DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election/Restrictions
2. Applicants' election with traverse of claims 6-20 in the reply filed on 9/23/2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the search for the claims of one group of claims listed in the Office Action would certainly also encompass the search for the remaining group of claims since these groups of claims are both generally directed to storage devices for a micro-puree machine Applicant also notes that CPC subclass Y10T29/49808, identified for the first group of claims, has approximately 200 references, while CPC subclass A23P30/20, identified for the second group of claims, has approximately 1,600 references. Applicant respectfully submits it would not impose a serious search burden upon the Examiner to review approximately 1,800 references in connection with both groups of claims. The examiner agrees with this argument and has, therefore, examined all of the claims in the application. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Drawings
3. New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in this application because the drawings appeared to be color photographs or black and white photographs. Color photographs and color drawings are not accepted in utility applications unless a petition filed under 37 CFR 1.84(a)(2) is granted. Any such petition must be accompanied by the appropriate fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(h), one set of color drawings or color photographs, as appropriate, if submitted via the USPTO patent electronic filing system or three sets of color drawings or color photographs, as appropriate, if not submitted via the via USPTO patent electronic filing system, and, unless already present, an amendment to include the following language as the first paragraph of the brief description of the drawings section of the specification: Color photographs will be accepted if the conditions for accepting color drawings and black and white photographs have been satisfied. See 37 CFR 1.84(b)(2).
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 claimed subject matter “a second extrusion component” 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Claims 1-3, 5-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fonte et al. 11,627,747.
Fonte et al. disclose a storage container (110) for a micro-puree machine (100), which comprises an interface coupler (148) configured to detachably connect the storage container to an extrusion interface (floor) of the micro-puree machine (col. 9, ll. 13-15); and a housing (106) configured to couple at least one extrusion component (150) to the storage container; wherein the housing includes a component coupler (148) configured to couple the at least one extrusion component to the storage container; wherein the housing includes a compartment, the at least one extrusion component being coupled to the storage container via storage within the compartment as seen in Figure 2A; wherein the housing includes a component coupler configured to couple a first extrusion component to the storage container as seen in Figure 3A, an extrusion lid (112) and a drip stop (166); at least one component (150) of a micro-puree machine (102), a first side of the container configured to be coupled to the extrusion lid of the micro-puree machine as seen in Figures 1A and 1B, and a second side of the container is configured to store the at least one component of the micro-puree machine as seen in Figure 3A; wherein the extrusion lid comprises an opening for receiving a shaft (126) positioned within the micro-puree machine; wherein the extrusion lid comprises a plunger (paddle) used by the micro-puree machine for extruding the food material; wherein the container comprises a plurality of protruding sections (128, 130, 132) for securely attaching the extrusion lid; wherein the container comprises a plurality of radial dials (148) that bayonets on the micro-puree machine; wherein the at least one extrusion component is a removable drip stop (166) for an extrusion nozzle (224) of the micro-puree machine; a cover (165) for protecting the nozzle when stored in the first side of the container.
Note: the applicant is advised that any action following the word "when" in claim 14 indicates an intended use for the product and does not limit the structure of the product in the claim. Therefore, the examiner is giving no patentable weight to any intended use/functional limitations, since the reference of Fonte et al. disclose all the structure limitations, then, Fonte et al. is capable of performing all of the intended use/functional limitation in claim 14.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
7. 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.
8. Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fonte et al. 11,627,747.
Fonte et al. have taught all the features of the claimed invention except that the compartment configured to store a second.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the application duplicate the extrusion component of Fonte et al., since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. As per MPEP 2144.04
Conclusion
9. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicants' disclosure.
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FREDERICK C NICOLAS whose telephone number is (571)272-4931. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:00 AM -: 4:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Paul R. Durand can be reached at 571-272-4459. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FREDERICK C NICOLAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754