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 § 102 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. 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- 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2004004527 A1 to Boucher . In reference to independent claim 1, Boucher discloses: A heat diffuser (1) configured to be positioned over a burn pot of a pellet grill (barbecue cooking device 1 of Boucher meets all of the structural requirements of the claim as it produces and distributes heat ) , the heat diffuser comprising: a front wall (40) ; a rear wall (40) located opposite the front wall (see Figs. 1-2, 4) ; a top wall ( 60 ) extending between the front wall and the rear wall (see Figs. 1-2, 4) ; a bottom wall ( 20 ) located opposite the top wall (see Figs. 1-2, 4) , the bottom wall extending between the front wall and the rear wall, the bottom wall including a first intake opening (see Fig. 4 annotated below) ; a right sidewall (40) extending upwardly from the bottom wall toward the top wall, the right sidewall extending between the front wall and the rear wall (see Figs. 1-2, 4) ; a left sidewall (40) located opposite the right sidewall, the left sidewall extending upwardly from the bottom wall toward the top wall (see Figs. 1-2, 4) , the left sidewall extending between the front wall and the rear wall (see Figs. 1-2, 4) ; a first exhaust opening (108) located between the front wall and the rear wall and between the top wall and the right sidewall (see Fig. 4) ; and a second exhaust opening (108) located between the front wall and the rear wall and between the top wall and the left sidewall (see Fig. 4 ) . In reference to dependent claim 2, Boucher further discloses: the front wall, the rear wall, the top wall, the bottom wall, the right sidewall, the left sidewall, the first intake opening, the first exhaust opening, and the second exhaust opening define an outer frame (50) having an outer chamber (enclosed in inner surface 50 formed by side walls 40) (see Figs. 3-4) , wherein the first intake opening (see Fig. 4) is configured to receive a flow of heat generated by and emitted from the burn pot, the flow of heat to pass through the first intake opening and to progress into the outer chamber (see page 7 at lines 8-13 and Fig. 3) , wherein the first exhaust opening is configured to exhaust a first portion of the flow of heat out of the outer chamber in a first direction, and wherein the second exhaust opening is configured to exhaust a second portion of the flow of heat out of the outer chamber in a second direction that differs from the first direction ( heat emanating from slots 108 of grill 60 would clearly travel in different directions ) . In reference to dependent claim 3, Boucher further discloses: the first direction extends outwardly from the right sidewall, and the second direction extends outwardly from the left sidewall ( heat exiting from outer slots 108 of the grill 60 closest to side walls 40 would travel in the directions that are outwardly of the respective side walls 40 ) . In reference to dependent claim 4, Boucher further discloses: the first exhaust opening and the second exhaust opening respectively have a rectangular shape (see the long rectangular slots of the grill 60 shown in Fig. 4) . 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. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claim (s) 1, 9-11, 13 , 14, 16 , 17, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20200237146 A1 to Donnelly et al. (Donnelly) in view of US 20220412549 A1 to Rahmani et al. (Rahmani) . In reference to independent claim 1, Connelly alternatively discloses: A heat diffuser (318) configured to be positioned over a burn pot (2216) of a pellet grill (100) , the heat diffuser comprising: a front wall (4202) ; a rear wall (4402) located opposite the front wall; a top wall (4206 ) extending between the front wall and the rear wall; a right sidewall (4204) extending downwardly from the top wall (4206) (see Fig. 43) , the right sidewall extending between the front wall and the rear wall (see Fig. 42) ; and a left sidewall (4302) located opposite the right sidewall (see Fig. 43) , the left sidewall extending downwardly from the top wall (4206) (see Fig. 43) , the left sidewall extending between the front wall and the rear wall (see Fig. 45). Connelly is silent regarding a bottom wall located opposite the top wall, the bottom wall extending between the front wall and the rear wall, the bottom wall including a first intake opening; a first exhaust opening located between the front wall and the rear wall and between the top wall and the right sidewall; and a second exhaust opening located between the front wall and the rear wall and between the top wall and the left sidewall. Rahmani teaches a pellet smoker (100) including a burn pot (204), a cooking grate ( 202 ) and a baffle structure (300) having a bottom baffle (314) with openings (316) and holes (310) on the vertical cylindrical wall (306) (see Fig. 2). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heat diffuser of Connelly to have the bottom wall and the openings as taught by Rahmani in order to diffuse heat throughout grill (see [0022]). In reference to dependent claim 9, Connelly further discloses: an outer frame having an outer chamber (lower outer wall segment 306) , the heat diffuser (318) further comprising an inner frame located within the outer frame (see Fig. 10) , the inner frame having an inner chamber located within the outer chamber (see Fig. 10). Moreover, Rahmani further teaches the inner frame including: an upper end (upper portion 320) located adjacent the top wall; a lower end (lower portion 302) located opposite the upper end (see Fig. 2) , the lower end located adjacent the bottom wall (314) (see Fig. 2) , the lower end including a second intake opening aligned with the first intake opening of the bottom wall (see Fig. 2 , bottom baffle has multiple holes 316 ) ; a sidewall (306) extending between the upper end