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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1, 4, 7, 9, 11, and 13 are amended. Claims 2-3, 5-6, 8, 10, 12, and 14-15 are as previously presented. Therefore, claims 1-15 are currently pending and have been considered below.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on October 13, 2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 6-7, filed on 10/13/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-15 under U.S.C. 102 and 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of applicant’s amendment regarding the switch and handle orientations and newly found prior art regarding those features.
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 1-3, 7-8, and 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (CN 214964747 U) in view of Huang (WO 2020000639 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Lin discloses a lid for a cooking appliance (Page 7, Para. 3, “the pressure cooker cover 3”), the lid comprising:
a pressure release valve (Page 7, Para. 3, “a pressure valve 321 set on the pressure cooker cover 3”) configured to move between an open position (Page 8, Para. 2, “by the lever principle, the other end of the exhaust rocker 3222 is forced to tilt, at the same time, the exhaust reset spring 3223 is compressed, the pressure valve 321 is lifted”) and a closed position (Page 8, Para. 3, “the exhaust rod 3222 close to one end of the pressure valve 321 reset lower pressure, due to the lever principle, exhaust of the exhaust rod 3222 of the exhaust part 3220 one end is reset to swing upwards. when the pressure valve 321 is not subjected to the action force of the exhaust tilting rod 3222, due to the influence of its own gravity, downwards blocking the exhaust pipe 325”);
a slider configured to move in a first direction between a first position and a second position (Page 9, Para. 3, “providing a guide action for the movement of the cover opening push plate 3241, the cover opening push plate 3241 can do linear translation action in the defined range, improving the stability of the movement, so as to improve the stability of the locking and unlocking action.”, where the plate 3241 is construed to the slider that moves linearly between a locked and unlocked position for the pressure valve, where this movement would be along a first direction);
a switch in communication with the slider (Page 8, Para. 2, “pushing part 3242 towards the exhaust action part 3220 convex direction moves transversely”), wherein pressure on the switch in the first direction causes the slider to move between the first position and the second position (Fig. 16 and 17, where the slider 3242 is shown to be able to move between a first position in Fig. 16 and second position in Fig. 17 by the arrows indicating the direction of movement of the slider);
a lever defining a first end and a second end (Page 8, Para. 2, “cover opening push plate 3241 directly acts on the exhaust action part 3220 of the exhaust rod 3222, the exhaust action part 3220 of the exhaust rod 3222 is stressed by one end of the lower swing”, where Fig. 15 shows that the first end of the lever is indicated by the area connected to the spring 3223 and the second end of the lever is the area indicated by the number 3220), wherein the first end of the lever is in communication with the pressure release valve (Page 8, Para. 2, “the other end of the exhaust rocker 3222 is forced to tilt, at the same time, the exhaust reset spring 3223 is compressed, the pressure valve 321 is lifted”) and the second end of the lever is in communication with the slider (Page 8, Para. 2, “pushing part 3242 towards the exhaust action part 3220 convex direction moves transversely, the exhaust action arm 3243 of the cover opening push plate 3241 directly acts on the exhaust action part 3220 of the exhaust rod 3222”) such that movement of the slider between its first position and its second position causes the second end of the lever to lower and the first end of the lever to raise, thereby moving the pressure release valve from the closed position to the open position (Page 8, Para. 2, “the pushing part 3242 towards the exhaust action part 3220 convex direction moves transversely, the exhaust action arm 3243 of the cover opening push plate 3241 directly acts on the exhaust action part 3220 of the exhaust rod 3222, the exhaust action part 3220 of the exhaust rod 3222 is stressed by one end of the lower swing; by the lever principle, the other end of the exhaust rocker 3222 is forced to tilt, at the same time, the exhaust reset spring 3223 is compressed, the pressure valve 321 is lifted”, where moving the switch 3242 causes the lever section 3220 to be pressed downwards, which swings the other end near 3223 upwards, which compresses the spring 3223 and forces the pressure valve to go from an closed to an open position); and
a shield positioned on an exterior of the lid between the pressure release valve and the switch (Modified Fig. 13, where the shield is shown to be the handle connected to the exterior of the lid and where the handle/shield is located between the pressure release valve and the switch).
