DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 4 and 8 are objected to because of the following informalities:
It is thought that claim 1 should be changed accordingly: “an air outlet; [[an]] and a cooling fan”.
Change claim 4 line 3 accordingly: “the machine core [[(1)]] is”. If reference characters are used they should be used with all the claim elements.
Change claim 8 line 2 accordingly: “a transparent material or a part region”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 07/31/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 3-6, 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the signal" in line 16. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites “a motor” at line 21. It is unclear if the line 21 motor refers to the line 2 motor, or is a different motor.
Claims dependent thereon are rejected for the same reasons.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 5, 8 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over European patent document EP 3785583 A1 (Prieto) in view of International patent document WO 2021/017140 A1 (Zhou), Pub. No. US 2022/0369862 A1 (Zhang), Pub. No. US 2019/0059654 A1 (Gupta), Pub. No. US 2024/0407584 A1 (Xu) and Pub. No. US 2021/0137298 A1 (Zakowski).
Regarding claim 1, Prieto disclose an overturnable (machine core 2 can be inverted as shown by figs. 1 and 2 and discussed in abstract) dual-purpose (Regarding dual purpose, fig.1 shows the purpose of providing a flow of hot air downward from the machine core 2 and into the fryer 10 and this is discussed at the bottom of page 1 and at the top of page 2. In contrast fig. 3 shows the purpose of heating food by placing the fryer 10 on top of the machine core 2 to heat the contents of the container and this is discussed in bottom of the abstract and page 9 middle) multifunctional (The functions being (1) air frying by way of the matching state of fig. 1 and (2) cooking for example like with a hot plate in fig. 13) air fryer (see middle of page 6), comprising a machine core 2 and a fryer 10, wherein the machine core 2 has a bottom 31a opening (see opening at location 11 in annotated fig. 3 below wherein the opening contains heating element 11 and wherein such opening is at the bottom 31a of the machine core 2 in fig. 1 and wherein the heating element 11 faces downward in fig. 1), a thermal circulation fan (see “hot air circulation device of the fan type” at the middle of page 6), and a heating element 11 is arranged (with1) the thermal circulation fan, and the thermal circulation fan and the heating element 11 are provided in the bottom opening (see annotated figure below regarding the heating element; since the circulation fan in in the core 2 it would also be in the bottom opening because the two work together as pointed out at page 8, middle); and the fryer 10 has a top opening (see annotated figure below), a bottom 27 of the fryer 10; a thermal conductive structure (Prieto mentions that the fryer 10 can include aluminum at location bottom of page 6 however does not specifically discuss the material of the bottom 27 of the fryer 10 wherein aluminum being thermally conductive is consistent with applicant bottom of page 4); and the machine core and the fryer are detachably connected (See figs. 1-2 showing that “the base 3 defines a housing 9 located below the heating block 2. This housing 9 allows the reception of a container 10” that is discussed at the middle of page 6. This permits sealing of the fryer 10 to the machine core 2 by way of seal 12 shown in fig. 1. The fryer 10 can be detached from the housing 9 and placed on top of the machine core 2 as shown in fig. 13), and the machine core 2 and the fryer 10 can be
in a first matching state (see fig. 1), wherein the machine core 2 is located above (see fig. 1) the fryer 10, and the bottom opening (see annotated figures below) of the machine core 2 faces downward (see that lower edge 13 faces downward in fig. 1) and communicates (There is thermal communication via “circulating hot air in the [fryer], this hot air entering through the upper opening of the [fryer 10]” as discussed at the middle of page 2. The instant hot air is circulated from the machine core 2 by way of heating element 11 and the fan as discussed at the middle of page 6) with the top opening (see annotated figures below) of the fryer 10 (The top opening of the fryer 10 shown in annotated figure 13 is shown sealed via seal 12 to the bottom 31a of the machine core 2 as shown in fig. 1);
the machine core is inverted (machine core 2 can be inverted as shown by figs. 1 and 2 and discussed in abstract) and a working mode (For example, in fig. 1 the machine core is inverted for use in the air frying working mode and in fig. 13 the machine core is right side up for use in the bottom heating working mode; see Prieto abstract).
a top 40 of the machine core; an air inlet 42 (see fig. 3); a second side surface 31,31a,31b of the machine core.
