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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I in the reply filed on 7/02/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim 7 has been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected method, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 7/02/2026.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “80” has been used to designate both a microwave and detection unit in Fig. 4. Moreover, element 89 referenced in the specification does not appear in the drawings.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 3, 4, 6 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 3 “wherein the control unit determines whether a temperature of the plate is at a predetermined temperature or higher, and the drive information further includes a determination result of the control unit” is unclear as to what a determination result is. Note this is not described relative to anything in the claims.
Claim 4 “wherein the drive information further includes: a number of radiant heaters being driven, an on/off state of power of each of the plurality of radiant heaters, or an on/off state of power of the blower” is unclear whether both limitations preceding the “or” are required or whether of the entire list only a single limitation is required.
Claim 6 is unclear as to what relationship the “computer” of claim 6 has to the “external device” of claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Iida et al (2018/0242407). Iida et al teach (1) A heating cooker comprising: a heating unit 11, 12, 13 configured to heat a first object to be heated; a plate 4 provided above the heating unit 11, 12, 13, the first object to be heated being placed on the plate 4; an operation unit 40 through which operation information is input; a control unit 45 configured to control the heating unit 11, 12, 13 based on the operation information 40; and a communication unit 6 configured to wirelessly communicate with an external device 200, wherein the control unit 45 controls the communication unit 6 to transmit drive information 51 to the external device 200, and the drive information includes a drive state 25a, 25b of the heating unit 11, 12, 13. (2) wherein the control unit 45 determines whether a temperature of the plate is at a predetermined temperature or higher, and the drive information further includes a determination result of the control unit [¶ 0074]. (6) A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium [Fig. 9] coupled to at least one processor 202 and storing one or more computer-executable instructions 202 that, when executed by the at least one processor 202, cause a computer 200 to: receive, from the heating cooker [from 201] according to claim 1, the drive information and display 203 the drive information [¶ 0065].
Claim(s) 1, 3, 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Holling et al (5321229). Holling et al teach (1) A heating cooker comprising: a heating unit 22, 24, etc. configured to heat a first object to be heated; a plate 20 provided above the heating unit, the first object to be heated being placed on the plate; an operation unit 42, 54 through which operation information is input; a control unit 32, 62 configured to control the heating unit based on the operation information; and a communication unit 60, 66 configured to wirelessly communicate with an external device 34, wherein the control unit 62 controls the communication unit to transmit drive information to the external device 34, and the drive information includes a drive state of the heating unit [see fig. 2, shows temperatures and power levels]. (3) wherein the heating unit includes a plurality of radiant heaters 22, 24, etc., a material of the plate is glass, and the drive information further includes a drive state of each of the plurality of radiant heaters [see fig. 2, shows temperatures and power levels].. (6) A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium coupled to at least one processor and storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause a computer 56 to: receive 70, from the heating cooker according to claim 1, the drive information and display the drive information 72 [Fig. 3].
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) 3, 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Holling et al (5321229), as applied above, and further in view of Speidel et al (3663798). Holling et al already teach for (4) wherein the drive information further includes: a number of radiant heaters being driven, an on/off state of power of each of the plurality of radiant heaters [see fig. 2, col. 11, lines 30-45], or an on/off state of power of the blower. For an alternate treatment of claim 3 and for claim 4, Speidel et al is applied. Holling et al do not teach (4) a blower configured to blow air toward the heating unit, Alternately, for claim 3, Speidel et al teach (3) wherein the heating unit 12 includes a plurality of radiant heaters 16, a material of the plate is glass 18 [col. 2, lines 35-44]; (4) a blower 42 configured to blow air toward the heating unit 16 to provide protection against the plate from burning and to prevent foods from adhering to the cooking surface [see col. 3, lines 22-34]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ (3) wherein the heating unit includes a plurality of radiant heaters, a material of the plate is glass, as taught by Speidel et al, and the drive information further includes a drive state of each of the plurality of radiant heaters is already taught by Holling, as a typical heater unit utilized in the art. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ (4) a blower configured to blow air toward the heating unit, as taught by Speidel et al, to provide protection against the plate from burning and to prevent foods from adhering to the cooking surface [see col. 3, lines 22-34].
