F a
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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant's preliminary amendment filed on 12/5/2025 has been entered.
Claims 1-20 have been canceled.
Claims 21-40 have been added.
Claims 21-40 are still pending in this application, with claims 21, 25, and 30 being independent.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Objections
Claim 21 is objected to because of the following informalities: “an interface that includes a touch configured to present information to a user…”. In view of the recitation of a touch screen in canceled claim 1, and in para. 0074, it seems “touch” should be “touch screen”.
Claim 25 is objected to because of the following informalities: “a power cord with a plug configured to couple with an electrical power receptacle of a power distribution system of building” should be “a power cord with a plug configured to couple with an electrical power receptacle of a power distribution system of a building”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because Figures 10-24 utilize inappropriate shading and/or include photographs when line drawings can be utilized. See 37CFR1.84. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Interpretation
The claims are directed towards an inductive stovetop appliance having a conventional plug/cord configured to connect to and supply electricity from conventional residential receptacles/circuits [fig. 1: electric receptacles 165; see pp. 22-23, Table 1 showing similar conventional residential appliances requiring either 120V or 240V].
The limitation “a battery system” is used by the claims to describe conventional structure known in the art, e.g., the conventional practice of using a processor/controller coupled to sensors to control/manage charging and discharging [e.g., a charging circuit, storage sensing, overcharge protection, etc.] of a battery [i.e., a controller, e.g., a conventional battery management system (BMS) with known structures and features selected according to the given application, e.g., various suitable sensors; para. 0071].
The limitation “user power use data” is used by the claims to describe relevant user parameters, e.g., time/duration of cooking, identity of the appliance/identity of session, etc. [para. 00100: “For example, in some embodiments, user power use data can be obtained by one or more battery systems 300 of a battery network 500, with such data being stored at one or more of the battery systems 300, a battery server 510 and user device 520. Such data can include time and duration of one or more power use sessions, the identity of a load source associated with such a power use session, a type of power use session (e.g., cooking dinner, cooking breakfast, running a dishwasher, washing clothes, drying clothes, watching television, playing a video game console, operating a computer, heating a home, cooling a home, or the like), and efficiency or issues associated with such a power use session ( e.g., running out of power, not being able to output sufficient power to meet demand, and the like). Additionally, such data can include information about power consumed by one or more batteries 305 of one or more battery systems 300, power consumed from a grid energy source 110, power consumed from a solar energy source, and the like.”]. Examiner notes that although the disclosure describes obtaining stored data, the claims and disclosure are silent with regards to any structure capable of detecting user power use data.
The limitation “power output configuration” and “battery charging configuration” is used by the claims to describe a feature of the battery system, wherein power output during cooking and charging/discharging of the battery is controlled by “laws” of the system [para. 00105: “Determining an output configuration can be for various suitable purposes, such as to maximize use of renewable energy sources (e.g., solar panels 115); to maximize storage of power from renewable energy sources; to maximize storage of power from a power grid 110 when such power is at a low or lower cost; to maximize performance of a load source 200; to maximize energy efficiency of a load source; to maximize energy storage by one or more batteries 305; to minimize charging time for one or more batteries 305; and the like. For instance, a shorter nighttime cooking session can be completely covered in some examples by an on-board or associated battery 305, charged during the day with ample solar resources, while a longer, more demanding nighttime cooking session could be powered jointly by the battery 305 and low-capacity outlet ( e.g., receptacle 165). In this way, the charge and discharge control laws of the system and/or network can maximize the use of renewable-generated electricity, in some examples, without impacting the experience of the user.”]
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 21-24, 29, 40, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, regards as the invention.
Claims 21, 29, and 40:
The recitation of “to maximize storage of power… from renewable energy sources” and “to maximize storage of power… from a power grid” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear if the claim requires renewable energy sources or a power grid. For the purposes of this office action, Examiner will interpret the claims as requiring that the battery system is capable of controlling the power output and battery charging of the appliance.
Examiner notes that it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable (e.g., heating element power output, battery charging/discharging) involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.05(II.)(A.).
Examiner notes that the claims and disclosure are silent with regards to any structure capable of detecting the connection of renewable energy sources or a power grid, or of measuring power output.
Claims 22-24 are also rejected due to dependence on a rejected claim.
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.
Claims 21-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jenkins (US 20160051078 A1) in view of Bruckbauer (US 20190137109 A1), Leidig (US 20130186886 A1), and Christopher (US 6037571 A).
