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.
Status of Claims
The following action is in response to the applicant’s Amendment dated 6/23/2026, that was in response to the Office action dated 5/6/2026. Claims 1-10 and 15-18 are pending, claim(s) 1, 10 and 15 has/have been amended, while claim(s) 11-14 have been cancelled.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1-9 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The reasons for the applicant’s remarks not being persuasive are given below.
As an initial matter, claims 10 and 15-18 are considered allowable in light of the applicant’s amendment.
Applicant respectfully submits that the rear lip as mapped in Barnes is not directly interfaced with the support ledge. The examiner respectfully disagrees. The identified as 31 directly interfaces the support ledge at 194 as described below. However, there are various areas that can also be identified as a support ledge, e.g. at 155. The connection as identified below is also believed to be directly interfaced as seen in 4, where the direct interface is at 150. For these reasons, the applicant’s remarks are not persuasive, and the previous ground of rejection will be maintained.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Barnes et al [6761159].
With respect to claim 1, Barnes discloses: A cooking appliance defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, the cooking appliance comprising: a cabinet (4) defining a cooking chamber (45) [col 3, line 6-15]; a cooktop (8) provided above the cabinet, the cooktop extending between a front edge and a rear edge along the transverse direction, the rear edge comprising a rear lip (31) [see FIG 1, col 2, line 53-col 3, line 5]; and a vent trim assembly (150) in fluid communication with the cooking chamber (45) [col 4, line 6-18], the vent trim assembly comprising: a lower vent trim positioned at the rear edge of the cooktop, the lower vent trim comprising a support ledge positioned below the rear edge, the rear lip being directly interfaced (via the connection of exhaust outlet 155 and extension sleeve 236) with the support ledge (194) [see reproduced FIG 2 below, col4, line 19-57].
Barnes further discloses:
{cl. 2} The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein the lower vent trim defines a front side and a rear side spaced apart along the transverse direction, wherein the lower vent trim comprises a front face positioned at the front side, wherein the front face comprises a top edge and a bottom edge spaced apart along the vertical direction, and wherein the support ledge is extended outward from the bottom edge (at 182) of the front face [see FIG 4].
{cl. 3} The cooking appliance of claim 2, wherein the support ledge comprises a first portion attached directly to the bottom edge of the front face, and wherein the rear lip (via 236) is interfaced with the first portion [see FIG 4].
{cl. 7} The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein the lower vent trim defines a first side and a second side spaced apart along the lateral direction, and wherein the support ledge is positioned approximately equidistance between the first side and the second side [see FIG 4].
{cl. 8} The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein the vent trim assembly further comprises an upper vent trim (236), and wherein the upper vent trim is positioned atop of the lower vent trim [see FIG 4].
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6, 9 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. Modifications needed to show the features of the claims would change the construction of Barnes significantly.
Claims 10 and 15-18 are allowed.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 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
8/5/2026
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