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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Canada on 5/9/2023. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the CA3199107 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claim(s) 1-11, 13-14, 16-20, 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hait [5086752], further in view of Muse [3776127].
With respect to claim 1, Hair discloses: A cooking apparatus comprising: a lower enclosure (17); and an upper portion (30) arranged above the lower enclosure and comprising a grilling unit (45, 46), the grilling unit comprising: a base (trapezoidal walls of base 30) that is coupled to an upper region of the lower enclosure [see FIG 4, col 4, line 64-col 4, line 11, with reference to “The firebox 30 is dimensioned and configured at its upper quadrilateral perimeter 30a to abut against the inner walls of the pillar 17 and is suspended therefrom into the pillar 17…”]; an upper heat source (45) region positioned within the base [col 5, line 48-53]; and a grilling surface (46) arranged above the upper heat source region [col 5, line 56-63].
Hait further shows:
{cl. 2} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the upper heat source region comprises a basket (35) configured for receiving a fuel source [col 5, line 25-47].
{cl. 3} The cooking apparatus of claim 2, wherein the fuel source comprises wood or charcoal [col 5, line 48-63].
{cl. 4} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the upper region of the lower enclosure comprises thermal insulation to limit heat transfer between the base and the cooking chamber. [col 7, line 48-55].
{cl. 5} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a drip shield (33) configured to direct run-off from the grilling surface away from the one or more air vents [col 4, line 64-col 5, line 11].
{cl. 6} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the grilling unit further comprises a grate (45) disposed between the upper heat source region and the grilling surface [see FIG 7].
{cl. 7} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the grilling surface comprises one or more removable grilling surface portions [col 6, line 23-43].
{cl. 13} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lower enclosure comprises an outer wall, and wherein the cooking chamber is separated from the outer wall by an air gap surrounding the cooking chamber [see FIG 4, col 7, line 48-55].
{cl. 14} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of castors arranged at a bottom portion of the lower enclosure, and wherein the plurality of castors are configured to be raised and lowered. [see FIG 4, col 4, line 29-63].
{cl. 18} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the grilling surface comprises one or more attachment points (17) for installation of one or more accessories (87) [see FIG 14].
{cl. 19} The cooking apparatus of claim 18, wherein the attachment points are configured for receiving an attachment bracket, and the one or more accessories are configured to be coupled to the attachment bracket [col 9, line 40-57].
{cl. 20} The cooking apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more accessories comprise one or more of a rotisserie accessory (87) and a swing-away griddle platform [col 9, line 40-57].
{cl. 22} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the grilling surface comprises a grill grate (46) [see FIGs 7 and 8].
Hait however does not show the lower enclosure having a cooking chamber or the base as further claimed.
Muse makes up for these deficiencies by teaching an upper portion (16) with a base (at 20) having a grilling unit (32) [see FIG 2].
{cl. 1, cont’d} a lower enclosure (12) comprising a cooking chamber [col 3, line 1-39]; and wherein the base of the upper portion comprises an overhang that extends around a circumference or perimeter of the upper region of the lower enclosure, and the overhang comprises one or more air vents (15) distributed along the overhang for providing airflow to the upper heat source region [see FIG 2, reproduced below, col 4, line 40-col 5, line 13], and wherein the grilling unit and the cooking chamber are operable independently and simultaneously [col 3, line 1-23, where “operable independently and simultaneously” is interpreted to mean that the top portion can be used or the bottom cooking chamber can be used at a different time from one another or used at the same time. **amending to include limitations from applicant’s specification paragraph 0039 would overcome this interpretation**].
Since Hait uses air vents (25 at a lower portion of pillar 17) for supplying combustion air to the firebox (30) via air vents (32), the modification would involve including an arrangement having the overhang (as seen in reproduced figure below) of Muse at the area 17a of Hait to provide air to firebox (30) as an alternative/addition to the air supply (32) of Hait and a similar arrangement of the cylindrical bottom housing member (12) of Muse (e.g. elements 4, 42, 62 ,etc.) to be added to the pillar (17) of Hait to have the benefit of air supplied from air vent (25) of Hait.
Muse further teaches:
{cl. 8} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a lower enclosure heat source region (at 62) in a lower portion of the cooking chamber [col 4, line 13-39].
{cl. 9} The cooking apparatus of claim 8, wherein the cooking chamber is configured for smoking food [col 4, line 13-39].
{cl. 10} The cooking apparatus of claim 9, wherein the lower enclosure heat source region comprises a fuel box (62) for receiving wood or charcoal [col 4, line 13-39].
{cl. 11} The cooking apparatus of claim 8, wherein the cooking chamber further comprises a diffuser (40, understood from the applicant’s specification to be filled with water) arranged above the lower enclosure heat source region [col 3, line 24-38].
{cl. 13} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lower enclosure comprises an outer wall, and wherein the cooking chamber is separated from the outer wall by an air gap surrounding the cooking chamber [see reproduced figure below].
{cl. 16} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooking chamber comprises one or more shelves (34) [see FIG 2, col 3, line 24-38].
{cl. 17} The cooking apparatus of claim 16, wherein the one or more shelves provide 1100 to 1300 square inches of cooking space [see FIG 1, although not explicit, 1100 to 1300 square inches would be approximately 30 inches, which Muse shows to be enough space for cooking food).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Hait to include arrangement of Muse because Muse provides an arrangement that allows for cooking a greater quantity of food in one appliance.
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Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hait [5086752], in view of Muse [3776127], further in view of Byrnes et al [7984709].
With respect to claim 12, Hait discloses the invention as substantially claimed, however does not show the dampers.
Byrnes makes up for these deficiencies by teaching:
{cl. 12} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lower enclosure comprises an inlet and outlet air damper (60) coupled to the cooking chamber [see FIG 3, col 3, line 4-40].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the invention of Hait with the teachings of Byrnes because Byrnes provides dampers in order to control the air flow to the grill in a controlled manner.
Claim(s) 15, 21 and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over over Hait [5086752], in view of Muse [3776127], further in view of Williams [4566429].
With respect to claims 15, 21 and 23, Hait discloses the invention as substantially claimed, however does not show the use of a plancha (understood to be similar to a griddle).
Williams makes up for these deficiencies by teaching:
{cl. 15} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the grilling surface provides 600 to 850 square inches of grilling space [col 1, line 42-59, although not explicit regarding the dimension, one of ordinary skill would understand that “a large surface area” would fall within this range and find obvious the various dimensions that would be proper for such an apparatus].
{cl. 21} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the grilling surface comprises a plancha grilling portion (35) [see FIG 1, col 2, line 40-58].
{cl. 23} The cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the grilling surface comprises a plancha grilling portion (35) and a grill grate (31, 33) [col 3, line 11-35].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the apparatus of Hait with the teachings of Williams because Williams provides a grill utilizing a griddle that allows for cooking different styles of food simultaneously.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Butt [20060260599] is considered relevant art for similar teachings of a lower portion (14) and an upper portion (12) having an overhang and air vents (13) at the upper portion [see FIG 1, paragraph 0017].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AVINASH A SAVANI whose telephone number is (571)270-3762. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday 8am-4pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Hoang can be reached at 571-272-6460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AVINASH A SAVANI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
12/11/2025