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 .
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 1-7 and 10-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Benoit et al. (EP 2777447 A1, hereinafter Benoit) in view of Romandy et al. (US 20200236954 A1, hereinafter Romandy).
Regarding claim 1, Benoit discloses a stand mixer (Abstract, “a stand mixer”), comprising:
a base (Para. 0010, “The stand mixer 12 further includes a base portion 16 which is weighted”);
a support column coupled to the base and extending upwardly from the base (Para. 0010, “The base portion 16 includes an upwardly extending support arm 16B”);
a head coupled to an upper end of the support column and extending from the support column above the base (Para. 0010, “The stand mixer 12 includes an articulating upper arm 14 and an external housing 15 which houses a motor therein.”, where the articulating upper arm 14 is connected to the support arm 16b as shown in Fig. 1);
a drive shaft (Para. 0011, “As noted above, the external housing 15 houses a drive motor which is adapted to power the mixer shaft coupling 18A as well as a rotating drive outlet disposed within the attachment hub 20.”);
a food processor attachment assembly coupled to the head of the stand mixer for receiving food for processing (Para. 0012, “the food processor attachment 10 includes a coupling hub 30 that is adapted to couple the attachment hub 20 of the stand mixer 12. In this way, the motor of the stand mixer 12 can translate power through the attachment hub 20 to the coupling hub 30.”, and Para. 0019, “In this way, the food processing attachment 10 of the present disclosure can be used to slice a food substrate, dice a food substrate, provide julienne-style strips of a food substrate, or chop a food substrate.”),
the food processor attachment assembly comprising: a housing defining a chamber therein, the housing including an inlet for receiving the food within the chamber for processing and an outlet (Para. 0015, “the food processor attachment 10 is shown in an exploded view, wherein the top housing assembly 40 and the bowl assembly 60 are detached from the gear housing 32”, where the food processor attachment includes a housing that is construed as the gear housing 32, where the gear housing includes an inlet connected to the top housing assembly and an outlet connected to the bowl assembly);
a moveable component positioned within the chamber for manipulating the food during processing (Para. 0025, “Thus, as the lever 35 moves along the path as indicated by arrow B, the cammed surfaces 212, 226 will cam against one another to adjust the vertical position of the mounting plate 220 in a path as indicated by arrow C. In this way, the lever 35 is adapted to be externally accessible through the gear housing 32 for adjusting the vertical position of food processing attachment discs as disposed within the food processing attachment 10, thereby determining the thickness of a processed food substrate.”, where the lever 35 moves within the chamber and manipulates the food thickness when slicing); and
a multi-axis rotatable joint coupled between the moveable component and the drive shaft for transferring rotational motion from the drive shaft to the moveable component to move the moveable component (Para. 0021, “As further shown in FIG. 5, the drive shaft 38 is coupled to a gearing assembly or mechanism 150 which provides a gearing system to transfer a generally horizontal rotational movement of the drive shaft 38, as indicated by arrow R3 to a vertical rotational movement of output drive shaft 100 as shown by arrow R2.”, where the drive shaft 38 is within the food processor attachment and is connected to the rotating drive outlet of the stand mixer, where the drive shaft 38 along with all the gear components are construed as the multi-axis rotatable joint that couples between the movable component or the lever 35 and the drive shaft or rotating drive outlet of the stand mixer, where the drive shaft 38 includes bevel gears that allow for multi-axial rotation to occur).
Benoit does not disclose:
where the multi-axis rotatable joint is a singular component.
In the interest of compact prosecution, the Examiner presents additional prior art in the case that the multi-axis rotatable joint is construed to be a singular component. Romandy discloses, in the similar field of stand mixers (Para. 0001, “stand mixers.”), where there is a food processor attachment that uses the rotation from the stand mixer to function (Para. 0003, “Some stand mixers are configured such that one or more accessories may be attached to the free end of the head and coupled to the drive train that drives the mixers”), where the multi-axis rotatable joint is a singular component (Para. 0036, “An auger 55 (FIG. 9) extends longitudinally within the main body 53 and is attached to the drive train, such that rotation of the drive train rotates the auger 55.”, where Fig. 9 shows that the auger includes an axle within that is not parallel to the shaft of the stand mixer, instead the auger includes an angle upwards and downwards and these angles are construed to create the muti-axis rotation). 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 bevel gear joint in Benoit to include the angled auger axis as taught by Romandy.