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Modified Figure 13, Lin
Lin does not disclose:
wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the shield.
However, Huang discloses, in the similar field of cooking appliance lids (Abstract, “electric pressure cooker with a new cover locking structure”), where a switch that has a slider moves in a first direction that is perpendicular to the shield (Page 3, last Para., “Before locking the lid, move the L-shaped push rod 8 on the lid 2 to the locked position by using the push button 9.”, and modified Fig. 2, where the perpendicular feature is shown). 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 switch and slider direction in Lin to be perpendicular to the shield instead of parallel as taught by Huang, where this would only result in the switch, lever, and valve system in Lin being rotated 90 degrees so that it is perpendicular to the shield.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of still facilitating a user to operate the switch, where the specific orientation desired by a user can then be selected depending on a user’s design choice for the best way to facilitate a user’s hand operation, as stated by Huang, Page 4, Para. 6, “Among them, the L-shaped push rod 8 and the push button 9 in this case can be provided on the handle of the pot lid 2 to facilitate the user's hand operation. At the same time, the L-shaped push rod 8 can be driven by pushing, turning, pressing or electronic touch, thereby achieving The lid is unlocked and locked.”.
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Modified Figure 2, Huang
Regarding claim 2, modified Lin teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the shield comprises a handle (Lin, Modified Fig. 13, where the shield is shown to be a handle).
Regarding claim 3, modified Lin teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein: the second position of the slider is positioned farther away from the pressure release valve than the first position of the slider (Lin, Fig. 16, where the switch is shown in the first position; Fig. 17, where the switch is shown in the second position; Fig. 15, where the slider is shown to move in the same direction as the switch 3242, where moving the switch towards the viewer would cause the slider 3241 to also move towards the user in order to press onto the lever downwards, where the second position is farther away from the pressure release valve 321 than compared to the first position).
Regarding claim 7, Lin discloses a lid for a cooking appliance (Page 7, Para. 3, “the pressure cooker cover 3”), the lid comprising:
a shield positioned on an exterior of the lid (Modified Fig. 13, where the shield is shown to be the handle connected to the exterior of the lid and where the handle/shield is located between the pressure release valve and the switch);
a pressure release valve positioned on the lid on a first side of the shield (Page 7, Para. 3, “a pressure valve 321 set on the pressure cooker cover 3”, and modified Fig. 13, where the pressure valve 321 is shown to be on one side of the handle/shield), the pressure release valve configured to move between an open position (Page 8, Para. 2, “by the lever principle, the other end of the exhaust rocker 3222 is forced to tilt, at the same time, the exhaust reset spring 3223 is compressed, the pressure valve 321 is lifted”) and a closed position (Page 8, Para. 3, “the exhaust rod 3222 close to one end of the pressure valve 321 reset lower pressure, due to the lever principle, exhaust of the exhaust rod 3222 of the exhaust part 3220 one end is reset to swing upwards. when the pressure valve 321 is not subjected to the action force of the exhaust tilting rod 3222, due to the influence of its own gravity, downwards blocking the exhaust pipe 325”);
a switch (Page 8, Para. 2, “pushing part 3242 towards the exhaust action part 3220 convex direction moves transversely”) positioned on the lid on a second side of the shield that is opposite to the first side of the shield (Modified Fig. 13, where the switch or pushing part 3242 is shown to be on the opposite side of the handle/shield than the pressure valve 321);
a slider in communication with the switch (Page 9, Para. 3, “providing a guide action for the movement of the cover opening push plate 3241, the cover opening push plate 3241 can do linear translation action in the defined range”, where the push plate 3241 is connected to the switch or pushing part 3242); and
