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 6-8, 11, and 16 are amended. Claims 1-5, 9-10, and 12-15 are as previously presented. Claims 17-18 are cancelled. Therefore, claims 1-16 are currently pending and have been considered below.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on November 26, 2025 has been entered.
The priority document has been corrected. Applicant’s amendment overcomes the previously set-forth objection to the Specification, the objections to claims 6 and 8, the 35 U.S.C. 101 rejection of claims 16-18, and the 35 U.S.C. 112b rejection of claim 8.
Examiner notes that the limitation “in proximity” in claim 8 is stated by the applicant to mean sensors that are immediately adjacent to the inlets.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 11/26/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Onda does not operate any drain valve in response to detecting the oil level is higher than the upper limit depth H2 and instead relies on a buzzer and cannot be combined with Gvozdanovic to result in selective control of a valve of a drain pipe.
It is the Examiner’s position that applicant’s argument regarding Onda is correct, however the argument against the combination of Onda with Gvozdanovic is not persuasive. In 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections, a singular reference does not need to meet all the limitations within a claim. Although Onda discloses a buzzer to alert a user that oil levels are too high, there is disclosure that the oil level must be reduced, Para. 0011, “Further, by detecting the excess of the oil amount in the tank 2, it is possible to reliably prevent the oil from overflowing the tank 2.”. Gvozdanovic discloses a system where each zone includes a hot oil inflow valve 40 and a cool oil outflow valve 18, where using the teaching from Onda would require the system in Gvozdanovic to prevent oil from overflowing. If a zone in Gvozdanovic were at the level of overflowing as taught by Onda, then the only way to prevent overflowing of oil would be through activating the cool oil outflow valve as reducing the inlet oil flow would still cause the zone to overflow.
Applicant argues that Onda and Savage are for controlling oil level within an entire fryer and do not include specifics regarding individual zone control.
It is the Examiner’s position that applicant’s argument is not persuasive as the individual zones within Gvozdanovic can be self-contained individual fryer systems through their individual temperature controls, Para. 0044, “Further, by detecting the excess of the oil amount in the tank 2, it is possible to reliably prevent the oil from overflowing the tank 2.”. As a result, the temperature sensors in each zone create separate fryer troughs for each zone. It is the Examiner’s position that it is true that the mere presence of the temperature sensors from Gvozdanovic does not suggest zone-specific oil level control. However, with the prior art references of Onda and Savage, there is disclosure as to how temperature sensors can be used oil level control in a fryer trough and the motivation to use these features is stated below. The oil level control that occurs with temperature sensors can then be applied to the temperature sensors located within each zone of Gvozdanovic to duplicate the teaching in order to provide the benefits to all zones within Gvozdanovic.
Applicant argues that there is no indication that the sensors of Savage and Onda are capable of measuring oil levels in individual fryer zones.
The temperature sensors of Gvozdanovic are located at the beginning and end of each zone and are capable of measuring the oil temperature. Onda then discloses where temperature sensors can also be used to measure the oil levels, Para. 0009, “Specifically, the oil amount detector 11 monitors the temperature rise gradient from the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 8, and when the temperature rise gradient is gentler than a predetermined gradient, the temperature sensor 8 detects It is determined that the ambient temperature is attained and the oil level is below the lower limit depth H1, that is, the oil amount is insufficient.”.
It is the Examiner’s position that applicant’s argument is not persuasive as Onda discloses where the oil level can be measured with temperature sensors. As a result, the temperature sensors at the locations from Gvozdanovic would have the oil level detection feature from the teaching of Onda.
Applicant argues that there is management of oil level while food is traveling or no avoiding turbulence generated by the movement of the food in Savage and Onda.
Applicant’s independent claims state “ensure that a predetermined oil level is kept in the trough”, which implies that any turbulence or food travel would be taken into consideration as the oil level is maintained always. It is the Examiner’s position that applicant’s argument is then not persuasive as Savage and Onda combined do teach that a oil level can be maintained at a predetermined level.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. SE2050192-0, filed on 02/20/2020.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
“cooking process control device” in Claim 1
The generic placeholder is “control device” and the functional language attributed the “control device” includes: “configured to receive input signals from the oil level sensors”.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
Reference is made to the Specification filed on 08/20/2022.
Regarding the cooking process control device, Page 12, “the cooking process control device 700 may be configured to control the overall operation to achieve synchronized dual drive of the conveyor belt 110 via the master computer device 70gb and the slave computer device 700a.”, where the cooking process control device 700 is assumed to include generic computers that are able to implement control processes onto the system
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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 1-5, 7-8, 10-13, and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gvozdanovic et al. (US 20160157675 A1, hereinafter Gvozdanovic) in view of Savage et al. (US 20080282905 A1, hereinafter Savage) and Onda (JP 2004008253 A).
