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 .
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Biao (CN110537831), of record.
Regarding claim 1. A vacuum cooking container disposed in a vacuum cooking chamber of a vacuum low-temperature cooking device and allowing food materials to be cooked therein at a low temperature under vacuum, the vacuum cooking container comprising:
Biao discloses(English abstract and figs. 1 and 2):
a barrel-shaped(11) container body having an open top(11 having an open top); and
a lid(12 arranged on 11) arranged to open and close the open top of the container body(12 closing 11),
wherein the container body comprises a bottom plate(11 having a bottom) and a sidewall(Sidewalls of 11),
wherein a seal is interposed between contact portions of the container body and the lid to seal an inner space of the vacuum cooking container formed when the open top of the container body is covered with the lid(11 and 12 sealing together to form a vacuum see abstract), and
wherein an exhaust unit (2 and abstract) allowing the inner space of the vacuum cooking container to communicate with an outside therethrough is provided in a portion of the sidewall of the container body(2 communication with outside through 2).
Biao does not disclose:
a barrel-shaped. However, the recited feature is a mere change in shape to the working parts of the device, which has been held to be obvious. See 2144.04(iV)(B). The change in shape is obvious absent persuasive evidence that the shape is significant. Here, the there is no evidence that a barrel shape is significant. One having ordinary skill would be motivated to change the shape of the Biao device for the benefit of fitting the container in a desired cooking apparatus. As such, the features of claim 1 would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill In the art.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 are objected to as being dependent on a rejected base but claims 2-5 would be allowed if rewritten in independent form.
The following is the Examiner's Reasons for Allowance:
the prior art fails to disclose and would not have rendered obvious:
wherein the diameter of the communication hole formed in the membrane varies according to a magnitude of a pressure difference between an internal pressure of the vacuum cooking container and an external pressure surrounding the vacuum cooking container, the internal pressure changing during cooking of the food materials at the low temperature under vacuum, as recited in claim 2; and
a close contact unit arranged in the first compartment or the first space or on the heating plate, the close contact unit being configured to apply a pressing pressure to the vacuum cooking container when the vacuum pressure is applied to the vacuum cooking chamber such that the vacuum cooking container closely contacts the heating plate and to remove the pressing pressure when the vacuum pressure is released; and a control unit configured to control operation of the heating plate and the vacuum pump, as recited in claim 3.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT G BACHNER whose telephone number is (571)270-3888. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday, 10-6 EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ajay Ojha can be reached at (571)273-8936. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ROBERT G BACHNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898