Regarding claim 21,
Jenkins discloses:
A stove appliance [cookware device; para. 0001], the stove appliance comprising:
a stove housing [see fig. 6, showing cooking unit 610 as a stove housing, configured to be disposed in residential kitchen; para. 0043];
four induction cooking zones disposed on a top face of the stove housing [e.g., fig. 6, depicting four independently controlled burners 622a-622d, configurable as induction cooking zones; para. 0090; para. 0127: “…FIG. 6 is shown and described as a stove with a gas cooktop, it is appreciated that a wide range of cooking appliances and apparatuses may be provided in connection with the systems and techniques described herein, such as, for example, electric cooktops (e.g., induction and radiant cooktops), grilles, smokers and other cooking apparatuses having a variety of fuel sources.”];
an oven comprising an oven door disposed on a front face of the stove housing [see fig. 6, showing an oven and oven door];
a plurality of at least five knobs disposed on the front face of the stove housing above the oven door and below the top face of the stove housing, the plurality of at least five knobs configured for operation of
the four induction cooking zones [fig. 6: control devices 640a-640d; para. 0097: “In other embodiments, the control devices 640a-640d may have a variety of different forms and may resemble various knobs and/or dials of conventional stoves and the other cooking appliances.”] and
the oven [Jenkins describes a knob as a control device for controlling other heating locations of the appliance, e.g., the oven in fig. 6; para. 0016: “FIG. 12 is an isometric view of components of a food preparation system, according to one example embodiment, which includes a temperature probe, a probe mounting device for attaching the probe to a piece of cooking equipment (e.g., a pot or a pan), and a control device in the form of a control knob for controlling a burner of a conventional a stove or other heating location of a cooking apparatus or appliance.”];
[i.e., a conventional residential electrical power receptacle in a user’s home; para. 0043: “The user's cooking environment in this example may, for example, include a kitchen and possibly additional portions of the user's home, but may have other forms in other embodiments.”]; and
a battery system that is an internal and integral component of the stove appliance, the battery system disposed within the stove housing of the stove appliance [Jenkins is mainly directed to an “Automated Cooking Control ("ACC") system”, but at least describes the conventional use of an internal and integral battery as a power source for the knob, the appliance configured to recharge the battery; para. 0117: “…The wireless communication module 1231 may include a wireless transmitter (e.g., an RF transmitter) and may be coupled to a power source 1229 (e.g., a battery) for powering the wireless transmitter and/or other circuitry components.”; para. 0109: “According to some embodiments, a heat sink (not shown) may also be provided and coupled to the power source 678 of the wireless communication module 674, and may be configured to recharge the power source 678 using heat obtained from an external heat source during one or more cooking episodes.”] and comprising:
a communication system [para. 0032: “Among other things, techniques are described herein for automated control of at least some parts of a food cooking process, such as to control activation and heating ( or other temperature modification) for one or more cooking locations ( e.g., one or more cooking surfaces or other pieces of cooking equipment, such as a stove top heating element, an oven, etc.)...At least some of the described techniques may be automatically performed in at least some embodiments by automated operations of a computer-implemented Automated Cooking Control ("ACC") system, which may optionally include multiple executable software modules, as described in greater detail below.”] configured to allow the battery system to communicate via one or more communication networks including the Internet and a Wi-Fi network [para. 0044: “In the illustrated embodiment, the various computing devices and other equipment with communication capabilities may interact with each other via… a wireless local network (e.g., using Wi-Fi)…In addition, computing devices and systems external to the cooking environment may in some embodiments communicate with at least some devices and cooking related equipment within the cooking environment over one or more external networks (e.g., the Internet).”;],
an interface that includes a touch configured present information to a user to allow the user to configure the battery system, view an aspect or characteristic or state of the battery system, and configure a network connection of the battery system via the communication system [Jenkins discloses a conventional mobile computing device with a touchscreen, and the knob configured with a touch-sensitive display, both allowing displaying information to the user and allowing the user to control the appliance; paras. 0149-0150], and
a processor, a memory [i.e., a computer; para. 0032: “At least some of the described techniques may be automatically performed in at least some embodiments by automated operations of a computer-implemented Automated Cooking Control ("ACC") system, which may optionally include multiple executable software modules,
as described in greater detail below.”], the memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the battery system to:
obtain current user power use data [para. 0094: “According to some embodiments, optimal or otherwise desirable parameters of the control algorithms for a may be inferred or learned based on sensor data collected in a plurality of past cooking episodes on the cooking unit 610 and stored in non-volatile memory on a plurality of computing devices 650 in a plurality of cooking environments, on a plurality of control devices 640a-640d in a plurality of cooking environments, or other computing devices and systems external to the cooking environment via one or more external networks (e.g., the Internet). According to some embodiments this data includes data collected from cooking episodes initiated by a plurality of users. According to some embodiments these parameters will be learned or inferred by algorithms running on the computing device 650, the control devices 640a-640d or other computing devices and systems external to the cooking environment via one or more external networks (e.g., the Internet) or a distributed combination of such devices working cooperatively.”; para. 0148],
implement a power output configuration based at least in part on the current power use data [Jenkins describes the ACC system as automatically adjusting the temperature of cooking equipment via the knob, according to measured temperatures; para. 0092], and
wherein the power output configuration the purpose of one or more of:
to maximize storage of power by the one or more lithium-based batteries from renewable energy sources;
to maximize storage of power by the one or more lithium-based batteries from a power grid when such power is at a low or lower cost;
to maximize performance of one or more of the induction cooking zones and/or oven of the stove appliance; to maximize energy efficiency of the stove appliance [para. 0041: “Use of the described techniques may provide a variety of benefits in various situations, including improved results of cooking episodes for particular users (including enhanced consistency across multiple related cooking episodes), such as to decrease overall cost and food waste; the ability for users to cook particular dishes in the most efficient manner, such as by decreasing wasted time and energy or otherwise allowing the cooking to be performed more quickly…”];
to maximize energy storage by the one or more lithium-based batteries; and
to minimize charging time for the one or more lithium-based batteries.