Regarding claim 1, Gvozdanovic discloses a multi-zone fryer for preparation of fried food products comprising an elongated cooking trough for holding a volume of heated cooking oil (Abstract, “The dual purpose fryer may include an elongated cooking trough configured to hold a volume of cooking oil and including a plurality of fluid connected cooking zones.”), at least first and second rollers (Para. 0034, “Conveyor 24 may be configured to be supported within elongated cooking trough 6 by steam hood 10. Additionally conveyor 24 and top belt 26 may be modularly configured such that an appropriate conveyor, belt, or other suitable attachment required”, where a conveyor belt is used to transport food items, where a conventional conveyor belt includes at least two rollers to drive a belt, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conveyor_belt), and a conveyor arranged to extend and transport the food products in a direction from the first roller at an inlet end, along the bottom of the trough to the second roller at an outlet end (Para. 0033, “During cooking, a conveyor 24 including a top belt 26 provides motive force from the infeed (proximal end) toward the distal end of the elongated cooking trough 6.”, where a conveyor belt would have at least two rollers at the infeed and distal ends of the belt in order to support the belt; Para. 0053, “conveyor 24 moves the chips through the hot cooking oil within the elongated cooking trough 6.”, where food items are moved along the bottom of the trough in order for the food items to be immersed within the hot cooking oil),
wherein the elongated cooking trough comprises at least a first and second cooking zone (Para. 0042, “dual purpose fryer 50 includes five cooking zones, a first (proximal) cooking zone 70, a second (intermediate) cooking zone 72, a third (intermediate) cooking zone 74, a fourth (intermediate) cooking zone 76, and a fifth ( distal) cooking zone 78.”),
characterized in that each cooking zone has at least two oil temperature sensors, wherein the first oil temperature sensor is arranged at the beginning of the cooking zone and the second oil temperature sensor is arranged at the end of the cooking zone (Para. 0027, “The dual purpose fryer 50 may include a plurality of thermal sensors 8 where each of the thermal sensors 8 monitors the temperature of cooking oil within a specific region of the dual purpose fryer 50.”, and Fig. 8, where the thermal sensors 8 are shown to have a first sensor located at the beginning of the cooking zone 70 ad a second sensor located at the end of the cooking zone),
where a cooking process control device can control the inlet and outlet valves (Para. 0055, “Alternatively, a control system may monitor the temperature of each cooking zone and automatically adjust cooking oil flow.”).
Gvozdanovic does not disclose:
where each cooking zone has at least two oil level sensors, including a first oil level sensor and a second oil level sensor, wherein the first oil level sensor is arranged at the beginning of the cooking zone and the second oil level sensor is arranged at the end of the cooking zone,
wherein a cooking process control device is configured to receive input signals from the oil level sensors and to control an oil inlet control valve and an oil outlet control valve of each cooking zone arranged in fluid connection with the trough and an oil circulation system to ensure that a predetermined oil level is kept in the trough.
However, Savage discloses, in the similar field of fryers using oil for food products (Abstract, “A deep fat fryer with continuous oil filtering”), where the cooking zone includes two oil level sensors (Para. 0212, “a first sensor 1005a positioned at a high oil level mark and a second sensor 1005b positioned at a low oil level.”), where there is a cooking process control device (Para. 0212, “The vat 14 may include one or more level detectors or sensors that provide a signal to the control system 92 proportional to the oil level within the vat 14.”) that receives input signals from the oil level sensors to control an oil inlet control valve to release more oil when the oil level is too low (Para. 0212, “When the second sensor 1005b no longer detects oil proximate thereto, the control system 92 causes a remotely operable isolation valve 1004 disposed within the pipe 1002 to open, allowing oil flow from the storage volume 1001 to the vat 14…In other embodiments, the control system 92 may receive a signal only from a low level sensor 1005b, and allow oil flow to the vat 14 from the storage volume 1001 for a predetermined period of time.”). 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 fryer system in Gvozdanovic to include the use of oil level sensors as taught by Savage, where the oil level sensors would be a dual function of the current oil temperature sensors within Gvozdanovic as explained below in the Onda reference, meaning that the oil level sensors would be at the beginning and end of the cooking zone in Gvozdanovic.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage allowing a user to have the fryer automatically hold a specific oil level, which can be beneficial in allowing for automated frying to occur, as stated by Savage, Para. 0218, “In some embodiments, the control system 92 may be configured to selectively operate each isolation valve 836b to maintain a monitored oil level in the vat 14 of each fryer in a proper band either independently or in parallel with the level control subsystem 1000.”.
Further, Onda discloses, in the similar field of fryers using oil for food products (Para. 0002, “a fryer is provided with a tank for storing oil and a heating unit for heating the oil stored in the tank. Is used for fry cooking.”), where an oil level sensor is present that detects if the oil level is too high based on being able refit a temperature sensor to have a dual purpose in being able to detect the temperature gradient of the oil (Para. 0010, “the temperature sensor 8 is disposed at the upper limit depth H2, when the oil surface is located above the upper limit depth H2, the temperature sensor 8 detects the oil temperature by immersion in the oil, and the oil surface is located at or below the upper limit depth H2. In this case, the ambient temperature around the sensor is detected without being immersed in oil. As described above, the temperature rise gradient of the oil temperature is steep, and the temperature rise gradient of the ambient temperature is gentle. By utilizing this, the oil amount in the tank 2 is higher or lower than the upper limit depth H2”), where if the oil level is too high then the control device can open the oil outlet control valve to reduce the oil level (Para. 0011, “It is determined that the oil level is above the upper limit depth H2 and the oil amount exceeds the appropriate oil amount. At this time, the buzzer 12 as a notification means operates to notify the user of the excess oil amount”, where excess oil is eliminated through opening a valve connected to an outlet, Para. 0006, “An oil drain pipe 6 with a valve 5 interposed is connected to the bottom surface of the tank 2, and this bottom surface is inclined downward toward the oil drain pipe 6.”). 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 fryer system in modified Gvozdanovic to include the feature of opening an outlet valve when the oil level is detected to be too high as taught by Onda, where the temperature sensors used for detecting oil temperature can serve a dual function of also detecting the oil level.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage being able to reliably prevent the cooking zone from overflowing from too much oil, as stated by Onda, Para. 0011, “Further, by detecting the excess of the oil amount in the tank 2, it is possible to reliably prevent the oil from overflowing the tank 2.”.
