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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 6-11, and 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (CN 209153200 U) in view of Pan (US 20160324365 A1).
Claim 1. Yang discloses a brewing device (brewing device 1, Fig. 2) comprising:
a casing (10, Fig. 2); and
a water supply mechanism disposed in the casing (water outlet mechanism 12, Fig. 2), the water supply mechanism comprising:
a ball plate (roller plate 120, Fig. 2)
a rotating base (screw 122) disposed at a side of the ball plate (screw is located on a side of the roller plate, Fig. 2);
a driving module connected to the rotating base (driving module 126 drives the screw, par. 73);
a linkage base (connecting rod seat 128) slidably disposed on the rotating base (rod seat is disposed on the screw and slides with the fixed rod that is attached to the screw, Fig. 2);
a linkage rod having a first end (connecting rod 130 has a first end 1300, Fig. 2), a second end (second end 1302 of the connecting rod 130) and a longitudinal groove (long slot 1304), the longitudinal groove being located between the first end and the second end (slot 1304 is between the first and second end, Fig. 2);
a pivot, the first end of the linkage rod being pivotally connected to the linkage base by the pivot (1300 is connected to the pivot 132, Fig. 2);
a water supply nozzle connected to the second end of the linkage rod (water outlet nozzle 134 is connected to the second end 1302, Fig. 2); and
a fixing rod (fixing rod 136), an end of the fixing rod being disposed in the longitudinal groove of the linkage rod (one end of the fixing rod 136 is attached to the long slot 1304, Fig. 2).
Yang does not disclose the ball plate having a track and a ball disposed on the linkage base and abutting against the track.
Pan discloses a brewing device wherein a plate has a groove 33 (Fig. 5) wherein a guiding section (532) of the tub abuts against the track to distribute the liquid.
It would have been obvious
Doing so would have the benefit of distributing the liquid evenly over the brewing material.
Claim 9. Yang discloses a water supply mechanism comprises:
a ball plate (roller plate 120, Fig. 2)
a rotating base (screw 122) disposed at a side of the ball plate (screw is located on a side of the roller plate, Fig. 2);
a driving module connected to the rotating base (driving module 126 drives the screw, par. 73);
a linkage base (connecting rod seat 128) slidably disposed on the rotating base (rod seat is disposed on the screw and slides with the fixed rod that is attached to the screw, Fig. 2);
a linkage rod having a first end (connecting rod 130 has a first end 1300, Fig. 2), a second end (second end 1302 of the connecting rod 130) and a longitudinal groove (long slot 1304), the longitudinal groove being located between the first end and the second end (slot 1304 is between the first and second end, Fig. 2);
a pivot, the first end of the linkage rod being pivotally connected to the linkage base by the pivot (1300 is connected to the pivot 132, Fig. 2);
a water supply nozzle connected to the second end of the linkage rod (water outlet nozzle 134 is connected to the second end 1302, Fig. 2); and
a fixing rod (fixing rod 136), an end of the fixing rod being disposed in the longitudinal groove of the linkage rod (one end of the fixing rod 136 is attached to the long slot 1304, Fig. 2).
Yang does not disclose the ball plate having a track and a ball disposed on the linkage base and abutting against the track.
Pan discloses a brewing device wherein a plate has a groove 33 (Fig. 5) wherein a guiding section (532) of the tub abuts against the track to distribute the liquid.
It would have been obvious
Doing so would have the benefit of distributing the liquid evenly over the brewing material.
Claims 2 and 10. Yang in view of Pan discloses the brewing device of claim 1, wherein the track is swirl to generate a swirl motion for the water supply nozzle (spiral shaped groove, Fig. 5, Pan).
Claims 3 and 11. Yang in view of Pan discloses the brewing device of claim 1, wherein
the rotating base comprises a rail (screw rod has a screw for the roller to slide on, Fig. 2, par. 73),
the linkage base comprises a sliding block (roller 124, Fig. 2), and
the sliding block is slidably disposed on the rail (screw rod has a screw for the roller to slide on, Fig. 2, par. 73).
Claims 6 and 14. Yang in view of Pan discloses the brewing device of claim 1, wherein the driving module comprises a motor (driving module 126 has a motor 1260, par. 75), a first gear (1262, Fig. 4) and a second gear (1264, Fig. 4), the first gear is connected to the motor (1262 is connected to the motor 1260, Fig. 4), the second gear is connected to the rotating base (1264 is connected to the screw 122, Fig. 4), and the first gear meshes with the second gear (1262 meshes with 1264, Fig. 4).
Claims 7 and 15. Yang in view of Pan discloses the brewing device of claim 1, wherein the water supply mechanism further comprises a first micro switch (first micro switch 138, par. 74) and a second micro switch (second micro switch 140, par. 74), the first micro switch is disposed at a motion start position of the linkage base, and the second micro switch is disposed at a motion end position of the linkage base (first and second switch are located at the beginning and end of an actuation point, par. 74).
Claims 8 and 16. Yang in view of Pan discloses the brewing device of claim 1, wherein the water supply mechanism further comprises a water control valve connected to a water inlet of the water supply nozzle (water control valve 142 is connected to a water inlet 1340 of the water outlet nozzle 134, par. 74).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-5 and 12-13 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/SIMPSON A CHEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
/ELIZABETH M KERR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761