DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 09/28/2026 has been entered and accepted. The amendment with regard to the 112b rejection has been accepted and the rejection has been withdrawn. The amendment with regard to the specification objection has been accepted and the objection has been withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 09/28/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 15, and 21 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 Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.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 Waterston (US 5092480 A) and in view of DISLER (WO 2022053522 A1) in view of Waterston (US 5092480 A). A full rejection can be found below.
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.
Claim 23 is 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 23 recites the limitation “the first wall disposed between the residual chaff chamber and a port of the residual water chamber through which the residual chaff is received into the residual chaff chamber.” The applicant’s specification does not provide sufficient support to teach that the port of the residual water chamber allows for residual chaff to be received into the residual chaff chamber. Paragraph 37 of the applicant’s specification filed 01/31/2024 teaches that the chaff port 74 and the water port 76 are used to both receive and expel residual chaff and residual water respectively. The term respectively indicates that the water port is only used to receive and expel residual water, not residual chaff. Nowhere in the applicant’s drawings or specifications filed 01/31/2024 does it suggest that residual chaff can move from the residual water port into the residual chaff chamber. Indeed, Paragraph 4 of the applicant’s specifications teaches that residual chaff chamber and the residual water chamber are fluidically isolated from one another, which teaches away from having the port of the residual water chamber being used to receive residual chaff into the residual chaff chamber.
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.
Claim 23 is 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.
Claim 23 recites the limitation “the first wall disposed between the residual chaff chamber and a port of the residual water chamber through which the residual chaff is received into the residual chaff chamber.” One of ordinary skill in the art would find it unclear how a port of the residual water chamber can allow the residual chaff to be received into the residual chaff chamber given that claim 15, from which claim 23 depends, recites that “a residual chaff chamber and a residual water chamber fluidically isolated from each other”. Paragraph 37 of the applicant’s specification filed 01/31/2024 teaches that the chaff port 74 and the water port are used to both receive and expel residual chaff and residual water respectively. The term respectively indicates that the water port is only used to receive and expel residual water, not residual chaff. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would not have found it obvious how a port of the residual water chamber can receive residual chaff into the residual chaff chamber while keeping the residual water chamber fluidically isolated from the residual chaff chamber.
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) 15-22 and 24-27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Waterston (US 5092480 A).
Regarding claim 15, Waterston (US 5092480 A) teaches an apparatus (Figure 2, modular waste disposal receptacle system 10), comprising:
a vessel (Figure 2, modular waste disposal receptacle system 10) configured to be removably coupled to a bean roaster having (1) a roasting drum, (2) an air handling system configured to heat and circulate air through the roasting drum and to remove residual chaff from the air being circulated, and (3) an air exit subsystem that is configured to receive air from the air handling system and to condense water from the air (Figure 2, said modular waste disposal receptacle system would be fully capable of interacting with a bean roaster as specified; said claim limitations is functional language and thus any vessel capable of performing said functional language would read upon the claim under broadest reasonable interpretation; The MPEP teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the modular waste disposal receptacle system be removably coupled with a bean roaster would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice; Furthermore, the Office notes that having a removable container used for the storage of chaff and/or water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by Annumalla [US 20230007975 A1] and Lemme [US 6036988 A]).
the vessel including a residual chaff chamber and a residual water chamber fluidically isolated from each other by a wall disposed between the residual chaff chamber and the residual water chamber (Figure 2 Column 1 Line 66 – Column 2 Line 6, each of the primary wastebasket and secondary receptacles are fluid-tight and do not contain crevices or pockets such that the wastebasket and receptacles would be fluidically isolated from one another by at least one sidewall of the primary wastebasket and/or secondary receptacle; Column 1 Lines 33-39, purpose of the container is to isolate one type of waste from another type which may contain fluids),
the vessel receiving residual chaff into the residual chaff chamber from the air handling system during a roasting process (Figure 2, at least one of the primary wastebasket 12 and/or secondary receptacles 14 would be fully capable of receiving residual chaff from an air handling system during a roasting process),
the vessel receiving residual water into the residual water chamber from the air exit subsystem during the roasting process (Figure 2, at least another of the primary wastebasket 12 and/or secondary receptacles 14 would be fully capable of receiving residual chaff from an air handling system during a roasting process).
The Office further notes that having water and trash be separately stored is well known in the art to be advantageous as evidenced by Paragraphs 33-34 of Pierre (US 20180229929 A1).
Regarding claim 16, Waterston teaches the apparatus of claim 15, wherein:
the residual water chamber is disposed circumferentially about and below the residual chaff chamber (Figure 2 Column 4 Lines 51-56, primary wastebasket 12 is disposed circumferentially about and below a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket 12).
