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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/27/2023, 11/09/2023, and 02/29/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. In this case, the present title is too long. See MPEP 606.01. Correction is required.
The following tittle is suggested: --Adjusting preheating parameters for cooking appliances--.
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.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Neal et al. (US 20220308537 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Neal discloses
A cooking appliance (cooking appliance 10, fig.1) defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, the cooking appliance (cooking appliance 10) comprising:
at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2) to selectively supply heat to a cookware item [Par.0029 cited: “…various cooking elements 48 used for cooking food (e.g., various combinations of gas, electric, inductive, light, microwave, light cooking elements, among others)…”]; and
a controller (controller 42, fig.2) operably connected with the at least one heating element (cooking element 48), the controller (controller 42) configured to direct a heating operation comprising a preheating phase (initiate preheat phase 202, fig.6) and a cooking phase (initiate cooking phase 216, fig.6), wherein directing the heating operation comprises:
receiving a temperature setpoint (temperature setpoint, Par.0045) for the cooking phase (initiate cooking phase 216) [Par.0045 cited: “…after a user has turned on the oven and selected a temperature setpoint…”];
determining at least one attribute (heater power, fig.7) for the at least one heating element (cooking element 48) for the preheating phase (initiate preheat phase 202), the at least one attribute (heater power, fig.7) being based on the temperature setpoint (temperature setpoint, Par.0045); and
initiating the preheating phase (initiate preheat phase 202, fig.6) by directing the at least one heating element (cooking element 48) according to the at least one determined attribute (heater power, fig.7) [Par.0045 cited: “…after a user has turned on the oven and selected a temperature setpoint, a preheat phase is initiated…”].
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Regarding claim 2, Neal discloses
determining the at least one attribute (heater power, fig.7) for the at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2) comprises determining a power level (heater power, fig.7) of the at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2) for the preheating phase (initiate preheat phase 202, fig.6).
Regarding claim 3, Neal discloses
determining the power level (heater power, fig.7) of the at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2) comprises: retrieving the power level (heater power, fig.7) from a lookup table (heater power, fig.7) comprising a plurality of power levels (heater power, fig.7) [Par.0021 cited: “…FIG. 7 is a graph of an example time-temperature curve for a cooking appliance employing a two stage preheat phase consistent with some embodiments of the invention…”].
Regarding claim 4, Neal discloses
the at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2) comprises a plurality of heating elements (cooking element 48) [Par.0029 cited: “…various cooking elements 48 used for cooking food (e.g., various combinations of gas, electric, inductive, light, microwave, light cooking elements, among others)…”], wherein the lookup table (heater power, fig.7) comprises a plurality of unique lookup tables (heater power, figs.7-8) [Par.0021 cited: “…FIG. 7 is a graph of an example time-temperature curve for a cooking appliance employing a two stage preheat phase consistent with some embodiments of the invention…”], and wherein each of the plurality of heating elements (cooking element 48, Par.0029) is associated with a unique lookup table (heater power, fig.7) of the plurality of unique lookup tables (heater power, figs.3-4, and 7).
Regarding claim 5, Neal discloses
determining the power level (heater power, fig.7) of the at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2) comprises: performing one or more equations (algorithms, Par.0045) based on the temperature setpoint (temperature setpoint, Par.0045) and two or more known power levels (heater power, fig.7) to interpolate the power level (cooking element 48) [Par.0045 cited: “…It will be appreciated that due to the use of the post-preheat phase, minimizing temperature differentials within the oven cavity may not be a priority during the preheat phase, and various preheat algorithms focused upon heating up the oven cavity as quickly as possible may be used…”].
Regarding claim 6, Neal discloses
the at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2) is directed at the determined power level (heater power, fig.7) for a predetermined length of time (time (minutes), fig.7), the predetermined length of time (time (minutes), fig.7) being a duration of the preheating phase (initiate preheat phase 202).
