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 .
Status
This Office Action is in response to the remarks and amendments filed on 02/03/2026. The previous objections to the claims have been withdrawn. Furthermore, the previous 35 USC 112 rejections have also been withdrawn. Claims 1-13 and 15-21 remain pending for consideration.
This Office Action contains a New Grounds of Rejection. Since these new grounds of rejection did not result from an amendment to the claims, this Office Action is being made non-final to afford the applicant the opportunity to respond to the new grounds of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 20-21 are 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 20 recites the limitation “the ice billet” in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
For examination purposes, the phrase “wherein the ice press is configured to melt the ice billet” will be interpreted as -- wherein the ice press is configured to melt an ice billet --
Claim 20 recites the limitation “an ice billet” in line 15. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
For examination purposes, the phrase “an ice production mode in which an ice billet is formed in the mold cavity” will be interpreted as -- an ice production mode in which the ice billet is formed in the mold cavity --
Claim 21 is also rejected due to dependency.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-2, 4-6, 10, 13, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Caio et al. (BR102022010350A2, herein after referred to as Caio), in view of Yan et al. (US 20220349642 A1, herein after referred to as Yan), and in further view of Bertolini et al. (US 20200378670 A1, herein after referred to as Bertolini).
Regarding claim 1, Caio teaches an appliance (the mold and the ice press disclosed in Figs. 1 and 3 respectively) comprising: an ice press (lower part (PI) and upper part (PS) Fig. 3) including: an interchangeable mold (interchangeable inserts (I) Fig. 5 and paragraph [008]); and a guide rail (joining guides (G) Figs. 3-4) along which the interchangeable mold is vertically movable to mold the ice into the shape of the interchangeable mold (paragraphs [0015] and [0016]); an ice maker (external polymeric cup (CE) and internal cylindrical polymeric cup (CI) Fig. 1) including: an ice mold (internal cylindrical polymeric cup (CI) Fig. 1) defining a mold cavity (the cavity of internal cylindrical polymeric cup (CI) Fig. 2).
Caio teaches the invention as described above but fails to explicitly teach “the ice press including a first electric heater configured to heat ice positioned in the interchangeable mold to melt the ice into a shape of the interchangeable mold”.
However, Yan teaches an ice press (ice press 100 Fig. 5 corresponds to the ice press of Caio) including a first electric heater (electric heaters 144 Fig. 5) configured to heat ice (ice billet 102 Fig. 3) positioned in an interchangeable mold (first and second mold segments 110-120 Figs. 3-4 correspond to the interchangeable mold of Caio) to melt the ice into a shape of the interchangeable mold (paragraph [0024]) to generate heat during reshaping operations resulting in an improved reshaping process (paragraph [0043]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of Caio to include “the ice press including a first electric heater configured to heat ice positioned in the interchangeable mold to melt the ice into a shape of the interchangeable mold” in view of the teachings of Yan to generate heat during reshaping operations resulting in an improved reshaping process.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “the ice maker including: a cooling plate coupled to the ice mold, the cooling plate including a cooling tube and a second electric heater, the cooling tube being configured to cool the mold cavity and the second electric heater being configured to heat the mold cavity; a guide ramp extending from below the mold cavity to a cooled storage container, the guide ramp being configured to transfer an ice billet created in the ice mold to the cooled storage container; and the cooled storage container for storing one or more ice billets”.
However, Bertolini teaches an ice maker (ice maker assembly 18 Fig. 2A corresponds to the ice maker of Caio) including: a cooling plate (evaporator plate 28 Fig. 5) coupled to an ice mold (ice mold parts 60 Fig. 5 correspond to the ice mold of Caio), the cooling plate including a cooling tube (refrigerant tube 26 Fig. 5) and a second electric heater (heaters 27 Fig. 5), the cooling tube being configured to cool a mold cavity (paragraph [0059] and Fig. 6A where mold cavity 62 corresponds to the mold cavity of Caio) and the second electric heater being configured to heat the mold cavity (paragraph [0063]); a guide ramp (grate 90 Fig. 5) extending from below the mold cavity to a cooled storage container (storage bucket 21 Fig. 1 and paragraph [0058]), the guide ramp being configured to transfer an ice billet (disclosed “ice pieces IP” in paragraph [0063]) created in the ice mold to the cooled storage container (paragraph [0063]); and the cooled storage container for storing one or more ice billets (paragraph [0063]) to allow a user to easily access the ice (paragraph [0050]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “the ice maker including: a cooling plate coupled to the ice mold, the cooling plate including a cooling tube and a second electric heater, the cooling tube being configured to cool the mold cavity and the second electric heater being configured to heat the mold cavity; a guide ramp extending from below the mold cavity to a cooled storage container, the guide ramp being configured to transfer an ice billet created in the ice mold to the cooled storage container; and the cooled storage container for storing one or more ice billets” in view of the teachings of Bertolini to allow a user to easily access the ice.