a lever defining a first end and a second end (Page 8, Para. 2, “cover opening push plate 3241 directly acts on the exhaust action part 3220 of the exhaust rod 3222, the exhaust action part 3220 of the exhaust rod 3222 is stressed by one end of the lower swing”, where Fig. 15 shows that the first end of the lever is indicated by the area connected to the spring 3223 and the second end of the lever is the area indicated by the number 3220), where the first end of the lever is in communication with the pressure relief valve (Page 8, Para. 2, “the other end of the exhaust rocker 3222 is forced to tilt, at the same time, the exhaust reset spring 3223 is compressed, the pressure valve 321 is lifted”) and the second end of the lever is in communication with the slider (Page 8, Para. 2, “pushing part 3242 towards the exhaust action part 3220 convex direction moves transversely, the exhaust action arm 3243 of the cover opening push plate 3241 directly acts on the exhaust action part 3220 of the exhaust rod 3222”);
wherein the switch and slider are moveable in a first direction such that the slider depresses the second end of the lever, thereby raising the first end of the lever and moving the pressure release valve from the closed position to the open position (Page 8, Para. 2, “the pushing part 3242 towards the exhaust action part 3220 convex direction moves transversely, the exhaust action arm 3243 of the cover opening push plate 3241 directly acts on the exhaust action part 3220 of the exhaust rod 3222, the exhaust action part 3220 of the exhaust rod 3222 is stressed by one end of the lower swing; by the lever principle, the other end of the exhaust rocker 3222 is forced to tilt, at the same time, the exhaust reset spring 3223 is compressed, the pressure valve 321 is lifted”, where moving the switch 3242 causes the lever section 3220 to be pressed downwards, which swings the other end near 3223 upwards, which compresses the spring 3223 and forces the pressure valve to go from an closed to an open position).
Lin does not disclose:
wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the shield.
However, Huang discloses, in the similar field of cooking appliance lids (Abstract, “electric pressure cooker with a new cover locking structure”), where a switch that has a slider moves in a first direction that is perpendicular to the shield (Page 3, last Para., “Before locking the lid, move the L-shaped push rod 8 on the lid 2 to the locked position by using the push button 9.”, and modified Fig. 2, where the perpendicular feature is shown). 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 switch and slider direction in Lin to be perpendicular to the shield instead of parallel as taught by Huang, where this would only result in the switch, lever, and valve system in Lin being rotated 90 degrees so that it is perpendicular to the shield.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of still facilitating a user to operate the switch, where the specific orientation desired by a user can then be selected depending on a user’s design choice for the best way to facilitate a user’s hand operation, as stated by Huang, Page 4, Para. 6, “Among them, the L-shaped push rod 8 and the push button 9 in this case can be provided on the handle of the pot lid 2 to facilitate the user's hand operation. At the same time, the L-shaped push rod 8 can be driven by pushing, turning, pressing or electronic touch, thereby achieving The lid is unlocked and locked.”.
Regarding claim 8, modified Lin teaches the apparatus according to claim 7, as set forth above, discloses wherein a handle defines the shield (Lin, Modified Fig. 13, where the shield is shown to be a handle).
Regarding claim 11, Lin discloses a pressure cooker (Page 1, Para. 3 from end, “a pressure cooker”), comprising:
a cooker body (Page 2, Para. 4, “an integrated cooker body”);
an interior pot positioned in an interior of the cooker body (Page 6, Para. 1, “inner pot 13, set in the heat preservation cover 12 and located in the pot 13 bottom of a pot body heating component 14”);
a lid configured to couple with the cooker body (Page 7, Para. 3, “the pressure cooker cover 3”), the lid comprising:
a shield positioned on an exterior of the lid (Modified Fig. 13, where the shield is shown to be the handle connected to the exterior of the lid and where the handle/shield is located between the pressure release valve and the switch);
a pressure release valve positioned on the lid on a first side of the shield (Page 7, Para. 3, “a pressure valve 321 set on the pressure cooker cover 3”, and modified Fig. 13, where the pressure valve 321 is shown to be on one side of the handle/shield), the pressure release valve in communication with the interior pot (Fig. 16, where the pressure valve 321 is shown to be communication with the interior pot 13) and configured to move between an open position (Page 8, Para. 2, “by the lever principle, the other end of the exhaust rocker 3222 is forced to tilt, at the same time, the exhaust reset spring 3223 is compressed, the pressure valve 321 is lifted”) and a closed position (Page 8, Para. 3, “the exhaust rod 3222 close to one end of the pressure valve 321 reset lower pressure, due to the lever principle, exhaust of the exhaust rod 3222 of the exhaust part 3220 one end is reset to swing upwards. when the pressure valve 321 is not subjected to the action force of the exhaust tilting rod 3222, due to the influence of its own gravity, downwards blocking the exhaust pipe 325”);
