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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 6-7, 11-12, 14, 17-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Diekmann et al (US 2020/0352394), hereinafter Diekmann, in view of Garces et al (US 2021/0037839), hereinafter Garces.
Regarding claim 1, Diekmann discloses a smoke generating assembly (Fig. 1, item 100) (Fig. 3, item 300, 310) for providing a flow of smoke into a smoking chamber (Fig. 2, item 200) of an indoor smoker (Fig. 2, item 100), the smoke generating assembly comprising:
a smoke barrel (Fig. 4, item 410, 420) that extends between a first end (Fig. 4) and a second end (Fig. 4) along a central axis (Fig. 4, central axis runs along the length of and through auger 400), the smoke barrel being configured for receiving combustible material (Para. 0030-0032);
a smoldering heater (Fig. 4, item 330) (Fig. 5A, item 310) positioned adjacent the smoke barrel (Fig. 4) for smoldering the combustible material (Para. 0030-0032); and
an auger (Fig. 4, item 400) positioned within the smoke barrel (Fig. 4) and being rotatable about the central axis (Para. 0030-0032) for selectively urging the combustible material from the first end (Para. 0030-0032) toward the second end of the smoke barrel (Para. 0030-0032), wherein an angular position (Para. 0032) of the auger is measured along a direction of rotation of the auger (Para. 0030-0032) from a leading edge of the auger (Para. 0030-0032) to a vertical direction (Para. 0030-0032), and wherein the auger is rotatable to a smoking angular position (Para. 0030-0032, smoking angular position occurs when sensor 440 detects the acceptable angular position) and a non-smoking angular position (Para. 0030-0032, non-smoking angular position occurs when sensor 440 detects an unacceptable angular position).
Diekmann is silent about wherein the auger extends through and rotates within the smoldering heater.
However, Garces teaches an auger (Garces, Para. 0034-0035) extending through and rotating within a smoldering heater (Garces, Para. 0034-0035) (Garces, Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention having the teachings of Diekmann and Garces to modify the smoke generating assembly of Diekmann to include the location of the auger within the smoldering heater, as taught by Garces. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such change in order to slowly but progressively advance the combustible material past the smoldering heater (Garces, Para. 0034-0035).
Regarding claim 6, Diekmann discloses the smoke generating assembly of claim 1, further comprising:
an auger position sensor (Fig. 4, item 440) for detecting the angular position of the auger (Para. 0032); and
a controller (Fig. 7, item 702) in operative communication with the auger position sensor (Para. 0029-0032), the controller being configured to:
receive a command to generate smoke (Para. 0029-0032);
obtain the angular position of the auger (Para. 0029-0032) using the auger position sensor (Para. 0029-0032); and
rotate the auger to the smoking angular position (Para. 0029-0032).
Regarding claim 7, Diekmann discloses the smoke generating assembly of claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to:
receive a command to pause or stop smoke generation (Para. 0029-0032); and
rotate the auger to the non-smoking angular position (Para. 0029-0032).
Regarding claim 11, Diekmann discloses the smoke generating assembly of claim 6, wherein the angular position sensor is mounted to the auger proximate the first end of the smoke barrel (Fig. 4, sensor 440 is positioned proximate the first end of barrel 410, 420).
Regarding claim 12, Diekmann discloses the smoke generating assembly of claim 1, wherein the leading edge extends along a radial direction (Fig. 4, leading edge of auger 400 extends along a radial direction).
Regarding claim 14, Diekmann discloses an indoor smoker (Fig. 2, item 100) comprising:
a cabinet;
a smoking chamber (Fig. 2, item 200) positioned within the cabinet; and
a smoke generating assembly (Fig. 1, item 100) (Fig. 3, item 300, 310) for providing a flow of smoke into the smoking chamber, the smoke generating assembly comprising:
a smoke barrel (Fig. 4, item 410, 420) that extends between a first end (Fig. 4) and a second end (Fig. 4) along a central axis (Fig. 4, central axis runs along the length of and through auger 400), the smoke barrel being configured for receiving combustible material (Para. 0030-0032);
a smoldering heater (Fig. 4, item 330) (Fig. 5A, item 310) positioned adjacent the smoke barrel (Fig. 4) for smoldering the combustible material (Para. 0030-0032); and
an auger (Fig. 4, item 400) positioned within the smoke barrel (Fig. 4) and being rotatable about the central axis (Para. 0030-0032) for selectively urging the combustible material from the first end (Para. 0030-0032) toward the second end of the smoke barrel (Para. 0030-0032), wherein an angular position (Para. 0032) of the auger is measured along a direction of rotation of the auger (Para. 0030-0032) from a leading edge of the auger (Para. 0030-0032) to a vertical direction (Para. 0030-0032), and wherein the auger is rotatable to a smoking angular position (Para. 0030-0032, smoking angular position occurs when sensor 440 detects the acceptable angular position) and a non-smoking angular position (Para. 0030-0032, non-smoking angular position occurs when sensor 440 detects an unacceptable angular position).