Regarding claim 17, Waterston teaches the apparatus of claim 15, wherein:
the wall is a first wall (Figure 2, sidewall of a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket 12; Figure 2 Column 4 Lines 51-56, primary wastebasket 12 is disposed circumferentially about and below a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket 12),
the vessel includes a second wall (Figure 2, sidewall of primary wastebasket 12), the residual water chamber disposed between the second wall and the first wall (Figure 2, a chamber capable of holding the residual water is disposed between the sidewall of the primary wastebasket 12 and a sidewall of a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket),
the first wall disposed between the residual chaff chamber and the residual water chamber (Figure 2, sidewall of a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket 12 separates the secondary receptacle which is capable of receiving residual chaff from the primary wastebasket capable of receiving residual water).
Regarding claim 18, Waterston teaches the apparatus of claim 15, wherein:
the residual water chamber is disposed circumferentially about and below the residual chaff chamber (Figure 2 Column 4 Lines 51-56, primary wastebasket 12 is disposed circumferentially about and below a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket 12),
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air exit subsystem during the roasting process (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem during a roasting process),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air handling system during the roasting process (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air handling system during a roasting process).
Regarding claim 19, Waterston teaches the apparatus of claim 15, wherein:
the vessel has a first position and a second position, the vessel in the first position being coupled to the bean roaster, the vessel in the second position being removed from the bean roaster (The MPEP teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the modular waste disposal receptacle system be removably coupled with a bean roaster would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice; Furthermore, the Office notes that having a removable container used for the storage of chaff and/or water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by Annumalla [US 20230007975 A1] and Lemme [US 6036988 A]),
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air exit subsystem when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem during a roasting process),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air handling system when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air handling system during a roasting process),
the port of the residual water chamber configured to expel the residual water when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of expelling water when tilted),
the port of the residual chaff chamber configured to expel the residual chaff when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of expelling chaff when tilted).
Regarding claim 20, Waterston teaches the apparatus of claim 15, wherein:
the vessel has a first position and a second position (Figure 2, first position wherein secondary receptacle is nested within the primary wastebasket each of which is positioned to receive chaff and water respectively and a second position wherein the secondary receptacle is detached from the primary wastebasket to allow for individual disposal), the vessel in the first position being coupled to the bean roaster, the vessel in the second position being removed from the bean roaster (The MPEP teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the modular waste disposal receptacle system be removably coupled with a bean roaster would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice; Furthermore, the Office notes that having a removable container used for the storage of chaff and/or water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by Annumalla [US 20230007975 A1] and Lemme [US 6036988 A]),
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air exit subsystem when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem during a roasting process),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air handling system when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air handling system during a roasting process),
the port of the residual water chamber configured to expel the residual water without the residual chaff being expelled from the residual chaff chamber, when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, a second position wherein the secondary receptacle is detached from the primary wastebasket to allow for individual disposal wherein the primary wastebasket can be separately tilted to expel residual water with expelling the residual chaff),
the port of the residual chaff chamber configured to expel the residual chaff when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, a second position wherein the secondary receptacle is detached from the primary wastebasket to allow for individual disposal wherein the secondary receptacle can easily be tilted to allow for disposal of the residual chaff).
Regarding claim 21, Waterston (US 5092480 A) teaches an apparatus (Figure 2, modular waste disposal receptacle system 10), comprising:
a vessel (Figure 2, modular waste disposal receptacle system 10) configured to be removably coupled to a bean roaster (Figure 2, said modular waste disposal receptacle system would be fully capable of interacting with a bean roaster as specified; said claim limitations is functional language and thus any vessel capable of performing said functional language would read upon the claim under broadest reasonable interpretation; The MPEP teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the modular waste disposal receptacle system be removably coupled with a bean roaster would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice; Furthermore, the Office notes that having a removable container used for the storage of chaff and/or water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by Annumalla [US 20230007975 A1] and Lemme [US 6036988 A]), the vessel including a residual chaff chamber and a residual water chamber fluidically isolated from each other by a wall disposed between the residual chaff chamber and the residual water chamber (Figure 2 Column 1 Line 66 – Column 2 Line 6, each of the primary wastebasket and secondary receptacles are fluid-tight and do not contain crevices or pockets such that the wastebasket and receptacles would be fluidically isolated from one another by at least one sidewall of the primary wastebasket and/or secondary receptacle; Column 1 Lines 33-39, purpose of the container is to isolate one type of waste from another type which may contain fluids),
the vessel configured to receive into the residual chaff chamber residual chaff from the bean roaster during a roasting process (Figure 2, at least one of the primary wastebasket 12 and/or secondary receptacles 14 would be fully capable of receiving residual chaff from an air handling system during a roasting process),
the vessel configured to receive into the residual water chamber residual water from the bean roaster during the roasting process (Figure 2, at least another of the primary wastebasket 12 and/or secondary receptacles 14 would be fully capable of receiving residual chaff from an air handling system during a roasting process).
The Office further notes that having water and trash be separately stored is well known in the art to be advantageous as evidenced by Paragraphs 33-34 of Pierre (US 20180229929 A1).
Regarding claim 22, Waterston teaches the apparatus of claim 21, wherein:
the residual water chamber is disposed circumferentially about and below the residual chaff chamber (Figure 2 Column 4 Lines 51-56, primary wastebasket 12 is disposed circumferentially about and below a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket 12).
