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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/17/2025 was filed before the first Office action on the merits. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 1-3 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.
Regarding Claim 1, it is noted that the conditional steps of “an internal discharge button that allows ice or water to be discharged” may never occur.
In particular, claim 1 does not positively recite the condition precedent, (i.e. even if the cover is not attached), actually occurs, or is ever required to occur, within the broadest reasonable interpretation.
Since the recited “if” conditions need not be satisfied to meet the claim, the recited steps of allowing ice or water to be discharged even if the cover is not attached need not occur to satisfy the claim. As such, the Examiner need not present evidence establishing the obviousness of the conditional "if” step of claim , because it is not required to be performed under the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim.
Claims 2-3 are rejected based on dependency from a rejected claim.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scotsman 2017 (Scotsman Ice Systems, “Service Manual for Meridian Ice Maker-Dispensers…”, Aug 2017, [retrieved on 7/13/2026] Retrieved from Internet Archive Wayback Machine < https://web.archive.org/web/20170926162547/http://www.scotsman-ice.com/documents/GetDocument.aspx?Key=6c0d56f9-c0de-49da-9cb2-2616a8f36a4e>) in view of Scotsman 2023 (Scotsman Ice Systems, “ID525 Meridian Series Ice and Water Dispenser”, Dec 2023, [retrieved on 7/13/2026] Retrieved from Internet Archive Wayback Machine<https://web.archive.org/web/20231210074013/https://www.scotsman-ice.com/products/Healthcare/Ice-Water/HID525-Meridian-Series-Ice-and-Water-Dispenser> ).
Regarding Claim 1, Scotsman 2017 teaches an ice maker [Meridian Ice-Maker-Dispensers, p. 1] comprising a cover [upper and lower front panels, p. 8, Panel Removal] and a main body [Cabinet, p. 4], and the cover having an ice discharge port [at ice chutes, p.8, Panel Removal], a water discharge port [at water chutes, p.8, Panel Removal], an ice discharge sensor [ice dispense sensor on lower front panel of chassis, p.10], and a water discharge sensor [water dispense sensor on lower front panel of chassis, p.10], wherein the main body is provided with an internal display module [electronic controller, p.14 and p.28] on an external side surface thereof [on a side surface of chassis behind upper front panel, where all models use the same control system, p.10 and p.14], and the internal display module includes an internal discharge button that allows ice or water to be discharged [Dispense water switch or Dispense ice switch, p.14, Switches] even if the cover is not attached [where the controller is accessed by removing the upper front panel, p.12, Start Up].
Scotsman 2017 does not specifically teach a water discharge button and an ice discharge button.
However, Scotsman 2023 teaches an HID525 Meridian Series Ice and Water Dispenser [title] including a water discharge button and an ice discharge button [where the touch-free, infrared dispensing of ice and water has a Push-Button option also available, p.1, The Meridian Difference, Sanitation] where one of ordinary skill in the art would have been capable of applying the substitution of known elements for another and yield predictable results, i.e., reducing cost.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the assembly of Scotsman 2017 to include a water discharge button and an ice discharge button in view of the teachings of Scotsman 2023 where the substitution of two elements for another would have yielded predictable results, i.e., reducing cost.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scotsman 2017 and Scotsman 2023 as applied to claim 1 above and in further view of Roo et al. (US20080228318A1).
Regarding Claim 2, Scotsman, as modified, teaches the invention of claim 1 and further teaches where the internal discharge button [Dispense ice switch, p.14] is configured such that the ice is discharged from the ice discharge port when the internal discharge button is clicked once [where pressing the Dispense Ice button is configured to activate the auger motor of the ice bin, p.24, Basic Troubleshooting, Dispense motor not turning], but does not teach the water is discharged from the water discharge port when the internal discharge button is clicked twice consecutively.
However, Roo teaches a device and method for controlling a dispenser for a refrigerator which can dispense ice and/or water [0001] where the water is discharged from the water discharge port [dispensing port 45B, Figure 2] when the discharge button is clicked twice consecutively [where a single dispensing button can be used to selectively dispense water, where ice is dispensed if the single dispensing button is operated once and water is dispensed if the dispensing button is operated twice; 0061] where one of ordinary skill in the art would have been capable of applying this known technique, using a single button for water and ice dispensing instead of individually provided buttons, to a known device that was ready for improvement and the results would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art i.e., providing a simpler operation [Roo;0013-0014]
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the assembly of the combined teachings to have where the water is discharged from the water discharge port when the internal discharge button is clicked twice consecutively in view of the teachings of Roo where this known technique could have been applied to a known device that was ready for improvement and the results would have been predictable i.e., providing a simpler operation [Roo;0013-0014]
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scotsman 2017, Scotsman 2023 and Roo et al. (US20080228318A1) as applied to claim 2 above and in further view of Boarman et al. (US20070130965A1).
Regarding Claim 3, Scotsman, as modified, teaches the invention of claim 2 and does not teach where the button is configured such that when it is clicked while the ice or water is being discharged, the discharge of the ice or water is stopped.
However, Boarman teaches ice and water dispensers for refrigerator freezers where the button [Press to Fill touch pad 21, Figure 1] is configured such that when it is clicked while the ice or water is being discharged, the discharge of the ice or water is stopped [where a measured fill dispensing cycle can be paused by releasing water paddle 8, or touching and releasing the Press to Fill touch pad 21 if Press to Fill touch pad 21 is used to start the dispensing cycle; 0033] where one of ordinary skill in the art would have been capable of applying this known technique to a known device that was ready for improvement and the results would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art i.e., improving user control by providing an option to stop a dispensing cycle early.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the assembly of the combined teachings to have where the button is configured such that when it is clicked while the ice or water is being discharged, the discharge of the ice or water is stopped in view of the teachings of Boarman where this known technique could have been applied to a known device that was ready for improvement and the results would have been predictable i.e., improving user control by providing an option to stop a dispensing cycle early.
Conclusion
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/KEONA LAUREN BANKS/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/ELIZABETH J MARTIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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