Regarding claim 2, modified Gvozdanovic teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the oil level sensors in different zones are configured to co-operate and, by means of the cooking process control device, control the oil inlet control valves and the oil outlet control valves of the different zones (Gvozdanovic, Para. 0043, “For example, the first cooking zone 70 extends from the most proximal hot oil fryer inlet 34 to the most proximal cool oil fryer outlet 32. The second cooking zone 72 extends from the second most proximal hot oil fryer inlet 34 to the second most proximal cool oil fryer outlet 32, etc.”, and Para. 0046, “The hot oil inlet flow control valve controls the amount of oil, if any, passing from the hot oil inlet pipe into a hot oil fryer inlet 34.”, and Para. 0048, “valve position indication for each of the cool oil outlet flow control valves 18”, and teaching from Savage and Onda, where the oil level sensors control oil inlet and outlet valves) to ensure that a predetermined oil level is kept at the same level in the different zones in the trough (Teaching from Savage, Para. 0218, “In some embodiments, the control system 92 may be configured to selectively operate each isolation valve 836b to maintain a monitored oil level in the vat 14 of each fryer in a proper band either independently or in parallel with the level control subsystem 1000.”, where a predetermined oil level can be maintained within a zone, where it is the Examiner’s position that having different zones have the same or different oil levels would be a mere matter of user design choice as the combined teaching of Savage and Onda allows for a user to select their desired oil level).
Regarding claim 3, modified Gvozdanovic teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses comprising three, four, five or more cooking zones, arranged in fluid connection with each other along the length of the trough (Gvozdanovic, Para. 0042, “dual purpose fryer 50 includes five cooking zones, a first (proximal) cooking zone 70, a second (intermediate) cooking zone 72, a third (intermediate) cooking zone 74, a fourth (intermediate) cooking zone 76, and a fifth ( distal) cooking zone 78.”, and Para. 0044, “In other words, the plurality of cooking zones are fluid connected with no impediment to flow of cooking oil between the cooking zones.”).
Regarding claim 4, modified Gvozdanovic teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the oil level sensors in a particular zone are configured to co- operate and control the oil inlet control valve and the oil outlet control valve of said particular zone to ensure that a predetermined oil level is kept in the trough (Gvozdanovic, Para. 0027, “The dual purpose fryer 50 may include a plurality of thermal sensors 8 where each of the thermal sensors 8 monitors the temperature of cooking oil within a specific region of the dual purpose fryer 50.”, and Fig. 8, where the thermal sensors 8 are shown to have a first sensor located at the beginning of the cooking zone 70 ad a second sensor located at the end of the cooking zone; and teaching from Savage, where the oil inlet control valve in a zone is controlled by an oil level sensor, Para. 0212, “When the second sensor 1005b no longer detects oil proximate thereto, the control system 92 causes a remotely operable isolation valve 1004 disposed within the pipe 1002 to open, allowing oil flow from the storage volume 1001 to the vat 14…In other embodiments, the control system 92 may receive a signal only from a low level sensor 1005b, and allow oil flow to the vat 14 from the storage volume 1001 for a predetermined period of time.”, and teaching from Onda, where the oil outlet control valve in a zone is controlled by an oil level sensor, Para. 0011, “It is determined that the oil level is above the upper limit depth H2 and the oil amount exceeds the appropriate oil amount. At this time, the buzzer 12 as a notification means operates to notify the user of the excess oil amount”, where excess oil is eliminated through opening a valve connected to an outlet, Para. 0006, “An oil drain pipe 6 with a valve 5 interposed is connected to the bottom surface of the tank 2, and this bottom surface is inclined downward toward the oil drain pipe 6.”).
Regarding claim 5, modified Gvozdanovic teaches the apparatus according to claim 4, as set forth above, discloses wherein the oil level sensors and the corresponding inlet and outlet valves are configured to co-operate in pairs, crosswise, or together to provide the predetermined oil level (Teaching from Savage, where the lower oil level sensor works together with the inlet valve as the inflow of oil can be dependent on the low level sensor 1005b, Para. 0212, “When the second sensor 1005b no longer detects oil proximate thereto, the control system 92 causes a remotely operable isolation valve 1004 disposed within the pipe 1002 to open, allowing oil flow from the storage volume 1001 to the vat 14…In other embodiments, the control system 92 may receive a signal only from a low level sensor 1005b, and allow oil flow to the vat 14 from the storage volume 1001 for a predetermined period of time.”; teaching from Onda, where the higher oil level sensor works together with the outlet valve as the outflow of oil is dependent on the high level sensor 8, Para. 0011, “It is determined that the oil level is above the upper limit depth H2 and the oil amount exceeds the appropriate oil amount. At this time, the buzzer 12 as a notification means operates to notify the user of the excess oil amount”, where excess oil is eliminated through opening a valve connected to an outlet, Para. 0006, “An oil drain pipe 6 with a valve 5 interposed is connected to the bottom surface of the tank 2, and this bottom surface is inclined downward toward the oil drain pipe 6.”).
Regarding claim 7, modified Gvozdanovic teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein each cooking zone comprises an oil inlet, an oil outlet, having an intermediate part of the cooking trough extending between said oil inlet and oil outlet (Gvozdanovic, Para. 0038, “The hot oil fryer inlets 34 and cool oil fryer outlets 32 need not be positioned in the bed of the elongated cooking trough 6, but may be positioned on the walls of the elongated cooking trough 6, or in other locations”, where Fig. 8 shows that the inlet 34 and outlet 32 are located at the beginning and end of the cooking zones 70, 72, 74, 76, and 78; where an intermediate part of the cooking trough is the location where the numeral of the cooking zone is labelled, where this intermediate part extends between the oil inlet and oil outlet).