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 another attachment for a stand mixer, where the auger’s shape allows for grinding of meat to occur, as stated by Romandy, Para. 0039, “The drive train of the mixer 20 rotates the auger 55, which rotation conveys the meat to the wider end of the main body 53 of the grinder housing 52. The continued rotation of the auger 55 forces the meat through holes in the sizing disk 56 and out of the grinder housing 52, where it can be collected in a bowl or other vessel.”.
Regarding claim 2, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses the food processor attachment further comprising: an outlet cover coupled to the housing for covering the outlet and containing the moveable component within the chamber of the housing (Benoit, Para. 0013, “As shown in FIG. 2A, a bowl assembly 60 includes an upper lip portion 62 and a receptacle portion 64. The bowl assembly 60 is adapted to couple to a lower portion 32B of the gear housing 32.”, where the bowl assembly covers the outlet of the gear housing, where the gear housing includes a bottom housing that is removable and contains the movable component within the chamber of the housing, Para. 0019, “The vertical portion 122 further includes a slot 123 which is adapted to receive and engage a locking feature disposed on the lip portion 44 of the top housing 40. The horizontal portion 124 of the drive housing 120 includes a generally semicircular portion 128 which vertically and rotatably receives the output drive shaft 100.”, where the bottom housing along with the bowl assembly are construed to be part of an outlet cover).
Regarding claim 3, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above, discloses wherein: the movable component is coupled to the multi-axis rotatable joint (Benoit, Para. 0025, “The adjustment gear 194 includes coupling portions 196, 198 which are adapted to be disposed within an elongate aperture 200 disposed on lever mechanism 35. The lever mechanism 35, as described above, is an adjustable lever used to adjust the position of food processing attachment discs as disposed within the food processing attachment 10. Thus, the lever includes an end portion 202 which is adapted to couple to a handle portion as shown in FIG. 2B.”, where the lever mechanism 35 or movable component is connected to the multi-axis rotatable joint or bevel gear system); and the outlet cover holds the moveable component in place such that the movable component is coupled to the multi-axis rotatable joint while the outlet cover is coupled to the housing (Benoit, Para. 0019, “The vertical portion 122 further includes a slot 123 which is adapted to receive and engage a locking feature disposed on the lip portion 44 of the top housing 40. The horizontal portion 124 of the drive housing 120 includes a generally semicircular portion 128 which vertically and rotatably receives the output drive shaft 100.”, where the bottom housing includes the aperture 126 for the receiving the stand mixer rotational shaft and a semicircular portion 128 for holding the drive shaft of the food processor attachment, where the bottom housing when coupled to the housing keeps the rotational joint that converts horizontal motion to vertical motion in place).
Regarding claim 4, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein: the moveable component of the food processor attachment is rotatable about a first axis of rotation for manipulating the received food during processing (Benoit, Para. 0019, “generally semicircular portion 128 which vertically and rotatably receives the output drive shaft 100.”, where the movable component rotates about the vertical axis); and the drive shaft is rotatable about a second axis of rotation different from the first axis of rotation (Benoit, Para. 0019, “An aperture 126 is disposed between the vertical portion 122 and opens into the horizontal portion 124 and is adapted to receive a gearing mechanism that is powered by the output drive of the stand mixer 12 shown in FIG. 2”, where the drive shaft of the stand mixer rotates about the horizontal axis).
