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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 7, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Colosimo (US 2025/0230964 A1).
Re: Claim 1, Colosimo further teaching a bottom-loaded water dispenser, comprising a functional module and a second cavity disposed below the functional module, the second cavity (60) being adapted to receive a water bucket (62), the functional module comprising:
a cooling tank assembly (16) (Fig. 4);
a heating tank assembly (18) (Fig. 4);
a water passageway assembly (50), the cooling tank assembly and the heating tank assembly being connected to the water passageway assembly; and
a water pump (52) configured to pump water in the water bucket to the water passageway assembly (Col. 5, lines 19-21, water delivered to water bucket).
Re: Claim 2, Colosimo discloses the claimed invention including a housing having a first cavity formed in the housing, the first cavity and the second cavity being spaced apart from each other (Depicted in Fig. 4), and the first cavity being located above the second cavity (Depicted in Fig. 4),; and a support disposed in the first cavity and connected to the housing, wherein the functional module is located in the first cavity and integrated on the support; wherein the water passageway assembly has a water outlet (14) (Fig. 4).
Re: Claim 4, Colosimo discloses the claimed invention including the water passageway assembly comprises a first manifold (50), the first manifold having a water receiving basin (Depicted in Fig. 4, elongated tube of the manifold forms the basin), a water inlet passageway, a water outlet passageway, and the water outlet, (Fig. 4 depicts inlet and outlets from manifold) from the wherein:
the water pump is configured to pump the water in the water bucket to the water receiving basin (Para. 23, pumps water to basin);
the water receiving basin is in communication with the cooling tank assembly through the water inlet passageway (Para. 23, in communication with cooling tank);
the water receiving basin is in communication with the heating tank assembly through the water inlet passageway (Para. 23, in communication with heating tank);
the water outlet is in communication with the cooling tank assembly through the water outlet passageway (Figs. 4-5 depicts ; and
the water outlet is in communication with the heating tank assembly through the water outlet passageway (Depicted in Figs 4-5).
Re: Claim 7, Colosimo discloses the claimed invention including the first manifold further has a water supply passageway, the water supply passageway being adapted to bring the water bucket in communication with an inlet of the water pump (Depicted in Fig. 4, para. 23, pump providing water).
Re: Claim 8, Colosimo discloses the claimed invention including the water supply passageway is directly connected to the inlet of the water pump (Depicted in Fig. 4).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Colosimo (US 2025/0230964 A1).
Re: Claim 3, Colosimo discloses the claimed invention including the water pump is located in the second cavity and connected to at least one of the water passageway assembly and the support except for being located in the first cavity. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to including to place the pump in the first cavity, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 6, and 9-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. References cited on the PTO-892 provide additional examples of dispensers with heating and cooling arrangements.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES P. CHEYNEY whose telephone number is (571)272-9971. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Paul 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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/CHARLES P. CHEYNEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754
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