Regarding claim 7, Neal discloses
the preheating phase (initiate preheat phase 202, fig.6) comprises at least a first stage (initiate preheat phase 202) having a first duration (time (minutes), fig.7) and a second stage (initiate post-preheat phase 210, fig.6) having a second duration (time (minutes), fig.7) and performed after the first stage (initiate preheat phase 202).
Regarding claim 8, Neal discloses
determined power level (heater power, fig.7) of the at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2) comprises: a first determined power level (line 166, fig.7) for the first stage; and a second determined power level (line 170, fig.7) for the second stage, the second determined power level (line 170) being different from the first determined power level (line 166).
Regarding claim 9, Neal discloses
initiating the preheating phase (initiate preheat phase 202, fig.6) by directing the at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2) according to the at least one determined attribute (heater power, fig.7) comprises: directing the at least one heating element (cooking element 48) at the first determined power level (line 166, fig.7) for the first duration (time (minutes), fig.7); and directing the at least one heating element (cooking element 48) at the second determined power level (line 170, fig.7) for the second duration (time (minutes), fig.7).
Regarding claim 10, Neal discloses
A method of operating a cooking appliance (cooking appliance 10, fig.1), the cooking appliance (cooking appliance 10) comprising
at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2), the method comprising:
receiving a temperature setpoint (temperature setpoint, Par.0045) for a cooking operation, the cooking operation comprising a preheating phase (initiate preheat phase 202, fig.6) and a cooking phase (initiate cooking phase 216, fig.6);
determining at least one attribute (heater power, fig.7) for the at least one heating element (cooking element 48) for the preheating phase (initiate preheat phase 202), the at least one attribute (heater power, fig.7) being based on the temperature setpoint (temperature setpoint, Par.0045); and
initiating the preheating phase (initiate preheat phase 202, fig.6) by directing the at least one heating element (cooking element 48) according to the at least one determined attribute (heater power, fig.7) [Par.0045 cited: “…after a user has turned on the oven and selected a temperature setpoint, a preheat phase is initiated…”].
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Regarding claim 11, Neal discloses
determining the at least one attribute (heater power, fig.7) for the at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2) comprises determining a power level (heater power, fig.7) of the at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2) for the preheating phase (initiate preheat phase 202, fig.6).
Regarding claim 12, Neal discloses
determining the power level (heater power, fig.7) of the at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2) comprises: retrieving the power level (heater power, fig.7) from a lookup table (heater power, fig.7) comprising a plurality of power levels (heater power, fig.7) [Par.0021 cited: “…FIG. 7 is a graph of an example time-temperature curve for a cooking appliance employing a two stage preheat phase consistent with some embodiments of the invention…”].
Regarding claim 13, Neal discloses
the at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2) comprises a plurality of heating elements (cooking element 48) [Par.0029 cited: “…various cooking elements 48 used for cooking food (e.g., various combinations of gas, electric, inductive, light, microwave, light cooking elements, among others)…”], wherein the lookup table (heater power, fig.7) comprises a plurality of unique lookup tables (heater power, figs.7-8) [Par.0021 cited: “…FIG. 7 is a graph of an example time-temperature curve for a cooking appliance employing a two stage preheat phase consistent with some embodiments of the invention…”], and wherein each of the plurality of heating elements (cooking element 48, Par.0029) is associated with a unique lookup table (heater power, fig.7) of the plurality of unique lookup tables (heater power, figs.3-4, and 7).
Regarding claim 14, Neal discloses
determining the power level (heater power, fig.7) of the at least one heating element (cooking element 48) comprises: performing one or more equations (algorithms, Par.0045) based on the temperature setpoint (temperature setpoint, Par.0045) and two or more known power levels (heater power, fig.7) to interpolate the power level (cooking element 48) [Par.0045 cited: “…It will be appreciated that due to the use of the post-preheat phase, minimizing temperature differentials within the oven cavity may not be a priority during the preheat phase, and various preheat algorithms focused upon heating up the oven cavity as quickly as possible may be used…”].