Regarding claim 8, modified Gvozdanovic teaches the apparatus according to claim 7, as set forth above, discloses wherein the cooking zones are in fluid connection (Gvozdanovic, Para. 0044, “In other words, the plurality of cooking zones are fluid connected with no impediment to flow of cooking oil between the cooking zones.”), a first oil level sensor arranged at the beginning of the first cooking zone after and in proximity to a first oil inlet in said direction (Gvozdanovic, modified Fig. 8, where the first oil level sensor position is shown to be after the first oil inlet), a second oil level sensor arranged at the end of the first cooking zone before a first oil outlet (Gvozdanovic, modified Fig. 8, where the second oil level sensor position is shown to be before the first oil outlet), and a fourth oil level sensor arranged at the end of the second cooking zone and before a second oil outlet (Gvozdanovic, modified Fig. 8, where the fourth oil level sensor position is shown to be in a second cooking zone 72 and before a second oil outlet; where the sensor must be before the outlet as the sensors measure temperature within the cooking zone, Claim 18, “an indication of a temperature of cooking oil within the cooking zone from a thermal sensor;”),
each oil inlet is connected to an oil inlet circuit via an oil inlet control valve (Gvozdanovic, Claim 16, “valve position signal of the hot oil inlet flow control valve”) and each oil outlet is connected to an oil outlet circuit via an oil outlet control valve (Gvozdanovic, Claim 17, “receive a valve position signal of the cool oil outlet flow control valve”),
wherein the first oil level sensor is configured to detect the oil level of the cooking oil in the trough near the first oil inlet and by means of the cooking process control device to control the first oil inlet control valve to regulate the flow of oil from the oil inlet circuit into the trough (Teaching from Savage, Para. 0212, “When the second sensor 1005b no longer detects oil proximate thereto, the control system 92 causes a remotely operable isolation valve 1004 disposed within the pipe 1002 to open, allowing oil flow from the storage volume 1001 to the vat 14…In other embodiments, the control system 92 may receive a signal only from a low level sensor 1005b, and allow oil flow to the vat 14 from the storage volume 1001 for a predetermined period of time.”, where in the combined Gvozdanovic system, the lower oil level sensor 1005b is able to detect the oil level near the inlet by being near the inlet and the control system allows the valve of the inlet to operate),
the second oil level sensor is configured to detect the oil level near the first oil outlet and by means of the cooking process control device to control the first oil outlet control valve to control the flow of oil from the trough through to the first oil outlet to the oil outlet circuit (Teaching from Onda, Para. 0011, “It is determined that the oil level is above the upper limit depth H2 and the oil amount exceeds the appropriate oil amount. At this time, the buzzer 12 as a notification means operates to notify the user of the excess oil amount”, where excess oil is eliminated through opening a valve connected to an outlet, Para. 0006, “An oil drain pipe 6 with a valve 5 interposed is connected to the bottom surface of the tank 2, and this bottom surface is inclined downward toward the oil drain pipe 6.”, where in the combined Gvozdanovic system, the higher oil level sensor is able to detect the oil level near the outlet by being near the outlet; and Gvozdanovic, where the control system can control oil flow from the outlet, Para. 0055, “Alternatively, a control system may monitor the temperature of each cooking zone and automatically adjust cooking oil flow.”), and
the fourth oil level sensor is configured to detect the oil level near the second oil outlet and by means of the cooking process control device to control the second oil outlet control valve to control the flow of oil from the trough through the second oil outlet to the oil outlet circuit until the predetermined cooking oil level is obtained in the trough (Teaching from Onda, Para. 0011, “It is determined that the oil level is above the upper limit depth H2 and the oil amount exceeds the appropriate oil amount. At this time, the buzzer 12 as a notification means operates to notify the user of the excess oil amount”, where excess oil is eliminated through opening a valve connected to an outlet, Para. 0006, “An oil drain pipe 6 with a valve 5 interposed is connected to the bottom surface of the tank 2, and this bottom surface is inclined downward toward the oil drain pipe 6.”, where in the combined Gvozdanovic system, the higher oil level sensor is able to detect the oil level near the outlet by being near the outlet; and Gvozdanovic, where the control system can control oil flow from the outlet, Para. 0055, “Alternatively, a control system may monitor the temperature of each cooking zone and automatically adjust cooking oil flow.”, where the fourth oil level sensor would be equivalent to the second oil level sensor, just functioning for another cooking zone).
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Modified Figure 8, Gvozdanovic
Modified Gvozdanovic does not disclose:
a third oil level sensor arranged at the beginning of the second cooking zone after and in proximity to a second oil inlet;
the third oil level sensor is configured to detect the oil level of the cooking oil in the trough near the second oil inlet and by means of the cooking process control device to control the second oil inlet control valve to regulate the flow of oil from the oil inlet circuit into the trough.
However, Savage discloses where an oil level sensor is at the beginning of a cooking zone after the oil inlet (Para. 0212, “a second sensor 1005b positioned at a low oil level. When the second sensor 1005b no longer detects oil proximate thereto, the control system 92 causes a remotely operable isolation valve 1004 disposed within the pipe 1002 to open, allowing oil flow from the storage volume 1001 to the vat 14.”, where the sensor 1005b is located near the oil inlet by being positioned within the cooking zone). 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 fryer system in modified Gvozdanovic to include oil level sensors located after all the oil inlets as taught by Savage, where the same oil level detection and control process is done for the third oil level sensor as with the first oil level sensors as stated above.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of allowing a user to have the fryer automatically hold a specific oil level through all the zones within Gvozdanovic, which can be beneficial in allowing for automated frying to occur, as stated by Savage, Para. 0218, “In some embodiments, the control system 92 may be configured to selectively operate each isolation valve 836b to maintain a monitored oil level in the vat 14 of each fryer in a proper band either independently or in parallel with the level control subsystem 1000.”.
