position in which the hub occludes the bean outlet aperture and a discharge position in which the hub does not occlude the bean outlet aperture.”). 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 drum outlet in modified Lee to include a shutter that can open and close as taught by Eichner.
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 give a user more flexibility over when the coffee beans should be emptied from the drum, where the shaft offers additional control over the coffee bean roasting process, as stated by Eichner, Para. 0026, “the shaft being axially movable between an operating position in which the hub occludes the bean outlet aperture and a discharge position in which the hub does not occlude the bean outlet aperture.”.
Further, Sandhu discloses, in the similar field of roasting coffee beans (Para. 0002, “roasting of food products, particularly to beans, and more particularly to coffee beans.”), where a shutter can be opened when the roasting process is completed (Para. 0089, “When beans in drum 100 are finished with a roasting process, they are transferred to a cooling chamber. FIG. 17 depicts a method 180 for the transfer under control of controller 42. Method 180 corresponds to the bean drop step 66 of method 50 of FIG. 3. According to an initial condition 182, the hatch 120 is in an upper (sealed) position as depicted in FIGS. 15A and 16A. At 184, the actuator 43 is operated to rotate and lower the hatch 120 to the lowered ( open state for opening 170) state as depicted in FIGS. 15B and 16B.”). 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 end-of-roast temperature that indicates that roasting is completed in modified Lee to include the shutter opening as taught by Sandhu.
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 proceed to a next step in the coffee making process automatically, where after the beans are finished with roasting, they can then be sent to cool, as stated by Sandhu, Para. 0089, “When beans in drum 100 are finished with a roasting process, they are transferred to a cooling chamber. FIG. 17 depicts a method 180 for the transfer under control of controller 42.”.
Claims 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (KR 20140109598 A, hereinafter Lee) in view of Zhang (CN 111567829 A) and Eichner (US 20040142078 A1) in further view of Sandhu et al. (US 20190320703 A1, hereinafter Sandhu) and Choi (KR 101904691 B1).
Regarding claim 8, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 7, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
further comprising a cooling unit, wherein the cooling unit comprises: a) a cooling container with a cooling container inlet, wherein the cooling container inlet is coupled with the drum outlet via the drum outlet shutter,
b) a cooling medium supply, wherein the cooling medium supply comprises at least one of: - a cooling air supply fluidically coupled with an inner cooling container space to feed cooling air into the cooling container, or - a cooling water supply including a nozzle arrangement configured for spraying cooling water onto coffee beans inside the cooling container.
However, Sandhu discloses where a cooling unit has an inlet that is coupled to the drum outlet via the drum outlet shutter (Para. 0089, “When beans in drum 100 are finished with a roasting process, they are transferred to a cooling chamber. FIG. 17 depicts a method 180 for the transfer under control of controller 42. Method 180 corresponds to the bean drop step 66 of method 50 of FIG. 3. According to an initial condition 182, the hatch 120 is in an upper (sealed) position as depicted in FIGS. 15A and 16A. At 184, the actuator 43 is operated to rotate and lower the hatch 120 to the lowered ( open state for opening 170) state as depicted in FIGS. 15B and 16B.”, where the drum outlet shutter is the hatch and where the hatch is connected to the cooling chamber). 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 drum in modified Lee to be connected to a cooling chamber as taught by Sandhu.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of allowing the drum to return to reduced temperatures so that a standby mode can be kept, where this allows energy to be conserved for the system while still preserving the coffee beans without additional roasting being done, as stated by Sandhu, Para. 0055, “During step 66 the valve 16 is opened to drop the roasted beans into a cooling chamber. During step 68 the beans are cooled and the system states are returned to those of the standby mode of step 56 after a preheating operation.”.
Further, Choi discloses, in the similar field of roasting coffee beans (Page 2, Para. 6, “A roasting unit 200 for roasting and processing the green beans supplied from the green meal distribution unit 100 into beans”), where a cooling chamber includes a cooling medium supply that is an air supply fluidically coupled with an inner cooling container to feed cooling air into the cooling container (Page 3, Para. 1, “And a cooling fan (240) that supplies air to the chiller (220) to cool the beans discharged to the chiller (220).”, where the inner cooling container is the container with the cooling fan, where it fluidically is connected to the cooling chamber to deliver cooling air). 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 cooling chamber in modified Lee to include the cooling medium and inner container with a fan as taught by Choi.
