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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-9 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/12/2025.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: an image capture device in claim 16 wherein image capture is a functional language with the term device being a generic placeholder for means.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
An image capture device is interpreted as a camera as disclosed in the specification or its equivalents.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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 (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 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.
Claim(s) 10,11 and 14-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lindsey et al (US 2022/0151431) in view of Huntley (US 2013/0171304).
Lindsey discloses the method claimed including operating a cooking appliance comprising a cooking chamber (104) and a plurality of heating elements (124, 126, 136) positioned within the cooking chamber (also, see Figure 2) and receiving one or more inputs (via a user interface 128) to initiate a cooking sequence/operation (para 0019-0020). Lindsey further discloses for analyzing capture images in the cooking chamber and, also, finding cooking utensils (i.e., presence of cookware items) in the cooking chamber (para 0040) but does not disclose for determining one or more physical attributes of a cookware, adjusting one or more parameters including at least one of a target temperature of the cooking chambre, relative ratio of power output or a duty cycle of the plurality of heating elements in response to determining the one or more physical attributes, and initiating the cooking sequence according to one or more adjusted parameters as claimed.
Huntley discloses it is known for a cooking appliance that determines one or more physical attributes (size and type; para 0022 and 0026) of a cookware item wherein an oven temperature (i.e., cooking chamber) is controlled based on the determined size and type of the utensil wherein the determination is made via images captured by a camera (para 0023).
In view of Huntley, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adapt Linsey with the cooking operation that includes determining one or more physical attributes of a cookware for controlling or adjusting a parameter such as a desired or target temperature of an oven/cooking chamber temperature in response to the physical attributes of the cookware which enables the cooking appliance to automatically and more conveniently perform and initiate the cooking sequence or operation as desired (also, see para 0005 of Huntley).
With respect to claim 11, Lindsey in view of Huntley discloses for determining one or more physical attributes of the cookware that comprises receiving an input regarding a surface area size of the cookware which is shown by the determined size (as well as thickness and diameter) of the cooking utensil (also, see para 0026 of Huntley).
With respect to claim 14, Lindsey in view of Huntley discloses the plurality of heating elements including a bake heating element (126) and a broil heating element (124) as shown by Linsey
With respect to claim 15, Lindsey in view of Huntley discloses for a plurality of heating elements including a convection heating element (136), a convection fan (138) for circulating heated air within the cooking chamber wherein the one or more parameters (e.g., oven temperature) of the cooking sequence/operation is adjusted, and Linsey further discloses for adjusting the speed of the fan between 0% to 100% (para 0017) that further would control achieving the desired or target temperature of the cooking/oven chamber.
With respect to claims 16 and 17, Lindsey in view of Huntly discloses an image capture device (shown by a camera 158 of Lindsey; and also shown by camera 906 of Huntley) wherein the images captured by the image capture device is analyzed and extracted/identified one or more physical attributes from the analysis of the capture image as taught by Huntley (also, see para 0022 and 0023).
With respect to claim 18, Lindsey in view of Huntly discloses for generating a user’s profile which includes cooking utensil and cooking data/recipe based on one or more extracted physical attributes (para 0026 of Huntley) of the cookware/utensil wherein the user’s profile including the cooking data/recipe having a cooking temperature data, as a cooking heating profile, associated with the determined cooking utensils/cookware for controlling the cooking temperature/heating profile (para 0022 and 0023) wherein Huntley further discloses for a memory data that stores the data (para 0037 and 0052).
Claim(s) 12 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lindsey in view of Huntley as applied to claims 10,11 and 14-18 above, and further in view of Bassill et al (US 2019/0353527).
With respect to claims 12 and 13, Lindsey in view of Huntley discloses the method claimed including a stove range that is known to have a stove-oven range having a cooktop (see, para 0005 of Huntley) but does not disclose a sensor provided within the cooktop wherein the sensor is configured to determine a ferrous composition of the cookware item.
Bassill discloses it is known to provide a sensor (122) provided in a cooktop (see Figure 1) wherein the sensor is configured to determine a ferrous composition of a cookware/pan (30; also, see para 0035) wherein the sensor is further connected to a controller (150) that controls a temperature setting of the pan based on the type of pan identified or that the pan is made of a ferrous material. Also, see Figure 10.
In view of Bassill, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adapt Lindsey, as modified by Huntley, with the cooktop having a sensor that is configured to identify the type of cookware that indicates or signals that the cookware is a ferrous material wherein heating elements for heating the cookware can be more accurately controlled based on the identified cookware to more effectively and predictably meet the desired temperature of the cookware as desired.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SANG Y PAIK whose telephone number is (571)272-4783. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00-5:30; M-F.
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/SANG Y PAIK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761