Regarding claim 10, modified Gvozdanovic teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses comprising a circulation pump configured to pump the cooking oil into the trough (Gvozdanovic, Para. 0050, “During operation, cooking oil is pumped through the dual purpose fryer and temperature control system 80 by cooking oil pump 86.”, where the flowrate can be controlled by the cooking oil pump) to provide a flowrate of the cooking oil individually in each zone to be equal or essentially equal to the speed of the conveyor belt in order to prevent turbulence (Gvozdanovic, Para. 0050, “The flow rate of hot cooking oil through each hot oil fryer inlet 34 is controlled by the position of the hot oil inlet flow control valve 40. As discussed above, the temperature of the cooking oil within each respective cooking zone is a function of the flow rate of cool oil removed from the cooking zone and the flow rate of the hot oil added to the cooking zone.”, where depending on the temperature needed within the cooking trough, the flow rate of the oil can be altered; where Gvozdanovic allows for the flow rate to be equal to the conveyor belt speed through allowing a user to set a specific temperature of the cooking trough, where this temperature control would have control over the inlet oil flow rate).
Regarding claim 11, modified Gvozdanovic teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the cooking process control device is configured to control the operation of the multi-zone fryer (Gvozdanovic, Para. 0055, “Alternatively, a control system may monitor the temperature of each cooking zone and automatically adjust cooking oil flow.”, where the control system can control the operation of the multi-zone fryer’s inlet and outlet valves within each cooking zone).
Regarding claim 12, modified Gvozdanovic teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses wherein the process control device is operatively connected to and configured to receive input signals from the oil level sensors and to control the operation of the oil inlet and outlet valves and the oil circulation system including the oil inlet circuit and an oil outlet circuit, such that the predetermined oil level is kept in the trough (Gvozdanovic, Para. 0048, “Additionally, temperature control panel 82 may provide indications of additional parameters of the temperature control system 80 such as valve position indication for each of the cool oil outlet flow control valves 18 and hot oil inlet flow control valves 40, indication of the flow rate of cool cooking oil through each cool oil outlet flow control valve 18, indication of flow rate of hot cooking oil through each hot oil inlet flow control valve 40, indication of the operational parameters of cooking oil filter 84, cooking oil pump 86, and heat exchanger 88, and/or indication of any other suitable operational parameter of the dual purpose fryer, for example.”; teaching from Savage and Onda, where there are two oil level sensors present; where in the combined system, the control system would be able to receive input from the oil level sensors and control the inlet and outlet valves as disclosed from Savage and Onda, where the oil circulation system with the oil inlet and outlet circuits is controlled by the cooking oil pump 86 which is controlled through the control system in Gvozdanovic; where Savage discloses keeping oil at a predetermined level, Para. 0218, “In some embodiments, the control system 92 may be configured to selectively operate each isolation valve 836b to maintain a monitored oil level in the vat 14 of each fryer in a proper band either independently or in parallel with the level control subsystem 1000.”).
Regarding claim 13, modified Gvozdanovic teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above, discloses a method for preparation of fried foodstuff in a multi-zone fryer (Gvozdanovic, claim 18, “A method of operating a dual purpose fryer,”) comprising:
providing food products on the conveyor for transportation through the heated cooking oil to be fried, wherein the cooking oil level rises due to the displaced oil volume of the product (Gvozdanovic, Para. 0029, “Feedstock, such as raw potato slices, may be introduced into heated cooking oil in the elongated cooking trough 6 via the infeed. The infeed may be slidable, rotatable, an infeed conveyor”, where after the potato slices are sent through the infeed, they arrive onto the conveyor, Para. 0033, “During cooking, a conveyor 24 including a top belt
26 provides motive force from the infeed (proximal end) toward the distal end of the elongated cooking trough 6.”, where when food enters the cooking trough, the oil level would need to rise as displacement occurs through the introduction of outside matter shown through the Archimedes’ principle);
detecting the rise of the oil level by the first oil level sensor in the first cooking zone (Teaching from Savage, Para. 0212, “When the second sensor 1005b no longer detects oil proximate thereto, the control system 92 causes a remotely operable isolation valve 1004 disposed within the pipe 1002 to open, allowing oil flow from the storage volume 1001 to the vat 14…In other embodiments, the control system 92 may receive a signal only from a low level sensor 1005b, and allow oil flow to the vat 14 from the storage volume 1001 for a predetermined period of time.”, where the rise of oil level is detected from the oil level sensor 1005b);
controlling the first oil inlet control valve to regulate the flow of oil to be reduced from the oil inlet circuit into the trough through the first oil inlet in response to the detected cooking oil level (Teaching from Savage, Para. 0212, “In other embodiments, the control system 92 may receive a signal only from a low level sensor 1005b, and allow oil flow to the vat 14 from the storage volume 1001 for a predetermined period of time.”, where the oil inlet control valve regulates the flow of oil to be reduced after a predetermined period of time in response to the low level oil detection);
detecting the rise of the oil level by the second oil level sensor (Teaching from Onda, Para. 0011, “It is determined that the oil level is above the upper limit depth H2 and the oil amount exceeds the appropriate oil amount. At this time, the buzzer 12 as a notification means operates to notify the user of the excess oil amount”);
controlling the first outlet control valve to regulate the flow of oil from the trough through the first outlet (Teaching from Onda, where excess oil is eliminated through opening a valve connected to an outlet, Para. 0006, “An oil drain pipe 6 with a valve 5 interposed is connected to the bottom surface of the tank 2, and this bottom surface is inclined downward toward the oil drain pipe 6.”);
detecting the oil level by the third oil level sensor in the second cooking zone (Teaching from Savage, where oil level sensors can be placed after oil inlets, Para. 0212, “a second sensor 1005b positioned at a low oil level. When the second sensor 1005b no longer detects oil proximate thereto, the control system 92 causes a remotely operable isolation valve 1004 disposed within the pipe 1002 to open, allowing oil flow from the storage volume 1001 to the vat 14.”, where the sensor 1005b is located near the oil inlet by being positioned within the cooking zone);