Claim(s) 3, 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iida et al (2018/0242407), as applied above, and further in view of Speidel et al (3663798). Iida et al teach (3) wherein the heating unit includes a plurality of heaters 11-13, a material of the plate 4 is glass, and the drive information further includes a drive state of each of the plurality of heaters 11-13; (4) wherein the drive information further includes: a number of heaters 11-13 being driven, an on/off state of power of each of the plurality of radiant heaters 11-13, or an on/off state of power of the blower. Iida et al do not teach (4) a blower configured to blow air toward the heating unit, Iida et al do not teach the heaters are radiant heaters, but rather induction heaters. Speidel et al teach (3) wherein the heating unit 12 includes a plurality of radiant heaters 16, a material of the plate is glass 18 [col. 2, lines 35-44]; (4) a blower 42 configured to blow air toward the heating unit 16 to provide protection against the plate from burning and to prevent foods from adhering to the cooking surface [see col. 3, lines 22-34]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ radiant heaters instead of induction heaters, as taught by Speidel et al, as an equivalent electrical heater that would benefit from knowledge / drive information of drive operation of each heater. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ a blower configured to blow air toward the heating unit, as taught by Speidel et al, to provide protection against the plate from burning and to prevent foods from adhering to the cooking surface.
Claim(s) 1-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Steurer (2011/0062142) in view of Kim et al (2017/0119207) and Speidel et al (3663798) and optionally in view of Holling et al (5321229). Steurer teaches (1) A heating cooker comprising: a heating unit 114, 120 configured to heat a first object to be heated; a plate 114 provided above the heating unit 120, the first object to be heated being placed on the plate; an operation unit 172 through which operation information is input; a control unit 102 configured to control the heating unit based on the operation information; and wirelessly commoditization [home router Fig. 1, ¶ 0033 teaches a wireless LAN for the home router] with an external device [home PC], wherein the control unit 102 has drive information, and the drive information includes a drive state of the heating unit [e.g. duty cycle, power level, temperature setpoint. ¶ 0029, 0035]. (2) wherein the control unit 102 determines whether a temperature of the plate is at a predetermined temperature or higher, and the drive information further includes a determination result of the control unit 102 [¶ 0035]. Steurer et al do not specifically teach a communication unit configured to wirelessly communicate with an external device, wherein the control unit controls the communication unit to transmit drive information to the external, and the drive information includes a drive state of the heating unit. Kim et al teach a communication unit 320 configured to wirelessly communicate with an external device, wherein the control unit controls the communication unit to transmit drive information to the external device, and the drive information includes a drive state of the heating unit device [e.g. smartphone, tablet, laptop see ¶ 0124]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ a communication unit configured to wirelessly communicate with an external device, wherein the control unit controls the communication unit to transmit drive information to the external, and the drive information includes a drive state of the heating unit, as taught by Kim et al, in order to transmit the drive information to the external device [e.g. smartphone, tablet, laptop see ¶ 0124] for convenience of user operation and monitoring.
