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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 04/30/2026 has been entered.
Status
This Office Action is in response to the remarks and amendments filed on 04/30/2026. Claims 1-12 and 14-16 remain pending for consideration.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-11 and 16 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 1, the phrase “control the pump to lower the internal pressure of the sealed tray below an external pressure” includes a typographical error and for examination purposes will be interpreted as -- controls the pump to lower the internal pressure of the sealed tray below an external pressure --
Claims 2-11 and 16 are also objected to due to dependency.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-12 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 1 and 12, the claims recite “a water supplier that supplies water (in a liquid phase) to a water pipe extending to the tray, … a condensate collector … transfers the separated condensate to the water supplier to be supplied by the water supplier to the water pipe” which renders the claim indefinite. As recited, the claim is confusing because it seems to indicate that the “water supplier” is a separate and distinct structure from the “water pipe”. However, in paragraph [67] of the specification, Applicant discloses “The water supplier 1200 includes a water pipe 1210”. More clarity is requested.
Claims 2-11 and 14-16 are also rejected due to dependency.
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-3, 7-8, 12, 14, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi (JP2009243826A), in view of Kawahira et al. (JPH03156269A, herein after referred to as Kawahira), in view Cho (KR20060126258A) and in further view of Watanabe et al. (JP2011202912A, herein after referred to as Watanabe).
Regarding claim 1, Kobayashi teaches a refrigerator (disclosed “refrigerator” in paragraph [0028]) comprising: an ice maker (ice making device 1 Fig. 4) including: a tray (ice tray 2 Fig. 4), a water supplier (disclosed “water supply means” in paragraph [0033]) that supplies water (water W Fig. 4 and paragraph [0033]), a pump (vacuum pump 4 Fig. 4) that performs a pumping operation (paragraph [0034]) to adjust an internal pressure of the tray (paragraph [0034]), a heater (heating means 6 Fig. 4), a cooler (disclosed “structure” in paragraph [0061] which generates cool air) that cools the tray (paragraph [0033]), a condensate collector (connecting means 5 Fig. 4) that collects water vapor (dissolved gas G Fig. 2) from the tray (paragraph [0036]), and a controller (control means 9 Fig. 4) that: controls the pump to lower the internal pressure of the sealed tray (paragraph [0045]) below an external pressure (paragraph [0034]).
Kobayashi teaches the invention as described above but fails to explicitly teach “the water supplier supplies the water to a water pipe extending to the tray such that the water flows through the water pipe to be supplied into the tray, wherein the water is supplied by the water supplier to the water pipe in a liquid phase, the heater extends along the water pipe and heats the water in the liquid phase flowing in the water pipe, the controller controls the heater to heat the water in the liquid phase flowing in the water pipe”.
However, Kawahira teaches a water supplier (water supply pump 6 Fig. 5 corresponds to the water supplier of Kobayashi) supplies water to a water pipe (water supply pipe 7 Fig. 5 and page 3) extending to a tray (Fig. 5 where ice tray 11 corresponds to the tray of Kobayashi) such that the water flows through the water pipe to be supplied into the tray (page 3), wherein the water is supplied by the water supplier to the water pipe in a liquid phase (page 3 where it is disclosed that pipe heater 34 is turned on when the detected temperature is below zero degrees Celsius and turned off when the detected temperature is above zero degrees Celsius), a heater (pipe heater 34 Fig. 5 corresponds to the heater of Kobayashi) extends along the water pipe (Fig. 5) and heats the water in the liquid phase flowing in the water pipe (page 3), a controller (control unit 30 Fig. 8 corresponds to the controller of Kobayashi) controls the heater to heat the water in the liquid phase flowing in the water pipe (page 3) to prevent water in the water supply pipe from freezing (page 3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of Kobayashi to include “the water supplier supplies the water to a water pipe extending to the tray such that the water flows through the water pipe to be supplied into the tray, wherein the water is supplied by the water supplier to the water pipe in a liquid phase, the heater extends along the water pipe and heats the water in the liquid phase flowing in the water pipe, the controller controls the heater to heat the water in the liquid phase flowing in the water pipe” in view of the teachings of Kawahira to prevent water in the water supply pipe from freezing.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “the condenser collector separates the collected water vapor into condensate and air, and transfers the separated condensate to the water supplier to be supplied by the water supplier to the water pipe to be supplied into the tray, and the controller controls the cooler to turn water, of which a dissolved air concentration is reduced, in the tray into ice”.