Prieto embodiment figs. 1-11 does not teach a motor is mounted in the machine core; the thermal circulation fan is sleeved on an output shaft of the motor; the heating element is arranged below the thermal circulation fan; the bottom of the fryer is provided with the thermal conductive structure; a second matching state, wherein the fryer is located above the machine core; a control panel is arranged on a side surface of the machine core, and the machine core is provided therein with a sensor which is electrically connected with the control panel; in response to the sensor sensing that the machine core is inverted, the signal is transmitted to the control panel, and then the control panel automatically displays a corresponding working mode; the top 40 of the machine core is provided with the air inlet; the second side surface of the machine core is provided with an air outlet; and a cooling fan is sleeved over a motor.
Zhou teaches (see figs. 2-3) an air fryer 1,2 (see fig. 5 and the middle of page 4 stating “air fryer”) and further teaches a motor 81 is mounted (in bottom opening shown in annotated figure below) in a machine core 1 (of the air fryer); a thermal circulation fan (thermal circulation fan 83 of overall fan 8) is sleeved (see fig. 2) on an output shaft 811 of the motor 81; a heating element 6 is arranged (see figs. 2-3) below the thermal circulation fan 83; and a cooling (such fan 82 is used to reduce the temperature of the machine core 1; see third par. of page 5) fan 82 is sleeved over a motor 81,811 (see fig. 3); and a side surface (at 32 in fig. 5) of a machine core 1 is provided with an air outlet 32 (see fig. 5). The fan 82 is sleeved over shaft 811 of fan 82 (this is consistent with applicant page 6, middle: “a cooling fan 10 is sleeved over the motor 3. Specifically, a cooling fan 10 is sleeved over the output shaft of the motor 3 and driven by the motor 3.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Prieto with a motor is mounted in the machine core; the thermal circulation fan is sleeved on an output shaft of the motor; the heating element is arranged below the thermal circulation fan and a cooling fan is sleeved over a motor; and the second side surface of a machine core is provided with an air outlet as taught by Zhou in order to facilitate driving of Prieto’s thermal circulation fan and preventing overheating of electrical equipment (see Zhou third par. of page 2) with the cooling fan (exhaust of cooling fan provided to air instant air outlet; see Zhou par. 5, top).
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Zhang teaches (see fig. 10) a structure (i.e. the bottom of fryer 10) is a thermally conductive structure (thermally conductive aluminum plate 1040).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Prieto in view of Zhou with the bottom of the fryer is provided with the thermal conductive structure as taught by Zhang in order to facilitate better broiling, steaming and baking of food (see Zhang par. 138, top).
Prieto teaches a second matching state (see fig. 13), wherein the fryer 10 is located above (see fig. 2) the machine core 2, and the bottom opening (see annotated figures above) of the machine core 2 faces upward (lower edge 13 in annotated figure 13 above is facing upward wherein the lower edge 13 is a portion of the bottom of the machine core 2 as shown in annotated figures above and in fig. 1) and connects to a bottom 27 (see fig. 1) of the fryer 10 (In the second matching state shown in fig. 13 the bottom 27 of the fryer 10 sits inside the machine core 2 as shown in fig. 13. This is discussed at the middle of page 9: “when said … [machine core] 2 is in the inverted position and stabilized over the base 3, [this] makes it possible to receive the bottom 27 of the … [fryer] 10, as shown in figure 13).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Prieto in view of Zhou and Zhang with a second matching state, wherein the fryer is located above the machine core, and the bottom opening of the machine core faces upward and connects to a bottom of the fryer as taught by Prieto embodiment of figs. 12-13 in order to facilitate a second functional configuration allowing food to be cooked in a container placed on the machine core (see Prieto abstract) thereby increasing the number of types of cooking thereby making cooking more economical (see Prieto middle of page 2).
Gupta teaches a machine core 1 and further teaches the machine core 1 is provided with a sensor therein (see par. 1024: “tilt switch … may … be installed within the device”) with a sensor (tilt switch 48) which is electrically connected (see par. 24: “tilt switch may be … solid state, using a purpose-built computer chip”; also see claim 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Prieto in view of Zhou and Zhang with the machine core is provided therein with a sensor which is electrically connected as taught by Gupta in order to facilitate notifying the user the Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang and Gupta machine core has been inverted (see Gupta par. 24) for example to provide a menu prompt (see Xu par. 119) corresponding with a working mode (for example, in Prieto fig. 1 the machine core is right side up for use in the air frying working mode and in fig. 13 the machine core is inverted for use in the bottom heating working mode; see Prieto abstract).
