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 § 112
Examiner notes the claims contain the language “approximately” but are not being rejected under 112b as the specification in par. 0034 defines approximately as being within 10%.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 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.
Claims 1-6 and 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maehara (5250775) in view of Griffith (US-Pub 2022/0344941)
Regarding claim 1, Maehara discloses a heating system (fig 2), comprising: a heating element (34, fig 2); a power supply circuit (43, fig 2) coupled to an alternating current (AC) power supply (31, fig 2) configured to supply a power signal (electricity goes from the power to the heating assembly) to the heating system, the power supply circuit comprising an inverter (35, an inverter is a type of power converter and the power converter provides an inversion function, fig 2); a battery assembly (37, fig 2) coupled to the power supply circuit via a switching element (39, 38, fig 2), the battery assembly configured to supply a supplemental power signal to the heating system (the battery outputs power through 44, fig 2); and a controller (41, fig 2) operably coupled to the power supply circuit and to the battery assembly (dashed lines from 41, fig 2), the controller configured to control operation of the heating system based at least in part on a power requirement of the heating system (col 6, lines 9-15).
Maehara does not disclose wherein the heater an induction heater and is operable to inductively heat a load with a magnetic field.
Griffith teaches the usage of a battery storage system inside of an induction stove (par. 0038) which uses an induction heater, wherein the induction heater is operable to inductively heat a load with a magnetic field (this is how an induction heating system such as an induction heating cooktop operates).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heating appliance disclosed by Maehara by having it be an induction heating element with user input knob based on the teachings of Griffith. Induction stoves are extremely fast and high heat (par. 0126) and thus would be an obvious choice as a cooking appliance, as suggested by Griffith.
Regarding claim 2, Maehara as modified by Griffith discloses wherein the controller is configured to control operation of the induction heating system by performing operations, the operations comprising: receiving a power request for the inverter (col 6, lines 32-36, the inverter tells the controller how much power it wants), the power request corresponding to the power requirement (the inverter power is the power requirement of the heating system); determining whether the power request exceeds a mains power threshold, the mains power threshold being indicative of a maximum power suppliable by the AC power supply; in response to determining whether the power request exceeds the mains power threshold, adjusting one or more operating parameters of the battery assembly, wherein the power requirement corresponds to a total power output required by the induction heating element (col 6, lines 15-20, when the power requested is beyond the power of the external power source the power output becomes the mains power plus the power extracted from the battery, this would require the controller identifying that the power requested is beyond the mains power threshold supplied by the AC power).
Regarding claim 3, Maehara as modified by Griffith discloses wherein in response to determining the power request exceeds the mains power threshold, configuring the battery assembly to supply the supplemental power signal to the inverter (col 4, lines 30-40, the battery is used when necessary when excess power is required, and when it is not required only AC is used).
Regarding claim 4, Maehara as modified by Griffith discloses wherein the inverter is configured to provide a combined power signal to the induction heating element (col 6, lines 10-20, the power signal comes from the inverter which combines the battery and mains power), the combined power signal comprising the power signal supplied by the AC power supply and the supplemental power signal supplied by the battery assembly (43, fig 2, the power coming from both is merged into one signal before being delivered to the inverter and the heating element).
Regarding claim 5, Maehara as modified by Griffith discloses wherein in response to determining the mains power threshold exceeds the power request, configuring the battery assembly to receive charge from the power supply circuit (col 4, lines 25-30, the battery can be charged during low power operation when it’s not needed for use, aka when the power from mains exceeds the power requirement).
Regarding claim 6, Maehara as modified by Griffith discloses wherein the power supply circuit further comprises a rectifier circuit (42, fig 2) coupled to the AC power supply and to the inverter, wherein the rectifier circuit is configured to: rectify the power signal received from the AC power supply; and provide a rectified power signal to the inverter (a rectifier circuit rectifies signals and outputs a rectified signal as per the claim).
Regarding claim 11, Maehara as modified by Griffith discloses wherein the battery assembly is coupled in series with the power supply circuit (during operation charger 39 is closed off to prevent power from being directed into the battery, when that happens the power would operate in series).