a switch (Page 8, Para. 2, “pushing part 3242 towards the exhaust action part 3220 convex direction moves transversely”) positioned on the lid on a second side of the shield that is opposite to the first side of the shield (Modified Fig. 13, where the switch or pushing part 3242 is shown to be on the opposite side of the handle/shield than the pressure valve 321);
a slider in communication with the switch (Page 9, Para. 3, “providing a guide action for the movement of the cover opening push plate 3241, the cover opening push plate 3241 can do linear translation action in the defined range”, where the push plate 3241 is connected to the switch or pushing part 3242);
a lever defining a first end and a second end (Page 8, Para. 2, “cover opening push plate 3241 directly acts on the exhaust action part 3220 of the exhaust rod 3222, the exhaust action part 3220 of the exhaust rod 3222 is stressed by one end of the lower swing”, where Fig. 15 shows that the first end of the lever is indicated by the area connected to the spring 3223 and the second end of the lever is the area indicated by the number 3220), where the first end of the lever is in communication with the pressure release valve (Page 8, Para. 2, “the other end of the exhaust rocker 3222 is forced to tilt, at the same time, the exhaust reset spring 3223 is compressed, the pressure valve 321 is lifted”) and the second end of the lever is in communication with the slider (Page 8, Para. 2, “pushing part 3242 towards the exhaust action part 3220 convex direction moves transversely, the exhaust action arm 3243 of the cover opening push plate 3241 directly acts on the exhaust action part 3220 of the exhaust rod 3222”);
wherein the switch and the slider are moveable in a first direction such that the slider depresses the second end of the lever, thereby raising the first end of the lever and moving the pressure release valve from the closed position to the open position (Page 8, Para. 2, “the pushing part 3242 towards the exhaust action part 3220 convex direction moves transversely, the exhaust action arm 3243 of the cover opening push plate 3241 directly acts on the exhaust action part 3220 of the exhaust rod 3222, the exhaust action part 3220 of the exhaust rod 3222 is stressed by one end of the lower swing; by the lever principle, the other end of the exhaust rocker 3222 is forced to tilt, at the same time, the exhaust reset spring 3223 is compressed, the pressure valve 321 is lifted”, where moving the switch 3242 causes the lever section 3220 to be pressed downwards, which swings the other end near 3223 upwards, which compresses the spring 3223 and forces the pressure valve to go from an closed to an open position).
Lin does not disclose:
wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the shield.
However, Huang discloses, in the similar field of cooking appliance lids (Abstract, “electric pressure cooker with a new cover locking structure”), where a switch that has a slider moves in a first direction that is perpendicular to the shield (Page 3, last Para., “Before locking the lid, move the L-shaped push rod 8 on the lid 2 to the locked position by using the push button 9.”, and modified Fig. 2, where the perpendicular feature is shown). 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 switch and slider direction in Lin to be perpendicular to the shield instead of parallel as taught by Huang, where this would only result in the switch, lever, and valve system in Lin being rotated 90 degrees so that it is perpendicular to the shield.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of still facilitating a user to operate the switch, where the specific orientation desired by a user can then be selected depending on a user’s design choice for the best way to facilitate a user’s hand operation, as stated by Huang, Page 4, Para. 6, “Among them, the L-shaped push rod 8 and the push button 9 in this case can be provided on the handle of the pot lid 2 to facilitate the user's hand operation. At the same time, the L-shaped push rod 8 can be driven by pushing, turning, pressing or electronic touch, thereby achieving The lid is unlocked and locked.”.
Regarding claim 12, modified Lin teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses wherein a handle positioned on the exterior of the lid defines the shield (Lin, Modified Fig. 13, where the shield is shown to be a handle).
Claims 4-6, 9-10, and 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (CN 214964747 U) in view of Huang (WO 2020000639 A1) in further view of Qin et al. (US 20200128996 A1, hereinafter Qin).
