Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/229,391

COOKING APPLIANCE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Aug 02, 2023
Examiner
BACHNER, ROBERT G
Art Unit
2898
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Welbilt Deutschland GmbH
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
88%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 6m
To Grant
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 88% — above average
88%
Career Allow Rate
737 granted / 838 resolved
+19.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+6.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
32 currently pending
Career history
870
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.7%
-35.3% vs TC avg
§103
53.3%
+13.3% vs TC avg
§102
18.7%
-21.3% vs TC avg
§112
14.9%
-25.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 838 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 s 1-6 and 8-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Poulson (U.S. Patent No. 4,491,065). Regarding claim 1 . A cooking device comprising: Poulson discloses (see figs. 1-6) a housing ( 10 14 12 ) ; a cooking chamber (24) in the housing (10 12 14) and a door (22) for closing the cooking chamber (22 closes ) ; a heating device for heating the cooking chamber (50 for heating 24) ; a first load assembly (50) that is disposed in a first load circuit for power supply (Fig. 6) ; a fan arrangement with an electric motor for generating circulating air in the cooking chamber ( 116 and 118 ) , wherein the fan arrangement is disposed in a fan load circuit for power supply ( see fig. 6, 118 ) ; and a power supply device (Fig. 6, L1, L2) , wherein the first load circuit (Fig. 6) is connected to a first load circuit terminal (L2) of the power supply device (Fig. 6) and wherein the fan load circuit is connected to a fan load circuit terminal of the power supply device (118 connected to L2) , Poulson does not disclose wherein the power supply device comprises a first load circuit switch for switching the first load circuit and a fan load circuit switch for switching the fan load circuit. However, Poulson discloses: Switches 150 164 152 are configurated to control the device, including the heating element, timer door lock and motor. It would have been obvious to modify the device of Poulson to include a switch to switch the motor on and off to obtain a controllable cooking environment for the obvious benefit of obtaining desirable cooking conditions. Further, Poulson appears to discloses that the switches may be used to control the fans as such, the features of claim 1 would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art. Regarding claim 2 . Poulson discloses The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein: the first load circuit terminal and the fan load circuit terminal, preferably all output terminals of the power supply device, are adapted for DC load circuits, and/or the power supply device is adapted at input side for connecting to an AC grid, and/or the electric motor of the fan arrangement is a DC motor. (See col. 8, lines 32-49.) Regarding claim 3 . Poulson discloses Poulson discloses Figs. 1 and 6 The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the cooking device comprises a door switch arrangement that is adapted to detect a position of the door, wherein the door switch arrangement is connected to the fan circuit switch to switch the fan load circuit in dependency of the position of the door. (See col. 3, lines 55-65) Regarding claim 4 . Poulson discloses Figs. 1 and 6 The cooking device according to claim 3, wherein the door switch arrangement comprises at least a first door switch and a second door switch, wherein both door switches are operable by opening and/or closing the door; and in particular wherein one of the door switches is arranged closer to a door hinge than the other door switch. (164 and col. 11, lines 64-col. 12, line 11.) Poulson does not discloses a first and second switch. However, the recited features merely recite a duplication of parts of the working device with no undue experimentation or unexpected results. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B). Regarding claim 5 . Poulson discloses The cooking device according to claim 3, comprising a second load assembly (50) that is disposed in a second load circuit for power supply, wherein the second load circuit is connected to a second load circuit terminal of the power supply device, and wherein the power supply device comprises a second load circuit switch (174) for switching the second load circuit (174 for switching load) . Regarding claim 6 . Poulson discloses The cooking device according to claim 5, wherein the door switch arrangement is disposed between the second load circuit terminal and the second load assembly, wherein the door switch arrangement is adapted to switch off the second load assembly in dependency of the detected position of the door. (Fig. 6, 164 switch is moved and load is switched on and off based on the position of the door, col. 8 lines 11-25) Regarding claim 8 . Poulson discloses The cooking device according to claim 5, wherein the heating device is switchable via at least one heating switch, wherein the at least one heating switch is in the second load assembly; and in particular wherein the at least one heating switch switches off the heating device, if the heating switch is in a power-off state. (156 col. 8, lines 1-10) Regarding claim 9 . Poulson discloses The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the heating device is formed as an electrical heating device(50), in particular as an electrical resistance heating device that is connectable via a main contactor that in particular is disposed outside the power supply device.(See fig. 6 50) Regarding claim 10 . Poulson discloses The cooking device according to claim 5, wherein the main contactor can be switched off via a safety circuit with safety temperature limiter; and in particular wherein the power supply device is connected to the safety circuit and is adapted to switch off the fan load circuit by means of the fan load circuit switch and/or the second load circuit by means of the second circuit switch, when the main contactor is switched off. (See 156 may limit the temperature in the cooking chamber, see col. 8, lines 1-10). Regarding claim 11 . Poulson discloses The cooking device according to claim 10, wherein the safety circuit is powered via the first load circuit. (See col. 8, lines 1-10 and fig. 6 156 powered by circuit in fig. 6.) Regarding claim 12 . Poulson discloses Figs. 1 and 6 The cooking device according to claim 5, comprising a device switch that is disposed to be actuated by a user, (150) wherein the device switch: is connected to the first load circuit switch for switching the first load circuit switch, and/or is connected to the second load circuit switch for switching the second load circuit switch, and/or is connected to the fan load circuit switch for switching the fan load circuit switch. (See figs. 1 and 6, 150 and col. 8, lines 1-10). Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Poulson (U.S. Patent No. 4,491,065) in view of Stephens (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0045233) Regarding claim 7 . Poulson discloses all of the features of claim 5. Poulson does not disclose: The cooking device according to claim 5, comprising a circulation switch for switching a circulation of a cleaning fluid passing through the cooking chamber, wherein the circulation switch is in the second load assembly. In related art, Stephens discloses: The cooking device according to claim 5, comprising a circulation switch for switching a circulation of a cleaning fluid passing through the cooking chamber, wherein the circulation switch is in the second load assembly. (see abstract) Stephens discloses that the incorporation of the cleaning fluid dispenser provides the benefit of allowing the device to be cleaned. As such, it would have been obvious to incorporate the cleaning fluid device into the device of Poulson for the benefit of allowing the device to be self-cleaning . Thus, the features of claim 7 would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT ROBERT G BACHNER whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-3888 . The examiner can normally be reached on FILLIN "Work schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday-Friday, 10-6 EST . If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Leonard Chang can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571) 270-36 91 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /ROBERT G BACHNER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 02, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 16, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
88%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+6.5%)
2y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 838 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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