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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 5 – 19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 3/5/2026. Claims 1 – 4 have been considered below.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: claim 1 recites, “method for making a pancake having a depression formed therein to condiments.” It appears “to condiments” should instead recite “to contain condiments” or similar language. Appropriate correction is required.
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 (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 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.
Claims 1 – 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scharf (US 2020/0205616) in view of Yother (US 6,827,324) and Welch et al. (US 7,318,575).
Regarding claim 1, Scharf discloses a method for making a pancake having a void formed therein to contain condiments (“a method of forming a unit of poured fill material” [0011] using “pancake molds” [0003] with “voids” / “hollow area[s]” in the pancake [0006]), comprising:
a) utilizing a ring member (see annotated Fig. 8; ring member / “sun-shaped mold wall” 703 [0028]; the mold wall is also referred to as element 103 [0029]);
b) pouring batter into the ring member (“These molds produce units of fill material” [0028]; “using a pancake batter or similar for its fill material” [0045]; “the fill material is a batter selected from a list comprising pancake batter and waffle batter” [claim 2]);
c) operationally connecting a support structure to the ring member (see annotated Fig. 8, support structure / locator member 109; “There are a plurality of locator members 109 and combined members 111 connecting the volumes 107 with respect to the mold wall 103” [0029]);
d) suspending a negative mold from the support structure into the batter (see annotated Fig. 8, negative mold / “exclusion volume 107” [0029]; “the exclusion volumes 107 are configured to produce at least one void” [0038]);
e) cooking the batter to yield a pancake (it is understood that the “pancake batter” [0045], [claim 2], is necessarily cooked to yield a pancake; additionally, [0036] describes wherein the mold material is resistant to heat-deformation for use in cooking food: “In all of the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 1-(9A-B), the walls (103, 303, 503, 703), volumes (107), and members (109, 111, 113) are materially contiguous, and comprise a mold structure material selected from a list comprising silicone, rubber, cast iron, and food safe plastic and food safe metal configured to heat-deformation resistance in a temperature range suitable for cooking food”);
f) removing the pancake from the ring member (it is understood that the pancake is necessarily removed from the ring member, such that the pancake can be “a fun treat made for a child” [0005]).
While Scharf discloses a method for making a pancake having a void, Scharf does not expressly disclose wherein the pancake has a depression formed therein.
Yother is directed to a “baked goods baking kit for making cupcakes, in particular, having hollowed centers which can [be] filled with filling” [Abstract]. Yother discloses wherein a baked good has a depression formed therein (see Figs. 1-3, showing wherein a depression is formed in batter 30 by mold 27, resulting in a cavity in the baked good; “the user secures the baking mold tool 15 to the baking member 11, and pours the baking batter 30 in the ornamental-shaped cup portions 13 and about the ornamental-shaped cup-like molds 27, and places the baking member 11 in the oven to bake the baking batter 30. Once the baking batter is baked to form baked good, the user removes the baking mold tool 15 from the baking member 11, and then removes the baked goods from the ornamental-shaped cup portions 13 with a cavity being disposed in the baked goods” [Col. 3, lines 20-29]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein the pancake has a depression formed therein. Scharf discusses filling the voids with syrup (Fig. 11B shows “void 1017” being filled with “a liquid 1027 desirable for use with a pancake, such as syrup” [0045]). Instead of a void, it would be obvious to create a depression in a pancake or baked good, such that the depression can be filled with a filing that remains on the pancake / baked good. That is, this is a known, alternative way for providing a filling, applied to a known method, to achieve predictable results.
Scharf does not expressly disclose:
a) engaging a ring member with a pan; or
f) removing the pancake from the pan.
Welch is directed to a “form … for cooking items, such as pancakes, in a specified shape” [Abstract]. Welch discloses:
engaging a form with a pan (Fig. 1 shows wherein “form 10” is engaged with “cooking surface 12”; “form 10 may be used in combination with a cooking surface 12, such as a griddle, pan or skillet” [Col. 3, lines 5-6]); note: while Welch discloses a form but does not expressly disclose a ring member, Scharf discloses a ring member as described above); and
removing the pancake from the pan (“Once the batter has cooked sufficiently to be firm enough to maintain the shape without additional spreading, the form 10 may be removed by lifting up on the handles 20 to remove the form 10 from the cooking surface 12. The item to be cooked may remain on the cooking surface 12 and may be cooked and turned as desired until the cooking process is finished” [Col. 8, lines 8-14]; it is understood that once the cooking process is finished the item to be cooked / pancake would be removed from the cooking surface / pan).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a) engaging a ring member with a pan; and f) removing the pancake from the pan. In Scharf, the ring member may be engaged with a pan, though this is not expressly disclosed. Engaging the ring member with a pan allows for applying heat to the pancake batter such that the pancake having a desired shape can be created. Additionally, in Scharf, the pancake is necessarily removed from the ring member such that it can be a treat for a child. Removing the pancake from the pan is a known, alternative way of separating the pancake from a cooking surface such that it can be consumed.
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Fig. 8 of Scharf, annotated
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Figs. 1 and 2 of Yother
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Fig. 3 of Yother
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Fig. 1 of Welch
Regarding claim 2, Scharf discloses the step of: h) eating the pancake (Scharf describes that the pancake can be “a fun treat made for a child” [0005]; it is understood that the step of eating the pancake would be performed).
While Scharf discloses filling the void with syrup, Scharf does not expressly disclose the step of: g) filling the depression with a condiment.
However, Yother discloses a step of filling a depressing with a condiment (the depressions of Yother’s baked goods, described in the rejection of claim 1, are “hollowed centers which can [be] filled with filling” [Abstract]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include filling the depression with a condiment, such that the depression can be filled with a filing that remains on the pancake / baked good. That is, this is a known, alternative way for providing a filling, applied to a known method, to achieve predictable results.
Regarding claim 3, Scharf discloses wherein c) further comprises directly connecting the support structure to the ring member (Fig. 8 shows wherein the support structure 109 is directly connected to ring member 703).
Regarding claim 4, Scharf does not expressly disclose wherein c) further comprises directly connecting the support structure to the pan.
Yother discloses directly connecting a support structure to a pan (see Figs. 1-3; support structure comprises “support members 17,20” [Col. 3, line 2], “cross member 23” [Col. 3, line 7], and “handle 24” [Col. 3, line 5]; the support structure is directly connected to pan / “baking member 11” [Col. 3, line 10] via “connectors 25, 26” which are inserted into “holes 14”: “connectors 25,26 are peg-like members extending from ends of the end portions of the handle 24 and being removably disposed in the holes 14 of the baking member 11 to hold the baking mold tool 15 to the baking member 11 and to secure the ornamental-shaped cup-like molds 27 in the ornamental-shaped cup portions 13” [Col. 3, lines 8-13]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein c) further comprises directly connecting the support structure to the pan. This allows for securely positioning the negative mold in a desired location within the mold.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 10,028,621 is directed to a shaping and grilling tool comprising a ring mold and a pan. US 11,432,554, US 9,895,021, US 7,011,015, US 2021/0259473, and US 2018/0289211 are directed to pancake molds. US 4,214,517 is directed to a device for cooking bread having a cavity formed therein. US 2007/0261567 and US 2004/0099152 are directed to a pan assemblies for cooking a food items with a depression.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH KERR whose telephone number is (571)272-3073. The examiner can normally be reached M - F, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM.
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/ELIZABETH M KERR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761