However, Cho teaches a condensate collector (condensation tank 16 Fig. 1 corresponds to the condensate collector of Kobayashi) separates collected water vapor (the disclosed “steam” in paragraph [6] of page 5 which flows through steam line b corresponds to the water vapor of Kobayashi) into condensate (disclosed “condensed water” in paragraph [6] page 5) and air (disclosed “gas other than water vapor” in paragraph [7] page 7), and transfers the separated condensate to a water supplier (paragraph [1] page 7 where storage tank 60 and second pump 32 Fig. 1 correspond to the water supplier of Kobayashi) to be supplied by the water supplier to a water pipe (Fig. 1 where the pipe connecting second pump 32 to evaporator 23 corresponds to the water pipe of Kawahira) to be supplied into a tray (paragraph [1] of page 7 where a person skilled in the art would recognize that evaporator 23 Fig. 1 would include a tray which would correspond to the tray of Kobayashi to hold the supplied water), and a controller (the disclosed “controller” in paragraph [4] page 10 corresponds to the controller of Kobayashi) controls a cooler (evaporator 23 Fig. 1 corresponds to the cooler of Kobayashi) to turn water, of which a dissolved air concentration (corresponds to the dissolved air concentration of the water contained in storage tank 60 Fig. 1) is reduced (the water collected in storage tank 60 would have a reduced dissolved air concentration since the air was separated from the water in condensation tank 16 Fig. 1 and paragraphs [6] and [7] of pages 5 and 7 respectively), in the tray into ice (paragraph [1] of page 6) to generate ice with a better quality (first paragraph of the “Tech-Problem” section in page 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “the condenser collector separates the collected water vapor into condensate and air, and transfers the separated condensate to the water supplier to be supplied by the water supplier to the water pipe to be supplied into the tray, and the controller controls the cooler to turn water, of which a dissolved air concentration is reduced, in the tray into ice” in view of the teachings of Cho to generate ice with a better quality.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “the controller: seals an inside of the tray, controls the water supplier to supply the water to the sealed tray, controls the condensate collector to collect the water vapor from the sealed tray, wherein the water vapor is generated due to a temperature of the water being raised above a boiling point in the sealed tray”.
However, Watanabe teaches a controller (control circuit 30 Fig. 2 corresponds to the controller of Kobayashi): seals an inside of a tray (paragraph [18] and Fig. 5 where deaeration container 58 corresponds to the tray of Kobayashi), controls a water supplier (paragraph [27] where inlet valve 55 Fig. 5 corresponds to the water supplier of Kobayashi) to supply water to the sealed tray (paragraph [27]), controls a condensate collector (paragraph [32] where decompression tube 66, check valve 67, and decompression pump 63 Fig. 5 correspond to the condensate collector of Kobayashi) to collect water vapor (the disclosed “residual gas” in paragraph [132] corresponds to the water vapor of Kobayashi) from the sealed tray (paragraph [132]), wherein the water vapor is generated due to a temperature of the water (paragraph [132]) being raised above a boiling point in the sealed tray (paragraph [132]) to improve the deaeration process (paragraph [132]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “the controller: seals an inside of the tray, controls the water supplier to supply the water to the sealed tray, controls the condensate collector to collect the water vapor from the sealed tray, wherein the water vapor is generated due to a temperature of the water being raised above a boiling point in the sealed tray” in view of the teachings of Watanabe to improve the deaeration process.