Steurer et al further teach (3) wherein the heating unit includes a plurality of radiant heaters 120, 122, 124, 126, and the drive information further includes a drive state of each of the plurality of radiant heaters; (4) wherein the drive information further includes: a number of radiant heaters being driven, an on/off state of power of each of the plurality of radiant heaters. Steurer et al appear to have a plate 114 provided above the heating unit [for claim 1 and are applicable to any type of heating element arrangement] but do not teach a material of the plate is glass. Steurer et al do not teach (3) a material of the plate is glass; (4) a blower configured to blow air toward the heating unit. Alternately, Speidel et al teach (1) a plate 11, 18 provided above the heating unit 16 and teach (3) wherein the heating unit 12 includes a plurality of radiant heaters 16, a material of the plate is glass 18 [col. 2, lines 35-44]; and (4) a blower 42 configured to blow air toward the heating unit 16 to provide protection against the plate from burning and to prevent foods from adhering to the cooking surface [see col. 3, lines 22-34]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ a plate provided above the heating unit a material of the plate is glass as the cooking surface, as taught by Speidel et al, as an typical electrical heater that would benefit from knowledge / drive information of drive operation of each heater. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ a blower configured to blow air toward the heating unit, as taught by Speidel et al, to provide protection against the plate from burning and to prevent foods from adhering to the cooking surface. For another alternate treatment of claims 3, 4, Holling et al teach (3) wherein the heating unit includes a plurality of radiant heaters 22, 24, etc., a material of the plate is glass, and the drive information further includes a drive state of each of the plurality of radiant heaters [see fig. 2, shows temperatures and power levels]; (4) wherein the drive information further includes: a number of radiant heaters being driven, an on/off state of power of each of the plurality of radiant heaters [see fig. 2, col. 11, lines 30-45], or an on/off state of power of the blower. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ (3) wherein the heating unit includes a plurality of radiant heaters, a material of the plate is glass, and the drive information further includes a drive state of each of the plurality of radiant heaters; and (4) wherein the drive information further includes: a number of radiant heaters being driven, an on/off state of power of each of the plurality of radiant heaters, or an on/off state of power of the blower, as taught by Holling et al, as typical drive conditions sent to an external device for monitoring. Steurer et al further teach (5) a heating cooking chamber 132 provided below the heating unit 114 and configured to accommodate a second object to be heated; and a microwave supply unit 160 [¶ 0025] configured to supply microwaves into the heating cooking chamber, wherein the control unit 102 includes a first control unit 102 configured to control the heating unit based on the operation information, and a second control unit 102 configured to control the microwave supply unit 160 based on the operation information, and the second control unit 102 controls the communication unit to transmit the drive information to the external device. Steurer do not teach the use of a first control unit configured to control the heating unit based on the operation information, and a second control unit configured to control the microwave supply unit based on the operation information, and the second control unit controls the communication unit to transmit the drive information to the external device, but rather a single controller unit. Kim et al teach a first control unit 180 [Fig. 2] configured to control the heating unit based on the operation information, and a second control unit 320 [Fig. 7] configured to control the microwave supply unit 300 based on the operation information 330, 340 [300 may be a microwave, see ¶ 0211-0214], and the second control unit 320 controls the communication unit 320 to transmit the drive information to the external device [e.g. smartphone, tablet, laptop see ¶ 0124]. Note that the first heating unit may be an electric stove [see ¶ 0095] and the third heating unit 300 may be a microwave [see ¶ 0213]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ a first control unit configured to control the heating unit based on the operation information [e.g. for the heaters], and a second control unit configured to control the microwave supply unit based on the operation information, and the second control unit controls the communication unit to transmit the drive information to the external device, as taught by Kim et al, in order to utilize separate control modules for each of the heater devices (heater, microwave), respectively, and also to be able to transmit the drive information to the external device [e.g. smartphone, tablet, laptop see ¶ 0124] for convenience of user operation and monitoring.
Steurer further teach (6) A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium coupled to at least one processor and storing one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause a computer [Fig. 1, home pc] to: receive, from the heating cooker 100 according to claim 1, the drive information and display the drive information. Alternately, Kim teach the computer / external device [e.g. pc, smartphone, tablet, laptop see ¶ 0124] to: receive, from the heating cooker [100 or 300 or both] according to claim 1, the drive information and display the drive information. for convenience of user operation and monitoring
Prior Art
JP ‘630 reference also teaches a combination heating cooker with microwave.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to TED KIM whose telephone number is 571-272-4829. The Examiner can be reached on regular business hours before 5:00 pm, Monday to Thursday and every other Friday.
The fax number for the organization where this application is assigned is 571-273-8300.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Devon Kramer, can be reached at 571-272-7118. Alternate inquiries to Technology Center 3700 can be made via 571-272-3700.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center. Should you have questions on Patent Center, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). General inquiries can also be directed to the Inventors Assistance Center whose telephone number is 800-786-9199. Furthermore, a variety of online resources are available at https://www.uspto.gov/patent
/Ted Kim/
Telephone
571-272-4829
Primary Examiner
Fax
571-273-8300
July 24, 2026
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