Regarding claim 2, the combined teachings teach wherein the ice press includes a first interchangeable mold (upper interchangeable insert (I) Fig. 5 of Caio) and a second interchangeable mold (lower interchangeable insert (I) Fig. 5 of Caio), the first interchangeable mold being movable along at least the guide rail toward the second interchangeable mold to shape the ice (paragraphs [0015] and [0016] of Caio), and wherein the ice press is configured to be manually operated by a user (referring to paragraphs [0015] and [0016] of Caio, a person skilled in the art would recognize that a user needs to insert the formed ice in the ice press) independently of the ice maker (paragraphs [0015] and [0016] of Caio)
Regarding claim 4, the combined teachings teach wherein the ice maker further comprises a water tank (water tank 71 Fig. 5 of Bertolini) and a water pump (pump P Fig. 5 of Bertolini), the water tank being positioned below a bottom opening (opening of ice mold cavity 62 Fig. 5 of Bertolini) in the mold cavity to capture water runoff (corresponds to the water that is recirculated as described in paragraph [0062] of Bertolini) during an ice production mode (disclosed “ice production mode” in paragraph [0062] of Bertolini), and the water pump being configured to circulate water (paragraph [0062] of Bertolini) from the water tank through a nozzle (nozzle opening 81 Fig. 5 of Bertolini) into the mold cavity to produce the ice billet (clear ice pieces IP Fig. 10A of Bertolini).
Regarding claim 5, the combined teachings teach wherein the nozzle is positioned below the bottom opening of the mold cavity (Fig. 5 of Bertolini) and oriented to spray the water upwards into the mold cavity (paragraph [0062] of Bertolini).
Regarding claim 6, the combined teachings teach wherein the guide ramp is positioned between the nozzle and the bottom opening of the mold cavity (Fig. 5 of Bertolini).
Regarding claim 10, the combined teachings teach wherein the cooling plate is coupled to a top of the mold cavity (Fig. 5 of Bertolini), and further comprising: a refrigerant circuit (referring to paragraph [0062] of Bertolini, a person skilled in the art would recognize that a refrigerant circuit needs to be used and coupled to the cooling tube in order to pass “refrigerant through the cooling tube”) coupled to the cooling tube, the refrigerant circuit being configured to circulate refrigerant (paragraph [0062] of Bertolini) through the cooling tube to cool the top of the mold cavity during an ice production mode (disclosed “ice production mode” in paragraph [0062] of Bertolini); and an electrical circuit (referring to paragraph [0063] of Bertolini, a person skilled in the art would recognize the need of an electrical circuit to “energize” heaters 27 as described) coupled to the second electric heater (paragraph [0063] of Bertolini), the electrical circuit being configured to activate the second electric heater to heat the top of the mold cavity (paragraph [0063] of Bertolini) during an ice harvesting mode (disclosed “ice harvesting mode” in paragraph [0063] of Bertolini).
Regarding claim 13, Caio teaches a method (the method described in paragraph [0012]) comprising: an ice maker (external polymeric cup (CE) and internal cylindrical polymeric cup (CI) Fig. 1) of an appliance (the mold and the ice press disclosed in Figs. 1 and 3 respectively), a mold cavity (the cavity of internal cylindrical polymeric cup (CI) Fig. 2); creating, by the ice maker, an ice billet (disclosed “ice” in paragraph [0012]) in the mold cavity (paragraph [0012]); and shaping, by an ice press (lower part (PI) and upper part (PS) Fig. 3) that is separate from the ice maker (Figs. 1-3), the ice billet into a shape (paragraphs [008], [0015], and [0016]) defined by an interchangeable mold of the ice press (interchangeable inserts (I) Fig. 5 and paragraph [008]).
