DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Element 84 in the specification is listed as both the “lateral wire” and the “base portion.”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 20-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being unpatentable over Dao [PG Pub No. 2009/0200906 A1]
Regarding Claim 20, Dao teaches a method for using an oven rack assembly [Figure 3, Element 10] comprising an oven rack [Figure 3, Element 22], a slide system [Figure 3, Element 24] coupled to the oven rack, and a subframe [Figure 4, Element 20] coupled to the slide system [Figure 3, Element 24], the method comprising:
Installing the oven rack assembly within an oven cavity [Figures 6A-6C, Paragraph 25, Claim 13];
Pulling the oven rack outwardly from the oven cavity, the oven rack moving relative to the subframe [Figure 4, Element 20] via slide system [Figures 3 and 5, Element 24, Paragraph 18, Lines 7-9, Claim 13];
Retaining the subframe [Figure 4, Element 20] in a stowed position within the oven cavity by downwardly-depending movement resistors [Figure 4, Elements 50, 56, 72, and 80] of the subframe engaging structure of the oven cavity [Figures 6A-6C, Claim 13].
Regarding Claim 21, the teachings of Dao teach the limitations of Claim 20,
Dao further teaches:
Wherein retaining the subframe [Figure 4, Element 20] in the stowed position within the oven cavity comprises the movement resistors [Figure 4, Elements 50, 56, 72, and 80] engaging interior surfaces of concave or gap portions [Figure 1, Element 14, Paragraph 19, Lines 11-13] of the liner ribs [Figure 2, Element 34] on which the oven rack [Figure 3, Element 22] is resting [Figure 2, Claim 13].
Regarding Claim 22, the teachings of Dao teach the limitations of Claim 21,
Dao further teaches:
Wherein installing the oven rack assembly [Figure 3, Element 10] within the oven cavity comprises sliding the oven rack assembly into the oven cavity until the movement resistors [Figure 4, Elements 50, 56, 72, and 80] are received within the concave or gap portions [Figure 1, Element 14, Paragraph 19, Lines 11-13] of the liner ribs [Figure 2, Element 34] and adjacent portions of the subframe [Figure 4, Element 20] rest on the liner ribs [Figure 2, Element 34].
Regarding Claim 23, the teachings of Dao teach the limitations of Claim 22,
Dao further teaches:
Further comprising restricting an installation depth [Paragraph 25, Lines 13-16] for the subframe [Figure 4, Element 20] by the movement resistors [Figure 4, Elements 50, 56, 72, and 80] engaging an interior surface of the concave or gap portions [Figure 1, Element 14, Paragraph 19, Lines 11-13] of the liner ribs [Figure 2, Element 34].
Regarding Claim 24, the teachings of Dao teach the limitations of Claim 21,
Dao further teaches:
Further comprising holding the movement resistors [Figure 4, Elements 50, 56, 72, and 80] within the concave or gap portions [Figure 1, Element 14, Paragraph 19, Lines 11-13] of the liner ribs [Figure 2, Element 34] with a weight of the oven rack assembly [Figures 2, 3, and 6A-6C, Element 10, Claim 13 – It is the examiner’s position that the oven rack is held in place via the weight of the rack as there are no locking members to maintain the movement restrictors position].
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dao [PG Pub No. 2009/0200906 A1] in view of Barnes [US Patent No. 6,148,813]
Regarding Claim 1, Dao teaches an oven rack assembly [Figure 3, Element 10] comprising:
An oven rack [Figure 3, Element 22] configured to support items to be cooked or otherwise heated within an oven cavity [Paragraph 18, Lines 1-3];
A slide system [Figure 3, Element 24] coupled to the oven rack [Figure 3, Element 22] and configured to move the oven rack between a retracted position and an extended position where the oven rack has moved forwardly relative to the retracted position [Paragraph 20, Lines 1-3];
A subframe [Figure 4, Element 20] coupled to the slide system, each of the support portions including an integral, downwardly depending movement restrictor [Figure 4, Elements 50, 56, 72, and 82] for retaining the subframe in a stowed position within an oven cavity.