controlling the another oil inlet control valve to regulate the flow of oil from the oil inlet circuit into the trough through the second oil inlet in response to the detected oil level (Teaching from Savage, Para. 0212, “In other embodiments, the control system 92 may receive a signal only from a low level sensor 1005b, and allow oil flow to the vat 14 from the storage volume 1001 for a predetermined period of time.”, where the oil inlet control valve regulates the flow of oil to be reduced after a predetermined period of time in response to the low level oil detection, where the control process for the third oil level sensor is the same as for the first oil level sensor);
controlling the another outlet control valve for regulating the flow of oil from the trough through the second outlet to ensure that a predetermined oil level is kept in the trough (Teaching from Onda, Para. 0011, “It is determined that the oil level is above the upper limit depth H2 and the oil amount exceeds the appropriate oil amount. At this time, the buzzer 12 as a notification means operates to notify the user of the excess oil amount”, where excess oil is eliminated through opening a valve connected to an outlet, Para. 0006, “An oil drain pipe 6 with a valve 5 interposed is connected to the bottom surface of the tank 2, and this bottom surface is inclined downward toward the oil drain pipe 6.”, where in the combined Gvozdanovic system, the higher oil level sensor is able to detect the oil level near the outlet by being near the outlet; and Gvozdanovic, where the control system can control oil flow from the outlet, Para. 0055, “Alternatively, a control system may monitor the temperature of each cooking zone and automatically adjust cooking oil flow.”, where the fourth oil level sensor would be equivalent to the second oil level sensor, just functioning for another cooking zone shown in modified Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 16, modified Gvozdanovic teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above, discloses the method (Gvozdanovic, claim 18, “A method of operating a dual purpose fryer,”) comprising:
detecting the rise of the oil level by receiving an input signal from the first oil level sensor in the first cooking zone (Teaching from Savage, Para. 0212, “When the second sensor 1005b no longer detects oil proximate thereto, the control system 92 causes a remotely operable isolation valve 1004 disposed within the pipe 1002 to open, allowing oil flow from the storage volume 1001 to the vat 14…In other embodiments, the control system 92 may receive a signal only from a low level sensor 1005b, and allow oil flow to the vat 14 from the storage volume 1001 for a predetermined period of time.”, where the rise of oil level is detected from the oil level sensor 1005b);
controlling the first oil inlet control valve to regulate the flow of oil to be reduced from the oil inlet circuit into the trough through the first oil inlet in response to the detected cooking oil level (Teaching from Savage, Para. 0212, “In other embodiments, the control system 92 may receive a signal only from a low level sensor 1005b, and allow oil flow to the vat 14 from the storage volume 1001 for a predetermined period of time.”, where the oil inlet control valve regulates the flow of oil to be reduced after a predetermined period of time in response to the low level oil detection);
detecting the rise of the oil level by receiving an input signal from the second oil level sensor (Teaching from Onda, Para. 0011, “It is determined that the oil level is above the upper limit depth H2 and the oil amount exceeds the appropriate oil amount. At this time, the buzzer 12 as a notification means operates to notify the user of the excess oil amount”);
controlling the first outlet control valve to regulate the flow of oil from the trough through the first outlet (Teaching from Onda, where excess oil is eliminated through opening a valve connected to an outlet, Para. 0006, “An oil drain pipe 6 with a valve 5 interposed is connected to the bottom surface of the tank 2, and this bottom surface is inclined downward toward the oil drain pipe 6.”);
detecting the oil level by receiving an input signal from the third oil level sensor in the second cooking zone (Teaching from Savage, where oil level sensors can be placed after oil inlets, Para. 0212, “a second sensor 1005b positioned at a low oil level. When the second sensor 1005b no longer detects oil proximate thereto, the control system 92 causes a remotely operable isolation valve 1004 disposed within the pipe 1002 to open, allowing oil flow from the storage volume 1001 to the vat 14.”, where the sensor 1005b is located near the oil inlet by being positioned within the cooking zone);
controlling the another oil inlet control valve to regulate the flow of oil from the oil inlet circuit into the trough through the second oil inlet in response to the detected oil level (Teaching from Savage, Para. 0212, “In other embodiments, the control system 92 may receive a signal only from a low level sensor 1005b, and allow oil flow to the vat 14 from the storage volume 1001 for a predetermined period of time.”, where the oil inlet control valve regulates the flow of oil to be reduced after a predetermined period of time in response to the low level oil detection, where the control process for the third oil level sensor is the same as for the first oil level sensor);
detecting the oil level by receiving an input signal from the fourth oil level sensor (Gvozdanovic with the teaching from Onda, where the fourth oil level sensor would be equivalent to the second oil level sensor, just functioning for another cooking zone shown in modified Fig. 8);
controlling the another outlet control valve for regulating the flow of oil from the trough through the second outlet to ensure that a predetermined oil level is kept in the trough (Teaching from Onda, Para. 0011, “It is determined that the oil level is above the upper limit depth H2 and the oil amount exceeds the appropriate oil amount. At this time, the buzzer 12 as a notification means operates to notify the user of the excess oil amount”, where excess oil is eliminated through opening a valve connected to an outlet, Para. 0006, “An oil drain pipe 6 with a valve 5 interposed is connected to the bottom surface of the tank 2, and this bottom surface is inclined downward toward the oil drain pipe 6.”, where in the combined Gvozdanovic system, the higher oil level sensor is able to detect the oil level near the outlet by being near the outlet; and Gvozdanovic, where the control system can control oil flow from the outlet, Para. 0055, “Alternatively, a control system may monitor the temperature of each cooking zone and automatically adjust cooking oil flow.”, where the fourth oil level sensor would be equivalent to the second oil level sensor, just functioning for another cooking zone shown in modified Fig. 8).
