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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant has elected with traverse Group I and withdrawn claims 12-18 from consideration. It is the Examiner’s position that the applicant’s arguments stating that the claims do overlap in scope and are not mutually exclusive are persuasive and the restriction requirement is now withdrawn due to being improper.
As a result, claims 1-18 are examined and it is noted that the Applicant acknowledges that the embodiments of claims 1 and 12 overlap to where the same search and prior art could be applied.
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.
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.
Claims 1-16 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johnson et al. (US 20080041070 A1, hereinafter Johnson) in view of Loris (US 3323320 A1) and Urs (GB 2596127 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Johnson discloses an ice making appliance (Abstract, “An ice cube machine”), comprising:
a cover defining an internal volume (Para. 0072, “FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate top views of the mixing and distribution system 212 (FIG. 12) or the combination of the system 212 with a top cover 220 of the machine 200. The mixing and distribution system 212 can include a door or other lid member 213 that provides access to the mixing chambers 274 and other internal components of the mixing and distribution system 212.”, where the top cover 220 and lid member 213 are both construed to be part of the cover that defines an internal volume);
a mold body (Para. 0074, “The machine 300 includes a cooling device 302, an ice mold assembly 304”) comprising a mold cavity (Para. 0091, “The at least one ice mold is configured to receive a portion of the mixture to generate alcohol infused ice cubes.”, where the ice mold assembly includes ice molds that have a cavity to receive the mixture of alcohol and water in order to create alcohol infused ice cubes), the mold body positioned within the internal volume of the cover (Para. 0074, “The mixture outputs 378 are coupled in fluid communication with a plurality of ice mold assemblies 304. Each ice mold assembly 304 includes a set of ice makers 334.”, where Fig. 14 shows that the ice mold assembly is located under the cover 220); and
a cartridge socket defined through the cover (Para. 0069, “The machine 200 includes four different alcohol inputs 272 that are coupled to separate mixing chambers 274.”, and Fig. 13, where the alcohol inputs 272 are shown to be defined through the cover, where the inputs are sockets that receive the cartridges), the cartridge socket configured to receive an additive cartridge therein (Para. 0061, “a plurality of alcohol bottles or containers 172 positioned along a top side thereof”, and where Fig. 8 shows that the containers 172 are inserted through the cover to allow for alcohol to flow for the infusion of alcohol into ice cubes, where the containers would be inserted into the alcohol inputs 272 or sockets defined through the cover).
Johnson does not disclose:
a dosing pump positioned partially within the internal volume of the cover.
However, Loris discloses, in the similar field of ice creation appliances (Section 1, line 11, “The ice cream making machine”), where a dosing pump is positioned partially within the internal volume of the cover (Section 3, lines 25-29, “A dosing pump 27 is mounted on the cover 2 and is driven by an electric motor 28. A funnel-shaped receptacle 29 is arranged above said pump and a pipe 30 issues below the pump and extends into the bore of the hollow shaft 21 in coaxial relation thereto.”, where the pipe 30 is construed to be part of the dosing pump 27 and extends into the cover). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the ice making apparatus in Johnson to include a dosing pump as taught by Loris.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to use the dosing pump to determine the rate of liquid entering the from a source, like a cartridge, where the rate of liquid would be proportional to the rotary speed of the shaft, as stated by Loris, Section 3, lines 58-64, “By starting the motor 28, which is a synchronous motor like the motor 25, the dosing pump 27 is started. In this condition, if a liquid to be made into ice cream is poured in the funnel shaped receptacle 29, the dosing pump 27 conveys through the tube 30 a determined rate of liquid which is proportional to the rotary speed of the shaft 21.”.
Further, Urs discloses, in the similar field of cartridges and dosing pumps (Abstract, “The cartridge… The pump may be a dosing pump”), where the dosing pump can be fully located under a cover (Page 10, lines 23-24, “The dispensing pump 48 is coupleable to a drive member mounted in a wall inside the cartridge compartment 44, as shown in Figure 5.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the dosing pump in modified Johnson to have parts within the cover as taught by Urs.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to allow the dosing pump to be engaged with the cartridge, as stated by Urs, Page 17, last 3 lines, “The design of the cartridge unit 36 allows the assembly of the storage container 46, the dispensing pump 48 and the flow adaptor 50 in a controlled and sterile environment to form the cartridge unit 36.”.