Regarding claim 4, modified Lin teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses further comprising:
an arm positioned at a side of the lid (Lin, Page 9, Para. 1, “the cover opening and raising rod 3232 is rotatably connected to the pressure cooker cover 3”, and Fig. 16, where the rod 3232 is shown to be positioned on the side of the lid), the arm configured to move in the first direction between a first position and a second position (Lin, Fig. 16 and 17, where the arm 3232 is shown to be moveable between a first position in Fig. 17 and second position in Fig. 16; teaching from Huang, where this movement can be perpendicular to the shield in the first direction), wherein in the second position of the arm, a first end of the arm is farther from an edge of the lid than in the first position of the arm (Lin, Fig. 16, where the second position of the arm 3232 is shown to be compressed downwards, meaning that the end of the arm connected to the pin 3233, construed as the first end of the arm, is farther from the edge of the lid compared to the position of the arm shown in Fig. 17); and
a pin in communication with the arm, the pin inserts into an aperture (Lin, Page 9, Para. 3, “the cover opening rod 3232 close to one end of the pin head 3233 reset lower pressure, due to the lever principle, the cover opening part 3232 of the cover opening action part 3230 one end reset to swing upwards. Thus, the pin head 3233 is inserted into the lock hole 10”, where the lock hole is the aperture);
wherein a second end of the arm is in communication with the slider (Lin, Page 9, Para. 2, “when the pushing part 3242 towards the cover opening action part 3230 convex direction moves transversely”, where the second end of the arm is construed to be the part 3230 connected to the arm 3232); and
wherein the arm is configured to move the slider from its second position to its first position as the arm moves from its first position to its second position (Lin, Fig. 16 has the slider in a first position and the arm in a second position; Fig. 17 has the slider in a second position and the arm in a first position; where moving the arm from the first to the second position would cause the slider to move from the second to the first position; Page 9, Para. 4 from end, “opening cover lifting rod 3232 upper convex opening action part 3230 is stressed by the lever principle; the other end of the opening cover lifting rod 3232 is tilted upwards; the connection to the cover opening rod 3232 of the pin head 3233 away from the integrated cooker body 1 in the lock hole 10”, where the lever principle would inversely allow for the arm to move the slider).
Modified Lin does not disclose:
where the pin configured to hold the arm in the second position until an end of the pin inserts into an aperture
However, Qin discloses, in the similar field of pressure release valves, switches, and lids (Abstract, “The lid comprises a pressure-limiting valve, a lever, and a button assembly”), where there is a pin that can hold the arm in a position until the pin is brought to a predetermined position (Para. 0081, “when the lid 1 is rotated relative to the cooker body 2 towards an open position, the fourth end 71 is gradually elevated along the inclined surface 20, causing the third end 70 of the sliding rod 7 to push open the pressure-limiting valve 3”, where the inclined surface allows for the pin or end of the rod 71 to be keep the arm or rod 7 in a specific position until the pin reaches predetermined spot). 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 aperture and pin system in modified Lin to include the inclined surface as taught by Qin, where the inclined surface would allow for the pin to be keep the arm in a second position until the pin had reached the hole aperture 10.
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 allow a user to know when the lid has been rotated to a secure location, where the inclined plane allows for the pin interaction to only occur after the lid is in the correct rotated location, as stated by Qin, Para. 0081, “the fourth end 71 is gradually elevated along the inclined surface 20, causing the third end 70 of the sliding rod 7 to push open the pressure-limiting valve 3, thereby opening the pressure-limiting valve 3 when the lid 1 is rotated towards the open position. As such, these embodiments of the present invention allow the pressure-limiting valve 3 to be opened for steam discharging simultaneously with the lid opening operation.”.
Regarding claim 5, modified Lin teaches the apparatus according to claim 4, as set forth above.
Modified Lin does not disclose:
further comprising: a pressure plunger configured to engage the arm and hold the arm in its first position when pressure is applied to the pressure plunger.