Regarding claim 15, Neal discloses
the at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2) is directed at the determined power level (heater power, fig.7) for a predetermined length of time (time (minutes), fig.7), the predetermined length of time (time (minutes), fig.7) being a duration of the preheating phase (initiate preheat phase 202).
Regarding claim 16, Neal discloses
the preheating phase (initiate preheat phase 202, fig.6) comprises at least a first stage (initiate preheat phase 202) having a first duration (time (minutes), fig.7) and a second stage (initiate post-preheat phase 210, fig.6) having a second duration (time (minutes), fig.7) and performed after the first stage (initiate preheat phase 202).
Regarding claim 17, Neal discloses
determined power level (heater power, fig.7) of the at least one heating element (cooking element 48) comprises: a first determined power level (line 166, fig.7) for the first stage; and a second determined power level (line 170, fig.7) for the second stage, the second determined power level (line 170) being different from the first determined power level (line 166).
Regarding claim 18, Neal discloses
initiating the preheating phase (initiate preheat phase 202, fig.6) by directing the at least one heating element (cooking element 48, fig.2) according to the at least one determined attribute (heater power, fig.7) comprises: directing the at least one heating element (cooking element 48) at the first determined power level (line 166, fig.7) for the first duration (time (minutes), fig.7); and directing the at least one heating element (cooking element 48) at the second determined power level (line 170, fig.7) for the second duration (time (minutes), fig.7).
Claims 1 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Swayne et al. (US 20220104656 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Swayne discloses
A cooking appliance (cooking appliance 10, fig.1) defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, the cooking appliance (cooking appliance 10) comprising:
at least one heating element (broil heating element 16, bake heating element 18, fig.1) to selectively supply heat to a cookware item [Par.0021 cited: “…heating elements for heating the oven cavity 12 and cooking the food item 15 include a broil heating element 16, a bake heating element 18…”]; and
a controller (control system 30, fig.1) operably connected with the at least one heating element (broil heating element 16, bake heating element 18), the controller (control system 30) configured to direct a heating operation comprising a preheating phase (initiate pre-heat stage S1, fig.4) and a cooking phase (ultimate post-heat stage S3, fig.4), wherein directing the heating operation comprises:
receiving a temperature setpoint (setpoint plus first offset S1, fig.4) for the cooking phase (ultimate post-heat stage S3);
determining at least one attribute (first target temperature S1, fig.4) for the at least one heating element (broil heating element 16, bake heating element 18) for the preheating phase (initiate pre-heat stage S1), the at least one attribute (first target temperature S1) being based on the temperature setpoint (temperature setpoint, Par.0045); and
initiating the preheating phase (initiate pre-heat stage S1) by directing the at least one heating element (broil heating element 16, bake heating element 18) according to the at least one determined attribute (first target temperature S1).
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Regarding claim 10, Swayne discloses
A method of operating a cooking appliance (cooking appliance 10, fig.1), the cooking appliance (cooking appliance 10) comprising
at least one heating element (broil heating element 16, bake heating element 18, fig.1), the method comprising:
receiving a temperature setpoint (setpoint plus first offset S1, fig.4) for a cooking operation, the cooking operation comprising a preheating phase (initiate pre-heat stage S1) and a cooking phase (ultimate post-heat stage S3, fig.4);
determining at least one attribute (first target temperature S1, fig.4) for the at least one heating element (broil heating element 16, bake heating element 18) for the preheating phase (initiate pre-heat stage S1), the at least one attribute (first target temperature S1) being based on the temperature setpoint (temperature setpoint, Par.0045); and
initiating the preheating phase (initiate pre-heat stage S1) by directing the at least one heating element (broil heating element 16, bake heating element 18) according to the at least one determined attribute (first target temperature S1).
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Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHUONG T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1834. The examiner can normally be reached 9.00am-5.00pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven Crabb can be reached on 571-270-5095. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PHUONG T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761
01/25/2026