Regarding claim 2, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses further comprising a fill tube in fluid communication with a water supply (Johnson, Para. 0065, “The solution input 170 to the system 112 can be connected in fluid communication with, for example, a pressurized water system such as a building fresh water system. Alternatively, the source of water 170 can be connected to bottled water, another source of filtered or stored water, or another solution such as a soft drink, lemonade, or specialty non-alcoholic beverage.”), an outlet of the fill tube positioned within the internal volume of the cover (Johnson, Para. 0068, “The system 212 includes a solution input 270, an alcohol input 272, and a mixture output 278. The mixture output 278 is coupled in fluid communication with the ice mold assembly 204.”, where the solution input has an outlet that goes into the mixture chamber, where the mixture chamber and outlet are located within the internal volume of the cover).
Regarding claim 3, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above, discloses wherein the cartridge socket is aligned with the fill tube (Johnson, Para. 0083, “The mixing and distribution system 412 can include a valving arrangement 475 that optimizes flow control, mixing, and dispensing of liquids to the ice makers 434.”, and Fig. 20, where the cartridge sockets are shown to extend from the cartridges 472, where the fill tube is 470, where the pipes from the cartridge sockets and the fill tubes are aligned going towards the valving arrangement 475 that mixes the liquid flows).
Regarding claim 4, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the dosing pump comprises a motor positioned within the internal volume of the cover (Teaching from Loris, Section 3, lines 25-29, “A dosing pump 27 is mounted on the cover 2 and is driven by an electric motor 28.”, and teaching from Urs, Page 10, lines 23-24, “The dispensing pump 48 is coupleable to a drive member mounted in a wall inside the cartridge compartment 44, as shown in Figure 5.”).
Modified Johnson does not disclose:
a roller assembly positioned at least partially outside of the internal volume of the cover, the roller assembly configured to engage the additive cartridge whereby the dosing pump is operable to urge a liquid additive from the additive cartridge.
However, Urs discloses where there is a roller assembly configured to engage the additive cartridge whereby the dosing pump is operable to urge a liquid additive from the additive cartridge (Page 16, last 3 lines, “As the cartridge unit 36 is front-loaded into the cartridge compartment 44, the coupling fingers 108 cooperatively engage the radial projections of the star coupling member 112 to enable the drive member to impart rotary motion to the rotor 100 and thereby drive the rotation of the rollers 102 in order to carry out the peristaltic pumping action. Full engagement between the coupling fingers 108 and the radial projections take place when the cartridge unit 36 is fully received in the cartridge compartment 44.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the dosing pump in modified Johnson to include the roller assembly feature as taught by Urs.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to engage the dosing pump with the cartridge through the rollers, as stated by Urs, Page 16, last 3 lines, “As the cartridge unit 36 is front-loaded into the cartridge compartment 44, the coupling fingers 108 cooperatively engage the radial projections of the star coupling member 112 to enable the drive member to impart rotary motion to the rotor 100 and thereby drive the rotation of the rollers 102 in order to carry out the peristaltic pumping action.”.
Regarding the positioning of the rollers to be partially outside the internal volume of the cover, it has been held that mere rearrangement of parts is an obvious modification to make. In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950). It is the Examiner’s position that positioning the roller assembly to be partially outside the internal volume of the cover, such as through repositioning the rollers in Urs to be partially under the internal compartment, would still allow for the rollers to engage with a cartridge in order to impart rotation to allow for pumping to occur. As a result, the pumping action would remain the same regardless of where the rollers were positioned within the internal space of the cover and such a modification would be a mere matter of user design choice.
