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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “key protrusion” and “key groove” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: “624” in Figure 3, “612” and “624” in Figure 4, and “612” in Figure 6. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2 and 4-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KIM (WO 2019/156358).
Regarding claim 1, KIM teaches a separable screw (600), comprising: a first module (610) having a plurality of slits (615) formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof (as shown in Fig. 3-11) by a plurality of rods (614); and a second module (620) formed with a plurality of ribs (621) inserted into the slits of the first module (para. 0083), wherein the first module and the second module are detachably coupled (para. 0081; as shown in Fig. 3-11), and when the second module is inserted into and coupled to the first module (para. 0083), the rib is inserted into the slit to form a gap between the rib and the slit (para. 0083), at least one first spiral protrusion (613) is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the rod (para. 0084; 0100), and a groove retreated toward a central axis of the first module is formed on the first spiral protrusion located at an upper portion of the first module (as shown in portion of Fig. 3 below).
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Regarding claim 2, KIM teaches the separable screw of claim 1, wherein: the groove is retreated from an outer side surface of the first spiral protrusion by more
than 1/2 of a radius of the first spiral protrusion (as shown in portion of Fig. 3 above).
Regarding claim 4, KIM teaches the separable screw of claim 1, wherein: at least one second spiral protrusion (629) is formed in at least one of the plurality of ribs (as shown in Fig. 3-11; para. 0082), and when the second module is inserted into and coupled to the first module, the first spiral protrusion of the rod and the second spiral protrusion of the rib form a continuous screw spiral (para. 0084; 0100).
Regarding claim 5, KIM teaches the separable screw of claim 1, wherein: a lower portion of the second module is open and an upper portion thereof is closed (as shown in Fig. 3-11; para. 0010).
Regarding claim 6, KIM teaches the separable screw of claim 5, wherein: a screw shaft (611) is formed in an inner center of the first module (as shown in Fig. 5- 11), and a shaft through hole (630) of a shape corresponding to the screw shaft is formed on an upper surface of the second module so that the screw shaft is inserted (as shown in Fig. 5 and 7-11).
Regarding claim 7, KIM teaches the separable screw of claim 6, wherein: the screw shaft is formed in a polygonal shape (para. 0012).
Regarding claim 8, KIM teaches the separable screw of claim 5, wherein: a key protrusion (640) is formed on an inner upper surface of the first module (para. 0013; 0036; as shown in Fig. 8), and a key groove (645) into which the key protrusion is inserted is formed on an outer upper surface of the second module (para. 0013; 0036; as shown in Fig. 7 and 8).
Regarding claim 9, KIM teaches the separable screw of claim 1, wherein: a width of the rod is narrower toward a radial inside of the first module (para. 0015; 0085; 0096).
Regarding claim 10, KIM teaches the separable screw of claim 1, wherein: a clearance is formed between an inner peripheral surface of the first module and an outer peripheral surface of the second module (para. 0089; 0104).
Regarding claim 11, KIM teaches the separable screw of claim 1, wherein: an inclined part (618) is formed on the rod of the first module by cutting off an edge adjacent to the slit (para. 0108; as shown in Fig. 11).
Regarding claim 12, KIM teaches a juicier (Fig. 1-4), comprising:
the separable screw (600) of claim 1 (as set forth above); a drum housing (200) having the separable screw accommodated therein (as shown in Fig. 3-4 and 12), at least one rib jaw (250, 260) formed on an inner peripheral surface thereof in a longitudinal direction (as shown in Fig. 3-4), a drum hole (270) formed on a
bottom surface thereof (as shown in Fig. 4 and 12), and a juice outlet (220) through which juice is discharged and a residue outlet (230) through which residue is discharged and spaced apart from each other (para. 0064); and a main body part (1) including a driving shaft (6) that is inserted into the drum hole and transmits power to the separable screw (para. 0027; 0054; 0058-0059; 0062).
Regarding claim 13, KIM teaches the juicer of claim 12, wherein: the juice extracted between the separable screw and the drum housing moves to an inside
of the separable screw through the gap formed between the rib and the slit and is discharged through the juice outlet (para. 0029).
Regarding claim 14, KIM teaches the juicer of claim 12, wherein: the residue remaining after the juice is extracted between the separable screw and the drum housing moves downward between the separable screw and the drum housing and is discharged through the residue outlet (para. 0030; 0071; 0086; 0099; 0112).
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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KIM.
Regarding claim 3, KIM teaches all the elements of the claimed invention as set forth above in claim 1, except for, wherein: the groove is formed in an angle range of 30° to 90° in a radial direction of the first spiral protrusion.
It would have it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the claimed groove angle range, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: WO 2019/156359, TW M574455 and KR 101803845.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALBA T ROSARIO-APONTE whose telephone number is (571)272-9325. The examiner can normally be reached M to F; 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven Crabb can be reached at 571-270-5095. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALBA T ROSARIO-APONTE/Examiner, Art Unit 3761 08/20/2026
/ELIZABETH M KERR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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