Regarding claim 5, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 4, as set forth above, discloses wherein: the multi-axis rotatable joint is configured to rotate the movable component about the first axis of rotation as the drive shaft rotates the multi-axis rotatable joint about the second axis of rotation (Benoit, Para. 0023, “The drive shaft 160 further includes second gear 156 disposed at one end and a first bevel gear 162 disposed at the opposite end. Bevel gear 162 is a vertical bevel gear that is gearingly coupled to a horizontal bevel gear 164 disposed on the output drive shaft 100 at the lower portion 106. In this way, the horizontal rotational movement of the drive shaft 38 along the path indicated by arrow R3 translates through the gearing mechanism 150 to provide vertical rotation of the output drive shaft 100 in a rotational path as indicated by arrow R2.”, where the multi-axis rotatable joint includes the drive shaft and gears associated with the drive shaft, where the drive shaft of the stand mixer rotations the multi-axis rotatable joint in the second axis or horizontal axis, where the multi-axis rotational joint then coverts that horizontal rotation to vertical rotation for the movable component).
Regarding claim 6, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 4, as set forth above, discloses the multi-axis rotatable joint comprising: a first joint connector coupled to the moveable component, the first joint connector rotatable about the first axis of rotation when the multi-axis rotatable joint is rotated (Benoit, Para. 0019, “output drive shaft 100 is a generally vertical shaft including an upper portion 102 having an engagement portion 104 has the vertical shaft that engages with the moveable component); and a second joint connector coupled to the drive shaft and the first joint connector (Benoit, Para. 0021, “second portion 37B which are adapted to house the drive shaft 38 and square coupling 39 in assembly.”, where the square coupling 39 connects to the drive shaft of the stand mixer and to the first joint connector through the bevel gears), the second joint connector rotatable about the second axis of rotation when the multi-axis rotatable joint is rotated (Benoit, Fig. 7B shows that the square coupling rotates about the horizontal axis when the multi-axis rotatable joint is rotated).
Regarding claim 7, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein: the food processor attachment assembly is configured as a food slicer attachment assembly (Benoit, Para. 0019, “As noted above, the output drive shaft 100 is adapted to power a slicing disc, such as disc 80A or SOC and a food processing assembly, such as food processing attachment 72, either individually or together. In this way, the food processing attachment 10 of the present disclosure can be used to slice a food substrate, dice a food substrate, provide julienne-style strips of a food substrate, or chop a food substrate.”); and the moveable component of the food processor attachment assembly is configured as a rotatable blade for slicing the received food into sliced food (Benoit, Para. 0025, “The lever mechanism 35, as described above, is an adjustable lever used to adjust the position of food processing attachment discs as disposed within the food processing attachment 10”, where the lever mechanism 35 that rotates is connected to the rotatable blades for slicing the food, where the lever controls the positioning of the blades).
Regarding claim 10, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein: the food processor assembly is removably coupled to the head (Benoit, Para. 0015, “Both the food processing attachment 72 and the food processing disc 80 are detachably or removably secured to an output drive shaft 100 disposed within the gear housing 32 as further described below. Thus, the food processing attachment 10 is adapted to provide food processing features from the food processing attachment 72 or the food processing disc 80 either individually or together.”).
Regarding claim 11, Benoit discloses a food processor attachment assembly for a stand mixer (Abstract, “A food processor attachment assembly for a stand mixer”),
the stand mixer including a base (Para. 0010, “The stand mixer 12 further includes a base portion 16 which is weighted”),
a support column coupled to the base and extending upwardly from the base (Para. 0010, “The base portion 16 includes an upwardly extending support arm 16B”),
a head coupled to an upper end of the support column and extending from the support column above the base (Para. 0010, “The stand mixer 12 includes an articulating upper arm 14 and an external housing 15 which houses a motor therein.”, where the articulating upper arm 14 is connected to the support arm 16b as shown in Fig. 1), and
a drive shaft (Para. 0011, “As noted above, the external housing 15 houses a drive motor which is adapted to power the mixer shaft coupling 18A as well as a rotating drive outlet disposed within the attachment hub 20.”),