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 reduce the amount of time needed to cool down the coffee beans, as stated by Choi, Page 3, Para. 5, “The cooling fan 240 serves to cool the chiller 220 in a shorter time by separately supplying air to the agitated cups.”.
Claims 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (KR 20140109598 A, hereinafter Lee) in view of Zhang (CN 111567829 A) and Eichner (US 20040142078 A1) in further view of Sandhu et al. (US 20190320703 A1, hereinafter Sandhu) and Choi (KR 101904691 B1) and Lee Young (KR 101451063 B1, hereinafter Young).
Regarding claim 9, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 8, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
wherein the cooling container is fluidically coupled with an inner drum space of the drum, thereby enabling a transfer of cooling air from the cooling container into the drum and a withdrawal of the cooling air from the drum by an exhaust air withdrawer.
However, Young discloses, in the similar field of roasting coffee beans (Abstract, “beans such as coffee beans are roasted”), where the cooling container is fluidically coupled to the inner space of the drum and enables a cooling air from the cooling container to enter the drum (Page 4, Para. 3, “When the temperature of the grain 90 rises above the set temperature and the roasting is completed, the cooling process is started. The discharge port 26 provided in the drum 20 is opened and the rotation direction of the rotary drum 75 is adjusted so that the grain 90 flows into the cooling cylinder 60. Even after the roasting process is completed, the fan 50 continues to operate, and cool air is introduced through the air holes formed in the lower surface of the cooling cylinder 60 to cool the grain 90. The organic matter generated from the grain 90 until the cooling is completed flows into the rotary drum 75 through the discharge port 26.”, where the drum 75 is connected to the cooling chamber 60 through the tube 26, where cooling air from the cooling chamber enters into the drum due to the fan), and where cooling air from the drum is withdrawn by an exhaust air withdrawer (Page 4, Para. 3, “Organic matter that has entered the combustion space 35 through the fan 50 is pyrolyzed while passing through it and exhausted through the exhaust port 45.”). 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 cooling chamber with a fan for driving cooling air in modified Lee to include the air enter into the rotary drum and exiting through an exhaust port as taught by Young.
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 organic matter from the coffee beans to be pyrolyzed through letting the cooling air enter into the drum, where pyrolyzing allows for the gas to be cleansed, as stated by Young, Page 4, Para. 3, “Organic matter that has entered the combustion space 35 through the fan 50 is pyrolyzed while passing through it and exhausted through the exhaust port 45.”, and Page 4, Para. 2, “The gas which has been pyrolyzed and cleansed of the organic matter is discharged to the outside of the combustion tube 40 through the exhaust port 45.”.
Claims 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (KR 20140109598 A, hereinafter Lee) in view of Zhang (CN 111567829 A) and Eichner (US 20040142078 A1) in further view of Lee Young (KR 101451063 B1, hereinafter Young).
Regarding claim 11, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
further comprising an exhaust air treatment unit, wherein the exhaust air treatment unit includes a catalyzer configured to catalyze one or more components of the exhaust air that is withdrawn from the drum.
However, Young discloses where the exhaust port includes a catalyst filter that catalyzes the components of the exhaust air withdrawn from the drum (Page 3, last Para., “The fan 50 sucks the steam and organic matter, and part or all of the sucked gas is introduced into the combustion space 35. The organic matter is pyrolyzed in the combustion space 35 maintained at 700 ° C or higher and converted into steam and carbon dioxide. The gas passing through the combustion space (35) is discharged to the outside through the exhaust port (45). The organic matter which is not partially pyrolyzed in the gas is completely re-burned by the catalyst filter 95 provided in the middle of the combustion tube 40.”). 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 rotary drum of modified Lee to include an exhaust port with a catalyst filter as taught by Young.
