`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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 5 June 2026 has been entered.
Status
This Office Action is responsive to the Arguments and Amendments dated 5 June 2026. As directed by applicant, claim 1 is amended and claim 5 is cancelled. Claims 1,2, and 5-13 are pending in the application. This is a Non- Final Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, and 6-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guangdong MIDEA Kitchen Appliances (Chinese Patent Publication CN205641033U; in applicant’s IDS, with translation; herein after “Guangdong”) in view of Barritt (U.S. Patent Number 5,648,008), Gutierrez (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/ 0181304) and Garcia Jimenez (U.S Patent Application Publication 2011/ 0233199; in previously filed form PTO-892).
Regarding claim 1, Guangdong discloses an induction cooktop (Guangdong, “induction cooker” 100, English translation, ¶¶32-35) comprising:
a processing module (30);
a power supply module (power comes from within the processing module30, ¶34 “the processing unit 30 is used for…and controlling the operation of the heating unit 10 on which the pot i50 is placed; ¶0065, “the processing unit 30 controls the operation of the heating unit 10…”);
at least one heating module (10+20+40, figs. 1-3), wherein the power supply module is configured to supply power to the at least one heating module; and
a switching element comprises a single pole(40)
wherein the at least one heating module comprises a heating circuit (10+20+40, figs. 1,2,3) configured to heat a pot (50), and a detection circuit (24) connected to the heating circuit (¶30); and wherein the processing module is configured to acquire a parameter value at a signal collection point in the detection circuit to determine whether the pot is placed on the heating module according to the parameter value(¶¶0046-0049, “the induction cooker can detect whether a pot 50 is placed on the heating unit 10 through a weaker voltage”), and to control the heating circuit to heat the pot in response to determining that the pot is placed on the heating module (¶0050), “in this way, the induction cooker 100 can realize the position detection of the pot, so that the corresponding heating unit 10 can be automatically controlled to work”) , wherein the processing module is configured to collect a voltage value at the signal collection point in the detection circuit (¶¶0046,0048, “through weaker voltage” and this would be one of the “signals” to determine the pot is placed on the heating unit), and to determine whether the pot is placed on the heating module according to the voltage value (id.),
Guangdong, though, does not disclose wherein the switching element “comprises a single pole multiple throw relay, and the relay comprises a first port, a second port and a third port;
wherein the voltage value reflects an area of contact surfaces between an object placed on the heating module and the heating module, nor wherein the processing module is configured to determine that a pot is placed on the heating module in response to determining that the voltage value exceeds a first threshold, and to control the heating module to heat the pot and wherein the first port is connected to an inductor, the second port is connected to the detection circuit, and the third port is connected to a third port of a relay of another heating module and to the power supply module; and
wherein the processing module is configured to control the first port of the switching element to be connected to the third port.
However, Barritt teaches that “to determine that the pot is placed on the heating module in response to determining that the voltage value exceeds a first threshold, and to control the heating module to heat the pot” (Barritt, “The voltage threshold value for pan and no pan is compared with programmed values by the microprocessor 54. If the value indicates that no pan is present near work coil 40, then microprocessor 54 stops power”; column 17, lines 52-54; and the voltage is related to impedance, V=IZ, and the impedance of the control circuit is how the pan is detected, “ The impedance of the LC parallel circuit 18 formed by work coil 40 and capacitor 42 of power inverter circuit 12 substantially depends on the inductive impedance of work coil 40, and the inductive impedance of work coil 40 depends on the magnetic properties of the pan 16 placed near work coil 40” column 19 line 56 to column 20 line 2). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to apply the teaching of Barritt to Guangdong, Guangdong already disclosing using “voltage” (Guangdong, ¶48) and the impedance of the circuit for pan detection, to use a threshold to determine whether the pan is present, so that, for instance, if something else is placed on the cooktop (not a pan), then the heating element would not activate, or it would deactivate quickly upon removal of the pan.
And while Guangdong in view of Barritt teaches all the above limitations, it still does not teach wherein the switch “comprises a single pole multiple throw relay, and the relay comprises a first port, a second port and a third port
“wherein the voltage value reflects an area of contact surfaces between an object placed on the heating module and the heating module,
and wherein the first port is connected to an inductor, the second port is connected to the detection circuit, and the third port is connected to a third port of a relay of another heating module and to the power supply module; and
wherein the processing module is configured to control the first port of the switching element to be connected to the third port.