and the lower end (see Fig. 2) ; a first heat distribution opening formed in the sidewall of the inner frame and oriented toward the right sidewall of the outer frame; and a second heat distribution opening formed in the sidewall of the inner frame and oriented toward the left sidewall of the outer frame (see Fig. 2, cylindrical wall 306 having multiple openings 310) . In reference to dependent claim 10, Rahmani further teaches: the second intake opening (316) is configured to receive a flow of heat generated by and emitted from the burn pot, the flow of heat to pass through the second intake opening into the inner chamber, wherein the first heat distribution opening (310) is configured to distribute a first portion of the flow of heat from the inner chamber into the outer chamber in a first direction oriented toward the first exhaust opening, and wherein the second heat distribution opening (310) is configured to distribute a second portion of the flow of heat from the inner chamber into the outer chamber in a second direction oriented toward the second exhaust opening (see [0022]-[0031] and Figs. 1-2 ). In reference to dependent claim 11, Rahmani further teaches: the sidewall has a cylindrical shape (see Fig. 2) . In reference to dependent claim 13, Rahmani further teaches: the first heat distribution and the second heat distribution opening (310) respectively have a rectangular shape (see Fig. 2) . In reference to dependent claim 14, Rahmani further teaches: the inner frame further includes a third heat distribution opening (31) formed in the sidewall and oriented toward the front wall, and a fourth heat distribution opening (310) formed in the sidewall and oriented toward the rear wall (openings 310 are radially distributed along the cylindrical wall 306 ) . In reference to independent claim 16, Connelly discloses: A pellet grill (100) , comprising: a cookbox (102) including an upper end and a lower end; a cooking grate (302) located within the cookbox between the upper end and the lower end (see Fig. 10) ; a grease deflector (320) located within the cookbox between the upper end and the lower end (see Fig. 4) , the grease deflector located below the cooking grate (302) (see Fig. 4) ; a housing (2204, 2006) located within the cookbox between the upper end and the lower end, the housing located below the grease deflector, the housing containing a burn pot (2216) , the burn pot configured to generate and to emit a flow of heat; and a heat diffuser (318) located within the cookbox (102) between the upper end and the lower end (see Fig. 10) , the heat diffuser (318) located below the grease deflector (320) and above the burn pot (see Fig. 10, note engine 312 includes burnpot 2216) , the heat diffuser positioned on the housing (2204) (see Figs. 10-11, 22) , the heat diffuser including: a front wall (4202) ; a rear wall (4402) located opposite the front wall; a top wall (4206 ) extending between the front wall and the rear wall; a right sidewall (4204) extending downwardly from the top wall (4206) (see Fig. 43) , the right sidewall extending between the front wall and the rear wall (see Fig. 42) ; and a left sidewall (4302) located opposite the right sidewall (see Fig. 43) , the left sidewall extending downwardly from the top wall (4206) (see Fig. 43) , the left sidewall extending between the front wall and the rear wall (see Fig. 45) . Connelly is silent regarding a bottom wall located opposite the top wall, the bottom wall extending between the front wall and the rear wall, the bottom wall including a first intake opening; a first exhaust opening located between the front wall and the rear wall and between the top wall and the right sidewall; and a second exhaust opening located between the front wall and the rear wall and between the top wall and the left sidewall. Rahmani teaches a pellet smoker (100) including a burn pot (204), a cooking grate ( 202 ) and a baffle structure (300) having a bottom baffle (314) with openings (316) and holes (310) on the vertical cylindrical wall (306) (see Fig. 2). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heat diffuser of Connelly to have the bottom wall and the openings as taught by Rahmani in order to diffuse heat throughout grill (see [0022]). In reference to dependent claim 17, Rahmani further teaches: the front wall, the rear wall (306) , the top wall, the bottom wall (314) , the right sidewall, the left sidewall, the first intake opening (316) , the first exhaust opening (310) , and the second exhaust opening (310) define an outer frame of the heat diffuser (see Fig. 2) , the outer frame defining an outer chamber (102) (see Fig. 1) , wherein the first intake opening (316 ) is configured to receive the flow of heat generated by and emitted from the burn pot (204) , the flow of heat to pass through the first intake opening and to progress into the outer chamber, wherein the first exhaust opening (310) is configured to exhaust the flow of heat throughout the smoker (100) (see [0022]-[0031]) . In reference to dependent claim 20, Connelly further discloses: the grease deflector (320) has an inverted V-shaped cross-sectional profile (see Fig. 10) , the grease deflector having a lengthwise span and a widthwise span (see Fig. 3) , the lengthwise span of the grease deflector exceeding a lengthwise span of the heat diffuser, the widthwise span of the grease deflector exceeding a widthwise span of the heat diffuser (see Fig. 3) . Allowable Subject Matter Claims 5-8, 12, 15, 18 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 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT Ngoc T Nguyen whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-7176 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 9:00 am - 5:00 pm . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Steve McAllister can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571) 272-6785 . 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. /NGOC T NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799