Regarding claim 5, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the dosing pump is positioned adjacent to the cartridge socket (Teaching from Urs, Page 10, lines 23-24, “The dispensing pump 48 is coupleable to a drive member mounted in a wall inside the cartridge compartment 44, as shown in Figure 5.”, where the dispensing pump 48 is located next to the cartridge socket or the location that engages with the cartridge 36 as shown in Fig. 13).
Regarding claim 6, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the dosing pump is mounted through a top wall of the cover (Teaching from Loris, Section 3, lines 25-29, “A dosing pump 27 is mounted on the cover 2 and is driven by an electric motor 28. A funnel-shaped receptacle 29 is arranged above said pump and a pipe 30 issues below the pump and extends into the bore of the hollow shaft 21 in coaxial relation thereto.”, where the pipe 30 is construed to be part of the dosing pump 27 and extends into the cover, where the dosing pump is mounted through the top wall of the cover).
Regarding claim 7, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the cartridge socket is defined through a top wall of the cover (Johnson, Para. 0069, “The machine 200 includes four different alcohol inputs 272 that are coupled to separate mixing chambers 274.”, and Fig. 13, where the alcohol inputs 272 are shown to be defined through the cover, where the inputs are sockets that receive the cartridges).
Regarding claim 8, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Johnson does not disclose:
wherein the cartridge socket comprises a first portion configured to receive a first portion of the additive cartridge and a second portion configured to receive a second portion of the additive cartridge, whereby the cartridge socket is configured to receive the additive cartridge in only one orientation.
However, Urs discloses where the cartridge socket includes a first and second portion that receives a first and second portion of the cartridge, where the socket receives the cartridge in only one orientation (Modified Fig. 13 and 14, where this feature is described). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the cartridge socket for the additive cartridge in modified Johnson to include the groove configuration as taught by Urs.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of another a structural shape that can still allow for a cartridge to be held, as stated by Urs, Page 15, lines 16-17, “A flow inlet of the first flow adaptor section 50a is in flow communication with the flow outlet of the storage container 46.”.
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Modified Figure 13 and 14, Urs
Regarding claim 9, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses further comprising the additive cartridge received in the cartridge socket, the additive cartridge extending through the cover into the internal volume (Johnson, Para. 0061, “a plurality of alcohol bottles or containers 172 positioned along a top side thereof”, and where Fig. 8 shows that the containers 172 are inserted through the cover to allow for alcohol to flow for the infusion of alcohol into ice cubes, where the containers would be inserted into the alcohol inputs 272 or sockets defined through the cover, where the containers/cartridges would then extending through the cover into the internal volume).
Regarding claim 10, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 9, as set forth above, discloses wherein the additive cartridge comprises a dispensing tube extending from an additive reservoir in a sump of the additive cartridge to an outlet of the dispensing tube outside of the sump of the additive cartridge (Johnson, Fig. 8, where the cartridges or containers 172 are shown to include a dispensing tube which is construed as being the neck of the bottle, where the neck/dispensing tube extends from the additive reservoir’s sump as the bottle curves downward to an outlet of the dispensing tube outside of the sump, which is the outlet of the neck that extends outside of the sump of the additive cartridge).
Regarding claim 11, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 10, as set forth above, discloses further comprising a fill tube in fluid communication with a water supply (Johnson, Para. 0065, “The solution input 170 to the system 112 can be connected in fluid communication with, for example, a pressurized water system such as a building fresh water system. Alternatively, the source of water 170 can be connected to bottled water, another source of filtered or stored water, or another solution such as a soft drink, lemonade, or specialty non-alcoholic beverage.”), an outlet of the fill tube positioned within the internal volume of the cover (Johnson, Para. 0068, “The system 212 includes a solution input 270, an alcohol input 272, and a mixture output 278. The mixture output 278 is coupled in fluid communication with the ice mold assembly 204.”, where the solution input has an outlet that goes into the mixture chamber, where the mixture chamber and outlet are located within the internal volume of the cover), the outlet of the dispensing tube aligned with the outlet of the fill tube whereby a flow of liquid additive from the dispensing tube mixes with a flow of liquid water from the fill tube to form a mixed flow of liquid water and liquid additive (Johnson, Para. 0083, “The mixing and distribution system 412 can include a valving arrangement 475 that optimizes flow control, mixing, and dispensing of liquids to the ice makers 434.”, and Fig. 20, where the cartridge sockets are shown to extend from the cartridges 472, where the fill tube is 470, where the pipes from the cartridge sockets and the fill tubes are aligned going towards the valving arrangement 475 that mixes the liquid flows, where the dispensing tube or neck of the bottle goes into the cartridge socket and would be aligned with the fill tube in order to allow for mixing of alcohol from the cartridge and water from the fill tube).