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 ensure that the gas being let out of the drum is completely cleansed, where the catalytic filter allows for removal of non-pyrolyzed gas, as stated by Young, Page 3, Para. 4 from end, “A catalytic filter 95 is provided at the middle of the combustion tube 40 for re-burning organic matter at a lower temperature than pyrolysis. Some of the gas that has passed through the combustion space 35 and is not pyrolyzed is removed by the catalytic filter 95.”.
Claims 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (KR 20140109598 A, hereinafter Lee) in view of Zhang (CN 111567829 A) and Eichner (US 20040142078 A1) in further view of Lee Young (KR 101451063 B1, hereinafter Young) and Choi (KR 101904691 B1) and Kim Lee Suk (KR 20200020348 A, hereinafter Suk).
Regarding claim 12, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
wherein the exhaust air treatment unit includes an exhaust air heater, the exhaust air heater being arranged fluidically upstream with respect to the catalyzer, and an exhaust air cooler, the exhaust air cooler being arranged fluidically downstream with respect to the catalyzer.
However, Choi discloses where the exhaust air treatment unit includes an exhaust air heater that is upstream the catalyzer (Page 3, Para. 4 from end, “The heating means 30 and the combustion tube 40 are located above the center in the height direction of the drum 20 and heat the grains with the radiant heat. A catalytic filter 95 is provided at the middle of the combustion tube 40 for re-burning organic matter at a lower temperature than pyrolysis.”, where the heating means 30 is upstream of the catalytic filter 95). 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 exhaust air treatment unit in modified Lee to include the upstream air heater as taught by Choi.
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 the gas to be purified through the heater, as stated by Choi, Page 3, Para. 4 from end, “The combustion space 35 is kept close to the surface temperature of the heating means 30 by the combustion tube 40, so that the organic matter passing through the combustion space 35 is pyrolyzed and purified.”.
Further, Suk discloses, in the similar field of coffee roasters (Page 4, Para. 4, “an exhaust pipe path of a large dust discharge facility (not shown)…or a small dust discharge facility (not shown), for example, a coffee roaster”), where an exhaust air cooler is located downstream a filter (Page 4, Para. 4 from end, “The multipipe filter 20 (20; 20a; 20b; 20c) is provided below the inside of the housing (10).”, and Page 5, Para. 4 from end, “a cooling heat exchanger 40 is provided on the washing water spray nozzle 30. The cooling heat exchanger (40) cools the exhaust gas through heat exchange with a refrigerant.”). 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 exhaust air treatment unit in modified Lee to include the downstream exhaust air cooler as taught by Suk.
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 suppress the generation of smoke, where this allows a coffee roaster to have exhaust air that is safer to be in contact with, as stated by Suk, Page 5, Para. 4 from end, “The cooling heat exchanger (40) cools the exhaust gas primarily wet-washed and cooled by the multipipe filter (20; 20a; 20b; 20c) into which the washing water is injected. By secondary cooling, the role of suppressing the generation of white smoke”.
Claims 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (KR 20140109598 A, hereinafter Lee) in view of Zhang (CN 111567829 A) and Eichner (US 20040142078 A1) in further view of Armco Steel Corporation (IT 1035953 B, hereinafter Armco).
Regarding claim 14, modified Lee teaches the apparatus according to claim 13, as set forth above.
Modified Lee does not disclose:
further comprising a fire extinguisher configured to extinguish a fire in the chaff separator.
However, Armco discloses, in the similar field of cyclone separators (Page 3, Para. 1, “cyclone separator 16.”), where a fire extinguisher is coupled to the cyclone separator to extinguish a fire within (Page 4, Para. 4 from end, “To protect the Cyclone 1.6 separator, a fifth explosion extinguisher 44 is mounted: its side section or top portion behind the output conduit 19; in practice, this would normally be formed by a 5-nitrile rapid exhaust extinguisher. This extinguisher 44 draws its agent into the cyclone separator 16 through a diffusion set (not shown) that distributes the agent in the separator air to cyclone.”). 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 cyclone separator in modified Lee to include the fire extinguisher as taught by Armco.
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 protect the cyclone separator from exploding, as the fire extinguisher can prevent explosions from occurring, as stated by Armco, Page 4, Para. 4 from end, “To protect the Cyclone 1.6 separator, a fifth explosion extinguisher 44 is mounted”.
Claims 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U