Regarding claim 12, Maehara as modified by Griffith discloses wherein a power factor of the induction heating system is approximately one (the power factor is the power supplied to the induction heating system, this means that since the power system of Maehara supplies all of its power to the heating system, it would also be approximately one minus any small heating losses).
Regarding claim 13, Maehara discloses a method for operating a cooking appliance (34, fig 2) comprising a power supply circuit (43, fig 2) and a battery assembly (37, fig 2), the method comprising: receiving, via a controller (41, fig 2) of the cooking appliance, a power request (col 6, lines 32-36) for an inverter (35, fig 2) of the power supply circuit; determining, via the controller, whether the power request exceeds a mains power threshold, the mains power threshold being indicative of a maximum power suppliable by an alternating current (AC) power supply of the cooking appliance; in response to determining whether the power request exceeds the mains power threshold, adjusting, via the controller, one or more operating parameters of the battery assembly, (col 6, lines 15-20, when the power requested is beyond the power of the external power source the power output becomes the mains power plus the power extracted from the battery).
Maehara does not disclose wherein the heater a cooktop appliance.
Griffith teaches the usage of a battery storage system inside of a stove which uses an induction heater as a cooktop (par. 0038).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heating appliance disclosed by Maehara by having it be an induction heating element with user input knob based on the teachings of Griffith. Induction stoves are extremely fast and high heat (par. 0126) and thus would be an obvious choice as a cooking appliance, as suggested by Griffith.
Regarding claim 14, Maehara as modified by Griffith discloses wherein adjusting one or more operating parameters of the battery assembly comprises: in response to determining the power request exceeds the mains power threshold, configuring, via the controller, the battery assembly to supply a supplemental power signal to the inverter (col 6, lines 15-20, when the power requested is beyond the power of the external power source the power output becomes the mains power plus the power extracted from the battery, this would require the controller identifying that the power requested is beyond the mains power threshold supplied by the AC power).
Regarding claim 15, Maehara as modified by Griffith discloses wherein a magnitude of the supplemental power signal corresponds to a difference between the power request and the mains power threshold (the power given by the battery is the difference between overall output power and the total power provided by the mains, thus it’s what the supplemental power signal would equal).
Regarding claim 16, Maehara as modified by Griffith discloses wherein adjusting one or more operating parameters of the battery assembly comprises: in response to determining the mains power threshold exceeds the power request, configuring, via the controller, the battery assembly to receive charge from the power supply circuit (col 4, lines 25-30, the battery can be charged during low power operation when it’s not needed for use, aka when the power from mains exceeds the power requirement).
Regarding claim 17, Maehara discloses a cooking appliance (34, fig 2), comprising: a power supply circuit (43, fig 2) coupled to an alternating current (AC) power supply (31, fig 2) configured to supply a power signal (power coming from mains) to the induction heating system, the power supply circuit comprising an inverter (35, fig 2); a battery assembly (37, fig 2) coupled to the power supply circuit via a switching element (39, 38, fig 2), the battery assembly configured to provide a supplemental power signal to the induction heating system (the battery outputs power through 44, fig 2); and a controller (41, fig 2) operably coupled to the power supply circuit and to the battery assembly (dashed arrows, fig 2), the controller configured to control operation of the induction heating system based at least in part on a power requirement of the induction heating system, wherein the power requirement corresponds to a total power output required by the induction heating element (col 6, lines 9-15).
a user interface comprising a user input; an induction heating system comprising: an induction heating element operable to inductively heat a load with a magnetic field;
Maehara does not disclose wherein the heater an induction heater and is operable to inductively heat a load with a magnetic field.
Griffith teaches the usage of a battery storage system inside of an induction stove (par. 0038) which uses an induction heater, including a user interface comprising a user input (fig 3a, the cooktop can be seen with a plurality of burner adjustment knobs which act as a user interface and require the user input of turning said knobs) wherein the induction heater is operable to inductively heat a load with a magnetic field (this is how an induction heating system such as an induction heating cooktop operates).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heating appliance disclosed by Maehara by having it be an induction heating element with user input knob based on the teachings of Griffith. Induction stoves are extremely fast and high heat (par. 0126) and thus would be an obvious choice as a cooking appliance, as suggested by Griffith.