However, Huang discloses, in the similar field of cooking appliance lids (Abstract, “electric pressure cooker with a new cover locking structure.”), where a pressure plunger is configured to engage the arm and hold the arm in a position when pressure is applied to the pressure plunger (Page 2, Para. 7, “The pot lid 2 is provided with a float 11, and the L-shaped push rod 8 is provided with a float card hole 12 which prevents the L-shaped push rod 8 from moving and pushes the trigger rod 4 out. When the pot body 1 is pressed up, it is pushed into the float card hole 12 and is released from the float card hole 12 after the pot body 1 is depressurized.”, where the pressure plunger is the float 11, where the float moves upwards when pressurized and prevents the switch or push button 9 from moving into another position). 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 switch and two positions in modified Lin to include the pressure plunger to prevent the switch from moving as taught by Huang, where a user could choose to keep the arm in a first or second position.
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 pressure plunger to improve the safety of the cooking appliance, as stated by Huang, Claim 2, “In the float lock hole, the L-shaped push rod is locked, making the L-shaped push rod unable to move, and only after the pressure in the pot is reduced, the float can be released from the float lock hole…which improves the safety of use.”
Regarding claim 6, modified Lin teaches the apparatus according to claim 5, as set forth above, discloses wherein the pressure plunger is further configuration to cease engagement with the arm when pressure is relieved from the pressure plunger (Teaching from Huang, Page 2, Para. 7, “The pot lid 2 is provided with a float 11, and the L-shaped push rod 8 is provided with a float card hole 12 which prevents the L-shaped push rod 8 from moving and pushes the trigger rod 4 out. When the pot body 1 is pressed up, it is pushed into the float card hole 12 and is released from the float card hole 12 after the pot body 1 is depressurized.”, where depressurization causes the float or pressure plunger to cease engagement with the switch and the arm from Lin).
Regarding claim 9, modified Lin teaches the apparatus according to claim 7, as set forth above, discloses further comprising:
an arm configured to move in the first direction (Lin, Fig. 16 and 17, where the arm 3232 is shown to be moveable between a first position in Fig. 17 and second position in Fig. 16; teaching from Huang, where this movement can be perpendicular to the shield in the first direction) from a position adjacent to an edge of the lid to a position extended from the edge of the lid (Lin, Fig. 16, where the second position of the arm 3232 is shown to be compressed downwards, meaning that the end of the arm connected to the pin 3233, construed as the first end of the arm, is farther from the edge of the lid compared to the position of the arm shown in Fig. 17); and
a pin in communication with the arm, the pin inserts into an aperture (Lin, Page 9, Para. 3, “the cover opening rod 3232 close to one end of the pin head 3233 reset lower pressure, due to the lever principle, the cover opening part 3232 of the cover opening action part 3230 one end reset to swing upwards. Thus, the pin head 3233 is inserted into the lock hole 10”, where the lock hole is the aperture);
wherein the arm is in communication with the slider and is configured to move the slider (Lin, Page 9, Para. 2, “when the pushing part 3242 towards the cover opening action part 3230 convex direction moves transversely”, where the second end of the arm is construed to be the part 3230 connected to the arm 3232) into a position that lowers the first end of the lever when the arm is in the position extended from the edge of the lid (Lin, Fig. 16 has the slider in a first position and the arm in a second position; Fig. 17 has the slider in a second position and the arm in a first position; where moving the arm from the first to the second position would cause the slider to move from the second to the first position; Page 9, Para. 4 from end, “opening cover lifting rod 3232 upper convex opening action part 3230 is stressed by the lever principle; the other end of the opening cover lifting rod 3232 is tilted upwards; the connection to the cover opening rod 3232 of the pin head 3233 away from the integrated cooker body 1 in the lock hole 10”, where the lever principle would inversely allow for the arm to move the slider).
Modified Lin does not disclose:
where the pin is configured to hold the arm in the position extended from the edge of the lid when the pin is not inserted into an aperture.
However, Qin discloses, in the similar field of pressure release valves, switches, and lids (Abstract, “The lid comprises a pressure-limiting valve, a lever, and a button assembly”), where there is a pin that can hold the arm in an extended position from the edge of the lid until the pin is brought to a predetermined position (Para. 0081, “when the lid 1 is rotated relative to the cooker body 2 towards an open position, the fourth end 71 is gradually elevated along the inclined surface 20, causing the third end 70 of the sliding rod 7 to push open the pressure-limiting valve 3”, where the inclined surface allows for the pin or end of the rod 71 to be keep the arm or rod 7 in a specific position that is extended from the edge of the lid until the pin reaches predetermined spot). 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 aperture and pin system in modified Lin to include the inclined surface as taught by Qin, where the inclined surface would allow for the pin to be keep the arm in a second position until the pin had reached the hole aperture 10.
