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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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 1-4 and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Angeli et al. (20220307695). Regarding claim 1, Angeli et al. discloses a cooktop appliance 1 defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, each of which is mutually perpendicular, the cooktop appliance comprising: a pan support surface 4 supporting a bottom surface of a pan 3, the pan comprising an opposite pan top surface (Fig. 2a-c, not numbered), a heating element 2, an energy control device 9 coupled to the heating element 2 functionally between the heating element 2 and an inherent energy source, a pan surface temperature sensor 5, and a controller 8 in operative communication with the energy control device and the pan surface temperature sensor 5, the controller 8 comprising a first user input control 7, wherein the controller 8 is configured to: receive a pan target temperature input from the first user input control 7, receive a signal from the pan surface temperature sensor 5 corresponding to the temperature of a surface of the pan 3, and determine an amount of energy required to maintain a target pan surface temperature such that the pan top surface is maintained at the pan target temperature (paragraphs [0094]-[0103].
Regarding claim 2, Angeli et al. discloses that the heating element 2 is disposed vertically below the pan support surface 4.
Regarding claim 3, Angeli et al. discloses that the target pan surface temperature is offset from the pan target temperature (Fig. 3, paragraphs [0075],[0096]).
Regarding claim 4, Angeli et al. discloses that the offset is a predetermined temperature offset (paragraphs [0075],[0096]).
Regarding claim 12, Angeli et al. discloses that the energy source is one of natural gas, liquified petroleum, or electricity (paragraph [0002] induction technology uses electricity).
Regarding claim 13, Angeli et al. discloses a method for operating a cooktop appliance 1 comprising a pan support surface 4 supporting a bottom surface of a pan 3, the pan 3 including an opposite pan top surface, a heating element 2, and an energy control device 9 coupled to the heating element 2 functionally between the heating element 2 and an energy source 9, a pan surface temperature sensor 5, a controller 8 in operative communication with the energy control device 9 and the pan surface temperature sensor 5, the controller 8 comprising a first user input control 7, wherein the method comprises receiving, at the controller 8, a pan target temperature input from the first user input control 7, receiving, at the controller 8, a signal from the pan surface temperature sensor 5 corresponding to a temperature of a surface of the pan; determining, at the controller 8, an amount of energy required to maintain a target pan surface temperature such that the pan top surface 4 is maintained at the pan target temperature; and operating the heating element 2 to provide the determined amount of energy required to maintain the pan surface temperature such that the pan top surface is maintained at the pan target temperature (paragraphs [0094]-[0103].
Regarding claim 14, Angeli et al. discloses that determining, at the controller 8, an amount of energy, includes offsetting the target pan surface temperature from the pan target temperature (Fig. 3, paragraphs [0075],[0096]).
Prior Art
Prior art made of record but not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure for showing other cooktop appliances with heating elements, controllers, user inputs, and temperature sensors.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-11 and 15-19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The improvements comprise that (claim 5) the controller receives a user selectable temperature offset from the second user input control and (claim 15) the target pan bottom temperature is offset by a user selectable temperature offset.
Claim 20 is allowed. The improvement comprises that setting the target pan surface temperature includes determining a temperature offset from the target pan surface temperature based on a user selected temperature offset at the third user input control, such that the pan top surface will maintain the pan target temperature.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communication from the examiner should be directed to Thomas Lazo whose telephone number is (571) 272-4818. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor Nathaniel Wiehe, can be reached on (571) 272-8648. The fax phone number for this Group is (571) 273-8300.
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/THOMAS E LAZO/Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 3745
September 2, 2026
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