Diekmann is silent about wherein the auger extends through and rotates within the smoldering heater.
However, Garces teaches an auger (Garces, Para. 0034-0035) extending through and rotating within a smoldering heater (Garces, Para. 0034-0035) (Garces, Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention having the teachings of Diekmann and Garces to modify the smoke generating assembly of Diekmann to include the location of the auger within the smoldering heater, as taught by Garces. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make such change in order to slowly but progressively advance the combustible material past the smoldering heater (Garces, Para. 0034-0035).
Regarding claim 17, Diekmann discloses the smoke generating assembly of claim 14, further comprising:
an auger position sensor (Fig. 4, item 440) for detecting the angular position of the auger (Para. 0032); and
a controller (Fig. 7, item 702) in operative communication with the auger position sensor (Para. 0029-0032), the controller being configured to:
receive a command to generate smoke (Para. 0029-0032);
obtain the angular position of the auger (Para. 0029-0032) using the auger position sensor (Para. 0029-0032); and
rotate the auger to the smoking angular position (Para. 0029-0032).
Regarding claim 18, Diekmann discloses the smoke generating assembly of claim 17, wherein the controller is further configured to:
receive a command to pause or stop smoke generation (Para. 0029-0032); and
rotate the auger to the non-smoking angular position (Para. 0029-0032).
Regarding claim 20, Diekmann discloses the smoke generating assembly of claim 14, wherein the leading edge extends along a radial direction (Fig. 4, leading edge of auger 400 extends along a radial direction).
Claims 2-5, 10, 13, and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Diekmann in view of Garces.
Regarding claim 2, Diekmann in view of Garces does not expressly disclose the smoke generating assembly of claim 1, wherein the smoking angular position is between about 45 degrees and 135 degrees.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to set the smoking angular position between about 45 degrees and 135 degrees, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 3, Diekmann in view of Garces does not expressly disclose the smoke generating assembly of claim 1, wherein the smoking angular position is about 90 degrees.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to set the smoking angular position to about 90 degrees, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 4, Diekmann in view of Garces does not expressly disclose the smoke generating assembly of claim 1, wherein the non-smoking angular position is between about 180 degrees and 270 degrees.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to set the non-smoking angular position between about 180 degrees and 270 degrees, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 5, Diekmann in view of Garces does not expressly disclose the smoke generating assembly of claim 1, wherein the non-smoking angular position is about 225 degrees.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to set the non-smoking angular position to about 225 degrees, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 10, Diekmann in view of Garces does not expressly disclose the smoke generating assembly of claim 6, wherein the angular position sensor comprises at least one of a magnetic encoder or Hall-effect sensor.
However, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to utilize a magnetic encoder or a Hall-effect sensor as the angular position sensor, since applicant has not disclosed that these particular sensors solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally as well with the angular position sensor of Diekmann.
Regarding claim 13, Diekmann in view of Garces does not expressly disclose the smoke generating assembly of claim 1, wherein a pitch of the auger is equal to a width of a heating block of the smoldering heater.
However, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to form the auger such that a pitch of the auger is equal to a width of a heating block of the smoldering heater, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 15, Diekmann in view of Garces does not expressly disclose the indoor smoker of claim 14, wherein the smoking angular position is between about 45 degrees and 135 degrees.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to set the smoking angular position between about 45 degrees and 135 degrees, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 16, Diekmann in view of Garces does not expressly disclose the indoor smoker of claim 14, wherein the non-smoking angular position is between about 180 degrees and 270 degrees.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to set the non-smoking angular position between about 180 degrees and 270 degrees, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-7, 10-18, and 20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-9 and 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.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VERONICA MARTIN whose telephone number is (571)272-3541. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:00-6:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anna Kinsaul can be reached at (571)270-1926. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/VERONICA MARTIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731
Prosecution Insights