However, Dao fails to explicitly teach:
The subframe coupled to the slide system, the subframe comprising lateral support portions
Barnes teaches, in the same field of endeavor, a sliding oven rack assembly, wherein:
A subframe coupled to the slide system, the subframe comprising lateral support portions [Figure 3, Elements 44, 54, 55, 59, and 60 – Barnes]
A person skilled in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to make these modifications to:
Incorporate the teachings of a subframe coupled to the slide system, he subframe comprising lateral support portions in the modified system of Dao, as taught by Barnes. These modifications would allow for a secure and stable subframe when welding the wire rods together.
Regarding Claim 2, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 1,
The modified system of Dao further teaches:
Wherein the movement restrictors [Figure 4, Elements 50, 56, 72, and 82] are further for restricting an installation depth for the subframe [Figure 4, Element 20] corresponding to the subframe being in the stowed position within an oven cavity [Paragraph 25, Lines 16-25].
Regarding Claim 3, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 1,
The modified system of Dao further teaches:
The movement restrictor [Figure 4, Elements 50, 56, 72, and 82] being at least a portion of the wire body.
However, the modified system of Dao fails to explicitly teach:
Wherein the support portions each comprise a wire body.
Barnes teaches, in the same field of endeavor, a sliding oven rack assembly, wherein:
Wherein the support portions [Figure 3, Elements 44, 54, 55, 59, and 60] each comprise a wire body.
A person skilled in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to make these modifications to:
Incorporate the teachings wherein the support portions [Figure 3, Elements 44, 54, 55, 59, and 60] each comprise a wire body in the modified system of Dao, as taught by Barnes. These modifications would allow for a secure and stable subframe when welding the wire rods together.
Regarding Claim 4, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 3,
The modified system of Dao further teaches:
The wire bodies include one or more base portions [Figure 4, Elements 54, 68, and 28] for supporting the subframe [Figure 4, Element 20] on a structure of an oven cavity [Paragraph 18, Lines 1-2], the movement restrictors [Figure 4, Elements 50, 56, 72, and 82] disposed below the one or more base portions [Figure 4, Elements 54, 68, and 28].
Regarding Claim 5, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 3,
The modified system of Dao further teaches:
The wire bodies further include one or more slide supports [Figure 4, Elements 62 and 74] extending laterally inwardly relative to the base portions [Figure 4, Elements 54, 68, and 28], the slide system [Figure 3, Element 24] coupled to the slide supports [Figure 4, Elements 62 and 74].
Regarding Claim 6, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 3,
However, the modified system of Dao fails to explicitly teach:
Wherein the subframe comprises an outer wire frame including front, rear, and side wires, the outer wire frame forming the support portions.
Barnes teaches, in the same field of endeavor, a sliding oven rack assembly, wherein:
Wherein the subframe comprises an outer wire frame including front, rear, and side wires [Figure 3, Elements 54, 44, 46, and 47, respectively], the outer wire frame forming the support portions.
A person skilled in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to make these modifications to:
Incorporate the teachings wherein the subframe comprises an outer wire frame including front, rear, and side wires, the outer wire frame forming the support portions in the modified system of Dao, as taught by Barnes. These modifications would allow for a secure and stable subframe when welding the wire rods together as well as limiting the depth into the oven cavity which the subframe travels [Column 4, Lines 35-36 – Barnes].
Regarding Claim 7, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 6,
However, the modified system of Dao fails to explicitly teach:
Wherein the subframe [Figure 4, Element 20] further comprises longitudinal wires extending between the front and rear wires of the outer wire frame.
Barnes teaches, in the same field of endeavor, a sliding oven rack assembly, wherein:
Wherein the subframe further comprises longitudinal wires extending between the front and rear wires of the outer wire frame [Figure 3, Elements 64-66].
A person skilled in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to make these modifications to:
Incorporate the teachings wherein the subframe comprises an outer wire frame including front, rear, and side wires, the outer wire frame forming the support portions in the modified system of Dao, as taught by Barnes. These modifications would allow for a secure and stable subframe when welding the wire rods together.