The Office further notes that having water and trash be separately stored is well known in the art to be advantageous as evidenced by Paragraphs 33-34 of Pierre (US 20180229929 A1).
Regarding claim 24, Waterston teaches the apparatus of claim 21, wherein:
the residual water chamber is disposed circumferentially about and below the residual chaff chamber (Figure 2 Column 4 Lines 51-56, primary wastebasket 12 is disposed circumferentially about and below a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket 12),
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem of the bean roaster during the roasting process (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem during a roasting process),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air handling system of the bean roaster during the roasting process (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air handling system during a roasting process).
Regarding claim 25, Waterston teaches the apparatus of claim 21, wherein:
the vessel has a first position and a second position (Figure 2, first position wherein secondary receptacle is nested within the primary wastebasket each of which is positioned to receive chaff and water respectively and a second position wherein the secondary receptacle is detached from the primary wastebasket to allow for individual disposal), the vessel in the first position being coupled to the bean roaster, the vessel in the second position being removed from the bean roaster (The MPEP teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the modular waste disposal receptacle system be removably coupled with a bean roaster would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice; Furthermore, the Office notes that having a removable container used for the storage of chaff and/or water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by Annumalla [US 20230007975 A1] and Lemme [US 6036988 A]),
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem of the bean roaster when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem during a roasting process),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air handling system of the bean roaster when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air handling system during a roasting process),
the port of the residual water chamber configured to expel the residual water when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of expelling water when tilted),
the port of the residual chaff chamber configured to expel the residual chaff when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of expelling chaff when tilted).
Regarding claim 26, Waterston teaches the apparatus of claim 21, wherein:
the vessel has a first position and a second position (Figure 2, first position wherein secondary receptacle is nested within the primary wastebasket each of which is positioned to receive chaff and water respectively and a second position wherein the secondary receptacle is detached from the primary wastebasket to allow for individual disposal), the vessel in the first position being coupled to the bean roaster, the vessel in the second position being removed from the bean roaster (The MPEP teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the modular waste disposal receptacle system be removably coupled with a bean roaster would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice; Furthermore, the Office notes that having a removable container used for the storage of chaff and/or water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by Annumalla [US 20230007975 A1] and Lemme [US 6036988 A]),
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem of the bean roaster when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem during a roasting process),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air handling system of the bean roaster when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air handling system during a roasting process),
the port of the residual water chamber configured to expel the residual water without the residual chaff being expelled from the residual chaff chamber, when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of expelling water when tilted),
the port of the residual chaff chamber configured to expel the residual chaff when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of expelling chaff when tilted).
Regarding claim 27, Waterston teaches the apparatus of claim 21, wherein:
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled, during the roasting process, to an air handling system (1) of the bean roaster and (2) that is configured to heat and circulate air through a roasting drum of the bean roaster and to remove residual chaff from the air being circulated (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air handling system during a roasting process),
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled, during the roasting process, to an air exit subsystem (1) of the bean roaster and (2) that is configured to receive air from the air handling system and to condense water from the air received from the air handling system (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem during a roasting process).
Claim(s) 1-3, 15-22, and 24-27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DISLER (WO 2022053522 A1) in view of Waterston (US 5092480 A).
Regarding claim 1, DISLER (WO 2022053522 A1) teaches a bean roasting system (Figure 1), comprising:
a roasting drum (Paragraph 127, drum body 1111);
an air handling system configured to heat (Paragraph 130, air heater 1141 and positive pressure supply 1142 in the form of a supply fan; Paragraph 39, negative pressure device used to actively withdraw the exhaust air from the drum) and circulate air through the roasting drum and to remove residual chaff from the air being circulated (Paragraph 171, temperature is controlled by appropriate control of the air heater 1114 by controlling the hot air supply 1141 and positive pressure device in the form of a supply fan 1142; Paragraph 37, positive pressure device blows air into the drum; Paragraph 38, air is also exhausted from the inner drum space; Paragraph 39, negative pressure device used to actively withdraw the exhaust air from the drum; Paragraph 72, exhaust air of the roasting drum includes chaff which enters a chaff separator to separate chaff from the exhaust air);
a coupling that routes the residual chaff to the residual chaff chamber during a roasting process (Figure 6 Paragraph 180, exhaust air from the drum is fed into the cyclone chaff separator unit 19 which separates chaff and moves it to a chaff drawer 192 for subsequent disposal); and
an air exit subsystem that is configured to receive air from the air handling system and to condense water from the air (Figure 1 Paragraphs 137-140, exhaust air treatment unit 15 comprises a condenser 155 wherein the exhaust air passes the condenser/dehumidifier 155; condenser/ dehumidifier would condense water from said exhaust air) and to deliver resultant residual water to the residual water chamber (Paragraph 137-138, exhaust water drain valve to remove exhaust water from the water tank).
