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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/31/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments and arguments, filed 03/31/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Graham (US Patent No. 5,447,256) teaching the retractable drip under a bottom surface of the cabinet as further evidenced in the rejection below.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6, 8, 9-16, 19-22, 24-29, 34, and 37-38 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saunders et al. (US Patent No. 7,669,740) as evidenced by Metropulos et al. (US 2014/0209634 A1), and in further view of Graham (US Patent No. 5,447,256) .
Re: Claim 1, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including a beverage station comprising:
a first zone (3) positioned below a countertop (2) (Fig. 3);
a second zone (50) positioned at a level of the countertop (Fig. 3), and the second zone comprising equipment (9) (Col 7, lines 30-32, bolted to the second zone), wherein the equipment comprises a plurality of ingredient dispenses positioned on the countertop (Col. 7, lines 32-34, plurality of beverages inherently includes a plurality of ingredients), wherein each ingredient dispense of the plurality of ingredient dispenses is configured to dispense an ingredient into a container positioned in the second zone (Col. 7, lines 27-29, dispensed into a receptacle positioned in the second zone),
a third zone (10, 11) positioned at an overhead level above the second zone (Fig. 4), the third zone comprising a reduced temperature zone (Col. 8, lines 1-3, 15-27, reduced temperature device such as a refrigerator), wherein the reduced temperature zone comprises a reduced temperature dispense cabinet configured to store an ingredient at a reduced temperature and dispense the ingredient at the reduced temperature into a container positioned in the third zone and below an outlet (38, 39) of the reduced temperature dispense cabinet (Col. 8, lines 15-26, cold milk dispenses from refrigerated zone; Col. 7, lines 8-11, pipework delivering beverage from reduced temp to above countertop);
Saunders discloses the claimed invention including depicting a slim tray that may be used to collect drip (Figs. 4-5) except for a retractable tray. However, Graham teaches a retractable drip tray (10) configured to move between a first position positioned beneath the outlet (14C) (Fig. 3A) and a second position away from the outlet, (Fig. 3B) the retractable drip tray configured to be positioned on a bottom surface (12E) of the reduced temperature dispense cabinet (12), wherein the retractable drip tray is configured to remain entirely beneath the bottom surface of the reduced temperature dispense cabinet in the first position and in the second position (Figs. 1-3B, remains entirely beneath cabinet bottom surface)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to include the claimed retractable drip tray as taught by Graham, since Graham states col. 8, lines 25-30 that such a modification provides a housing for holding a container having a retractable drip tray slidably mounted in the main body of the housing under the bottom of the housing while supporting the container enclosure against and/or under a kitchen cabinet, further would provide the user increased countertop space when not dispensing, thus increased space to prepare drinks and handle orders from the customers.
Re: Claim 2, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the reduced temperature dispense comprises at least one refrigerated dispense (Col. 8, lines 15-26, cold milk dispenses from refrigerated zone).
Re: Claim 3, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the refrigerated dispense is mounted with an above counter support (53) to a wall or a partition (53) in the third zone, the above counter support comprising at least two slides (55) to allow movement of the refrigerated dispense away from or towards the wall or the partition (Figs. 4-5, Col. 7, lines 37-48, 60-67, depicts movement of the support away and toward the wall or partition).
Re: Claim 4, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the at least two slides are attached to a bottom surface of the refrigerated dispense (Depicted in Fig. 4-5).
Re: Claim 6, Saunders as modified by Graham in the rejection of claim 1 above teaches the claimed invention including the retractable drip tray is spring-loaded (16) (Graham: Figs 3A-3B depict the spring-loaded portion of the tray).
Re: Claim 8, Saunders as modified by Graham in the rejection of claim 1 above teaches the retractable drip tray is configured to move backwards or forwards when moving between the first position and the second position (Graham: Depicted in Figs. 3A-3B for back-and-forth motion).
Re: Claim 9, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the first zone further comprises a cup or lid dispense (5) (Fig. 3).
Re: Claim 10, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the first zone further comprises a cabinet (3) for storing one or more gases (Col. 6, lines 28-45, cabinet with door and housing for storing any item) as evidenced by Metropulos teaching a three-zone dispenser with a first zone housing a gas (Para. 74, CO2 gas held in zone 1).