Regarding claim 2, the combined teachings teach wherein the controller controls the water supplier to supply water to the sealed tray (paragraph [4] page 10 of Cho where evaporator 23 corresponds to the sealed tray of Kobayashi) while controlling the pump (paragraph [0045] of Kobayashi) to lower the internal pressure of the sealed tray below the external pressure (disclosed “atmospheric pressure” in paragraph [0034] of Kobayashi).
Regarding claim 3, the combined teachings teach wherein the condensate collector transfers air separated from the collected water vapor to the pump (paragraph [0030] of Kobayashi).
Regarding claim 7, the combined teachings teach wherein the heater extends along the water pipe so as to be adjacent to the water pipe (Fig. 5 of Kawahira).
Regarding claim 8, the combined teachings teach wherein the heater is adjacent to the tray so as to be positioned to heat the tray (Fig. 2 of Kobayashi).
Regarding claim 12, Kobayashi teaches a method (understood to be the method describes in paragraphs [0030] to [0033]) of controlling a refrigerator (refrigerator 1 Fig. 3) that includes an ice maker (ice making device 1 Fig. 4), and the ice maker includes a tray (ice tray 2 Fig. 4), a water supplier (disclosed “water supply means” in paragraph [0033]) that supplies water (water W Fig. 4 and paragraph [0033]), a pump (vacuum pump 4 Fig. 4) that performs a pumping operation (paragraph [0034]) to adjust an internal pressure of the tray (paragraph [0034]), a heater (heating means 6 Fig. 4), a cooler (disclosed “structure” in paragraph [0061] which generates cool air) that cools the tray (paragraph [0033]), and a condensate collector (connecting means 5 Fig. 4) that collects water vapor (dissolved gas G Fig. 2) from the tray (paragraph [0036]), the method comprising: sealing an inside of the tray (paragraph [0034]); controlling the pump to lower the internal pressure of the sealed tray (paragraph [0034]); controlling the water supplier to supply the water to the sealed tray (paragraph [0033]).
Kobayashi teaches the invention as described above but fails to explicitly teach “the water supplier supplies the water in a liquid phase to a water pipe extending to the tray such that the water flows through the water pipe to be supplied into the tray, the heater extends along the water pipe and heats the water in the liquid phase flowing in the water pipe, the method comprising controlling the heater to heat the water in the liquid phase flowing in the water pipe”.
However, Kawahira teaches a water supplier (water supply pump 6 Fig. 5 corresponds to the water supplier of Kobayashi) supplies water in a liquid phase (page 3 where it is disclosed that pipe heater 34 is turned on when the detected temperature is below zero degrees Celsius and turned off when the detected temperature is above zero degrees Celsius) to a water pipe (water supply pipe 7 Fig. 5 and page 3) extending to a tray (Fig. 5 where ice tray 11 corresponds to the tray of Kobayashi) such that the water flows through the water pipe to be supplied into the tray (page 3), a heater (pipe heater 34 Fig. 5 corresponds to the heater of Kobayashi) extends along the water pipe (Fig. 5) and heats the water in the liquid phase flowing in the water pipe (page 3), a method (the control method of pipe heater 34 described in page 3 corresponds to the method of Kobayashi) comprising controlling the heater to heat the water in the liquid phase flowing in the water pipe (page 3) to prevent water in the water supply pipe from freezing (page 3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the method of Kobayashi to include “the water supplier supplies the water in a liquid phase to a water pipe extending to the tray such that the water flows through the water pipe to be supplied into the tray, the heater extends along the water pipe and heats the water in the liquid phase flowing in the water pipe, the method comprising controlling the heater to heat the water in the liquid phase flowing in the water pipe” in view of the teachings of Kawahira to prevent water in the water supply pipe from freezing.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “the condensate collector separates the collected water vapor into condensate and air, and transfers the separated condensate to the water supplier to be supplied by the water supplier to the water pipe to be supplied into the tray, the method comprising controlling the cooler to turn water, of which a dissolved air concentration is reduced, in the tray into ice”.