the food processor attachment assembly comprising: a housing defining a chamber therein, the housing including an inlet for receiving food within the chamber for processing and an outlet (Para. 0015, “the food processor attachment 10 is shown in an exploded view, wherein the top housing assembly 40 and the bowl assembly 60 are detached from the gear housing 32”, where the food processor attachment includes a housing that is construed as the gear housing 32, where the gear housing includes an inlet connected to the top housing assembly and an outlet connected to the bowl assembly);
a moveable component positioned within the chamber for manipulating the food during processing (Para. 0025, “Thus, as the lever 35 moves along the path as indicated by arrow B, the cammed surfaces 212, 226 will cam against one another to adjust the vertical position of the mounting plate 220 in a path as indicated by arrow C. In this way, the lever 35 is adapted to be externally accessible through the gear housing 32 for adjusting the vertical position of food processing attachment discs as disposed within the food processing attachment 10, thereby determining the thickness of a processed food substrate.”, where the lever 35 moves within the chamber and manipulates the food thickness when slicing); and
a multi-axis rotatable joint coupled between the moveable component and the drive shaft for transferring rotational motion from the drive shaft to the moveable component to move the moveable component (Para. 0021, “As further shown in FIG. 5, the drive shaft 38 is coupled to a gearing assembly or mechanism 150 which provides a gearing system to transfer a generally horizontal rotational movement of the drive shaft 38, as indicated by arrow R3 to a vertical rotational movement of output drive shaft 100 as shown by arrow R2.”, where the drive shaft 38 is within the food processor attachment and is connected to the rotating drive outlet of the stand mixer, where the drive shaft 38 along with all the gear components are construed as the multi-axis rotatable joint that couples between the movable component or the lever 35 and the drive shaft or rotating drive outlet of the stand mixer, where the drive shaft 38 includes bevel gears that allow for multi-axial rotation to occur).
Benoit does not disclose:
where the multi-axis rotatable joint is a singular component.
In the interest of compact prosecution, the Examiner presents additional prior art in the case that the multi-axis rotatable joint is construed to be a singular component. Romandy discloses, in the similar field of stand mixers (Para. 0001, “stand mixers.”), where there is a food processor attachment that uses the rotation from the stand mixer to function (Para. 0003, “Some stand mixers are configured such that one or more accessories may be attached to the free end of the head and coupled to the drive train that drives the mixers”), where the multi-axis rotatable joint is a singular component (Para. 0036, “An auger 55 (FIG. 9) extends longitudinally within the main body 53 and is attached to the drive train, such that rotation of the drive train rotates the auger 55.”, where Fig. 9 shows that the auger includes an axle within that is not parallel to the shaft of the stand mixer, instead the auger includes an angle upwards and downwards and these angles are construed to create the muti-axis rotation). 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 bevel gear joint in Benoit to include the angled auger axis as taught by Romandy.
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 another attachment for a stand mixer, where the auger’s shape allows for grinding of meat to occur, as stated by Romandy, Para. 0039, “The drive train of the mixer 20 rotates the auger 55, which rotation conveys the meat to the wider end of the main body 53 of the grinder housing 52. The continued rotation of the auger 55 forces the meat through holes in the sizing disk 56 and out of the grinder housing 52, where it can be collected in a bowl or other vessel.”.
Regarding claim 12, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses further comprising: an outlet cover coupled to the housing for covering the outlet and containing the moveable component within the chamber of the housing (Benoit, Para. 0013, “As shown in FIG. 2A, a bowl assembly 60 includes an upper lip portion 62 and a receptacle portion 64. The bowl assembly 60 is adapted to couple to a lower portion 32B of the gear housing 32.”, where the bowl assembly covers the outlet of the gear housing, where the gear housing includes a bottom housing that is removable and contains the movable component within the chamber of the housing, Para. 0019, “The vertical portion 122 further includes a slot 123 which is adapted to receive and engage a locking feature disposed on the lip portion 44 of the top housing 40. The horizontal portion 124 of the drive housing 120 includes a generally semicircular portion 128 which vertically and rotatably receives the output drive shaft 100.”, where the bottom housing along with the bowl assembly are construed to be part of an outlet cover).