Modified Gvozdanovic does not disclose:
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising an executable computer program comprising program instructions where executing the computer program causes a cooking process control device having computer capability to perform a method for preparation of fried foodstuff in a multi-zone fryer, wherein said program is run on said cooking process control device.
However, Savage discloses where a method can be run through a non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising an executable computer program and where that program is run on a control device (Para. 0106, “The control system 90 includes software and/or hardware that is programmed with logic to control the operation of the threaded rod 62 based on the input position and oil pressure or flowsignals, discussed above.”, where the hardware with logic programming would be a non-transitory computer readable storage medium). 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 control system and method in modified Gvozdanovic to include the method being a program being run on the control device as taught by Savage.
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 hardware that contains the program software so that a user could implement the program when offline, as stated by Savage, Para. 0106, “The control system 90 includes software and/or hardware that is programmed with logic to control the operation of the threaded rod 62”.
Claims 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gvozdanovic et al. (US 20160157675 A1, hereinafter Gvozdanovic) in view of Savage et al. (US 20080282905 A1, hereinafter Savage) and Onda (JP 2004008253 A) in further view of Baas et al. (CN 107072268 A, hereinafter Baas).
Regarding claim 6, modified Gvozdanovic teaches the apparatus according to claim 4, as set forth above.
Modified Gvozdanovic does not disclose:
wherein the oil level sensors and the corresponding inlet and outlet valves are configured to provide the oil level in the trough at least at the height of the particular product on the conveyor belt, when the product is moved through every cooking zone along a horizontal main portion of the run to achieve a uniform deep-frying of the entire product.
However, Baas discloses, in the similar field of multizone fryers (Page 3, Para. 2 from end, “single continuous frying machine with multiple frying temperature”), where the oil level within the fryer trough is at least at the height of the product on the conveyor belt (Page 5, Para. 2 from end, “pressing conveyor or submerged conveyor 61 can slice the potato immersion and through the whole third area heating hot oil, potato slice moisture content is reduced to less than about 2%, preferably less than about 1.5%. can be changed 59 or immersion speed of the conveyor 61 to increase or reduce the residence time in the frying potato slices.”, where the conveyor is submerged to allow the potato chips to be completely immersed in the cooking oil), where the food is moved through multiple cooking zones to be deep-fried throughout the entire process (Page 3, Para. 1, “oil from the 17 position single outlet fryer first region ends starting cycle. Subsequently, potato slices further frying the remaining portion of the fryer, the part, the hot oil temperature frying potato slices further downstream movement increases. can use 13 the product staying in the frying process. under the help of the main heat exchanger 19, using 15 and outlet 17 temperature control of different entrance to simulate the tin potato slices produced by batch desired U-section temperature curve.”, where similar to Gvozdanovic, there are multiple zones created between 15 and 17 that the product travels through). 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 oil level in modified Gvozdanovic to include an oil level height at least the height of the food products being fried as taught by Baas.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage being able to allow potato chips to be fried, where the potato food products would need to be immersed within the oil in order for deep frying to occur to produce chips, as stated by Baas, Abstract, “Potato slices fried in the one or more areas in the downstream portion of the fryer, said one or more regions of the hot oil temperature is raised by injecting oil to the downstream portion.”.
Claims 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gvozdanovic et al. (US 20160157675 A1, hereinafter Gvozdanovic) in view of Savage et al. (US 20080282905 A1, hereinafter Savage) and Onda (JP 2004008253 A) in further view of Basker et al. (CN 101198260 A, hereinafter Basker) and De’Longhi (EP 3038504 B1).
Regarding claim 9, modified Gvozdanovic teaches the apparatus according to claim 7, as set forth above, discloses wherein the oil inlet includes an inlet trough extending laterally along the width of the bottom of the cooking trough (Gvozdanovic, Fig. 8, where the oil inlets 40 are connected with a straight line, where that line is construed to be the inlet trough extending laterally along the bottom of the cooking trough).
Modified Gvozdanovic does not disclose:
wherein the sectional area of the inlet trough is rectangular, an angle plate facing a bottom corner forming a first chamber in the far end of the inlet trough, and a main chamber,
wherein the top part of the angle plate has plurality of holes providing a fluid connection from the oil inlet circuit into the main chamber of the inlet trough, an inclined plate arranged in the main chamber extending from the bottom diagonally to a perforated outlet plate of the main chamber forming a first and second sub chamber,
wherein the inclined plate extends along the width of the inlet trough with a gap along the bottom forming a fluid connection between the sub chambers, and the perforated outlet plate is provided with a pattern of lip shaped holes arranged to feed cooking oil into the trough in the same direction as the movement of the food products on the conveyor.
