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 .
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In this case, it is suggested to remove the term “disclosed is” in line 1 of the abstract.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Agcaoili (US 6192789 B1) in view of Wiker (US 8087407 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Agcaoili discloses, a sandwich maker (see contact toaster 10 in Fig. 3) comprising:
a top continuous loop conveyor belt (see conveyor belt 52 in Fig. 3, wherein as seen in Fig. 3 conveyor belt 52 is continuous loop conveyor belt) having an outside surface (heat-distributing surface 130 in Fig. 3);
a top heating plate (see heater 140 in Fig. 3, wherein heater 140 is sheet-type heating element of a quartz or resistance type as disclosed in Col. 6 lines 1-2) associated with said top continuous loop conveyor belt (see Fig. 3) and adapted to heat a lower portion (see heat-distributing surfaces of platen-facing portion 102 in Fig. 3) of said outside surface (130) of said top continuous loop conveyor belt (see Fig. 3 and disclosed in Col. 6 lines 1-8 “A pair of auxiliary heaters, indicated at 140 and 142 in FIG. 3, arc mounted to vertical brackets 115 and 116, respectively. Auxiliary heaters 140 and 142 are sheet-type heating elements of a quartz or resistance type and are controlled by temperature controls 96 (FIG. 1). Due to their positioning, they heat the heat-distributing surfaces of platen-facing portions 102 and 104. As a result, the outer surfaces of the bun halves traveling through pathways 106 and 108 are toasted by contact with platen-facing portions 102 and 104 of conveyor belts 52 and 54”);
a bottom continuous loop conveyor belt (see conveyor belt 54 in Fig. 3, wherein as seen in Fig. 3 conveyor belt 54 is continuous loop conveyor belt) having an outside surface (see heat-distributing surface 132 in Fig. 3);
a bottom heating plate (see heater 142 in Fig. 3, wherein heater 142 is sheet-type heating element of a quartz or resistance type as disclosed in Col. 6 lines 1-2) associated with said bottom continuous loop conveyor belt (see Fig. 3) and adapted to heat an upper portion (see heat-distributing surfaces of platen-facing portion 104 in Fig. 3) of said outside surface (132) of said bottom continuous loop conveyor belt (see Fig. 3 and disclosed in Col. 6 lines 1-8 “A pair of auxiliary heaters, indicated at 140 and 142 in FIG. 3, arc mounted to vertical brackets 115 and 116, respectively. Auxiliary heaters 140 and 142 are sheet-type heating elements of a quartz or resistance type and are controlled by temperature controls 96 (FIG. 1). Due to their positioning, they heat the heat-distributing surfaces of platen-facing portions 102 and 104. As a result, the outer surfaces of the bun halves traveling through pathways 106 and 108 are toasted by contact with platen-facing portions 102 and 104 of conveyor belts 52 and 54”);
a motor (see electric motor 92 in Fig. 4) adapted for simultaneously driving said top continuous loop conveyor belt in a first direction and said bottom continuous loop conveyor belt in a second direction (see Fig. 3 and disclosed in Col. 5 lines 12-13 “electric motor 92 activates conveyor belts 52 and 54 of FIG. 3”), said second direction being the opposite of said first direction (disclosed in Col. 6 lines 22-25 “Bun halves fed into inlet 118, with their interior surfaces directed towards platen 36, are moved by platen-facing portions 102 and 104 of conveyor belts 52 and 54 through pathways 106 and 108”; in other words, since the bun halves are fed through pathways 106 and 108 in the direction from the inlet 118 to the chute 196, the platen-facing portions 102 of conveyor belts 52 is rotating upwardly/clockwise which is opposite direction with the platen-facing portions 104 of conveyor belts 54 is rotating downwardly/counterclockwise);
a speed and a direction of said motor are controlled (disclosed in Col. 7 lines 61-67 “The speed of conveyor belt 54 may be increased by decreasing the diameter of sprocket wheel 86 (FIG. 4). As a result, the speed of conveyor belt 54 may be adjusted so that the crown portion falls onto chute 196 first with the corresponding heel portion dropping on top of it as it slides down chute 196. This results in the bun halves arriving at tray 26 in a stacked configuration, as shown in FIG. 3”, wherein the direction of the motor is controlled so as the buns 12 are moving from the inlet 118 to the chute 196 via belts 52 and 54), a temperature of said top heating plate, and a temperature of said bottom heating plate are controlled (disclosed in Col. 6 lines 1-3 “Auxiliary heaters 140 and 142 are sheet-type heating elements of a quartz or resistance type and are controlled by temperature controls 96 (FIG. 1)”);
a control panel (see temperature controls 96 in Fig. 1);
wherein said lower portion (104) of said outside surface (132) of said top continuous loop conveyor belt (54) and said upper portion (102) of said outside surface (130) of said bottom continuous loop conveyor belt (52) are disposed opposite each other (see Fig. 3) and are separated by a gap (see pathways 106 and 108 with platen 36 in Fig. 3);
wherein said gap (see pathways 106 and 108 with platen 36 in Fig. 3) is adapted to receive a sandwich (see two halves of a sandwich bun 12 in Fig. 3 and disclosed in Col. 6 lines 22-25 “Bun halves fed into inlet 118, with their interior surfaces directed towards platen 36, are moved by platen-facing portions 102 and 104 of conveyor belts 52 and 54 through pathways 106 and 108”);