However, Cho teaches a condensate collector (condensation tank 16 Fig. 1 corresponds to the condensate collector of Kobayashi) separates collected water vapor (the disclosed “steam” in paragraph [6] of page 5 which flows through steam line b corresponds to the water vapor of Kobayashi) into condensate (disclosed “condensed water” in paragraph [6] page 5) and air (disclosed “gas other than water vapor” in paragraph [7] page 7), and transfers the separated condensate to a water supplier (paragraph [1] page 7 where storage tank 60 and second pump 32 Fig. 1 correspond to the water supplier of Kobayashi) to be supplied by the water supplier to a water pipe (Fig. 1 where the pipe connecting second pump 32 to evaporator 23 corresponds to the water pipe of Kawahira) to be supplied into a tray (paragraph [1] of page 7 where a person skilled in the art would recognize that evaporator 23 Fig. 1 would include a tray which would correspond to the tray of Kobayashi to hold the supplied water), a method (the ice making method disclosed in paragraph [1] of page 6 corresponds to the method of Kobayashi) comprising controlling a cooler (evaporator 23 Fig. 1 corresponds to the cooler of Kobayashi) to turn water, of which a dissolved air concentration (corresponds to the dissolved air concentration of the water contained in storage tank 60 Fig. 1) is reduced (the water collected in storage tank 60 would have a reduced dissolved air concentration since the air was separated from the water in condensation tank 16 Fig. 1 and paragraphs [6] and [7] of pages 5 and 7 respectively), in the tray into ice (paragraph [1] of page 6) to generate ice with a better quality (first paragraph of the “Tech-Problem” section in page 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the method of the combined teachings to include “the condensate collector separates the collected water vapor into condensate and air, and transfers the separated condensate to the water supplier to be supplied by the water supplier to the water pipe to be supplied into the tray, the method comprising controlling the cooler to turn water, of which a dissolved air concentration is reduced, in the tray into ice” in view of the teachings of Cho to generate ice with a better quality.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “the method comprising controlling the condensate collector to collect the water vapor from the sealed tray, wherein the water vapor is generated due to a temperature of the water being raised above a boiling point in the sealed tray”.
However, Watanabe teaches a method (the control method described in paragraph [32] corresponds to the method of Kobayashi) comprising controlling a condensate collector (paragraph [32] where decompression tube 66, check valve 67, and decompression pump 63 Fig. 5 correspond to the condensate collector of Kobayashi) to collect water vapor (the disclosed “residual gas” in paragraph [132] corresponds to the water vapor of Kobayashi) from the sealed tray (paragraph [132]), wherein the water vapor is generated due to a temperature of the water (paragraph [132]) being raised above a boiling point in the sealed tray (paragraph [132]) to improve the deaeration process (paragraph [132]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the method of the combined teachings to include “the method comprising controlling the condensate collector to collect the water vapor from the sealed tray, wherein the water vapor is generated due to a temperature of the water being raised above a boiling point in the sealed tray” in view of the teachings of Watanabe to improve the deaeration process.
Regarding claim 14, the combined teachings teach further comprising: controlling the condensate collector (paragraph [0045] of Kobayashi) to transfer air separated from the collected water vapor (paragraph [0030] of Kobayashi) to the pump (decompression pump Fig. 4 of Kobayashi).
Regarding claim 16, the combined teachings teach wherein the condensate collector includes a heat sink (heat exchanger 43 Fig. 1 of Cho) to separate the collected water vapor into the condensate and the air (paragraph [7] page 7 and paragraph [1] page 8 of Cho).
Claims 4, 9, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi, Kawahira, Cho, and Watanabe as applied to claims 1 and 12 above, and further in view of Ryu (KR19990043134A).
Regarding claim 4, the combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “wherein the controller controls the cooler to cool the sealed tray, based on the internal pressure of the sealed tray exceeding a threshold”.