Regarding claim 12, Johnson discloses an additive cartridge (Para. 0061, “a plurality of alcohol bottles or containers 172 positioned along a top side thereof”) for an ice making appliance (Abstract, “An ice cube machine”, and Para. 0003, “ice making machines and related
methods for making alcohol infused ice cubes.”),
the ice making appliance comprising a cover defining an internal volume (Para. 0072, “FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate top views of the mixing and distribution system 212 (FIG. 12) or the combination of the system 212 with a top cover 220 of the machine 200. The mixing and distribution system 212 can include a door or other lid member 213 that provides access to the mixing chambers 274 and other internal components of the mixing and distribution system 212.”, where the top cover 220 and lid member 213 are both construed to be part of the cover that defines an internal volume),
a mold body (Para. 0074, “The machine 300 includes a cooling device 302, an ice mold assembly 304”) comprising a mold cavity (Para. 0091, “The at least one ice mold is configured to receive a portion of the mixture to generate alcohol infused ice cubes.”, where the ice mold assembly includes ice molds that have a cavity to receive the mixture of alcohol and water in order to create alcohol infused ice cubes), the mold body positioned within the internal volume of the cover (Para. 0074, “The mixture outputs 378 are coupled in fluid communication with a plurality of ice mold assemblies 304. Each ice mold assembly 304 includes a set of ice makers 334.”, where Fig. 14 shows that the ice mold assembly is located under the cover 220), and
the additive cartridge configured to be received in a cartridge socket defined through the cover of the ice making appliance (Para. 0069, “The machine 200 includes four different alcohol inputs 272 that are coupled to separate mixing chambers 274.”, and Fig. 13, where the alcohol inputs 272 are shown to be defined through the cover, where the inputs are sockets that receive the cartridges; and Para. 0061, “a plurality of alcohol bottles or containers 172 positioned along a top side thereof”, and where Fig. 8 shows that the containers 172 are inserted through the cover to allow for alcohol to flow for the infusion of alcohol into ice cubes, where the containers would be inserted into the alcohol inputs 272 or sockets defined through the cover).
Johnson does not disclose:
a dosing pump positioned partially within the internal volume of the cover.
However, Loris discloses, in the similar field of ice creation appliances (Section 1, line 11, “The ice cream making machine”), where a dosing pump is positioned partially within the internal volume of the cover (Section 3, lines 25-29, “A dosing pump 27 is mounted on the cover 2 and is driven by an electric motor 28. A funnel-shaped receptacle 29 is arranged above said pump and a pipe 30 issues below the pump and extends into the bore of the hollow shaft 21 in coaxial relation thereto.”, where the pipe 30 is construed to be part of the dosing pump 27 and extends into the cover). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the ice making apparatus in Johnson to include a dosing pump as taught by Loris.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to use the dosing pump to determine the rate of liquid entering the from a source, like a cartridge, where the rate of liquid would be proportional to the rotary speed of the shaft, as stated by Loris, Section 3, lines 58-64, “By starting the motor 28, which is a synchronous motor like the motor 25, the dosing pump 27 is started. In this condition, if a liquid to be made into ice cream is poured in the funnel shaped receptacle 29, the dosing pump 27 conveys through the tube 30 a determined rate of liquid which is proportional to the rotary speed of the shaft 21.”.