Xu teaches (see fig. 1) a multifunctional cooking appliance 1 (see title) and further teaches a control panel (par. 119 “controller” in conjunction with human interface panel 105; see par. 119) is arranged on a side surface (at 104) of a machine core 104 (core 104 includes a heating element 1044 (see fig. 3) and thus can be called a machine core similar to applicant machine core 1 that includes heating element 5 in fig. 2), and the machine core is provided with a sensor 1028 which is electrically connected (see par. 119; a signal is transmitted between the sensor 1028 and the control panel) with a control panel (par. 119 “controller” in conjunction with human interface panel 105; see par. 119); in response to the sensor sensing a signal is transmitted (see par. 119) to the control panel, and then the control panel automatically (the appliance displays a menu prompt corresponding to a respective cooking mode such as air fryer mode as discussed in par. 119; more specifically a sensor that detects the corresponding cooking mode sends a signal to a controller that then provides the instant display information to a display of the control panel automatically as pointed out the bottom of par. 119) displays a corresponding mode (a menu prompt corresponding to a working mode such as an air frying mode; see par. 119).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang and Gupta with a control panel is arranged on a side surface of the machine core, and the sensor (Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang and Gupta) is electrically connected with the control panel; in response to the sensor sensing that the machine core is inverted, the signal is transmitted to the control panel, and then the control panel automatically displays a corresponding mode as taught by Xu in in order to facilitate providing a friendly and convenient user cooking experience (see Xu par. 28, bottom).
Zhou teaches (see figs. 2 and 6) a top of a machine core 1 is provided with the air inlet 31. It is further noted that “when a patent claims a structure already known in the prior art that is altered by the mere substitution of one element for another known in the field, the combination must do more than yield a predictable result.” KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1385 at 1395 (U.S. 2007) (MPEP 2143 I.B.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to substitute the location of the air inlet taught by Zhou (i.e. at the top of the machine core) for the location of the air inlet of Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang, Gupta and Xu for the purpose of substituting one known element for another in order to provide the expected result of providing a location for an inlet of air for cooking.
Zakowski teaches a multifunctional cooking appliance 10 (see air fryer mode and bottom heating mode such as for sauté discussed in pars. 51 and 62) and further teaches display (on display 76) a corresponding working mode (display 76 displays cooking mode such as air frying mode or sauté mode; see par. 60, bottom and par. 62).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang, Gupta and Xu with display the working mode as taught by Zakowski in order to facilitate improved ease of use and overall functionality (see Zakowski par. 2, bottom). The controller of Prieto in view of Zhou and Xu already had knowledge of the working mode because such knowledge is used to provide the menu prompt of the working mode (e.g., see par. 119 of Xu). Zakowski adds that it would have been obvious to also display the working mode along with the menu prompt of Prieto in view of Zhou, Xu, Gupta and Zakowski.
Regarding claim 4, Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang, Gupta, Xu and Zakowski teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. The teachings of Prieto embodiment figs. 12-13 applied in the claim 1 analysis above include (see fig. 12) a sectional area of a top 31b (see fig. 1) of the machine core 2 is less than (see top of page 9 of Prieto) a sectional area of the top opening (see annotated figure above) of the fryer 10, such that the machine core 2 is at least partially accommodated in the fryer 10 (see top of page 9 of Prieto: “in the storage configuration … configuration, inserting said second portion 31b into the container 10).
Regarding claim 5, Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang, Gupta, Xu and Zakowski teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. The teachings of Prieto embodiment figs. 12-13 applied in the claim 1 analysis above include the air fryer 1 further comprises a lid (see middle of page 9) matched (the lid is matched in the sense it covers the fryer 10 and because the lids are adapted to a specific fryer 10 as discussed on the instant page 10) with the top opening (see annotated figure above) of the fryer 10, and the lid covers the fryer when the machine core 2 and the fryer 10 are in the second matching state (see fig. 13; the middle of page 9 is discussing fig. 13 as shown at the top of page 9).
Regarding claim 8, Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang, Gupta, Xu and Zakowski teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Prieto further discloses (see fig. 1) the fryer 10 is made of a transparent material or part region of the fryer is made of a transparent material (fryer 10 may be made of transparent glass as discussed at the bottom of page 6).