Caio teaches the invention as described above but fails to explicitly teach “the method comprising: cooling by the ice maker the mold cavity by circulating refrigerant through a cooling tube in a cooling plate coupled to the mold cavity; creating the ice billet by spraying water from a nozzle below the mold cavity through a bottom opening of the mold cavity during an ice production mode; releasing, by the ice maker, the ice billet from the mold cavity using an electric heater in the cooling plate during an ice harvesting mode, wherein the ice harvesting mode is subsequent to the ice production mode, and wherein the electric heater is separate from the cooling tube; guiding, by the ice maker, the ice billet along a guide ramp to a cooled storage container”.
However, Bertolini teaches a method (the method disclosed in paragraphs [0062] to [0063] corresponds to the method of Caio) comprising: cooling by an ice maker (ice maker assembly 18 Fig. 2A corresponds to the ice maker of Caio) a mold cavity (paragraph [0062] where mold cavity 62 Fig. 6A corresponds to the mold cavity of Caio) by circulating refrigerant (paragraph [0062]) through a cooling tube (refrigerant tube 26 Fig. 5) in a cooling plate (evaporator plate 28 Fig. 5) coupled to the mold cavity (Fig. 5); creating an ice billet (clear ice pieces IP Fig. 10A correspond to the ice billet of Caio) by spraying water (paragraph [0062]) from a nozzle (nozzle opening 81 Fig. 5) below the mold cavity (Fig. 5) through a bottom opening of the mold cavity (corresponds to the bottom opening of mold cavity 62 Fig. 6A) during an ice production mode (disclosed “ice production mode” in paragraph [0062]); releasing, by the ice maker, the ice billet from the mold cavity using an electric heater (heaters 27 Fig. 5 and paragraph [0063]) in the cooling plate during an ice harvesting mode (disclosed “ice harvesting mode” in paragraph [0063]), wherein the ice harvesting mode is subsequent to the ice production mode (paragraphs [0062] to [0063]), and wherein the electric heater is separate from the cooling tube (Fig. 5) guiding, by the ice maker, the ice billet along a guide ramp (grate 90 Fig. 5 and paragraph [0063]) to a cooled storage container (storage bucket 21 Fig. 1 and paragraph [0058]) to allow a user to easily access the ice (paragraph [0050]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the method of Caio to include “the method comprising: cooling by the ice maker the mold cavity by circulating refrigerant through a cooling tube in a cooling plate coupled to the mold cavity; creating the ice billet by spraying water from a nozzle below the mold cavity through a bottom opening of the mold cavity during an ice production mode; releasing, by the ice maker, the ice billet from the mold cavity using an electric heater in the cooling plate during an ice harvesting mode, wherein the ice harvesting mode is subsequent to the ice production mode, and wherein the electric heater is separate from the cooling tube; guiding, by the ice maker, the ice billet along a guide ramp to a cooled storage container” in view of the teachings of Bertolini to allow a user to easily access the ice.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “wherein the ice billet is shaped at least in part by applying heat from another electric heater of the ice press to the ice billet in the interchangeable mold”.
However, Yan teaches wherein an ice billet (ice billet 102 Fig. 3 corresponds to the ice billet of Caio) is shaped at least in part by applying heat (paragraph [0024]) from another electric heater (electric heaters 144 Fig. 5) of an ice press (Fig. 5 where ice press 100 corresponds to the ice press of Caio) to the ice billet in an interchangeable mold (Figs. 3-4 where first and second mold segments 110-120 correspond to the interchangeable mold of Caio) to generate heat during reshaping operations resulting in an improved reshaping process (paragraph [0043]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the method of the combined teachings to include “wherein the ice billet is shaped at least in part by applying heat from another electric heater of the ice press to the ice billet in the interchangeable mold” in view of the teachings of Yan to generate heat during reshaping operations resulting in an improved reshaping process.