Regarding claim 13, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 12, as set forth above, discloses wherein: the movable component is coupled to the multi-axis rotatable joint (Benoit, Para. 0025, “The adjustment gear 194 includes coupling portions 196, 198 which are adapted to be disposed within an elongate aperture 200 disposed on lever mechanism 35. The lever mechanism 35, as described above, is an adjustable lever used to adjust the position of food processing attachment discs as disposed within the food processing attachment 10. Thus, the lever includes an end portion 202 which is adapted to couple to a handle portion as shown in FIG. 2B.”, where the lever mechanism 35 or movable component is connected to the multi-axis rotatable joint or bevel gear system); and the outlet cover holds the moveable component in place such that the movable component is coupled to the multi-axis rotatable joint while the outlet cover is coupled to the housing (Benoit, Para. 0019, “The vertical portion 122 further includes a slot 123 which is adapted to receive and engage a locking feature disposed on the lip portion 44 of the top housing 40. The horizontal portion 124 of the drive housing 120 includes a generally semicircular portion 128 which vertically and rotatably receives the output drive shaft 100.”, where the bottom housing includes the aperture 126 for the receiving the stand mixer rotational shaft and a semicircular portion 128 for holding the drive shaft of the food processor attachment, where the bottom housing when coupled to the housing keeps the rotational joint that converts horizontal motion to vertical motion in place).
Regarding claim 14, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses wherein: the moveable component is rotatable about a first axis of rotation for manipulating the received food during food processing (Benoit, Para. 0019, “generally semicircular portion 128 which vertically and rotatably receives the output drive shaft 100.”, where the movable component rotates about the vertical axis); and the drive shaft is rotatable about a second axis of rotation different from the first axis of rotation (Benoit, Para. 0019, “An aperture 126 is disposed between the vertical portion 122 and opens into the horizontal portion 124 and is adapted to receive a gearing mechanism that is powered by the output drive of the stand mixer 12 shown in FIG. 2”, where the drive shaft of the stand mixer rotates about the horizontal axis).
Regarding claim 15, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 14, as set forth above, discloses wherein: the multi-axis rotatable joint is configured to rotate the movable component about the first axis of rotation as the drive shaft rotates the multi-axis rotatable joint about the second axis of rotation (Benoit, Para. 0023, “The drive shaft 160 further includes second gear 156 disposed at one end and a first bevel gear 162 disposed at the opposite end. Bevel gear 162 is a vertical bevel gear that is gearingly coupled to a horizontal bevel gear 164 disposed on the output drive shaft 100 at the lower portion 106. In this way, the horizontal rotational movement of the drive shaft 38 along the path indicated by arrow R3 translates through the gearing mechanism 150 to provide vertical rotation of the output drive shaft 100 in a rotational path as indicated by arrow R2.”, where the multi-axis rotatable joint includes the drive shaft and gears associated with the drive shaft, where the drive shaft of the stand mixer rotations the multi-axis rotatable joint in the second axis or horizontal axis, where the multi-axis rotational joint then coverts that horizontal rotation to vertical rotation for the movable component).
Regarding claim 16, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 14, as set forth above, discloses the multi-axis rotatable joint comprising: a first joint connector coupled to the moveable component, the first joint connector rotatable about the first axis of rotation when the multi-axis rotatable joint is rotated (Benoit, Para. 0019, “output drive shaft 100 is a generally vertical shaft including an upper portion 102 having an engagement portion 104 has the vertical shaft that engages with the moveable component); and a second joint connector coupled to the drive shaft and the first joint connector (Benoit, Para. 0021, “second portion 37B which are adapted to house the drive shaft 38 and square coupling 39 in assembly.”, where the square coupling 39 connects to the drive shaft of the stand mixer and to the first joint connector through the bevel gears), the second joint connector rotatable about the second axis of rotation when the multi-axis rotatable joint is rotated (Benoit, Fig. 7B shows that the square coupling rotates about the horizontal axis when the multi-axis rotatable joint is rotated).