DISLER fails to explicitly teach:
a removable vessel including a residual chaff chamber and a residual water chamber fluidically isolated from each other by an inner wall;
Waterston (US 5092480 A) teaches a wastebasket component system (modular waste disposal receptacle system 10), comprising:
a removable vessel including a residual chaff chamber and a residual water chamber fluidically isolated from each other by an inner wall (Figure 2 Column 1 Line 66 – Column 2 Line 6, each of the primary wastebasket and secondary receptacles are fluid-tight and do not contain crevices or pockets such that the wastebasket and receptacles would be fluidically isolated from one another by at least one sidewall of the primary wastebasket and/or secondary receptacle; Column 1 Lines 33-39, purpose of the container is to isolate one type of waste from another type which may contain fluids The MPEP teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the modular waste disposal receptacle system be removably coupled with a bean roaster would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice. Furthermore, the Office notes that having a removable container used for the storage of chaff and/or water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by Annumalla [US 20230007975 A1] and Lemme [US 6036988 A])
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified DISLER with Waterston and used a removable vessel comprising a residual chaff chamber and a residual water chamber fluidically isolated from one another. This would have been done to provide a single modular container for storing both water and chaff separately (Waterston Column 1 Line 21 – Column 2 Line 26).
The Office further notes that having water and trash be separately stored is well known in the art to be advantageous as evidenced by Paragraphs 33-34 of Pierre (US 20180229929 A1).
Regarding claim 2, DISLER as modified teaches the bean roasting system of claim 1, wherein
the air handling system includes a cyclone separator (Paragraph 180, cyclone separator 19), the coupling routes the residual chaff from the cyclone separator to the residual chaff chamber during the roasting process (Paragraph 180, cyclone separator 191 for separating the chaff for the exhaust air stream wherein said chaff is moved to a chaff drawer 192 for subsequent disposal; Paragraph 50, exhaust air is withdrawn from respective exits of the drum during roasting).
Regarding claim 3, DISLER as modified teaches the bean roasting system of claim 1, wherein
the bean roasting system further includes a roasted bean container configured to receive roasted beans from the roasting drum (Paragraph 145, cooling unit 14 includes a cooling container 141 for receiving roasting coffee beans from the drum),
cooling air from the roasted bean container passes into the air exit subsystem during operation of the bean roasting system (Paragraph 71, exhaust air withdrawer serves the additional purpose of withdrawing the cooling air in a controlled manner by transferring cooling air from the cooling container into the drum and then withdrawing it from the drum in a controlled manner; Paragraphs 133, exhaust air withdrawer 115 includes a negative pressure device 1151 which is coupled with an exhaust air treatment unit 15), and
the air exit subsystem is configured to condense water from the cooling air (Figure 1 Paragraphs 137-140, exhaust air treatment unit 15 comprises a condenser 155 wherein the exhaust air passes the condenser/dehumidifier 155; condenser/ dehumidifier would condense water from said exhaust air) and to further deliver resultant residual water to the residual water chamber (Paragraph 137-138, exhaust water drain valve to remove exhaust water from the water tank; Figure 2 Paragraph 20, trash receptacle 100 includes a sink area 112 for receiving liquids which pass into the reservoir tank 120).
Regarding claim 15, DISLER (WO 2022053522 A1) teaches an apparatus, comprising:
a vessel (chaff drawer 192) configured to be removably coupled1 to a bean roaster having (1) a roasting drum (Figure 6 Paragraph 127, drum body 1111 coupled to chaff separation unit which is coupled to the drum 111), (2) an air handling system configured to heat (Paragraph 130, air heater 1141 and positive pressure supply 1142 in the form of a supply fan; Paragraph 39, negative pressure device used to actively withdraw the exhaust air from the drum) and circulate air through the roasting drum and to remove residual chaff from the air being circulated (Paragraph 171, temperature is controlled by appropriate control of the air heater 1114 by controlling the hot air supply 1141 and positive pressure device in the form of a supply fan 1142; Paragraph 37, positive pressure device blows air into the drum; Paragraph 38, air is also exhausted from the inner drum space; Paragraph 39, negative pressure device used to actively withdraw the exhaust air from the drum; Paragraph 72, exhaust air of the roasting drum includes chaff which enters a chaff separator to separate chaff from the exhaust air), and (3) an air exit subsystem that is configured to receive air from the air handling system and to condense water from the air (Figure 1 Paragraphs 137-140, exhaust air treatment unit 15 comprises a condenser 155 wherein the exhaust air passes the condenser/dehumidifier 155; condenser/ dehumidifier would condense water from said exhaust air),
at least one vessel receiving residual chaff into the residual chaff chamber from the air handling system during a roasting process (Figure 6 Paragraph 180, exhaust air from the drum is fed into the cyclone chaff separator unit 19 which separates chaff and moves it to a chaff drawer 192 for subsequent disposal),
at least one vessel receiving residual water into the residual water chamber from the air exit subsystem during the roasting process (Paragraph 137-138, exhaust water drain valve to remove exhaust water from the water tank).