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 allow a user to know when the lid has been rotated to a secure location, where the inclined plane allows for the pin interaction to only occur after the lid is in the correct rotated location, as stated by Qin, Para. 0081, “the fourth end 71 is gradually elevated along the inclined surface 20, causing the third end 70 of the sliding rod 7 to push open the pressure-limiting valve 3, thereby opening the pressure-limiting valve 3 when the lid 1 is rotated towards the open position. As such, these embodiments of the present invention allow the pressure-limiting valve 3 to be opened for steam discharging simultaneously with the lid opening operation.”.
Regarding claim 10, modified Lin teaches the apparatus according to claim 9, as set forth above.
Modified Lin does not disclose:
further comprising: a pressure plunger configured to engage the arm and hold the arm in position when pressure is applied to the pressure plunger.
However, Huang discloses, in the similar field of cooking appliance lids (Abstract, “electric pressure cooker with a new cover locking structure.”), where a pressure plunger is configured to engage the arm and hold the arm in a position when pressure is applied to the pressure plunger (Page 2, Para. 7, “The pot lid 2 is provided with a float 11, and the L-shaped push rod 8 is provided with a float card hole 12 which prevents the L-shaped push rod 8 from moving and pushes the trigger rod 4 out. When the pot body 1 is pressed up, it is pushed into the float card hole 12 and is released from the float card hole 12 after the pot body 1 is depressurized.”, where the pressure plunger is the float 11, where the float moves upwards when pressurized and prevents the switch or push button 9 from moving into another position). 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 switch and two positions in modified Lin to include the pressure plunger to prevent the switch from moving as taught by Huang, where a user could choose to keep the arm in a first or second position.
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 pressure plunger to improve the safety of the cooking appliance, as stated by Huang, Claim 2, “In the float lock hole, the L-shaped push rod is locked, making the L-shaped push rod unable to move, and only after the pressure in the pot is reduced, the float can be released from the float lock hole…which improves the safety of use.”
Regarding claim 13, modified Lin teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses wherein the lid further comprises:
an arm configured to move in the first direction (Lin, Fig. 16 and 17, where the arm 3232 is shown to be moveable between a first position in Fig. 17 and second position in Fig. 16; teaching from Huang, where this movement can be perpendicular to the shield in the first direction) from a position adjacent to an edge of the lid to a position extended from the edge of the lid (Lin, Fig. 16, where the second position of the arm 3232 is shown to be compressed downwards, meaning that the end of the arm connected to the pin 3233, construed as the first end of the arm, is farther from the edge of the lid compared to the position of the arm shown in Fig. 17); and
a pin in communication with the arm, the pin inserts into an aperture (Lin, Page 9, Para. 3, “the cover opening rod 3232 close to one end of the pin head 3233 reset lower pressure, due to the lever principle, the cover opening part 3232 of the cover opening action part 3230 one end reset to swing upwards. Thus, the pin head 3233 is inserted into the lock hole 10”, where the lock hole is the aperture);
wherein the arm is in communication with the slider and is configured to move the slider (Lin, Page 9, Para. 2, “when the pushing part 3242 towards the cover opening action part 3230 convex direction moves transversely”, where the second end of the arm is construed to be the part 3230 connected to the arm 3232) into a position that lowers the first end of the lever when the arm is in the position extended from the edge of the lid (Lin, Fig. 16 has the slider in a first position and the arm in a second position; Fig. 17 has the slider in a second position and the arm in a first position; where moving the arm from the first to the second position would cause the slider to move from the second to the first position; Page 9, Para. 4 from end, “opening cover lifting rod 3232 upper convex opening action part 3230 is stressed by the lever principle; the other end of the opening cover lifting rod 3232 is tilted upwards; the connection to the cover opening rod 3232 of the pin head 3233 away from the integrated cooker body 1 in the lock hole 10”, where the lever principle would inversely allow for the arm to move the slider).