wherein said lower portion (104) of said outside surface (132) of said top continuous loop conveyor belt (54) and said upper portion (102) of said outside surface (130) of said bottom continuous loop conveyor belt (52) are adapted to transport said sandwich across (disclosed in Col. 6 lines 22-25 “Bun halves fed into inlet 118, with their interior surfaces directed towards platen 36, are moved by platen-facing portions 102 and 104 of conveyor belts 52 and 54 through pathways 106 and 108”, wherein the heaters 140 and 142 are located within the belts 52 and 54 respectively) said top heating plate (140) and said bottom heating plate (142), simultaneously heating a top surface of said sandwich and a bottom surface of said sandwich (disclosed in Col. 6 lines 1-8 “Auxiliary heaters 140 and 142 are sheet-type heating elements of a quartz or resistance type and are controlled by temperature controls 96 (FIG. 1). Due to their positioning, they heat the heat-distributing surfaces of platen-facing portions 102 and 104. As a result, the outer surfaces of the bun halves traveling through pathways 106 and 108 are toasted by contact with platen-facing portions 102 and 104 of conveyor belts 52 and 54); and
wherein said lower portion (104) of said outside surface (132) of said top continuous loop conveyor belt (54) and said upper portion (102) of said outside surface (130) of said bottom continuous loop conveyor belt (52) are also adapted to compress said sandwich as it is heated (disclosed in Col. 6 lines 26-29 “As a result, a food item traveling through path 108 is gradually compressed to a minimum thickness and is then gradually released to expand back to near it original size” and Col. lines 59-63 “food items traveling through pathway 106 also compress and expand so that they are heated internally by heat from platen 36 and the heat-distributing surface 130 of platen-facing portion 102”).
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Agcaoili does not explicitly disclose, a controller in electronic communication with said motor, said top heating plate, and said bottom heating plate, the controller adapted to control a speed and a direction of said motor, a temperature of said top heating plate, and a temperature of said bottom heating plate; and wherein the control panel adapted to interface with said controller.
Nonetheless, Wiker teaches, a controller (see CPU 650 in Fig. 3A) and a control panel (see microprocessor-based controller 42 in Figs. 1, 3 and 3A) adapted to interface with said controller (see Fig. 3A), wherein the controller (650) in electronic communication with said conveyors (see conveyor 22 in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3A), said heaters (see burners 60, 62 in Fig. 3A), the controller (650) adapted to control a speed and a direction of said conveyors (see Fig. 3 and Fig. 3A, and disclosed in Col. 7 lines 22-25 “the speed and direction of the conveyor 22 can be set using buttons 48a, 48b, 50a and 50b and their associated displays 48c and 50c” and Col. 21 lines 33-40 “a first conveyor 22 can be operated independently of a second conveyor 22, such as by moving faster or slower than the second conveyor, in a direction opposite the second conveyor, and the like. Feedback regarding either or both conveyors 22 (e.g., speed, temperature, and the like) can be provided to a controller 42 for display upon an operator interface and/or for adjustment of oven operation in any of the manners described herein”), a temperature of the heaters (see Figs. 3 and 3A, and disclosed in Col. 9 lines 58-60 “The controller 42 can be responsive to the position sensor 79, 81 by increasing the BTU output of either or both burners 60, 62” and disclosed in Col. 21 lines 13-18 “the controller 42 can receive one or more indications from a remote device to change oven operation based upon an anticipated demand for cooked food product. For example, in some embodiments, the indication(s) can turn the oven 20 on, can increase the heat output of one or more heating elements 60, 62”).
Since Agcaoili discloses the speed and direction of the motor are controlled by changing the diameter of the sprocket wheels such that the speed of conveyor belt 54 is adjusted and the crown portion of buns 12 falls in the predetermined direction from the inlet 118 onto chute 196 first with the corresponding heel portion dropping on top of it as it slides down chute 196 in order to have the bun halves arriving at tray 26 in a stacked configuration as shown in FIG. 3, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the sandwich maker of Agcaoili to further comprise a controller in electronic communication with said motor and the control panel adapted to interface with said controller such that the controller adapted to control a speed and a direction of said motor as taught/suggested by Wiker in order to set the speed and direction of the conveyor belts using buttons and associated display of the control panel (see Col. 7 lines 22-25 by Wiker). Doing so would allow for exact speed and direction settings, smooth acceleration, and precise torque management, crucial for performance and efficiency.
Furthermore, since Agcaoili discloses auxiliary heaters 140 and 142 are controlled by temperature controls 96, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date (post AIA ) to modify the sandwich maker of Agcaoili to have the control panel 96 adapted to interface with the controller, wherein the controller in electronic communication said top heating plate, and said bottom heating plate, the controller adapted to control a temperature of said top heating plate, and a temperature of said bottom heating plate as taught/suggested by Wiker in order to program the process of making sandwiches as desired (see Col. 7 lines 6-22 by Wiker). Doing so would offer precision, automation, and significant energy savings by using digital sensors and logic to maintain exact temperatures, learn your habits (smart models), allow remote access, and precisely manage heating cycles.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VY T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-6015. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday approx. 6:00 am-3:30 pm ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Helena Kosanovic can be reached on (571) 272-9059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/VY T NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761