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 § 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 1-10 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.
The term “close” in claim 1, lines 7-8, “the second plate surface is disposed close to the side wall of the positioning groove,” is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “close” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Therefore, the distance between the second plate surface and the side wall of the positioning groove is indefinite.
The term “closely” in claim 1, line 8, “closely clings to the side wall of the positioning groove,” is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “closely” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Therefore, the distance to the side wall of the positioning groove is indefinite.
Claims 2-10 are rejected due to their dependency on Claim 1.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable over Donnelly (U.S. Patent 11,248,800), hereinafter Donnelly.
Regarding claim 1,
Donnelly discloses
A grill body structure of a pellet grill (Column 1, Lines 15-16, and Figures 1-13, Pellet Grill 100) comprising
two end plates disposed opposite to each other and a side plate, wherein the side plate is disposed between the end plates to form a heating cavity with an opening at a front end (Columns 12-13, Lines 60-5, and Figures 3 and 10, Main Body 102, Left End Cap 104, Right End Cap 106, Outer Wall 108, First Liner 314, Second Liner 316, and Cooking Chamber 1002),
each of the end plates comprises an end shell and a fixture (Columns 13-14, Lines 55-7, and Figure 3, First End Cap 104, Second End Cap 106, First Liner 314, and Second Liner 316),
the fixture comprises a first plate surface and a second plate surface vertically connected to each other (Column 14, Lines 8-20, and Figure 3, First End Cap 104, Second End Cap 106, First Liner 314, and Second Liner 316),
an end shell is provided with a positioning groove so as to form an end wall and a side wall (Columns 13-14, Lines 55-7, and Figure 3, First End Cap 104, Second End Cap 106, First Liner 314, and Second Liner 316),
the first plate surface is detachably assembled with the end wall of the positioning groove by a plurality of external first fasteners (Column 14, Lines 8-20),
the second plate surface is disposed close to the side wall of the positioning groove or closely clings to the side wall of the positioning groove (Columns 13-14, Lines 55-32, and Figure 3, First End Cap 104, Second End Cap 106, First Liner 314, and Second Liner 316),
and both sides of the side plate are detachably assembled with the second plate surface and the side wall of the positioning groove by a plurality of external second fasteners respectively (Columns 13-14, Lines 55-32, and Figure 3, First End Cap 104, Second End Cap 106, First Liner 314, and Second Liner 316).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-10 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.
Regarding claim 2, the prior art does not anticipate nor render obvious the combination set forth in the independent claims, and specifically does not disclose the following: the fixture further comprises a third plate surface connected with the second plate surface, the third plate surface is disposed parallel to the first plate surface, and the cover is detachably assembled with at least one of the third plate surface and the end shell by a third fastener.
Although the closest prior art of record, Colston (US 10,568,461 B2) discloses end plates (Figures 1 and 2, Outer Wall 104) and a cover which is disposed apart from the end shell to form a first heat insulating space disposed apart from the heating cavity in a mating manner (Column 7, Lines 15-18, and Figure 1, Oven Section 102, Opening 108, Lid 110).
There is no teaching in the prior art of record that would, reasonably and absent impermissible hindsight, motivate one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of the prior art so that the fixture further comprises a third plate surface connected with the second plate surface, the third plate surface is disposed parallel to the first plate surface, and the cover is detachably assembled with at least one of the third plate surface and the end shell by a third fastener in combination with all other claimed features.
Claims 3-10 are also objected to by virtue of their dependency on claim 2.
Colston (US 10,568,461 B2), hereinafter Colston, discloses end plates (Figures 1 and 2, Outer Wall 104) and a cover which is disposed apart from the end shell to form a first heat insulating space disposed apart from the heating cavity in a mating manner (Column 7, Lines 15-18, and Figure 1, Oven Section 102, Opening 108, Lid 110). Examiner was unable to find prior art corresponding or reasonably combinable of the fixture further comprising a third plate surface connected with the second plate surface where the third plate surface is disposed parallel to the first plate surface and the cover is detachably assembled with at least one of the third plate surface and the end shell by a third fastener.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Colston (US Patent 10,568,461 B2) teaches grill mounts with positioning grooves, Staver (US Patent 10,959,437 B2) teaches a baking case with mounting grooves, Traeger (US Patent Application 2007/0137634 A1) teaches a latching pellet grill, Dykes (US Patent Application 2022/0307683 A1) teaches a pellet grill with a similar body structure including end caps and a liner, Edwards (US Patent 4,457,290) teaches a collapsible cooker including a base and positioning notches, and Mao (US Patent Application 2022/0400899 A1) teaches a collapsible shell grill body structure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FREDERICA FINNEY-LONG whose telephone number is (571)272-4994. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM EST.
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, Steve McAllister can be reached on (571) 272-6785. 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.
/FREDERICA VALENTINA FINNEY-LONG/ Examiner, Art Unit 4167
03/31/2025
/STEVEN B MCALLISTER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3762