However, Ryu teaches wherein the controller (control unit 51 Fig. 4 corresponds to the controller of Kobayashi) controls the cooler (refrigeration system 54 Fig. 4 corresponds to the cooler of Kobayashi) to cool a tray (Fig. 4 and page 4 where ice making tray 33 corresponds to the sealed tray of Kobayashi), based on an internal pressure of the tray (disclosed “output signal corresponding to a force applied per unit area” in paragraph [1] of page 4) exceeding a threshold (disclosed “predetermined reference data amount” in paragraph [2] of page 4) after supplying water into the tray (page 4).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “wherein the controller controls the cooler to cool the sealed tray, based on the internal pressure of the sealed tray exceeding a threshold” in view of the teachings of Ryu to supply enough water for ice making.
Regarding claim 9, the combined teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “wherein the water supplier includes a water supply valve controlled by the controller to open and close the water supplier”.
However, Ryu teaches wherein the water supplier (water supply device 41 Fig. 6 corresponds to the water supplier of Kobayashi) includes a water supply valve (water supply valve 47 Fig. 6) controlled by the controller (paragraph [2] of page 4 where control unit 51 Fig. 4 corresponds to the controller of Kobayashi) to open and close the water supplier (paragraph [2] page 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “wherein the water supplier includes a water supply valve controlled by the controller to open and close the water supplier” in view of the teachings of Ryu to control the amount of water being supplied to the ice tray.
Regarding claim 15, the combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “wherein the controlling the cooler includes controlling the cooler to cool the tray, based on the internal pressure of the sealed tray exceeding a threshold”.
However, Ryu teaches wherein controlling a cooler (page 4 and Fig. 4 where refrigeration system 54 corresponds to the cooler of Kobayashi) includes controlling the cooler to cool a tray (Fig. 4 and page 4 where ice making tray 33 corresponds to the sealed tray of Kobayashi), based on an internal pressure of the tray (disclosed “output signal corresponding to a force applied per unit area” in paragraph [1] of page 4) exceeding a threshold (disclosed “predetermined reference data amount” in paragraph [2] of page 4).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the method of the combined teachings to include “wherein the controlling the cooler includes controlling the cooler to cool the tray, based on the internal pressure of the sealed tray exceeding a threshold” in view of the teachings of Ryu to supply enough water for ice making.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi, Kawahira, Cho, and Watanabe as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Marutani et al. (CN102192625B, herein after referred to as Marutani).
Regarding claim 5, the combined teachings teach further comprising: a condensate confluent pipe (condensate line c Fig. 1 of Cho) connecting the condensate collector and the water supplier (Fig. 1 of Cho).
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “a condensate confluent pipe valve that opens and closes the condensate confluent pipe, wherein the controller controls the condensate confluent pipe valve to close the condensate confluent pipe upon water being supplied to the sealed tray through the water supplier, and to open the condensate confluent pipe upon condensate being supplied from the condensate collector to the water supplier”.
However, Marutani teaches a condensate confluent pipe valve (water inlet valve 160 Fig. 19) opens and closes the condensate confluent pipe (paragraph [193] and Fig. 19 where water supply pipe portion 125 corresponds to the condensate confluent pipe of Cho), wherein the controller (control unit 150 Fig. 16 corresponds to the controller of Kobayashi) controls the condensate confluent pipe valve to close the condensate confluent pipe (paragraph [195]) upon water being supplied to a tray (ice making tray 114 Fig. 19 corresponds to the sealed tray of Kobayashi) through the water supplier (Fig. 19 where the portion of the pipe below merging portion 144 corresponds to the water supplier of Kobayashi), and to open the condensate confluent pipe (paragraph [194]) upon condensate (the water stored in water storage unit 137 Fig. 19 corresponds to the condensate of Cho) being supplied from the condensate collector (water storage unit 137 Fig. 19 corresponds to the condensate collector of Kobayashi) to the water supplier (paragraph [194]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “a condensate confluent pipe valve that opens and closes the condensate confluent pipe, wherein the controller controls the condensate confluent pipe valve to close the condensate confluent pipe upon water being supplied to the sealed tray through the water supplier, and to open the condensate confluent pipe upon condensate being supplied from the condensate collector to the water supplier” in view of the teachings of Marutani to provide the option of bypassing the condenser collector.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi, Kawahira, Cho, and Watanabe as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kim (US20180195793A1).