Regarding Claim 8, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 6,
The modified system of Dao further teaches:
Wherein the subframe [Figure 4, Element 20], other than the movement restrictors [Figure 4, Elements 50, 56, 72, and 82] thereof, is planar [Figure 3, Paragraph 23, Lines 1-6 of Dao].
Regarding Claim 9, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 6,
The modified system of Dao further teaches:
Wherein the movement restrictors [Figure 4, Elements 50, 56, 72, and 82] have a trapezoidal configuration [Figure 4, Elements 54, 68, and 80 – As can be seen in Figure 4 of Dao, the listed elements form a generally trapezoidal configuration].
Regarding Claim 10, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 1,
The modified system of Dao further teaches:
A front foot [Figure 4, Element 54] and a rear foot [Figure 4, Element 80], the movement restrictor [Figure 4, Elements 54, 68, and 80] being at least a portion of the front foot [Figure 4, Element 54].
However, the modified system of Dao fails to explicitly teach:
The support portions.
Barnes teaches, in the same field of endeavor, a sliding oven rack assembly, wherein:
The support portions [Figure 3, Elements 54, 55, 59, 60, and 44 – Barnes].
A person skilled in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to make these modifications to:
Incorporate the teachings wherein the support portions comprise a front foot and a rear foot, the movement restrictor being at least a portion of the front foot in the modified system of Dao, as taught by Barnes. These modifications would allow for a secure and stable subframe when welding the wire rods together as well as limiting the depth into the oven cavity which the subframe travels [Column 4, Lines 35-36 – Barnes].
Regarding Claim 11, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 10,
The modified system of Dao further teaches:
Wherein the front foot [Figure 4, Element 54] and the rear foot [Figure 4, Element 80] each include aligned base portions [Figure 4, Elements 54, 68, and 28] for supporting the subframe [Figure 4, Element 20] on a structure of an oven cavity [Paragraph 18, Lines 1-2], the movement restrictor [Figure 4, Elements 50, 56, 72, and 80] disposed below the base portions [Figure 2, Paragraph 25, Lines 16-25 – It is the examiner’s position that elements 54, 68, and 28 support the subframe while extending to function as movement restrictors at elements 50, 58, and 80 that are below elements 54, 68, and 28].
Regarding Claim 12, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 11,
Dao further teaches:
Wherein the movement restrictors [Figure 4, Elements 50, 56, 72, and 80] are formed from a wire member comprising an angled portion [Figure 4 Elements 56, 70, and 76] extending downwardly the base portion [Figure 2, Element 68] and a horizontal portion [Figure 4, Elements 54, 68, and 28] extending rearwardly from the angled portion.
Regarding Claim 13, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 11,
Dao further teaches:
Wherein the rear foot [Figure 4, Element 80] includes an anti-tip portion extending upwardly from the base portion thereof [Figure 2, Element 54, 68, and 28].
Regarding Claim 14, the teachings of Dao teach the limitations of Claim 10,
The modified system of Dao further teaches:
Wherein the front feet [Figure 4, Element 54] are coupled to ends of the front lateral wire and the rear feet [Figure 4, Element 80] are coupled to ends of the lateral wire.
However, the modified system of Dao fails to explicitly teach:
Wherein the subframe [Figure 4, Element 20 – Dao] comprises:
Spaced longitudinal wires;
A front lateral wire coupled to front ends of the longitudinal wires;
A rear lateral wire coupled to rear ends of the longitudinal wires;
the front lateral wire and the rear feet are coupled to ends of the lateral wire.
Barnes teaches, in the same field of endeavor, a sliding oven rack assembly, wherein:
The subframe [Figure 4, Element 20 – Dao] comprises:
Spaced longitudinal wires [Figure 3, Elements 64-66];
A front lateral wire [Figure 3, Element 54] coupled to front ends of the longitudinal wires;
A rear lateral wire [Figure 3, Element 44] coupled to rear ends of the longitudinal wires.
The front lateral wire and the rear feet are coupled to ends of the lateral wire [Figure 3, Elements 44 and 54 – Barnes].