Re: Claim 11, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including one or more taps connected to the cabinet for storing one or more gases (Col. 6, lines 38-45, fluid capable of being piped to tap) as evidenced by Metropulos teaching a three-zone dispenser with a first zone housing a gas for dispensing (Para. 74, CO2 gas held in zone 1).
Re: Claim 12, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the second zone comprises the countertop and a sink (36) (Fig. 3, Col. 63-67, receives fluid from vending machine acting as a sink).
Re: Claim 13, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the second zone further comprises a whip cream dispense positioned on the countertop (Fig. 3, (Col. 6, lines 33-35, can hold any item especially milk items and the counter top is inherently capable of having any item positioned upon it including a whip cream dispenser) as evidenced by Metropulos teaching a three-zone dispenser with a countertop (225) with whipped cream positioned (276) thereon (Para. 58, whipped cream).
Re: Claim 14, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the second zone further comprises at least one blender positioned on the countertop (Fig. 3, the counter top is inherently capable of having any item positioned upon it).
Re: Claim 15, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the plurality of ingredient dispenses in the second zone comprises one or more containers with pumps or scoops (Col. 7, lines 18-28, second zone includes a dispenser with pump).
Re: Claim 16, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the plurality of ingredient dispenses in the second zone comprises one or more dry ingredient dispenses, the one or more dry ingredient dispenses comprising one or more containers to store dry ingredients ( Fig. 3, the counter top is inherently capable of having any item positioned upon it) as evidenced by Metropulos teaching a three-zone dispenser with a countertop (225) with salt positioned (276) thereon (Para. 58, salt).
Re: Claim 19, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the third zone further comprises one or more shelves (53) (Figs. 3-4).
Re: Claim 20, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the third zone further comprises a plurality of liquid dispenses, wherein the plurality of liquid dispenses comprise containers configured to dispense liquids, wherein the plurality of liquid dispenses are positioned on the one or more shelves (Col. 8, lines 15-25, plurality or liquid dispenses from containers).
Re: Claim 21, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the containers of the plurality of liquid dispenses are locked onto the one or more shelves (Col. 7, lines 37-38, mounted to shelves).
Re: Claim 22, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the reduced temperature zone comprises a refrigerated zone or a freezer zone (Col. 8, lines 1-3, refrigerator).
Re: Claim 24, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the third zone comprises a plurality of juice or tea dispenses, an ice dispense, a printer, a milk dispense, and an alternative milk dispense, and a sweet cream dispense (Col. 8, lines 15-24, milk dispenser).
Re: Claim 25, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the equipment in the second zone comprises one or more dry ingredient dispenses, one or more blenders, one or more syrup dispenses, a sink, a whip cream dispense, and a nitro brew dispense (Col. 8, lines 28-30, coffee dispenser) ) as evidenced by Metropulos teaching a three-zone dispenser with a countertop (225) with salt positioned (276) thereon (Para. 58, salt).
Re: Claim 26, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the third zone comprises a plurality of juice or tea dispenses, an ice dispense, a printer, a milk dispense, and an alternative milk dispense (Col. 8, lines 1-5, any range of components may be implemented including dispensers and vending device which implicitly includes a receipt printer).
Re: Claim 27, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the second zone includes a plurality of dry ingredient dispenses, one or more blenders, one or more syrup dispenses, a sink, one or more sauce dispenses, a whip cream dispense, and a nitro brew dispense (Fig. 3, countertops can inherently include any number of items being placed thereon for beverage creation) as evidenced by Metropulos teaching a three-zone dispenser with a countertop (225) with salt positioned (276) thereon (Para. 58, salt).
Re: Claim 28, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the third zone comprises a milk dispense, a plurality of alternative milk dispense, an ice dispense, and a printer dispense (Col. 8, lines 1-5, any range of components may be implemented including dispensers and vending device which implicitly includes a receipt printer).
Re: Claim 29, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the second zone includes a plurality of dry ingredient dispenses, one or more blenders, one or more syrup dispenses, a sink, one or more sauce dispenses, a whip cream dispense, and a nitro brew dispense (Fig. 3, countertops can inherently include any number of items being placed thereon for beverage creation) ) as evidenced by Metropulos teaching a three-zone dispenser with a countertop (225) with salt positioned (276) thereon (Para. 58, salt).
Re: Claim 34, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the reduced temperature zone comprises a plurality of reduced temperature zones (10, 11) each reduced temperature zone of the plurality of reduced temperature zones comprises a reduced temperature dispense (Col. 8, lines 1-7, plurality of reduced temperature zones).