Regarding claim 17, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses wherein: the food processor attachment assembly is configured as a food slicer attachment assembly (Benoit, Para. 0019, “As noted above, the output drive shaft 100 is adapted to power a slicing disc, such as disc 80A or SOC and a food processing assembly, such as food processing attachment 72, either individually or together. In this way, the food processing attachment 10 of the present disclosure can be used to slice a food substrate, dice a food substrate, provide julienne-style strips of a food substrate, or chop a food substrate.”); and the moveable component is configured as a rotatable blade for slicing the received food into sliced food (Benoit, Para. 0025, “The lever mechanism 35, as described above, is an adjustable lever used to adjust the position of food processing attachment discs as disposed within the food processing attachment 10”, where the lever mechanism 35 that rotates is connected to the rotatable blades for slicing the food, where the lever controls the positioning of the blades).
Claims 8-9 and 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Benoit et al. (EP 2777447 A1, hereinafter Benoit) in view of Romandy et al. (US 20200236954 A1, hereinafter Romandy) in further view of Abeygunawardana et al. (US 20250318535 A1, hereinafter Abeygunawardana).
Regarding claim 8, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Benoit does not disclose:
wherein: the food processor attachment assembly is configured as a dough mold attachment assembly for forming moldable dough into molded dough.
However, Abeygunawardana discloses, in the similar field of stand mixers (Abstract, “stand mixer”), where the food processor attachment assembly is configured as a dough mold attachment assembly for forming moldable dough into molded dough (Abstract, “The dough mold attachment assembly includes a dough hopper including an inlet for receiving moldable dough therethrough and an outlet for releasing the moldable dough as a molded dough therefrom”). 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 food processor attachment assembly that uses the rotation of the stand mixer in modified Benoit to be a dough mold attachment assembly as taught by Abeygunawardana.
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 different attachment devices for the stand mixer, where similar to the grinding attachment from the teaching of Romandy the axle can have different axial rotational angles, where using a dough mold device allows for the user to have an easier time when baking, as stated by Abeygunawardana, Para. 0003, “Accordingly, a stand mixer having a dough mold attachment assembly would be desirable. More specifically, a dough mold attachment assembly that is capable of molding or forming dough into cookie shapes for baking would be particularly beneficial.”.
Regarding claim 9, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 8, as set forth above.
Modified Benoit does not disclose:
the dough mold attachment comprising: an outlet cover coupled to the housing for covering the outlet and containing the moveable component within the chamber of the housing, the outlet cover including a first dough extruding component and a second dough extruding component through which the moldable dough passes through to be formed into molded dough, the first dough extruding and the second dough extruding component removably coupled to each other.
However, Abeygunawardana discloses where the dough mold attachment includes an outlet cover that is coupled to the housing for covering the outlet and contains the moveable component within the chamber of the housing (Para. 0030, “the end cap assembly 240 includes a cover portion 242 and a rotatable bearing portion 244 protruding from the cover portion 242 for facilitating rotation of the dough mold 220 about the axis A within the dough hopper 202. As such, the rotatable bearing portion 244 of the end cap assembly 240 extends through a bearing opening 216 defined by the dough hopper 202 for receiving the rotatable bearing portion 244 within the interior portion 206 of the dough hopper 202.”, where the end cap 242 contains the moveable component of the drive shaft 230 and where the end cap 242 closes the outlet of the dough mold assembly), where the outlet cover includes a first and second dough extruding component through which moldable dough passes through to be formed into molded dough (Para. 0027, “Additionally, one or more mold cavities 222 may be defined by an outer surface 224 of the dough mold 220. The mold cavity (ies) 222 may include various patterns (e.g., stars, smiley faces, etc.) for forming the moldable dough into molded dough as the dough mold 220 is rotated relative to the dough hopper 202.”, where the dough molds touch the end cap and where the molds extrude the dough to be molded dough with patterns) and where the first and second dough extruding components are removably coupled to each other (Para. 0023, “such as dough mold attachment assembly 200 (FIG. 2) for molding or forming cookie dough, is removably coupled to the auxiliary attachment support 150. For example, a removable pin 154 (FIG. 2) may couple the dough mold attachment assembly 200 to the auxiliary attachment support 150.”). 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 dough mold in modified Benoit to include the features as taught by Abeygunawardana.