A person skilled in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to make these modifications to:
Incorporate the teachings wherein the subframe comprises: spaced longitudinal wires; a front lateral wire coupled to front ends of the longitudinal wires; a rear lateral wire coupled to rear ends of the longitudinal wires; wherein the front feet are coupled to ends of the front lateral wire and the rear feet are coupled to ends of the rear lateral wire in the modified system of Dao, as taught by Barnes. These modifications would allow for a secure and stable subframe that limit the depth into the oven cavity which the subframe travels [Column 4, Lines 35-36 – Barnes].
Regarding Claim 15, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 14,
However, the modified system of Dao fails to explicitly teach:
Wherein the slide system [Figure 3, Element 24] is coupled to the ends of the front and rear lateral wires.
Barnes teaches, in the same field of endeavor, a sliding oven rack assembly, wherein:
Wherein the slide system is coupled to the ends of the front and rear lateral wires [Figure 3, Elements 54 and 44, Respectively].
A person skilled in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to make these modifications to:
Incorporate the teachings wherein the slide system is coupled to the ends of the front and rear lateral wires in the modified system of Dao, as taught by Barnes. These modifications would allow for a secure and stable subframe when welding the wire rods together as well as limiting the depth into the oven cavity which the subframe travels [Column 4, Lines 35-36 – Barnes].
Regarding Claim 16, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 14,
The modified system of Dao further teaches:
Wherein the front and rear feet [Figure 3, Elements 54 and 80, Respectively] further include one or more slide supports [Figure 4, Elements 62 and 74] extending laterally inwardly relative to the base portions [Figure 4, Elements 54, 68, and 28] thereof, the slide system [Figure 3, Element 24] coupled to the slide supports [Figure 4, Elements 62 and 74 of Dao].
Regarding Claim 17, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 1,
The modified system of Dao further teaches:
Wherein the subframe [Figure 4, Element 20] is configured for use within an oven cavity having a liner with opposing liner ribs [Figure 2, Element 34] with a concave or gap portion [Figure 1, Element 14, Paragraph 19, Lines 11-13].
Regarding Claim 18 the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 17,
The modified system of Dao further teaches:
Wherein the movement resistors [Figure 4, Elements 50, 56, 72, and 80] include forwardly facing surfaces configured to engage interior surfaces of the concave or gap portions [Figure 1, Element 14, Paragraph 19, Lines 11-13] of the liner ribs [Figure 2, Element 34] of the oven cavity to thereby retain the subframe [Figure 4, Element 20] in the stowed position.
However, the modified system of Dao fails to explicitly teach:
The support portions
Barnes teaches, in the same field of endeavor, a sliding oven rack assembly, wherein:
The support portions [Figure 3, Elements 54, 55, 59, 60, and 44 – Barnes]
A person skilled in the art before the effective filing date would have been motivated to make these modifications to:
Incorporate the teachings wherein the movement resistors of the support portions include forwardly facing surfaces configured to engage interior surfaces of the concave or gap portions of the liner ribs of the oven cavity to thereby retain the subframe in the stowed position in the modified system of Dao, as taught by Barnes. These modifications would allow for a secure and stable subframe when welding the wire rods together as well as limiting the depth into the oven cavity which the subframe travels [Column 4, Lines 35-36 – Barnes].
Regarding Claim 19, the combined teachings of Dao in view of Barnes teach the limitations of Claim 18,
The modified system of Dao further teaches:
Wherein the movement resistors [Figure 4, Elements 50, 56, 72, and 80] have a depth configured to span an interior of the concave or gap portions [Figure 1, Element 14, Paragraph 19, Lines 11-13] of the liner ribs [Figure 2, Element 34] of the oven cavity and include rearwardly facing slopes configured to engage the interior surfaces of the concave or gap portions of the liner ribs of the oven cavity to thereby restrict the installation depth for the subframe [Figure 4, Element 20] corresponding to the subframe being in the stowed position within the oven cavity.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER SCOTT ARSENAULT whose telephone number is (571)272-0884. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30-4:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Edelmira Bosques can be reached at 571-270-5614. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER S ARSENAULT/Examiner, Art Unit 3762
/EDELMIRA BOSQUES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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