Regarding claim 6, the combined teachings teach further comprising: a condensate confluent pipe (condensate line c Fig. 1 of Cho) connecting the condensate collector and the water supplier (Fig. 1 of Cho).
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “a confluent valve that selectively opens and closes the condensate confluent pipe and the water supplier, wherein the controller controls the confluent valve to close the condensate confluent pipe and to open the water supplier to supply water to the tray through the water supplier and prevent water from flowing from the water supplier to the condensate confluent pipe, and to open the condensate confluent pipe and close the water supplier to supply condensate from the condensate collector to the water supplier to be collected”.
However, Kim teaches a confluent valve (main body valve 317 Fig. 3) that selectively opens and closes a condensate confluent pipe (paragraph [0027] where cold water passage 341 Fig. 3 corresponds to the condensate confluent pipe of Cho) and a water supplier (paragraph [0088] and Fig. 3 where main body purified-water passage 331 and common passage 350 correspond to the water supplier of Kobayashi), wherein a controller (controller 50 Fig. 5 corresponds to the controller of Kobayashi) controls the confluent valve to close the condensate confluent pipe and to open the water supplier (paragraphs [0093] and [0094]) to supply water to a tray (ice maker 251 Fig. 3 corresponds to the tray of Kobayashi) through the water supplier (paragraph [0032]) and prevent water from flowing from the water supplier to the condensate confluent pipe (paragraph [0027] where it is disclosed that main body valve 317 has two inlets and one outlet which would prevent water from flowing from water passage 331 to cold water passage 341), and to open the condensate confluent pipe and close the water supplier to supply condensate (the water stored in water tank 60 Fig. 3 corresponds to the condensate of Kobayashi) from the condensate collector to the water supplier to be collected (paragraph [0089]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “a confluent valve that selectively opens and closes the condensate confluent pipe and the water supplier, wherein the controller controls the confluent valve to close the condensate confluent pipe and to open the water supplier to supply water to the tray through the water supplier and prevent water from flowing from the water supplier to the condensate confluent pipe, and to open the condensate confluent pipe and close the water supplier to supply condensate from the condensate collector to the water supplier to be collected” in view of the teachings of Kim to lessen the number of parts used.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi, Kawahira, Cho, and Watanabe as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lee (KR20110056025A).
Regarding claim 10, the combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “wherein the cooler includes a refrigerant pipe adjacent to the tray”.
However, Lee teaches wherein the cooler (evaporator 6 Fig. 6 corresponds to the cooler of Kobayashi) includes a refrigerant pipe (cooling pipe 20 Fig. 7) adjacent to the tray (Fig. 3 where ice tray 100 corresponds to the ice tray of Kobayashi).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “wherein the cooler includes a refrigerant pipe adjacent to the tray” in view of the teachings of Lee to provide cooling for the ice tray by heat conduction.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi, Kawahira, Cho, Watanabe, and Lee as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Sato (JPH04131674A).
Regarding claim 11, the combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “wherein the refrigerant pipe is adjacent to the condensate collector to cool water vapor collected in the condensate collector”.
However, Sato teaches wherein the refrigerant pipe (evaporator 78 Fig. 10 corresponds to the refrigerant pipe of Lee) is adjacent to the condensate collector (Fig. 10 where cold trap 77 corresponds to the condensate collector of Kobayashi) to cool water vapor collected in the condensate collector (paragraph [1] page 2) to reduce the burden on the vacuum pump (paragraph [1] page 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “wherein the refrigerant pipe is adjacent to the condensate collector to cool water vapor collected in the condensate collector” in view of the teachings of Sato to reduce the burden on the vacuum pump.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMBA NMN GAYE whose telephone number is (571)272-8809. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 4:30AM to 2:30PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jerry -Daryl Fletcher can be reached at 571-270-5054. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SAMBA NMN GAYE/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/JERRY-DARYL FLETCHER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763
Prosecution Insights