Regarding claim 18, Maehara as modified by Griffith discloses wherein the controller is configured to control operation of the induction heating system by performing operations, the operations comprising: receiving a power request for the inverter (col 6, lines 32-36), the power request corresponding to the power requirement; determining whether the power request exceeds a mains power threshold, the mains power threshold being indicative of a maximum power suppliable by the AC power supply; in response to determining whether the power request exceeds the mains power threshold, adjusting one or more operating parameters of the battery assembly (col 6, lines 15-20, when the power requested is beyond the power of the external power source the power output becomes the mains power plus the power extracted from the battery, this would require the controller identifying that the power requested is beyond the mains power threshold supplied by the AC power).
Regarding claim 19, Maehara as modified by Griffith discloses the operations further comprising: in response to determining the mains power threshold exceeds the power request, configuring the battery assembly to receive charge from the power supply circuit for charging one or more battery packs of the battery assembly (col 4, lines 25-30, the battery can be charged during low power operation when it’s not needed for use, aka when the power from mains exceeds the power requirement); and in response to determining the power request exceeds the mains power threshold, configuring the battery assembly to supply the supplemental power signal to the inverter, a magnitude of the supplemental power signal corresponding to a difference between the power request and the mains power threshold (col 4, lines 30-40, the battery is used when necessary when excess power is required, and when it is not required only AC is used).
Regarding claim 20, Maehara as modified by Griffith discloses wherein the AC power supply is a 120 VAC power supply (par. 0055, Griffith, the oven is used in a standard American home where the power supply is 120 volts, so, when connected in a home setting the AC supply would be 120V as per the claim).
Claims 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maehara as modified by Griffith as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Van Zwam (9325177).
Regarding claim 7, Maehara discloses wherein the battery assembly is configured to operate based on control signals received from the controller (dashed arrows leading from 41, fig 2)
Maehara as modified by Griffith does not disclose wherein the battery assembly comprises: one or more battery packs, each battery pack of the one or more battery packs comprising a plurality of battery cells; and a battery manager coupled to the one or more battery packs and to the controller.
Van Zwam teaches a battery assembly for powering appliances (col 2, lines 55-60), the battery assembly comprising one or more battery packs (17, 18, 19, 20, fig 3), each battery pack of the one or more battery packs comprising a plurality of battery cells (21-38, fig 3); and a battery manager (55, fig 3) coupled to the one or more battery packs and to the controller, wherein the battery manager is configured to operate the battery assembly based at least in part on control signals received from the controller.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery assembly disclosed by Maehara by using multiple battery packs comprising multiple battery cells with a battery manager connected to them based on the teachings of Van Zwam. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the use of multiple batteries would allow for an increase in storage for larger appliances, as well as increased flexibility of replacing any damaged or degraded packs.
Regarding claim 8, Maehara discloses wherein the battery assembly further comprises a voltage converter for inputting (39, fig 2) and outputting (38, fig 2) power coupled the controller (dashed lines from 41, fig 2).
Maehara as modified by Griffith does not disclose wherein the voltage controller is a bidirectional voltage converter coupled to the battery manager and to the controller.
Van Zwam teaches using a bidirectional voltage converter (56, fig 4) coupled to the battery manager (30, fig 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the two unidirectional voltage converters disclosed by Maehara as modified by Griffith by using a single bidirectional voltage converter based on the teachings of Van Zwam. Doing so would operate as a functional equivalent (col 3, lines 46-61), as suggested by Van Zwam.
Regarding claim 9, Maehara as modified by Van Zwam discloses wherein the bidirectional voltage converter is configured to: charge each of the one or more battery packs of the battery assembly; adjust a total output voltage of the supplemental power signal (col 6, lines 25-31); and provide the supplemental power signal to the inverter of the power supply circuit (col 6, lines 31-35).
Regarding claim 10, Maehara as modified by Van Zwam discloses wherein the bidirectional voltage converter is further configured to adjust the total output voltage of the supplemental power signal to lower a total voltage input at the inverter (when the battery is turned from on to off the total power at the inverter would drop).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAN V MEILLER whose telephone number is (571)272-9229. The examiner can normally be reached 7am-5pm.
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, Devon Kramer can be reached at 571-272-7118. 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.
/SEAN V MEILLER/Examiner, Art Unit 3741
/GERALD L SUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3741
Prosecution Insights