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 view of the response filed September 9, 2026, amended claims 1, 7, 9, 13, and 15; canceled claims 28 and 14; and new claims 19-21 are acknowledged. The following new grounds of rejection are set forth:
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 1: Claim(s) 1, 3- is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. 9,675,101 to Conti et al. in view of GB 2612977 to Knight et al.
In regard to claims 1, 7, 10 and 13, Conti et al. disclose a stand mixer 10 defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, the vertical, lateral, and transverse directions being mutually perpendicular, the stand mixer comprising: a housing; a motor disposed in the housing; a mixing shaft operably coupled to the motor; a power take off 150 at the housing (See Figs. 1-8); and a masher attachment 110 coupled to the power take off of the housing (see Figs. 12-24), the masher attachment comprising: a transmission 114 mechanically coupled to the power take off (See Figs. 9-12); a masher drum 116 coupled to the transmission, the masher drum configured for receipt of food items for mashing; and a funnel 132 coupled to a bottom side of the masher drum (See Figs. 3-7). Conti et al. is silent with respect to wherein the masher drum of the masher attachment comprises a masher disk configured to rotate within the masher drum, the masher disk comprising a solid, angled masher plate, whereby the masher disk compresses food items through the bottom side of the masher drum. Conti et al. discloses details of an auger used for juicing food inserted into the drum, however, Conti et al. disclose a power pod that may accept a wide range of appliance attachments such as a juicer, food processor, coffee grinder, grain mill, blender or any other known rotating attachments (See Col. 7, Lines 12-27). In view of the teaching to provide “any known rotating attachment”, Knight et al. is relied upon for teaching a masher disk configured to rotate within the masher drum, the masher disk comprising a solid, angled masher plate, whereby the masher disk compresses food items through the bottom side of the masher drum. Specifically, Knight et al. teach of an analogous attachment 100 to a stand mixer, which comprises a masher drum 110/120/130 having a masher disk 200 comprising a solid, angled masher plate 230, whereby the masher disk compresses food items through the bottom side of the masher drum (See Figs. 4and pgs. 18-20). It is noted, the masher disk is connected to the stand mixer to transmit rotating power therefrom, either from the top or bottom (See Figs. 5-6), in the same manner that Conti et al. discloses an attachment may be connected to the power take off of the stand mixer from either the top or bottom thereof (See Figs. 13-19). It would have been obvious to a POSITA to modify the masher attachment of Conti et al. by replacing the auger with the sieve and masher tool/plate of Knight et al. to enable foods to be compressed therethrough, thus enabling alternate food preparation (i.e. jams as desired by the user.
In regard to claims 3, 9 and 15-16, Conti et al. disclose a stand mixer, wherein the masher drum of the masher attachment comprises a plurality of holes 293 extending through the bottom side of the masher drum (see Fig. 22 and Col. 14, Lines 34-58). Likewise, Knight et al. disclose a stand mixer, wherein the masher drum of the masher attachment comprises a plurality of holes 120 extending through the bottom side of the masher drum (See Fig. 2). With regard to claim 16, see rejections above and the disclosure of funnel 132.
In regard to claims 4, 11 and 17, Conti et al. disclose a stand mixer, further comprising a bowl 146 positioned beneath the masher attachment, wherein the funnel of the masher attachment is configured to direct mashed food product to the bowl (See Figs. 3-7). Likewise, Knight et al. disclose a stand mixer further comprising a bowl 146 positioned beneath the masher attachment, wherein the funnel of the masher attachment is configured to direct mashed food product to the bowl (See Fig. 4).
In regard to claim 5, Conti et al. disclose a stand mixer, wherein the bowl of the stand mixer is a main mixing bowl 16 positioned beneath the mixing shaft in the vertical direction (See Fig. 7).
In regard to claims 6, 12 and 18, Conti et al. disclose a stand mixer, further comprising an opening 122 defined through a top side of the masher drum, the opening configured for receipt of food items for mashing (see Fig. 12).
In regard to claims 19-21, Conti et al. disclose a stand mixer, wherein the transmission comprises a shaft extending within the masher drum, the masher disk coupled to the shaft within the masher drum (see Fig. 12). Likewise, Knight et al. disclose a stand mixer wherein the transmission comprises a shaft extending within the masher drum, the masher disk coupled to the shaft within the masher drum (see Figs. 4 and 6).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-18 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
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