However, Gutierrez teaches wherein the voltage value reflects an area of contact surfaces between an object placed on the heating module and the heating module (Gutierrez, ¶¶0053-0067, “According to a third embodiment of the present invention, more than one ferrite bar is provided with a magnetic sensor. For example, assuming that the pan has a circular surface, the minimum number of sensing ferrite bars needed to estimate accurately the pan coordinates is two: coordinates will be calculated respect the two ferrite's axis. Bars have to be under opposite halves of the coil and not in line between them.” ¶0064 ; ¶¶64-67, Fig. 8 shows how the signal can differ depending on the surfaces covered.). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Guangdong in view of Barritt, with the teachings of Gutierrez to have areas of contact surfaces detect the object via a voltage value, in order to know where precisely the pot is placed, to have more surface for the cooking on the hob (in that the heating elements extend evenly spaced over the whole hob and are not just in four or five localized places), but to only turn on the correct heaters (i.e. only the ones that the pot is over) in order to efficiently only heat up the pot that should be heated, and not turn on the other heating elements, to save energy, heat up efficiently, and also to be safer as the turning on of unnecessary heaters (even induction heaters) may cause damage.
And while Guangdong in view of Barritt and Gutierrez teaches all the limitations above, it still does not teach wherein a switch “comprises a single pole multiple throw relay, and the relay comprises a first port, a second port and a third port
and wherein the first port is connected to an inductor, the second port is connected to the detection circuit, and the third port is connected to a third port of a relay of another heating module and to the power supply module; and
wherein the processing module is configured to control the first port of the switching element to be connected to the third port.
However, Guangdong does teach a relay (Guangdong, 40), and the relay comprises a first port, and a second port; wherein the first port is connected to the inductor (Fig. 3, 40 connected to L), the second port is connected to the detection circuit (detection chip 22, 24) (¶0035-36, “disconnected disconnect detection element from detection chip when heating 10 is working”). However, it specifically does not disclose wherein the switching element comprises “a single pole multiple throw relay, wherein a third port is connected to a third port of a relay of another heating module, nor wherein the processing module is configured to control the first port of the switching element to be connected to the third port. However, Garcia Jimenez teaches comprises a (14/20), and the relay comprises a first port (Garcia Jimenez, connected to 10), a second port (26) and a third port (24),
and wherein the first port is connected to an inductor (10), the second port is connected to the detection circuit (16), and the third port is connected to a third port of a relay of another heating module and to the power supply module (12, ¶0008, “the switching apparatus may have switch positions in which an inductor is simultaneously connected to a plurality of inverters or an inverter simultaneously operates a plurality of inductors” ); and
wherein the processing module is configured to control the first port of the switching element to be connected to the third port. (Garcia Jimenez, fig. 2, with a three throw relay, ¶0008, first connected to third port for connection to other heaters and powers supply ). Thus, it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Garcia Jimenez into the disclosure of Guangdong, in order to connect different heating elements, depending on the arrangement of the heating elements (i.e. this would be beneficial if they were right next to each other Garcia Jimenez, fig. 1, so that they may be powered together if a pan was put over both of them), and thus it would be obvious to have the first port, connected to the inductor/heating element, be controlled in connection with the third port, in order to have them all work together.
Regarding claim 2, Guangdong in view of Barritt, Gutierrez and Garcia Jimenez teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as above, and further discloses an induction cooktop wherein the heating circuit comprises a switching element (switching unit 40) and an inductor (L), and wherein the processing module is configured to control the switching element to connect the inductor to the power supply module in response to determining that the pot is placed on the heating module, so that the pot is heated by the inductor.
Regarding claim 6, Guangdong in view of Barritt Gutierrez and Garcia Jimenez teaches all the limitations of claim 2, as above, and teaches an induction cooktop wherein the heating circuit further comprises a resonance unit (Guangdong, ¶0037, L-C circuit, fig. 2), and the resonance unit comprises a capacitor (C) connected to the inductor (L).
Regarding claim 7, Guangdong in view of Barritt, Gutierrez and Garcia Jimenez teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as above, and further teaches a method for controlling the induction cooktop, comprising: acquiring, by the processing module, the parameter value at the signal collection point in the detection circuit (Guangdong, ¶¶41-45), and determining, by the processing module, whether the pot is placed on the heating module according to the parameter value; and controlling, by the processing module, the heating circuit to heat the pot in response to determining that the pot is placed on the heating module.
Regarding claim 8, Guangdong in view of Barritt, Gutierrez and Garcia Jimenez teaches all the limitations of claim 7, as above, and further teaches a method wherein the heating circuit comprises a switching element (Guangdong, 40) and an inductor, wherein controlling the heating circuit to heat the pot comprises: controlling the switching element to connect the inductor to the power supply module, so that the pot is heated by the inductor (Guangdong, ¶0046).