Further, Urs discloses, in the similar field of cartridges and dosing pumps (Abstract, “The cartridge… The pump may be a dosing pump”), where the dosing pump can be fully located under a cover (Page 10, lines 23-24, “The dispensing pump 48 is coupleable to a drive member mounted in a wall inside the cartridge compartment 44, as shown in Figure 5.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the dosing pump in modified Johnson to have parts within the cover as taught by Urs.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to allow the dosing pump to be engaged with the cartridge, as stated by Urs, Page 17, last 3 lines, “The design of the cartridge unit 36 allows the assembly of the storage container 46, the dispensing pump 48 and the flow adaptor 50 in a controlled and sterile environment to form the cartridge unit 36.”.
Regarding claim 13, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 12, as set forth above, discloses further comprising a sump and a cover joined to the sump (Johnson, modified Fig. 8, where the sump is shown to be the housing 176 for the mixing chambers that receive the alcohol from the additive cartridges; where modified Fig. 23 shows that the sump is connected to the cover through the additive cartridges that enter through the holes within the cover and into the sump).
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Modified Figure 8, Johnson
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Modified Figure 23, Johnson
Regarding claim 14, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 13, as set forth above, discloses further comprising an additive reservoir in the sump (Johnson, modified Fig. 8, where the additive reservoir in the sump is construed as the mixing chamber 174) and a dispensing tube extending from the additive reservoir to an outlet of the dispensing tube outside of the sump (Johnson, Para. 0061, “a solution/alcohol mixture output 178.”, where modified Fig. 8 shows that the output 178 is a dispensing tube that extends from the additive reservoir or mixing chambers to an outlet outside the sump).
Regarding claim 15, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 14, as set forth above.
Modified Johnson does not disclose:
further comprising an aperture in the sump, the aperture configured to receive a roller assembly of the dosing pump.
However, Urs discloses where there is a roller assembly configured to engage the additive cartridge whereby the dosing pump is operable to urge a liquid additive from the additive cartridge (Page 16, last 3 lines, “As the cartridge unit 36 is front-loaded into the cartridge compartment 44, the coupling fingers 108 cooperatively engage the radial projections of the star coupling member 112 to enable the drive member to impart rotary motion to the rotor 100 and thereby drive the rotation of the rollers 102 in order to carry out the peristaltic pumping action. Full engagement between the coupling fingers 108 and the radial projections take place when the cartridge unit 36 is fully received in the cartridge compartment 44.”), where the roller assembly of the dosing pump is inserted into an aperture (Modified Fig. 3, where the aperture that receives the roller assembly is shown). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the dosing pump and sump in modified Johnson to include the roller assembly feature and aperture as taught by Urs.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to engage the dosing pump with the cartridge through the rollers, as stated by Urs, Page 16, last 3 lines, “As the cartridge unit 36 is front-loaded into the cartridge compartment 44, the coupling fingers 108 cooperatively engage the radial projections of the star coupling member 112 to enable the drive member to impart rotary motion to the rotor 100 and thereby drive the rotation of the rollers 102 in order to carry out the peristaltic pumping action.”.
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Modified Figure 3, Urs
Regarding claim 16, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 15, as set forth above.
Modified Johnson does not disclose:
wherein a portion of the dispensing tube extends around a perimeter of the aperture.
However, Urs discloses where an aperture can be connected to roller assembly (Modified Fig. 3, where the aperture that receives the roller assembly is shown). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the dispensing tube and sump in modified Johnson to have the roller assembly with aperture be placed within the sump as taught by Urs.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to engage the dosing pump with the cartridge through the rollers, as stated by Urs, Page 16, last 3 lines, “As the cartridge unit 36 is front-loaded into the cartridge compartment 44, the coupling fingers 108 cooperatively engage the radial projections of the star coupling member 112 to enable the drive member to impart rotary motion to the rotor 100 and thereby drive the rotation of the rollers 102 in order to carry out the peristaltic pumping action.”.
