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 .
Notice of Amendment
In response to the amendment filed September 29, 2026, amended claims 1, 8, 10 and 18-20 are acknowledged. The following new grounds of rejection are set forth:
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
GROUND 1: Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 1 recites “a four-way valve” which lacks support in the specification. The specification fails to use the term “a four-way valve” to define any component of the coffee machine. Para 0028 states that the “second changeover valve 4 is a four-way pipe”, which is not a valve, but merely a fitting along the fluid paths of the coffee machine. A “valve”, as known to a person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA), is a device which is used to start, stop or regulate fluid flow therethrough. A “four-way pipe” is not capable of starting, stopping or regulating fluid flow therethrough. Appropriate clarification and correction is required.
Claims 2-20 are rejected as being necessarily dependent upon claim 1.
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.
GROUND 2: Claim(s) 1-5, 8-15 and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 102011102733 to Goltenboth in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0022528 to Park.
In regard to claims 1, 8, 11 and 18, Goltenboth discloses a water path control system for a coffee machine, comprising a water tank W, a water pump 4, a changeover valve 5a-c, a heating device 6, 11 and an extraction assembly 2, wherein the water tank, the water pump and the changeover valve are sequentially connected (See Fig. 6). Goltenboth disclose first and second water path structures but is silent with respect to a four-way valve wherein the first changeover valve is connected with the four-way valve to form a second water path structure, and the four-way valve is connected with the extraction assembly. Park teaches of an analogous coffee machine having a four-way valve 170 positioned along the flow path which enables the water to be outputted to the ejected or to a circulation path (See Figs. 9-11 and paras 0080-0085). It is noted, with regard to claims 8 and 18, the four-way valve functions as a pressure relief member. It would have been obvious to a POSITA to modify the device of Goltenboth to include a four-way valve to provide a circulation flow path, to prevent machine damage due to overpressure as taught by Park.
In regard to claims 2 and 12, Goltenboth discloses a water path control system, wherein when the water pump draws a liquid in the water tank through the first water path structure to the extraction assembly while continuously pressurizing the liquid, an output pressure of the water pump is a first pressure value, and the output pressure is kept stable until extraction is completed (See Fig. 6).
In regard to claims 3, 5, 13 and 15, Goltenboth disclose a water path control system, wherein the first pressure value is 6 bar to 10 bar (see page 3). It is noted, Goltenboth disclose a pump capable of pumping dispending water at a pressure between .1 bar and 50 bar, which reads on the cited claims. A recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
In regard to claims 4 and 14, Goltenboth discloses a water path control system, wherein when the water pump draws a liquid in the water tank through the second water path structure to the extraction assembly while continuously pressurizing the liquid, an output pressure of the water pump is a first pressure value, and the output pressure is kept stable until extraction is completed (See Fig. 6).
In regard to claims 9 and 19, Goltenboth discloses a water path control system, further comprising a flow controller 8 connected and arranged between the water tank and the water pump (See Fig. 3)
In regard to claims 10 and 20, Goltenboth discloses disclose a water path control system, further comprising a steam assembly 11 connected with the second changeover valve (See Figs. 1-3). It is noted, as disclosed in the instant invention (see para 0031), the use and placement of “steam devices” in coffee machines are commonly known in the art. Furthermore, as broadly as claimed, the language does not require a steam assembly to be connected to the second valve, but merely connected with the second valve and thus may be connected to difference components.
GROUND 3: Claim(s) 6-7 and 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 102011102733 to Goltenboth in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0022528 to Park in view of US Patent No. 11,839,326 to Juve.
In regard to claims 6-7 and 16-17, Goltenboth and Park disclose a water path control system, wherein when the water pump draws a liquid in the water tank through the second water path structure to the extraction assembly (See rejections above) but are silent with respect to the water pump draws the liquid in the water tank intermittently. Juve teaches of an analogous coffee machine having flow control over the water path thereof including the water pump, to enable control over the rate of water supplied to the coffee extraction system (See Figs. 1-4 and 9-21). It would have been obvious to a POSITA to intermittently pressure fluid to the extraction system of Goltenboth and Park to create different flavor profiles of coffee as desired by the consumer, as tuaght by Juve and is well known in the art.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW J KASZTEJNA whose telephone number is (571)272-6086. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 7AM--3PM.
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/MATTHEW J KASZTEJNA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3993