Regarding claim 18, the combined teachings teach further comprising: operating a refrigerant circuit (referring to paragraph [0062] of Bertolini, a person skilled in the art would recognize that a refrigerant circuit needs to be used and coupled to the cooling tube in order to pass “refrigerant through the cooling tube”) coupled to the cooling tube to circulate the refrigerant through the cooling tube to cool the mold cavity during the ice production mode (paragraph [0062] of Bertolini); and operating an electrical circuit (referring to paragraph [0063] of Bertolini, a person skilled in the art would recognize the need of an electrical circuit to “energize” heaters 27 as described) coupled to the electric heater (paragraph [0063]) to heat the mold cavity during the ice harvesting mode (paragraph [0063] of Bertolini).
Claims 3 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Caio, Yan, and Bertolini as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, and further in view of Stevenson et al. (US 20220397326 A1, herein after referred to as Stevenson).
Regarding claim 3, the combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “wherein the ice press is selectively removable from the appliance, and wherein the appliance includes a receptacle for storing the ice press”.
However, Stevenson teaches wherein an ice press (mold 200 Fig. 5 corresponds to the ice press of Caio) is selectively removable from an appliance (Figs. 7-8 and paragraph [0076] where system 300 corresponds to the appliance of Caio), and wherein the appliance includes a receptacle (base 38 Fig. 7) for storing the ice press (Fig. 7 and paragraph [0076]) to provide a system that includes both an open and closed configurations (paragraph [0076]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “wherein the ice press is selectively removable from the appliance, and wherein the appliance includes a receptacle for storing the ice press” in view of the teachings of Stevenson to provide a system that includes both an open and closed configuration.
Regarding claim 15, the combined teachings teach the ice press being usable to shape the ice billet (paragraph [0016] of Caio).
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “wherein the appliance includes a receptacle for storing the ice press, the ice press being selectively removable from the appliance”.
However, Stevenson teaches wherein an appliance (Figs. 7-8 where system 300 corresponds to the appliance of Caio) includes a receptacle (base 38 Fig. 7) for storing an ice press (Figs. 5 and 7 where mold 200 Fig. 5 corresponds to the ice press of Caio), the ice press being selectively removable from the appliance (paragraph [0076]) to provide a system that includes both an open and closed configurations (paragraph [0076]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the method of the combined teachings to include “wherein the appliance includes a receptacle for storing the ice press, the ice press being selectively removable from the appliance” in view of the teachings of Stevenson to provide a system that includes both an open and closed configuration.
Claims 7 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Caio, Yan, and Bertolini as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, and further in view of Winckler et al. (US 20250237424 A1, herein after referred to as Winckler).
Regarding claim 7, the combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “wherein the cooled storage container includes a carousel of ice holders, the carousel being rotatable about a central axis, and wherein the guide ramp is oriented to guide the ice billet from the ice maker to the carousel”.
However, Winckler teaches wherein a cooled storage container (container 14 Fig. 17 corresponds to the cooled storage container of Bertolini) includes a carousel of ice holders (rotary scoop 225 Fig. 17), the carousel being rotatable about a central axis (see below annotated Fig. 18 of Winckler), and wherein a guide ramp (chute 70 Fig. 2 corresponds to the guide ramp of Bertolini) is oriented to guide an ice billet (ice 18 Fig. 18 corresponds to the ice billet of Bertolini) from an ice maker (appliance 10 Fig. 2 corresponds to the ice maker of Caio) to the carousel (Fig. 18 and paragraph [0042]) to provide an dispenser that is entirely inside the ice container while dispensing ice (paragraph [0065]).
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Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “wherein the cooled storage container includes a carousel of ice holders, the carousel being rotatable about a central axis, and wherein the guide ramp is oriented to guide the ice billet from the ice maker to the carousel” in view of the teachings of Winckler to provide an dispenser that is entirely inside the ice container while dispensing ice.
Regarding claim 16, the combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “wherein the cooled storage container includes a carousel of ice holders, and wherein the guide ramp is oriented to guide the ice billet from the ice maker to the carousel”.