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Regarding claim 9, Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang, Gupta, Xu and Zakowski teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Prieto further discloses (see figs. 1 and 13) one of the bottom opening of the machine core and the top opening (see annotated figures above) of the fryer 10 is provided with a second step 14 which is embedded into the other of the bottom opening (see annotated figures above) of the machine core 2 and the top opening of the fryer, when the machine core 2 and the fryer 10 are in the first matching state (see annotated figure 1 above).
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang, Gupta, Xu and Zakowski as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Pub. No. US 2008/0190301 A1 (Peng).
Regarding claim 3, Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang, Gupta, Xu and Zakowski teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Prieto further teaches the bottom of the fryer 10 is embedded into the bottom opening (see annotated figure above) of the machine core 2 when the machine core 2 and the fryer 10 are in the second matching state (state shown in fig. 13). The bottom surface 27 of the fryer 10 is seated on support 43 during the second matching state as discussed in the lower portion of the abstract and top and middle of page 9. Prieto does not teach providing a first step.
Peng teaches (see fig. 1) a cooker 100 of a similar configuration as the second matching state of Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang, Gupta, Xu and Zakowski and further teaches a step (see annotated figure below) (provided to a bottom of fryer 102).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang, Gupta, Xu and Zakowski with providing a first step as taught by Peng in order to facilitate better securing the fryer at the support 43 taught by Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang, Gupta, Xu and Zakowski.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang, Gupta, Xu and Zakowski as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US Patent US 6,963,051 (You).
Regarding claim 6, Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang, Gupta, Xu and Zakowski teach the current invention as claimed and discussed above. Prieto does not teach a sectional area of a top of the lid is less than a sectional area of the top opening of the fryer, so that the lid is at least partially accommodated in the fryer.
You teaches a cooker similar in configuration to the second matching state of Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang, Gupta, Xu and Zakowski and further teaches a sectional area of a top (at 1 in fig. 1) of a lid 1 is less than a sectional area of a top opening a container 4 of the cooker, so that the lid 1 is at least partially accommodated (see fig. 1) in the container 4.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide Prieto in view of Zhou, Zhang, Gupta, Xu and Zakowski with a sectional area of a top of the lid is less than a sectional area of the top opening of the fryer, so that the lid is at least partially accommodated in the fryer as taught by You in order to facilitate securing the lid on the fryer.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/31/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. On pages 7-8 applicant argues that the cited references do not teach "a motor is mounted in the machine core, a thermal circulation fan is sleeved on an output shaft of the motor, and a heating element is arranged below the thermal circulation fan, and the thermal circulation fan and the heating element are provided in the bottom opening; a bottom of the fryer is provided with a thermal conductive structure; a control panel is arranged on a side surface of the machine core, and the machine core is provided therein with a sensor which is electrically connected with the control panel; in response to the sensor sensing that the machine core is inverted, the signal is transmitted to the control panel, and then the control panel automatically displays a corresponding working mode; and wherein a top of the machine core is provided with an air inlet; a side surface of the machine core is provided with an air outlet; and a cooling fan is sleeved over a motor (herein referred to as technical feature A)". Applicant further emphasizes (at page 9 top) that Zhou does not teach the features related to the fan and motor but provides no explanation as to why. Zhou teaches such features as explained below.
In response Prieto (EP 3785583 A1) teaches a thermal circulation fan (see page 6, middle) however is silent how the fan is driven. To benefit Prieto, Zhou (WO 2021/017140 A1) teaches a motor 81 is mounted (in bottom opening shown in annotated figure below) in a machine core 1 (of the air fryer); a thermal circulation fan (thermal circulation fan 83 of overall fan 8) is sleeved (see fig. 2) on an output shaft 811 of the motor 81; a heating element 6 is arranged (see figs. 2-3) below the thermal circulation fan 83; and a cooling (such fan 82 is used to reduce the temperature of the machine core 1; see third par. of page 5) fan 82 is sleeved over a motor 81,811 (see fig. 3); and a side surface (at 32 in fig. 5) of a machine core 1 is provided with an air outlet 32 (see fig. 5). This permits the fan of Prieto do be driven and provides a cooling feature to the combination wherein cooling air is exhausted by the air outlet.
Zhang teaches (see fig. 10) a structure (i.e. the bottom of fryer 10) is a thermally conductive structure (thermally conductive aluminum plate 1040) for proper heating of bottom cooking feature taught by Prieto in fig. 13 for example.