Regarding claim 9, Guangdong in view of Barritt, Gutierrez and Garcia Jimenez teaches all the limitations of claim 7, as above, and further teaches a method, wherein acquiring, by the processing module, the parameter value at the signal collection point in the detection circuit, and determining, by the processing module, whether the pot is placed on the heating module according to the parameter value, comprises: collecting, by the processing module, a voltage value at the signal collection point in the detection circuit, and determining, by the processing module, whether the pot is placed on the heating module according to the voltage value (Guangdong, ¶¶0046,0048, “through weaker voltage” and this would be one of the “signals” to determine the pot is placed on the heating unit).
Regarding claim 10, Guangdong in view of Barritt, Gutierrez and Garcia Jimenez teaches all the limitations of claim 9, as above, but does not further disclose a method wherein the pot is placed on the heating module according to the voltage value comprises: determining that the pot is placed on the heating module in response to determining that the voltage value exceeds a first threshold. However, Barritt teaches that “determining that the pot is placed on the heating module in response to determining that the voltage value exceeds a first threshold” (Barritt, “The voltage threshold value for pan and no pan is compared with programmed values by the microprocessor 54. If the value indicates that no pan is present near work coil 40, then microprocessor 54 stops power”; column 17, lines 52-54; and the voltage is related to impedance, V=IZ, and the impedance of the control circuit is how the pan is detected, “ The impedance of the LC parallel circuit 18 formed by work coil 40 and capacitor 42 of power inverter circuit 12 substantially depends on the inductive impedance of work coil 40, and the inductive impedance of work coil 40 depends on the magnetic properties of the pan 16 placed near work coil 40” column 19 line 56 to column 20 line 2). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to apply the teaching of Barritt to Guangdong in view of Barritt, Gutierrez and Garcia Jimenez, Guangdong already disclosing using “voltage” (Guangdong, ¶48) and the impedance of the circuit for pan detection, to use a threshold to determine whether the pan is present, so that, for instance, if something else is placed on the cooktop (not a pan), then the heating element would not activate, or it would deactivate quickly upon removal of the pan.
Claim(s) 11,12, 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guangdong MIDEA Kitchen Appliances (Chinese Patent Publication CN205641033U; in applicant’s IDS, with translation; herein after “Guangdong”) in view of Barritt (U.S. Patent Number 5,648,008) and Gutierrez (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/ 0181304), and Garcia Jimenez (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2011/ 0233199) and further in view of Gouardo (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2007/ 0164017)
Regarding claim 11 Guangdong in view of Barritt, Gutierrez and Garcia Jimenez teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as above but does not further teach in this combination wherein the processing module is configured to dynamically detect a position of the object on the heating module. However, Gutierrez does teach having multiple elements to determine the position of the object on the heating module (Gutierrez, fig. 4). However, it is unclear how often this detection is taking place. However, Gouardo teaches only to “detect automatically” (i.e. “dynamically detect a position” of the containers placed on the cooking surface in order to activate only the heating means under those containers (Gouardo, ¶0039). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention, to look to the teachings of Gouardo and modify Guangdong in view of Barritt and Gutierrez, to determine that changing of position in real time in order to only turn on the heating elements below the object, in order to most efficiently use the heating device, not to waste energy and money (paying for the energy).
Regarding claim 12, Guangdong in view of Barritt, Gutierrez, Garcia Jimenez and Gouardo teaches all the limitations of claim 11, as above, and further teaches, in this combination wherein the processing module is configured to determine a change in the position of the object in real time (Gouardo, ¶0039, “detect automatically” i.e. in real time”; this would have been combined in the combination above).
Regarding claim 13, Guangdong in view of Barritt, Gutierrez and Garcia Jimenez teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as above, but does not further teach, in this combination wherein the induction cooktop is configured to automatically detect and identify a type and a size of an object on the cooktop. . However, Gutierrez does teach having multiple elements to determine the position of the object on the heating module (Gutierrez, fig. 4). However, Gouardo teaches only to “detect automatically” (Gouardo, ¶0039) and that the containers can be of any type of shape or size (Gouardo, ¶186). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention, to look to the teachings of Gouardo and modify Guangdong in view of Barritt, Gutierrez and Garcia Jimenez, to determine that changing of position in real time in order to only turn on the heating elements below the object, no matter what type of container (shape or size) in order to most efficiently use the heating device, not to waste energy and money (i.e. paying for the energy).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Specifically, a new reference of Garcia Jimenez was combined.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see previously filed forms PTO- 892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAWRENCE H SAMUELS whose telephone number is (571)272-2683. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM M-F. 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.
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/LAWRENCE H SAMUELS/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
/IBRAHIME A ABRAHAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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