However, Winckler teaches wherein a cooled storage container (container 14 Fig. 17 corresponds to the cooled storage container of Bertolini) includes a carousel of ice holders (rotary scoop 225 Fig. 17), and wherein a guide ramp (chute 70 Fig. 2 corresponds to the guide ramp of Bertolini) is oriented to guide an ice billet (ice 18 Fig. 18 corresponds to the ice billet of Caio) from an ice maker (appliance 10 Fig. 2 corresponds to the ice maker of Caio) to the carousel (Fig. 18 and paragraph [0042]) to provide a dispenser that is entirely inside the ice container while dispensing ice (paragraph [0065]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the method of the combined teachings to include “wherein the cooled storage container includes a carousel of ice holders, and wherein the guide ramp is oriented to guide the ice billet from the ice maker to the carousel” in view of the teachings of Winckler to provide a dispenser that is entirely inside the ice container while dispensing ice.
Regarding claim 17, the combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “wherein the cooled storage container includes one or more ramps for storing ice billets, each of the one or more ramps being oriented at a downward angle from a back of the cooled storage container to a front of the cooled storage container”.
However, Winckler teaches wherein a cooled storage container (container 14 Fig. 17 corresponds to the cooled storage container of Bertolini) includes one or more ramps (see below annotated Fig. 18 of Winckler) for storing ice billets (ice 18 Fig. 18), each of the one or more ramps being oriented at a downward angle (see below annotated Fig. 18 of Winckler) from a back of the cooled storage container (see below annotated Fig. 18 of Winckler) to a front of the cooled storage container (see below annotated Fig. 18 of Winckler) to provide a dispenser that is entirely inside the ice container while dispensing ice (paragraph [0065]).
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Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the method of the combined teachings to include “wherein the cooled storage container includes one or more ramps for storing ice billets, each of the one or more ramps being oriented at a downward angle from a back of the cooled storage container to a front of the cooled storage container” in view of the teachings of Winckler to provide a dispenser that is entirely inside the ice container while dispensing ice.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Caio, Yan, and Bertolini as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Miller (US 20220018589 A1).
Regarding claim 8, the combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “further comprising a water dispenser that is separate from the ice maker and the ice press, the water dispenser being usable to dispense water into a cup of a user”.
However, Miller teaches further comprising a water dispenser (water dispenser assembly 300 Fig. 5) that is separate from an ice maker (ice maker assembly 400 Fig. 5 corresponds to the ice maker of Caio) and an ice press (tap 520 corresponds to the ice press of Caio), the water dispenser being usable to dispense water into a cup (paragraph [0035]) of a user (paragraph [0035]) to provide an appliance with higher storage capacity (paragraph [0003]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “further comprising a water dispenser that is separate from the ice maker and the ice press, the water dispenser being usable to dispense water into a cup of a user” in view of the teachings of Miller to provide an appliance with higher storage capacity.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Caio, Yan, and Bertolini as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Nuss et al. (US 20240247852 A1, herein after referred to as Nuss).
Regarding claim 9, the combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “wherein the ice maker includes a cover plate with evaporator fins, the cover plate being disposed overtop of the cooling plate; and wherein the appliance further comprises a duct surrounding the evaporator fins, the duct extending from the evaporator fins to the cooled storage container, wherein the duct includes a fan configured to circulate cooled air to the cooled storage container”.
However, Nuss teaches wherein an ice maker (ice-making assembly 300 Fig. 4 corresponds to the ice maker of Caio) includes a cover plate (heat exchange sleeve 338 Figs. 4 and 6) with evaporator fins (conductive panel 342 Fig. 4 and paragraph [0055]), the cover plate being disposed overtop of a cooling plate (Fig. 4 where thermal electric heat exchanger 348 corresponds to the cooling plate of Bertolini); and wherein an appliance (appliance 100 Fig. 2 corresponds to the appliance of Caio) further comprises a duct (air conduit 326 Figs. 4 and 6) surrounding the evaporator fins (Fig. 4), the duct extending from the evaporator fins to a cooled storage container (Fig. 6 where guide ramp 330 corresponds to the cooled storage container of Bertolini), wherein the duct includes a fan (fan 192 Fig. 4) configured to circulate cooled air to the cooled storage container (paragraph [0044]) to provide air that would flow through the duct and selectively draw heat from the mold cavity (paragraph [0055]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “wherein the ice maker includes a cover plate with evaporator fins, the cover plate being disposed overtop of the cooling plate; and wherein the appliance further comprises a duct surrounding the evaporator fins, the duct extending from the evaporator fins to the cooled storage container, wherein the duct includes a fan configured to circulate cooled air to the cooled storage container” in view of the teachings of Nuss to provide air that would flow through the duct and selectively draw heat from the mold cavity.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Caio, Yan, and Bertolini as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Murgham et al. (US 20190285327 A1, herein after referred to as Murgham).