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Gupta (Pub. No. US 2019/0059654 A1) teaches a machine core 1 and further teaches the machine core 1 is provided with a sensor therein (see par. 1024: “tilt switch … may also be installed within the device”) with a sensor (tilt switch 48) which is electrically connected (see par. 24: “tilt switch may be … solid state, using a purpose-built computer chip”; also see claim 3). This facilitates notification to the user of the configuration of the air fryer (i.e. air fryer configuration or bottom cooking configuration) and facilitates a menu prompt corresponding with the configuration as further taught by Xu below for a pleasant user experience.
Xu (Pub. No. US 2024/0407584 A1) teaches (see fig. 1) a control panel (par. 119 “controller” in conjunction with human interface panel 105; see par. 119) is arranged on a side surface (at 104) of a machine core 104, and the machine core is provided with a sensor 1028 which is electrically connected (see par. 119; a signal is transmitted between the sensor 1028 and the control panel) with the control panel; in response to the sensor sensing a signal is transmitted (see par. 119) to the control panel, and then the control panel automatically (the appliance displays a menu prompt corresponding to a respective cooking mode such as air fryer mode as discussed in par. 119; more specifically a sensor that detects the corresponding cooking mode sends a signal to a controller that then provides the instant display information to a display of the control panel automatically as pointed out the bottom of par. 119) displays a corresponding mode (a menu prompt corresponding to a working mode such as an air frying mode; see par. 119). This in conjunction with Gupta’s sensor provides a menu prompt to the user for convenient cooking experience.
Zakowski (US 2021/0137298 A1) teaches displaying (on display 76) a corresponding working mode (display 76 displays cooking mode such as air frying mode or sauté mode; see par. 60, bottom and par. 62). This provides specifically that the working mode is displayed (along with the menu prompt taught by Xu) thereby further informing the user (for example if the user is a relatively new user this confirms that the air fryer is properly configured corresponding with the menu prompt).
Applicant argues that the prior art does not teach a top of the machine core is provided with an air inlet. In response Zhou teaches (see figs. 2 and 6) a top of a machine core 1 is provided with the air inlet 31.
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., “preventing the temperature of the machine core from becoming too high and scalding a user, as well as avoiding adverse effects on the use of other components in the machine core”, “greatly improves the practicality of the air fryer”, and “larger cooking space and low manufacturing costs by removing the elements of the fryer such as the door panel, the lower shell, etc.” are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification and applicant arguments are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
In response to applicant's argument that the examiner's conclusion of obviousness is based upon improper hindsight reasoning, it must be recognized that any judgment on obviousness is in a sense necessarily a reconstruction based upon hindsight reasoning. But so long as it takes into account only knowledge which was within the level of ordinary skill at the time the claimed invention was made, and does not include knowledge gleaned only from the applicant's disclosure, such a reconstruction is proper. See In re McLaughlin, 443 F.2d 1392, 170 USPQ 209 (CCPA 1971).
Applicant argues that there the secondary references significantly changes the function of the Prieto device or completely redesigns such device. In response, the test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary reference; nor is it that the claimed invention must be expressly suggested in any one or all of the references. Rather, the test is what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981). Merely adding a control panel would permit the air fryer of the combination to be operated by a user. Gupta’s tilt sensor provides the basis for convenient cooking features. Adding a motor to drive Prieto’s cooling fan does not change the function of Prieto nor does moving the air inlet to the top of the machine core (and this does not completely redesign Prieto as there are no features removed Prieto). The function and design of Prieto is to provide a structure that permits both an air frying mode and a bottom cooking mode wherein the machine core is inverted to go from one mode (of the instant modes) to the other. This remains the same after the teachings of secondary references Zhou, Zhang, Gupta, Xu and Zakowski.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARC J AMAR whose telephone number is (571)272-9948. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-6:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Devon Kramer can be reached at (571) 272-7118. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARC AMAR/Examiner, Art Unit 3741 /DEVON C KRAMER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3741
1 The term “with” is not claimed however this term is used to show one or ordinary skill in the art would understand the heating element and the thermal circulation fan are arranged together: “heating block 2 comprises … a heating device for the heater …11 of the resistive type ( figure 2 and 12) and a hot air circulation device of the fan type (not shown)” (see page 6 middle); “the heating device 11 and the hot air circulation device of the heating block 2 are used concomitantly” (see page 8 middle).