DISLER fails to explicitly teach:
the vessel including a residual chaff chamber and a residual water chamber fluidically isolated from each other by a wall disposed between the residual chaff chamber and the residual water chamber,
Waterston (US 5092480 A) teaches a wastebasket component system (modular waste disposal receptacle system 10), comprising:
the vessel including a residual chaff chamber and a residual water chamber fluidically isolated from each other by a wall disposed between the residual chaff chamber and the residual water chamber (Figure 2 Column 1 Line 66 – Column 2 Line 6, each of the primary wastebasket and secondary receptacles are fluid-tight and do not contain crevices or pockets such that the wastebasket and receptacles would be fluidically isolated from one another by at least one sidewall of the primary wastebasket and/or secondary receptacle; Column 1 Lines 33-39, purpose of the container is to isolate one type of waste from another type which may contain fluids; The MPEP teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the modular waste disposal receptacle system be removably coupled with a bean roaster would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice. Furthermore, the Office notes that having a removable container used for the storage of chaff and/or water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by Annumalla [US 20230007975 A1] and Lemme [US 6036988 A])
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified DISLER with Waterston and used a removable vessel comprising a residual chaff chamber and a residual water chamber fluidically isolated from one another. This would have been done to provide a single modular container for storing both water and chaff separately (Waterston Column 1 Line 21 – Column 2 Line 26).
The Office further notes that having water and trash be separately stored is well known in the art to be advantageous as evidenced by Paragraphs 33-34 of Pierre (US 20180229929 A1).
Regarding claim 16, DISLER as modified further teaches the apparatus of claim 15.
Waterston further teaches:
the residual water chamber is disposed circumferentially about and below the residual chaff chamber (Figure 2 Column 4 Lines 51-56, primary wastebasket 12 is disposed circumferentially about and below a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket 12).
It would have been obvious for the same motivation as claim 15.
Regarding claim 17, DISLER as modified further teaches the apparatus of claim 15.
Waterston further teaches:
the wall is a first wall (Figure 2, sidewall of a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket 12; Figure 2 Column 4 Lines 51-56, primary wastebasket 12 is disposed circumferentially about and below a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket 12),
the vessel includes a second wall (Figure 2, sidewall of primary wastebasket 12), the residual water chamber disposed between the second wall and the first wall (Figure 2, a chamber capable of holding the residual water is disposed between the sidewall of the primary wastebasket 12 and a sidewall of a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket),
the first wall disposed between the residual chaff chamber and the residual water chamber (Figure 2, sidewall of a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket 12 separates the secondary receptacle which is capable of receiving residual chaff from the primary wastebasket capable of receiving residual water).
It would have been obvious for the same motivation as claim 15.
Regarding claim 18, DISLER as modified further teaches the apparatus of claim 15, wherein:
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air exit subsystem during the roasting process (Figure 6 Paragraph 180, exhaust air from the drum is fed into the cyclone chaff separator unit 19 which separates chaff and moves it to a chaff drawer 192 for subsequent disposal),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air handling system during the roasting process (Paragraph 137-138, exhaust water drain valve to remove exhaust water from the water tank)
Waterston further teaches:
the residual water chamber is disposed circumferentially about and below the residual chaff chamber (Figure 2 Column 4 Lines 51-56, primary wastebasket 12 is disposed circumferentially about and below a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket 12),
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air exit subsystem during the roasting process (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem during a roasting process),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air handling system during the roasting process (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air handling system during a roasting process).
It would have been obvious for the same motivation as claim 15.
Regarding claim 19, DISLER as modified further teaches the apparatus of claim 15, wherein:
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air exit subsystem when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 6 Paragraph 180, exhaust air from the drum is fed into the cyclone chaff separator unit 19 which separates chaff and moves it to a chaff drawer 192 for subsequent disposal),
Waterston further teaches:
the vessel has a first position and a second position, the vessel in the first position being coupled to the bean roaster, the vessel in the second position being removed from the bean roaster (The MPEP teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the modular waste disposal receptacle system be removably coupled with a bean roaster would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice; Furthermore, the Office notes that having a removable container used for the storage of chaff and/or water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by Annumalla [US 20230007975 A1] and Lemme [US 6036988 A]),
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air exit subsystem when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem during a roasting process),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air handling system when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air handling system during a roasting process),
the port of the residual water chamber configured to expel the residual water when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of expelling water when tilted),
the port of the residual chaff chamber configured to expel the residual chaff when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of expelling chaff when tilted).
It would have been obvious for the same motivation as claim 15.