Regarding claim 11, the combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “further comprising a load sensor coupled to a processor, the processor being configured to initiate an ice harvesting mode based on a load measurement from the load sensor being below a threshold level”.
However, Murgham teaches further comprising a load sensor (disclosed “sensors” in paragraph [0063]) coupled to a processor (control module 53 Fig. 4 and paragraphs [0063] and [0071]), the processor being configured to initiate an ice harvesting mode (disclosed “ice-harvesting mode” in paragraph [0063]) based on a load measurement (disclosed “data” from the sensors in paragraph [0063]) from the load sensor being below a threshold level (understood to be the weight of the “predetermined amount of ice” formed as disclosed in paragraph [0063]) to harvest and collect the harvested ice cubes (paragraph [0063]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “further comprising a load sensor coupled to a processor, the processor being configured to initiate an ice harvesting mode based on a load measurement from the load sensor being below a threshold level” in view of the teachings of Murgham to harvest and collect the harvested ice cubes.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Caio, Yan, and Bertolini as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view Ryu et al. (US 20240426535 A1, Ryu) and Broadbent (US 20160054043 A1).
Regarding claim 12, the combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “further comprising a transfer sensor coupled to a processor, the processor being configured to: receive a sensor signal from the transfer sensor, the sensor signal indicating that the ice billet was transferred from the ice maker to the cooled storage container”.
However, Ryu teaches further comprising a transfer sensor (sensors 240 Fig. 8) coupled to a processor (controller 207 Fig. 6 with paragraphs [0033] and [0041]), the processor being configured to: receive a sensor signal from the transfer sensor (paragraph [0041] where it is disclosed that controller 207 is in operative communication with the sensors), the sensor signal indicating that an ice billet (ice pieces 250 Fig. 7 correspond to the ice billet of Boarman) was transferred from an ice maker ( ice maker 200 Figs. 6-7 corresponds to the ice maker of Boarman) to a cooled storage container (Fig. 7 and paragraph [0046] where ice storage bin 202 corresponds to the cooled storage container of Boarman) to sense conditions of the cooled storage container (paragraph [0046]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “further comprising a transfer sensor coupled to a processor, the processor being configured to: receive a sensor signal from the transfer sensor, the sensor signal indicating that the ice billet was transferred from the ice maker to the cooled storage container” in view of the teachings of Ryu to sense conditions of the cooled storage container.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “the processor configured to: based on receiving the sensor signal, drain excess water from a water tank by operating a valve associated with the water tank, wherein the water tank serves as a source of water sprayed through a nozzle during an ice production mode”.
However, Broadbent teaches a processor (controller 80 Fig. 2 corresponds to the processor of Ryu) configured to: based on receiving a sensor signal (the disclosed “signal” from ice level sensor 74 in paragraph [0041] corresponds to the sensor signal of Ryu), drain excess water (step 504 in Fig. 5 and paragraph [0041]) from a water tank (sump 70 Fig. 1) by operating a valve (discharge valve 56 Figs. 1 and 5) associated with the water tank (Fig. 1), wherein the water tank serves as a source of water (paragraph [0028]) sprayed through a nozzle (water distributor 66 Fig. 1) during an ice production mode (corresponds to the process described in paragraph [0028]) to greatly reduce or eliminate the possibility for harmful bacteria, parasites, organisms, or other biological material to grow while the ice maker is not producing ice (paragraph [0047]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “the processor configured to: based on receiving the sensor signal, drain excess water from a water tank by operating a valve associated with the water tank, wherein the water tank serves as a source of water sprayed through a nozzle during an ice production mode” in view of the teachings of Broadbent to greatly reduce or eliminate the possibility for harmful bacteria, parasites, organisms, or other biological material to grow while the ice maker is not producing ice.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Caio, Yan, and Bertolini as applied to claim 13 above, and further in view of Murgham and Park et al. (US 20250102220 A1, herein after referred to as Park).