Regarding the dispensing tube extending around a perimeter of the aperture, it is the Examiner’s position that depending on how the aperture is positioned within the sump for the combined invention of modified Johnson that the dispensing tube can extend around the perimeter the aperture. One such configuration is with the aperture placed facing the user in modified Fig 8 and 3 of combined Johnson and Urs, where the aperture’s perimeter would include the dispensing tube.
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Modified Fig 8 and 3, combined Johnson and Urs
Regarding claim 18, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 14, as set forth above.
Modified Johnson does not disclose:
wherein the additive reservoir is defined in a first portion of the additive cartridge, the first portion of the additive cartridge configured to be received in a first portion of the cartridge socket, and wherein an outlet portion of the dispensing tube extends through a second portion of the additive cartridge, the second portion of the additive cartridge configured to be received in a second portion of the cartridge socket, whereby the cartridge is configured to be received in the cartridge socket in only one orientation.
However, Urs discloses where the cartridge socket includes a first and second portion that receives a first and second portion of the cartridge, where the socket receives the cartridge in only one orientation (Modified Fig. 13 and 14, where this feature is described), where a dispensing tube extends from the second portion of the additive cartridge (Page 15, lines 22-24, “As a result, the gel may be dispensed from the storage container 46, through the first flow adaptor section 50a, through the dispensing pump 48, through the second flow adaptor section 50b and out of the dispensing outlet.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the cartridge socket for the additive cartridge in modified Johnson to include the groove configuration as taught by Urs, where the first portion of the cartridge socket engages with a first portion of the cartridge that is part of the additive reservoir as the reservoir extends upwards towards the first and second portions of the cartridge socket, where the outlet of the second portion is connected to a dispensing outlet, where this dispensing outlet would be the dispensing tube from Johnson.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of another a structural shape that can still allow for a cartridge to be held, as stated by Urs, Page 15, lines 16-17, “A flow inlet of the first flow adaptor section 50a is in flow communication with the flow outlet of the storage container 46.”.
Claims 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johnson et al. (US 20080041070 A1, hereinafter Johnson) in view of Loris (US 3323320 A1) and Urs (GB 2596127 A1) in further view of Dong (CN 114992932 A).
Regarding claim 17, modified Johnson teaches the apparatus according to claim 14, as set forth above.
Modified Johnson does not disclose:
wherein the additive reservoir is defined in a bag, wherein an inlet of the dispensing tube is positioned in the bag, and an inlet portion of the dispensing tube sealed to the bag.
However, Dong discloses, in the similar field of ice making apparatuses (Abstract, “ice-making sterile solution bag”), where a reservoir is defined in a bag (Page 1, Para. 2 from end, “an icemaking sterile solution bag”), where an inlet of a dispensing tube is positioned in the bag and the inlet portion is seal to the bag (Page 2, Para. 4 from end, “the ice-making sterile solution bag, wherein the sealing cavity is further provided with an output pipe, one end of the output pipe is set in the containing cavity, one end of the output pipe towards the sealed cavity is provided with a second sealing cap, the second sealing cap is integrally connected with the output pipe.”, where the output pipe is sealed to the bag since the bag to output pipe connection does not leak). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the additive reservoir and dispensing pipe in modified Johnson to use the additive reservoir as a bag with a sealed dispensing tube as taught by Dong.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to use a bag as an additive reservoir, which can allow for the reservoir to be flexible if so desired by a user, as stated by Dong, Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “the main body of the invention is ice-making bag 100, ice-making bag 100 made of double-layer flexible material, specifically preferably made of transparent material, such as transparent rubber, transparent plastic and so on, the edge of the two layers of material of the ice-making bag 100 are sealed and connected, to form a sealed cavity”.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Yun et al. (US 20220228800 A1) discloses a similar ice making apparatus that includes an additive cartridge that also acts as a filter, however the additive cartridge socket is not defined through the cover.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN GUANHUA WEN whose telephone number is (571)272-9940 and whose email is kevin.wen@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10:00 am - 6:00 pm.
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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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/KEVIN GUANHUA WEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
07/24/2026
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