Regarding claim 20, DISLER as modified further teaches the apparatus of claim 15, wherein:
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air exit subsystem when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 6 Paragraph 180, exhaust air from the drum is fed into the cyclone chaff separator unit 19 which separates chaff and moves it to a chaff drawer 192 for subsequent disposal),
Waterston further teaches:
the vessel has a first position and a second position (Figure 2, first position wherein secondary receptacle is nested within the primary wastebasket each of which is positioned to receive chaff and water respectively and a second position wherein the secondary receptacle is detached from the primary wastebasket to allow for individual disposal), the vessel in the first position being coupled to the bean roaster, the vessel in the second position being removed from the bean roaster (The MPEP teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the modular waste disposal receptacle system be removably coupled with a bean roaster would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice; Furthermore, the Office notes that having a removable container used for the storage of chaff and/or water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by Annumalla [US 20230007975 A1] and Lemme [US 6036988 A]),
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air exit subsystem when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem during a roasting process),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to the air handling system when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air handling system during a roasting process),
the port of the residual water chamber configured to expel the residual water without the residual chaff being expelled from the residual chaff chamber, when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, a second position wherein the secondary receptacle is detached from the primary wastebasket to allow for individual disposal wherein the primary wastebasket can be separately tilted to expel residual water with expelling the residual chaff),
the port of the residual chaff chamber configured to expel the residual chaff when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, a second position wherein the secondary receptacle is detached from the primary wastebasket to allow for individual disposal wherein the secondary receptacle can easily be tilted to allow for disposal of the residual chaff).
It would have been obvious for the same motivation as claim 15.
Regarding claim 21, DISLER (WO 2022053522 A1) teaches an apparatus, comprising:
a vessel (chaff drawer 192) configured to be removably coupled2 to a bean roaster (Figure 6 Paragraph 127, drum body 1111 coupled to chaff separation unit which is coupled to the drum 111),
at least one vessel configured to receive into the residual chaff chamber residual chaff from the bean roaster during a roasting process (Figure 6 Paragraph 180, exhaust air from the drum is fed into the cyclone chaff separator unit 19 which separates chaff and moves it to a chaff drawer 192 for subsequent disposal), at least one vessel configured to receive into the residual water chamber residual water from the bean roaster during the roasting process (Paragraph 137-138, exhaust water drain valve to remove exhaust water from the water tank).
DISLER fails to explicitly teach:
the vessel including a residual chaff chamber and a residual water chamber fluidically isolated from each other by a wall disposed between the residual chaff chamber and the residual water chamber
Waterston (US 5092480 A) teaches a wastebasket component system (modular waste disposal receptacle system 10), comprising:
the vessel including a residual chaff chamber and a residual water chamber fluidically isolated from each other by a wall disposed between the residual chaff chamber and the residual water chamber (Figure 2 Column 1 Line 66 – Column 2 Line 6, each of the primary wastebasket and secondary receptacles are fluid-tight and do not contain crevices or pockets such that the wastebasket and receptacles would be fluidically isolated from one another by at least one sidewall of the primary wastebasket and/or secondary receptacle; Column 1 Lines 33-39, purpose of the container is to isolate one type of waste from another type which may contain fluids; The MPEP teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the modular waste disposal receptacle system be removably coupled with a bean roaster would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice. Furthermore, the Office notes that having a removable container used for the storage of chaff and/or water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by Annumalla [US 20230007975 A1] and Lemme [US 6036988 A])
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified DISLER with Waterston and used a removable vessel comprising a residual chaff chamber and a residual water chamber fluidically isolated from one another. This would have been done to provide a single modular container for storing both water and chaff separately (Waterston Column 1 Line 21 – Column 2 Line 26).
The Office further notes that having water and trash be separately stored is well known in the art to be advantageous as evidenced by Paragraphs 33-34 of Pierre (US 20180229929 A1).
Regarding claim 22, DISLER as modified further teaches the apparatus of claim 21.
Waterston further teaches:
the residual water chamber is disposed circumferentially about and below the residual chaff chamber (Figure 2 Column 4 Lines 51-56, primary wastebasket 12 is disposed circumferentially about and below a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket 12).
It would have been obvious for the same motivation as claim 21.
Regarding claim 24, DISLER as modified further teaches the apparatus of claim 21, wherein:
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem of the bean roaster during the roasting process (Paragraph 137-138, exhaust water drain valve to remove exhaust water from the water tank),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air handling system of the bean roaster during the roasting process Figure 6 Paragraph 180, exhaust air from the drum is fed into the cyclone chaff separator unit 19 which separates chaff and moves it to a chaff drawer 192 for subsequent disposal).
Waterston further teaches:
the residual water chamber is disposed circumferentially about and below the residual chaff chamber (Figure 2 Column 4 Lines 51-56, primary wastebasket 12 is disposed circumferentially about and below a secondary receptacle nested within the primary wastebasket 12),
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem of the bean roaster during the roasting process (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem during a roasting process),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air handling system of the bean roaster during the roasting process (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air handling system during a roasting process).
It would have been obvious for the same motivation as claim 21.