Regarding claim 19, the combined teachings teach wherein the water for creating the ice billet is stored in a water tank (water tank 71 Fig. 5 of Bertolini).
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “further comprising: receiving, by a processor, a load measurement from a load sensor coupled to the water tank; and initiating, by the processor, the ice harvesting mode based on the load measurement”.
However, Murgham teaches further comprising: receiving, by a processor (control module 53 Fig. 4), a load measurement (disclosed “data” from the sensors in paragraph [0063]) from a load sensor (disclosed “sensors” in paragraph [0063]); and initiating, by the processor, an ice harvesting mode (paragraph [0063] where the disclosed “ice-harvesting mode” corresponds to the ice harvesting mode of Bertolini) based on the load measurement (paragraph [0063]) to harvest and collect the harvested ice cubes (paragraph [0063]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the method of the combined teachings to include “further comprising: receiving, by a processor, a load measurement from a load sensor coupled to the water tank; and initiating, by the processor, the ice harvesting mode based on the load measurement” in view of the teachings of Murgham to harvest and collect the harvested ice cubes.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “the load sensor coupled to the water tank”.
However, Park teaches a load sensor (weight detection sensor 1501 Fig. 5) coupled to a water tank (Fig. 5 where water tank 1100 corresponds to the water tank of Bertolini) to detect whether there is water in the water tank (paragraph [0099]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the method of the combined teachings to include “the load sensor coupled to the water tank” in view of the teachings of Park to detect whether there is water in the water tank.
Claims 20-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Caio, in view Stevenson, in view of Bertolini, and in further view of Murgham.
Regarding claim 20, Caio teaches an apparatus (the mold and the ice press disclosed in Figs. 1 and 3 respectively), comprising: an ice press (lower part (PI) and upper part (PS) Fig. 3) that includes an interchangeable mold (interchangeable inserts (I) Fig. 5 and paragraph [008]), and wherein the ice press is configured to melt an ice billet (the disclosed “ice” in paragraph [0017]) into a shape (paragraphs [008], [0015], and [0016]) defined by the interchangeable mold (paragraph [008]); and an ice maker (external polymeric cup (CE) and internal cylindrical polymeric cup (CI) Fig. 1) that includes: an ice mold (internal cylindrical polymeric cup (CI) Fig. 1) defining a mold cavity (the cavity of internal cylindrical polymeric cup (CI) Fig. 2).
Caio teaches the invention as described above but fails to explicitly teach “wherein the ice press is selectively removable from the apparatus”.
However, Stevenson teaches wherein an ice press (mold 200 Fig. 5 corresponds to the ice press of Caio) is selectively removable from an apparatus (Figs. 7-8 and paragraph [0076] where system 300 corresponds to the apparatus of Caio) to provide a system that includes both an open and closed configurations (paragraph [0076]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of Caio to include “wherein the ice press is selectively removable from the apparatus” in view of the teachings of Stevenson to provide a system that includes both an open and closed configurations.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “the ice maker includes: a nozzle positioned below a bottom opening of the mold cavity and oriented to spray water into the mold cavity; a water tank; a cooling plate coupled to a top of the mold cavity, the cooling plate including a cooling tube and an electric heater, the cooling tube being separate from the electric heater; the ice maker to: initiate an ice production mode in which the ice billet is formed in the mold cavity by spraying the water from the water tank through the nozzle into the mold cavity to accumulate ice on the cooling plate, wherein initiating the ice production mode involves operating a refrigerant circuit to direct refrigerant through the cooling tube; and initiate an ice harvesting mode in which the ice billet is released from the cooling plate, wherein initiating the ice harvesting mode involves operating an electrical circuit to activate the electric heater”.
