DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show the first engaging recess (element 311) as described in the specification. Element 311 is labeled in fig. 6, but the figure is a series of annular lines with an insufficient indication of what the recess is supposed to be, and how it is supposed to engage with the flow channel unit.
Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, second-to-last line, should be amended to replace “outletthat” with “outlet that.”
Claim 10, line 5, should be amended to replace “has” with “having.”
Claims 2–9 are objected to due to dependency upon an objected-to claim.
Claim Rejections — 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park (KR 2017-0099359 A).
Park discloses a water distributing device adapted for use in a coffee machine, comprising:
a body housing (at least the lower part 10 shown in fig. 5) including a bottom wall that has a water intake (136, 134-3a) passing therethrough along a central axis (clearly shown in fig. 5), and a surrounding wall that extends from a periphery of said bottom wall and that cooperates with said bottom wall to define a water entry space (clearly shown with the lower part 10 in fig. 5); and
a round-contoured flow channel unit (134-3) disposed downstream of said body housing and defining a plurality of water guide channels (134-3c) that are in fluid communication with said water intake (via 134-3d), each water guide channel extending away from said central axis in a radial direction that is perpendicular to said central axis (see fig. 5), being curved in a tangential direction that is perpendicular to said central axis and said radial direction (ibid.), and having a water outlet (134-3b) that is located away from said central axis.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2–10 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the objections set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Especially given how particular the structure shown in Yoon is (with respect both to the flow channel unit as well as the overall structure with the water management structures 10), the subject matter of each of dependent claims 2, 6, and 7 are specific, and are not suggested in the prior art. Dependent claims 3–5 and 8–10 depend from claims 2 and 7, respectively.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ozturk et al. (WO 2020/120031 A1) and Hoysted (GB 2329825 A) disclose flow channel units similar to what is claimed and disclosed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to John J. Norton whose telephone number is (571) 272-5174. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST.
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/JOHN J NORTON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761