Regarding claim 25, DISLER as modified further teaches the apparatus of claim 21, wherein:
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem of the bean roaster when the vessel is in the first position (Paragraph 137-138, exhaust water drain valve to remove exhaust water from the water tank),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air handling system of the bean roaster when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 6 Paragraph 180, exhaust air from the drum is fed into the cyclone chaff separator unit 19 which separates chaff and moves it to a chaff drawer 192 for subsequent disposal),
Waterston further teaches:
the vessel has a first position and a second position (Figure 2, first position wherein secondary receptacle is nested within the primary wastebasket each of which is positioned to receive chaff and water respectively and a second position wherein the secondary receptacle is detached from the primary wastebasket to allow for individual disposal), the vessel in the first position being coupled to the bean roaster, the vessel in the second position being removed from the bean roaster (The MPEP teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the modular waste disposal receptacle system be removably coupled with a bean roaster would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice; Furthermore, the Office notes that having a removable container used for the storage of chaff and/or water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by Annumalla [US 20230007975 A1] and Lemme [US 6036988 A]),
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem of the bean roaster when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem during a roasting process),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air handling system of the bean roaster when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air handling system during a roasting process),
the port of the residual water chamber configured to expel the residual water when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of expelling water when tilted),
the port of the residual chaff chamber configured to expel the residual chaff when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of expelling chaff when tilted).
It would have been obvious for the same motivation as claim 21.
Regarding claim 26, DISLER as modified further teaches the apparatus of claim 21, wherein:
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem of the bean roaster when the vessel is in the first position (Paragraph 137-138, exhaust water drain valve to remove exhaust water from the water tank),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air handling system of the bean roaster when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 6 Paragraph 180, exhaust air from the drum is fed into the cyclone chaff separator unit 19 which separates chaff and moves it to a chaff drawer 192 for subsequent disposal),
Waterston further teaches:
the vessel has a first position and a second position (Figure 2, first position wherein secondary receptacle is nested within the primary wastebasket each of which is positioned to receive chaff and water respectively and a second position wherein the secondary receptacle is detached from the primary wastebasket to allow for individual disposal), the vessel in the first position being coupled to the bean roaster, the vessel in the second position being removed from the bean roaster (The MPEP teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the modular waste disposal receptacle system be removably coupled with a bean roaster would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice; Furthermore, the Office notes that having a removable container used for the storage of chaff and/or water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by Annumalla [US 20230007975 A1] and Lemme [US 6036988 A]),
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem of the bean roaster when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem during a roasting process),
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled to an air handling system of the bean roaster when the vessel is in the first position (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air handling system during a roasting process),
the port of the residual water chamber configured to expel the residual water without the residual chaff being expelled from the residual chaff chamber, when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of expelling water when tilted),
the port of the residual chaff chamber configured to expel the residual chaff when the vessel is in the second position (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of expelling chaff when tilted).
It would have been obvious for the same motivation as claim 21.
Regarding claim 27, DISLER as modified further teaches the apparatus of claim 21, wherein:
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled, during the roasting process, to an air handling system (1) of the bean roaster and (2) that is configured to heat (Figure 6 Paragraph 180, exhaust air from the drum is fed into the cyclone chaff separator unit 19 which separates chaff and moves it to a chaff drawer 192 for subsequent disposal) (Paragraph 130, air heater 1141 and positive pressure supply 1142 in the form of a supply fan; Paragraph 39, negative pressure device used to actively withdraw the exhaust air from the drum) and circulate air through a roasting drum of the bean roaster and to remove residual chaff from the air being circulated (Paragraph 171, temperature is controlled by appropriate control of the air heater 1114 by controlling the hot air supply 1141 and positive pressure device in the form of a supply fan 1142; Paragraph 37, positive pressure device blows air into the drum; Paragraph 38, air is also exhausted from the inner drum space; Paragraph 39, negative pressure device used to actively withdraw the exhaust air from the drum; Paragraph 72, exhaust air of the roasting drum includes chaff which enters a chaff separator to separate chaff from the exhaust air),
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled, during the roasting process, to an air exit subsystem (1) of the bean roaster (Paragraph 137-138, exhaust water drain valve to remove exhaust water from the water tank) and (2) that is configured to receive air from the air handling system and to condense water from the air received from the air handling system (Figure 1 Paragraphs 137-140, exhaust air treatment unit 15 comprises a condenser 155 wherein the exhaust air passes the condenser/dehumidifier 155; condenser/ dehumidifier would condense water from said exhaust air)
Waterston further teaches:
the residual chaff chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled, during the roasting process, to an air handling system (1) of the bean roaster and (2) that is configured to heat and circulate air through a roasting drum of the bean roaster and to remove residual chaff from the air being circulated (Figure 2, secondary receptacle 14 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air handling system during a roasting process),
the residual water chamber including a port sized and shaped to be fluidically coupled, during the roasting process, to an air exit subsystem (1) of the bean roaster and (2) that is configured to receive air from the air handling system and to condense water from the air received from the air handling system (Figure 2, primary wastebasket 12 contains an opening which is sized and shaped to be fully capable of being fluidically coupled to an air exit subsystem during a roasting process).
It would have been obvious for the same motivation as claim 21.
Claim(s) 4-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DISLER (WO 2022053522 A1) in view of Pierre (US 20180229929 A1) as applied to claims 3 and 1 above respectively, and further in view of Hsu (US 5671726 A).