However, Bertolini teaches an ice maker (clear ice maker assembly 18 Fig. 2A corresponds to the ice maker of Caio), includes: a nozzle (nozzle opening 81 Fig. 5) positioned below a bottom opening of a mold cavity (bottom opening of mold cavity 62 Fig. 6A where mold cavity 62 corresponds to the mold cavity of Caio) and oriented to spray water (paragraph [0062] and Fig. 5) into the mold cavity; a water tank (water tank 71 Fig. 5); a cooling plate (evaporator plate 28 Fig. 5) coupled to a top of the mold cavity (Fig. 5), the cooling plate including a cooling tube (refrigerant tube 26 Fig. 5) and an electric heater (heaters 27 Fig. 5), the cooling tube being separate from the electric heater (Fig. 5); the ice maker to initiate: an ice production mode (disclosed “ice production mode” in paragraph [0062]) in which an ice billet (clear ice pieces IP Fig. 10A corresponds to the ice billet of Caio) is formed in the mold cavity by spraying the water from the water tank through the nozzle into the mold cavity (paragraph [0062]) to accumulate ice on the cooling plate (paragraph [0062]), wherein initiating the ice production mode involves operating a refrigerant circuit (referring to paragraph [0062] of Bertolini, a person skilled in the art would recognize that a refrigerant circuit needs to be used and coupled to the cooling tube in order to pass “refrigerant through the cooling tube”) to direct refrigerant (paragraph [0062]) through the cooling tube; and initiate an ice harvesting mode (disclosed “ice harvesting mode” in paragraph [0063]) in which the ice billet is released from the cooling plate (paragraph [0063]), wherein initiating the ice harvesting mode involves operating an electrical circuit (referring to paragraph [0063] of Bertolini, a person skilled in the art would recognize the need of an electrical circuit to “energize” heaters 27 as described) to activate the electric heater (paragraph [0063]) to provide clear ice (paragraph [0063]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “the ice maker includes: a nozzle positioned below a bottom opening of the mold cavity and oriented to spray water into the mold cavity; a water tank; a cooling plate coupled to a top of the mold cavity, the cooling plate including a cooling tube and an electric heater, the cooling tube being separate from the electric heater; the ice maker to: initiate an ice production mode in which the ice billet is formed in the mold cavity by spraying the water from the water tank through the nozzle into the mold cavity to accumulate ice on the cooling plate, wherein initiating the ice production mode involves operating a refrigerant circuit to direct refrigerant through the cooling tube; and initiate an ice harvesting mode in which the ice billet is released from the cooling plate, wherein initiating the ice harvesting mode involves operating an electrical circuit to activate the electric heater” in view of the teachings of Bertolini to provide clear ice.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “the ice maker includes a processor; and a memory storing instructions that are executable by the processor for causing the processor to: initiate the ice production mode and initiate the ice harvesting mode”.
However, Murgham teaches an ice maker (ice maker 10 Fig. 1 corresponds to the ice maker of Caio) includes a processor (control module 53 Fig. 4); and a memory (paragraph [0077]) storing instructions (paragraph [0077]) that are executable by the processor (paragraph [0077]) for causing the processor to: initiate the ice production mode (paragraph [0060] where the disclosed “ice-making mode” corresponds to the ice production mode of Bertolini) and initiate the ice harvesting mode (paragraph [0063] where the disclosed “ice-harvesting mode” corresponds to the ice harvesting mode of Bertolini) to control operations of the ice maker (paragraph [0051]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “the ice maker includes a processor; and a memory storing instructions that are executable by the processor for causing the processor to: initiate the ice production mode and initiate the ice harvesting mode” in view of the teachings of Murgham to control operations of the ice maker.
Regarding claim 21, the combined teachings teach wherein the ice press includes a first interchangeable mold (upper interchangeable insert (I) Fig. 5 of Caio) and a second interchangeable mold (lower interchangeable insert (I) Fig. 5 of Caio), the first interchangeable mold being movable along at least one guide rail (joining guides (G) Figs. 3-4) toward the second interchangeable mold to shape the ice billet (paragraphs [0015] and [0016] of Caio), and wherein the ice press is configured to be manually operated by a user (referring to paragraphs [0015] and [0016] of Caio, a person skilled in the art would recognize that a user needs to insert the formed ice in the ice press) independently of the ice maker (paragraphs [0015] and [0016] of Caio).
Conclusion
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/SAMBA NMN GAYE/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/JERRY-DARYL FLETCHER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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