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 dough mold as intended, where the end cap serves the purpose of allowing for a cover to be present that does not impede the rotation of the dough mold, as stated by Abeygunawardana, Para. 0030, “As such, the rotatable bearing portion 244 of the end cap assembly 240 extends through a bearing opening 216 defined by the dough hopper 202 for receiving the rotatable bearing portion 244 within the interior portion 206 of the dough hopper 202.”.
Regarding claim 18, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above.
Modified Benoit does not disclose:
wherein: the food processor attachment assembly is configured as a dough mold attachment assembly for forming moldable dough into molded dough.
However, Abeygunawardana discloses, in the similar field of stand mixers (Abstract, “stand mixer”), where the food processor attachment assembly is configured as a dough mold attachment assembly for forming moldable dough into molded dough (Abstract, “The dough mold attachment assembly includes a dough hopper including an inlet for receiving moldable dough therethrough and an outlet for releasing the moldable dough as a molded dough therefrom”). 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 food processor attachment assembly that uses the rotation of the stand mixer in modified Benoit to be a dough mold attachment assembly as taught by Abeygunawardana.
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 different attachment devices for the stand mixer, where similar to the grinding attachment from the teaching of Romandy the axle can have different axial rotational angles, where using a dough mold device allows for the user to have an easier time when baking, as stated by Abeygunawardana, Para. 0003, “Accordingly, a stand mixer having a dough mold attachment assembly would be desirable. More specifically, a dough mold attachment assembly that is capable of molding or forming dough into cookie shapes for baking would be particularly beneficial.”.
Regarding claim 19, modified Benoit teaches the apparatus according to claim 18, as set forth above.
Modified Benoit does not disclose:
further comprising: an outlet cover coupled to the housing for covering the outlet and containing the moveable component within the chamber of the housing, the outlet cover including a first dough extruding component and a second dough extruding component through which the moldable dough passes through to be formed into molded dough, the first dough extruding and the second dough extruding component removably coupled to each other.
However, Abeygunawardana discloses where the dough mold attachment includes an outlet cover that is coupled to the housing for covering the outlet and contains the moveable component within the chamber of the housing (Para. 0030, “the end cap assembly 240 includes a cover portion 242 and a rotatable bearing portion 244 protruding from the cover portion 242 for facilitating rotation of the dough mold 220 about the axis A within the dough hopper 202. As such, the rotatable bearing portion 244 of the end cap assembly 240 extends through a bearing opening 216 defined by the dough hopper 202 for receiving the rotatable bearing portion 244 within the interior portion 206 of the dough hopper 202.”, where the end cap 242 contains the moveable component of the drive shaft 230 and where the end cap 242 closes the outlet of the dough mold assembly), where the outlet cover includes a first and second dough extruding component through which moldable dough passes through to be formed into molded dough (Para. 0027, “Additionally, one or more mold cavities 222 may be defined by an outer surface 224 of the dough mold 220. The mold cavity (ies) 222 may include various patterns (e.g., stars, smiley faces, etc.) for forming the moldable dough into molded dough as the dough mold 220 is rotated relative to the dough hopper 202.”, where the dough molds touch the end cap and where the molds extrude the dough to be molded dough with patterns) and where the first and second dough extruding components are removably coupled to each other (Para. 0023, “such as dough mold attachment assembly 200 (FIG. 2) for molding or forming cookie dough, is removably coupled to the auxiliary attachment support 150. For example, a removable pin 154 (FIG. 2) may couple the dough mold attachment assembly 200 to the auxiliary attachment support 150.”). 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 dough mold in modified Benoit to include the features as taught by Abeygunawardana.
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 dough mold as intended, where the end cap serves the purpose of allowing for a cover to be present that does not impede the rotation of the dough mold, as stated by Abeygunawardana, Para. 0030, “As such, the rotatable bearing portion 244 of the end cap assembly 240 extends through a bearing opening 216 defined by the dough hopper 202 for receiving the rotatable bearing portion 244 within the interior portion 206 of the dough hopper 202.”.
Conclusion
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.
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, 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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/KEVIN GUANHUA WEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
10/06/2026
Prosecution Insights