Regarding claim 4, DISLER as modified teaches the bean roasting system of claim 3, wherein
the air exit subsystem includes an exit fan (Paragraph 133, withdrawer fan 1151) and a filter through which air passes from the air handling system and the roasted bean container (Paragraph 140-142, negative pressure by means of an exhaust fan 1151 pulls air from the drum and through an exhaust air filter 154).
DISLER as modified fails to explicitly teach:
the air exit subsystem includes a heat sink
Hsu (US 5671726 A) teaches a cooking fume purifier, wherein:
the air exit subsystem includes a heat sink (Column 3 Line 61 – Column 4 Line 16, condenser include a plurality of tubes 18 which contain fluid used to cool a manifold 23 wherein fumes flow and are condensed), an exit fan (Column 4 Lines 28-33, cooking fumes are condensed before being filtered and conveyed outside the cooking area; Column 3 Lines 53-60, fan 12 draws fumes into the hood 10), and a filter (Column 4 Lines 25-33, invention includes any number of filters 28)
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified DISLER with Hsu and have an air exit subsystem comprising a heat sink, exit fan, and a filter through which air from the air handling system travels. This would have been done to purify and cool cooking fumes before releasing them (Hsu Column 2 Lines 24-32).
Regarding claim 5, DISLER as modified teaches the bean roasting system of claim 4, further comprising:
a fluid conduit that directs condensed water to the residual water chamber during operation of the bean roasting system (Paragraph 137-138, exhaust water drain valve to remove exhaust water from the water tank)
Hsu further teaches:
a fluid conduit that directs condensed water from the heat sink to the residual water chamber during operation of the bean roasting system (Column 4 Lines 20-24, condensed water vapor and particulate matter collects drips into a removable grease tray during operation).
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified DISLER with Hsu and have the fluid conduit directs condensed water into the residual water chamber. This would have been done to facilitate purifying and cooling cooking fumes before releasing them (Hsu Column 2 Lines 24-32).
Regarding claim 6, DISLER as modified teaches the bean roasting system of claim 1, wherein
the bean roasting system further includes a roasted bean container configured to receive roasted beans from the roasting drum (Paragraph 145, cooling unit 14 includes a cooling container 141 for receiving roasting coffee beans from the drum), and
the air exit subsystem includes an exit fan (Paragraph 133, withdrawer fan 1151) and a filter through which air passes from the air handling system and the roasted bean container (Paragraph 140-142, negative pressure by means of an exhaust fan 1151 pulls air from the drum and through an exhaust air filter 154).
DISLER as modified fails to explicitly teach:
the air exit subsystem includes a heat sink
Hsu (US 5671726 A) teaches a cooking fume purifier, wherein:
the air exit subsystem includes a heat sink (Column 3 Line 61 – Column 4 Line 16, condenser include a plurality of tubes 18 which contain fluid used to cool a manifold 23 wherein fumes flow and are condensed), an exit fan (Column 4 Lines 28-33, cooking fumes are condensed before being filtered and conveyed outside the cooking area; Column 3 Lines 53-60, fan 12 draws fumes into the hood 10), and a filter (Column 4 Lines 25-33, invention includes any number of filters 28)
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified DISLER with Hsu and have the fluid conduit directs condensed water from the heat sink to the collection bin through an outlet. This would have been done to facilitate purifying and cooling cooking fumes before releasing them (Hsu Column 2 Lines 24-32).
Regarding claim 7, DISLER as modified teaches the bean roasting system of claim 6, further comprising:
a fluid conduit that directs condensed water to the residual water chamber during operation of the bean roasting system (Paragraph 137-138, exhaust water drain valve to remove exhaust water from the water tank)
Hsu further teaches:
a fluid conduit that directs condensed water from the heat sink to the residual water chamber during operation of the bean roasting system (Column 4 Lines 20-24, condensed water vapor and particulate matter collects drips into a removable grease tray during operation).
It would have thus been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to have modified DISLER with Hsu and have the fluid conduit directs condensed water into the residual water chamber. This would have been done to facilitate purifying and cooling cooking fumes before releasing them (Hsu Column 2 Lines 24-32).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FRANKLIN JEFFERSON WANG whose telephone number is (571)272-7782. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10AM-6PM (E.S.T).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ibrahime Abraham can be reached at (571) 270-5569. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/F.J.W./Examiner, Art Unit 3761
/WOODY A LEE JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761
1 The MPEP teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the chaff drawer be removably coupled would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice. Furthermore, the Office notes that having a removable container used for the storage of chaff and water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by used for the storage of chaff and/or water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by Annumalla (US 20230007975 A1) and Lemme (US 6036988 A).
2 The MPEP teaches that the use of one-piece construction instead of a separate structure would be merely a matter of obvious engineer choice. MPEP §2144.04.V.B. In this case, having the chaff drawer be removably coupled would be merely a matter of obvious engineering choice. Furthermore, the Office notes that having a removable container used for the storage of chaff and water is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by is well known in the art of coffee bean roasting as evidenced by Annumalla (US 20230007975 A1) and Lemme (US 6036988 A).