Re: Claim 37, Saunders as modified by Graham in the rejection of claim 1 above teaches the retractable drip tray is configured to prevent dispensing of an ingredient through the outlet of the refrigerated dispense when the retractable drip tray is in the first position (Graham: Fig. 1-3B, Para. 108, spring loaded drip tray movable between a forward first portion beneath the dispense and backward second position away therefrom, when in first position prevents drippings as depicted in Fig. 1).
Re: Claim 38, Saunders as modified by Graham in the rejection of claim 1 above teaches an outer frame (12AB, 12AC) configured to be mounted to the bottom surface of the cabinet, the retractable drip tray configured to move between the first position and the second position relative to the outer frame (Graham: Depicted in Figs. 2-3B).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saunders et al. (US Patent No. 7,669,740) and Graham (US Patent No. 5,447,256) as applied to claim 1 above and as evidenced by Metropulos et al. (US 2014/0209634 A1), and further in view of Cahen et al. (US 2007/0000944 A1).
Re: Claim 7, Saunders as modified by Graham discloses the drip tray of claim 1 except for the front surface having a front curve. However, Cahen teaches a drip tray comprises a curved front surface (60), the curved front surface being curved inward to allow the curved front surface to fit around a portion of a round outer surface of the container. (Fig. 6, Para. 52, front surface grooved inward).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing dater to include the retractable drip trap front curve as taught by Cahen, since Cahen states in para. 55 that such a modification allows a space for cups/containers of higher heights to be placed under the outlet thus a greater range of recipient cups may be used while still benefiting from having the trip tray surrounding said cup for collecting waste drips during the dispensing operation.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saunders et al. (US Patent No. 7,669,740) and Graham (US Patent No. 5,447,256) as applied to claim 1 above and as evidenced by Metropulos et al. (US 2014/0209634 A1), and further in view of Degnan et al. (US Patent No. 11,738,987).
Re: Claim 17, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including a reduced temperature zone in the third zone (column 8, lines 1-2, any component, including reduced temp device) except for expressly stating an ice cabinet. However, Degnan disclose an ice cabinet in the third zone (Col. 4, lines 29-31, ice cabinet).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing dater to include an ice cabinet as taught Degnan, since Saunders states column 8, lines 1-2 that the third zone may be any range of components, and adding the ice cabinet of Degnan would allow the user to serve an assortment of chilled drinks thus increasing the number beverages to be dispensed.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saunders et al. (US Patent No. 7,669,740) and Graham (US Patent No. 5,447,256) as applied to claim 1 above and as evidenced by Metropulos et al. (US 2014/0209634 A1), and further in view of Goulet (US Patent No. 6,053,359).
Re: Claim 18, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including any component may be implemented into the third zone (column 8, lines 1-2, any component) except for expressly stating a lid or cup dispenser. However, Goulet disclose cup or lid dispenser (40) in the third zone (Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective e filing dater to include an ice cabinet as taught Degnan, since Saunders states column 8, lines 1-2 that the third zone may be any range of components, and adding the ice cabinet of Degnan would allow the user to serve an assortment of chilled drinks thus increasing the number beverages to be dispensed. Further, it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Claim(s) 35 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saunders et al. (US Patent No. 7,669,740) and Graham (US Patent No. 5,447,256) as applied to claim 1 above and as evidenced by Metropulos et al. (US 2014/0209634 A1), and further in view of Saveliev et al. (US Patent No. 6,216,918).
Re: Claim 35, Saunders discloses the claimed invention including the first zone comprises storage (Col. 6, lines 28-45, cabinet with door and housing for storing any item) except for expressly stating for nitrogen gas. However, Saveliev teaching a three-zone dispenser with a first zone housing a nitrogen gas (24) (Fig. 2, Col. 6, lines 30-31, Nitrogen gas held in zone 1).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing dater to include a nitrogen tank as taught Saveliev, since Saunders states Col. 6, lines 28-45 that the first zone may be any range of components, and adding the nitrogen of Saveliev would allow the user to serve an assortment of chilled effervescent drinks thus increasing the number beverages to be dispensed. Further, it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. References cited on the PTO-892 provide additional examples of drip trays with dispensers.
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/CHARLES P. CHEYNEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754
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