Modified Lin does not disclose:
where the pin is configured to hold the arm in the position extended from the edge of the lid when the pin is not inserted into an aperture in the cooker body.
However, Qin discloses, in the similar field of pressure release valves, switches, and lids (Abstract, “The lid comprises a pressure-limiting valve, a lever, and a button assembly”), where there is a pin that can hold the arm in an extended position from the edge of the lid until the pin is brought to a predetermined position (Para. 0081, “when the lid 1 is rotated relative to the cooker body 2 towards an open position, the fourth end 71 is gradually elevated along the inclined surface 20, causing the third end 70 of the sliding rod 7 to push open the pressure-limiting valve 3”, where the inclined surface allows for the pin or end of the rod 71 to be keep the arm or rod 7 in a specific position that is extended from the edge of the lid until the pin reaches predetermined spot). 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 aperture and pin system in modified Lin to include the inclined surface as taught by Qin, where the inclined surface would allow for the pin to be keep the arm in a second position until the pin had reached the hole aperture 10, where the aperture 10 in Lin is shown to be in the cooker body from Fig. 16 and 17.
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 allow a user to know when the lid has been rotated to a secure location, where the inclined plane allows for the pin interaction to only occur after the lid is in the correct rotated location, as stated by Qin, Para. 0081, “the fourth end 71 is gradually elevated along the inclined surface 20, causing the third end 70 of the sliding rod 7 to push open the pressure-limiting valve 3, thereby opening the pressure-limiting valve 3 when the lid 1 is rotated towards the open position. As such, these embodiments of the present invention allow the pressure-limiting valve 3 to be opened for steam discharging simultaneously with the lid opening operation.”.
Regarding claim 14, modified Lin teaches the apparatus according to claim 13, as set forth above.
Modified Lin does not disclose:
wherein the lid further comprises: a pressure plunger configured to engage the arm and hold the arm in its position adjacent to the edge of the lid when pressure is applied to the pressure plunger.
However, Huang discloses, in the similar field of cooking appliance lids (Abstract, “electric pressure cooker with a new cover locking structure.”), where a pressure plunger is configured to engage the arm and hold the arm in a position when pressure is applied to the pressure plunger (Page 2, Para. 7, “The pot lid 2 is provided with a float 11, and the L-shaped push rod 8 is provided with a float card hole 12 which prevents the L-shaped push rod 8 from moving and pushes the trigger rod 4 out. When the pot body 1 is pressed up, it is pushed into the float card hole 12 and is released from the float card hole 12 after the pot body 1 is depressurized.”, where the pressure plunger is the float 11, where the float moves upwards when pressurized and prevents the switch or push button 9 from moving into another position). 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 switch and two positions in modified Lin to include the pressure plunger to prevent the switch from moving as taught by Huang, where a user could choose to keep the arm in a first or second position.
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 pressure plunger to improve the safety of the cooking appliance, as stated by Huang, Claim 2, “In the float lock hole, the L-shaped push rod is locked, making the L-shaped push rod unable to move, and only after the pressure in the pot is reduced, the float can be released from the float lock hole…which improves the safety of use.”
Regarding claim 15, modified Lin teaches the apparatus according to claim 14, as set forth above, discloses wherein the pressure plunger is further configuration to cease engagement with the arm when pressure is relieved from the pressure plunger (Teaching from Huang, Page 2, Para. 7, “The pot lid 2 is provided with a float 11, and the L-shaped push rod 8 is provided with a float card hole 12 which prevents the L-shaped push rod 8 from moving and pushes the trigger rod 4 out. When the pot body 1 is pressed up, it is pushed into the float card hole 12 and is released from the float card hole 12 after the pot body 1 is depressurized.”, where depressurization causes the float or pressure plunger to cease engagement with the switch and the arm from Lin).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Xiao et al. (CN 107296486 A) discloses a similar lever that connects a pressure release valve and a switch, however a protective shield/handle is not mentioned.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/KEVIN GUANHUA WEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
12/11/2025
/IBRAHIME A ABRAHAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761