DETAILED ACTION
This office action is responsive to the amendment filed on 11/21/25. As directed by the amendment: claims 1, 5, 14, and 18 have been amended; claims 6-13 have been cancelled; and no claims have been added. Thus, claims 1-5 and 14-18 are presently pending in this application.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
Claims 1-5, 14 and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Lassota (US 7,717,026)
With regard to claims 1 and 14, Lassota describes a water-dispersing assembly (112, FIG. 1 & 2) configured to be arranged in a beverage brewer (44) (FIG. 2 illustrates a partial functional block from one embodiment of the multicontrolled brewer illustrating the novel features of the multicontrolled brewer of FIG. 1) and to receive water (via hot water tank 29, FIG. 2), comprising: a rotatable water-dispersing member (112, FIG. 2), including a center portion (central portion of 112) and first and second arms (112) extending from the center portion (“This distribution element may be one or more radial, semi-cylindrical dispense elongate distribution arms 112 with open sides that are upwardly facing. Because the arms are split, tubes instead of closed tubes, they are easy to clean, but closed tubes could also be used. If the dispense distribution arm or arms 112 are in fluid communication with a central dispense receiving hub at which the hot water is received and then distributed at least partly radially outwardly along the length of the arm 112, the jet force of the dispense water being discharged out of the ends or out of radially directed intermediate outlet ports located along the length of the arms 112 can be used to provide the necessary jet stream force to rotate the arms.”, col. 8, ln. 3-16); wherein each said arm (112) has a plurality of ports (“outlet ports”) configured to produce a spray pattern of water having a horizontal component of sufficient force to create torque to rotate the water-dispersing member (“dispense water being discharged out of the ends or out of radially directed intermediate outlet ports located along the length of the arms 112 can be used to provide the necessary jet stream force to rotate the arms”, col. 8, ln. 12-16).
Lassota does not teach in a single embodiment wherein the center portion crosses an axis of rotation of the water-dispersing member, and the first and second arms extend from the center portion so as to be offset from the axis of rotation; however, in a second embodiment Lassota teaches the aforementioned limitations as detailed in the annotated drawing presented hereafter:
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Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the rotatable water dispersion member (112, FIG. 2) in the primary embodiment of Lassota, such that the center portion crosses an axis of rotation of the water-dispersing member, and the first and second arms extend from the center portion so as to be offset from the axis of rotation, as suggested and taught by the secondary embodiment of Lassota, for the purpose of providing enhanced water distribution to predetermined locations. Furthermore, assuming it was determined that the first and second arms are determined as not extending from the center portion as to be offset from the axis of rotation, it is submitted that such an adaptation would have been obvious before the effective date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art as a matter of routine experimentation to achieve a desired spray pattern at predetermined locations.
With regard to claim 2, Lassota describes at least one said port is angled away from a vertical centerline of the water-dispersing member (112), and the water-dispersing member is configured to rotate about the vertical centerline (“In the case of multiple arms, if there are outlet ports they are staggered such that the discharge from each of the arms falls on the surface 102 of the layer of beverage 41 at different radial distances from the center.”, col. 8, ln. 25-29).
With regard to claims 3 and 16, Lassota describes an electric motor (114) configured to rotate the water-dispersing member (112) (“the rotation is controlled by a servo or other motor 114 of the rotary spray head drive 110 that is linked to a drive wheel 116 connected to the outside surface of the hub of the assembly of arm or arms 112.”, col. 8, ln. 21-26).
With regard to claims 5 and 18, Lassota describes A beverage brewer (FIGS. 1 & 2), comprising: the brewing chamber (49); and the water-dispersing assembly of claim 1 (as detailed above), configured to be arranged above the brewing chamber (FIG. 2).
With regard to claims 4 and 17, Lassota describes an attachment bridge (120) including clips/attachment means (166) configured to removably attach the water-dispersing assembly to the beverage brewer.
Claims 2 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Lassota (US 7,717,026) in view of Pope (US 2004/0194631).
With regard to claims 2 and 15, Lassota teaches the invention as claimed and as detailed above, and furthermore Lassota teaches at least one said port is angled away from a vertical centerline of the water-dispersing member (112), and the water-dispersing member is configured to rotate about the vertical centerline (“In the case of multiple arms, if there are outlet ports they are staggered such that the discharge from each of the arms falls on the surface 102 of the layer of beverage 41 at different radial distances from the center.”, col. 8, ln. 25-29). Alternatively, assuming it was determined that Lassota does not teach the aforementioned limitation of the at least one said port being angled from a vertical centerline, Pope from the same field of endeavor directed toward a variable flow spray system is cited herein for its teachings related to the aforementioned limitations of a spray head 20 with multiple openings 22 in which a predetermined spray pattern is generated (including at least one port angled away from a vertical centerline) as illustrated in FIG. 3.
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device in the Lassota reference, such that at least one said port being angled from a vertical centerline, as suggested and taught by Pope, for the purpose of providing complete saturation of an infusion product situated therebelow.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot in view of the newly presented prior art rejections included herein.
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 JOSEPH W ISKRA whose telephone number is (313) 446-4866. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 09:00-17:00 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, IBRAHIME ABRAHAM can be reached on 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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/JOSEPH W ISKRA/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
/IBRAHIME A ABRAHAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761