However, Basker discloses, in the similar field of fryers (Abstract, “fryer”), where a sectional area of a fluid flow trough is rectangular (Modified Fig. 18, where the rectangular fluid flow trough is shown), where an angle plate facing the bottom corner forms a first chamber at the far end and a main chamber (Modified Fig. 18, where the angle plate is shown to form a first and main chamber shown), where the angle plate connects to the main chamber (Modified Fig. 18, where there are gaps to connect fluid flow to the main chamber), where an inclined plate is arranged in the main chamber extending from the bottom diagonally to an outlet of the main chamber forming a first and second sub chamber (Modified Fig. 18, where the inclined plate is shown to extend from the bottom to the outlet in a diagonal direction with piece 1808, where the two sub chambers are shown), where the inclined plate extends along the width of the inlet trough with a gap at the bottom to allow for fluid connection between the two sub chambers (Modified Fig. 18, where the gap at the bottom of the inclined plate is shown to connect the two sub chambers; where Fig. 19 shows that fluid can flow through the conveyor 1818). 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 fryer system and oil inlets in modified Gvozdanovic to include the baffle structure for fluid flow as taught by Basker.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage using the baffle structures to create protected areas of fluid flow, where these areas can allow for the oil within Gvozdanovic to experience different atmosphere conditions that the user has control over creating, as stated by Basker, Page 16, Para. 1, “The use of baffles is a physical boundary, along the width of the fryer housing and distance close to one point of the oil surface in the oil pan starts to extend to a point at the fryer entrance on the input product. The purpose of the baffles is the front product input part of the frying pan to generate a protected a vestibule region, to generate with the gallery chamber on the outer side of the air separation and different atmosphere.”.
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Modified Figure 18, Basker
Further, De’Longhi discloses, in the similar field of cooking machines (Para. 0012, “a cooking machine for foodstuffs”), where there can be a plate with a plurality of holes to allow fluid flow to pass through, where those holes can also direct the fluid flow in a specific direction (Para. 0032, “Such a dome is suitably provided with a plurality of holes 53 that are suitable for allowing air to pass in the direction of such a distribution duct”, where the holes are slanted to force fluid to flow in a specific direction). 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 angle plate and outlet in modified Gvozdanovic to include holes on the angle plate and a plate with angled holes to direct fluid flow in the outlet as taught by De’Longhi.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage allowing a user to control how the oil within Gvozdanovic flows, where depending on the angle of the holes set, the fluid can be forced to flow in different directions, as stated by De’Longhi, Para. 0032, “Such a dome is suitably provided with a plurality of holes 53 that are suitable for allowing air to pass in the direction of such a distribution duct”.
Claims 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gvozdanovic et al. (US 20160157675 A1, hereinafter Gvozdanovic) in view of Savage et al. (US 20080282905 A1, hereinafter Savage) and Onda (JP 2004008253 A) in further view of De Winter et al. (WO 2016153349 A1, hereinafter Winter).
Regarding claim 14, modified Gvozdanovic teaches the apparatus according to claim 13, as set forth above.
Modified Gvozdanovic does not disclose:
wherein the predetermined oil level in the trough is regulated to be at a level between 5-100 mm.
However, Winter discloses, in the similar field of fryers (Abstract, “method for preparing a potato product for finish-frying”), where the potato products being fried are 10x10 mm or 12x12 mm meaning that the oil levels must be higher than 10 or 12 mm (Page 3, lines 13-15, “The method according to the invention can be applied to diverse shapes and cut sizes of the end product. Cut sizes of 1 0 x 1 0 mm and 1 2 x 12 mm are for instance applied. Other cut sizes and shapes are also possible according to the invention.”, where the potato products are immersed in oil to be fried, Page 18, lines 19-20, “The french fry strips were fully immersed twice in the coating suspension during the coating process”, meaning that the oil level must be higher than 10 or 20 mm in order to fully immerse the potato products). 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 oil level in modified Gvozdanovic to be a specific height as taught by Winter.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage being able to have a user choose which dimensions they want their potato products to be in, where altering the shape allows for a user to have more flexibility in the products produced by the system, where different dimensions would require oil levels that are greater in order to allow for immersion frying, as stated by Winter, Page 3, lines 13-15, “The method according to the invention can be applied to diverse shapes and cut sizes of the end product. Cut sizes of 1 0 x 1 0 mm and 1 2 x 12 mm are for instance applied. Other cut sizes and shapes are also possible according to the invention.”.
Regarding claim 15, modified Gvozdanovic teaches the apparatus according to claim 13, as set forth above.
Modified Gvozdanovic does not disclose:
wherein the predetermined oil level in the trough is regulated to be at a level between 10-35 mm.
However, Winter discloses, in the similar field of fryers (Abstract, “method for preparing a potato product for finish-frying”), where the potato products being fried are 10x10 mm or 12x12 mm meaning that the oil levels must be higher than 10 or 12 mm (Page 3, lines 13-15, “The method according to the invention can be applied to diverse shapes and cut sizes of the end product. Cut sizes of 1 0 x 1 0 mm and 1 2 x 12 mm are for instance applied. Other cut sizes and shapes are also possible according to the invention.”, where the potato products are immersed in oil to be fried, Page 18, lines 19-20, “The french fry strips were fully immersed twice in the coating suspension during the coating process”, meaning that the oil level must be higher than 10 or 20 mm in order to fully immerse the potato products). 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 oil level in modified Gvozdanovic to be a specific height as taught by Winter.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage being able to have a user choose which dimensions they want their potato products to be in, where altering the shape allows for a user to have more flexibility in the products produced by the system, where different dimensions would require oil levels that are greater in order to allow for immersion frying, as stated by Winter, Page 3, lines 13-15, “The method according to the invention can be applied to diverse shapes and cut sizes of the end product. Cut sizes of 1 0 x 1 0 mm and 1 2 x 12 mm are for instance applied. Other cut sizes and shapes are also possible according to the invention.”.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Caridis et al. (EP 2160966 A1) discloses a similar elongated trough with multiple cooking zones, however the zones do not appear to be fluidly connected with one another.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN GUANHUA WEN whose telephone number is (571)272-9940 and whose email is kevin.wen@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/KEVIN GUANHUA WEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
01/30/2026
/IBRAHIME A ABRAHAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761