However, although Jenkins discloses an electrically powered inductive cooktop for a residential home, Jenkins does not disclose:
a power cord with a plug configured to couple with the 120V, 15A, electrical power receptacle of a power distribution system of a residential home,
the battery system comprising:
one or more lithium-based batteries configured to: store power obtained from the power cord with the plug coupled with the electrical power receptacle of the power distribution system of the residential home, fully power the four induction cooking zones disposed on the top face of the stove housing of the stove appliance, and fully power the oven of the stove appliance,
obtain current power output capacity data,
implement the power output configuration based at least in part on the current power use data and the current power output capacity, including powering the stove appliance via power from one or both of the electrical power receptacle and the one or more lithium-based batteries, and
implement a battery charging configuration based at least in part on the current power use data and the current power output capacity, including charging or not charging the one or more lithium-based batteries via power from the electrical power receptacle,
wherein the power output configuration and the battery charging configuration are determined and implemented for the purpose of:
to maximize storage of power by the one or more lithium-based batteries from renewable energy sources;
to maximize storage of power by the one or more lithium-based batteries from a power grid when such power is at a low or lower cost;
to maximize energy storage by the one or more lithium-based batteries; and
to minimize charging time for the one or more lithium-based batteries.
Bruckbauer, in the same field of endeavor [a residential appliance, i.e., a kitchen hob and oven; para. 0009: “The hob system comprises in particular at least one hob and at least one fume extractor apparatus. The hob can be a glass ceramic hob, an induction hob… The hob is in particular an electric hob. The hob converts in particular electrical energy directly or indirectly into heat. For this purpose, the hob comprises electrical components…”; para. 0071: “As a result of the particularly space-saving configuration of the compact hob system, it is possible to achieve an increase in the available storage space below the kitchen worktop.”; para. 0122: “In principle, the hob system 1 can also comprise further elements or units. It is possible in principle, for example, to connect an oven and/or a steamer and/or a microwave appliance and/or an automatic coffee machine and/or further electrical appliances, for example a refrigerator, a freezer, a kettle or lighting, to the control device 2”], teaches a power cord with a plug configured to couple with the 120V, 15A, electrical power receptacle of a power distribution system of a residential home, i.e., the hob is connectable to a 120 V and a 240 V electrical power circuit of a power distribution system [paras. 0106-108: “The modular hob system comprises two circuits, a control circuit and a power circuit (or load circuit). The power circuit serves for supplying the electrical consumers with energy. Electrical consumers are the components connected to the control device, such as hobs and fume extractor apparatus. The power circuit is connected to the electrical power supply system… The components connected to the control device can be connected to different types of energy sources for energy supply. The control device can be connected in particular to an electrical power supply system at 50 Hz or 60 Hz. It can be operated with an operating voltage of either 230 V, 240 V or 110 V. It can be connected to a single-phase, two-phase, three-phase, four-phase or five-phase power supply system.”] with conventional plugs/cords [i.e., power leads; para. 0075: “For energy supply, the control device is connected to the power supply unit via a power lead.”].
Leidig, in the same field of endeavor [a battery system of an inductive cooking hob using AC heating elements; para. 0019: “In particular, the inverter circuit may be provided for transmitting a direct current from the battery and/or from the power supply circuit into an alternating current for the corresponding induction coil.”; para. 0040: “The cooking hob includes a glass ceramic panel 10 at the top side and a base plate 18 at the bottom side. An induction coil 12, a battery 14 and a power supply unit 16 are arranged side-by side between the glass ceramic panel 10 and the base plate 18.”], teaches one or more lithium-based batteries [para. 0024-25: “For example, the battery includes at least one lithium-ion-accumulator... Preferably, the battery has a capacity between 0.5 kWh and 2 kWh.”], configured to store power obtained from the power cord with the plug coupled with the electrical power receptacle of the power distribution system of the residential home [para. 0048: “The recharging of the battery 14 is performed by a direct connection of the cooking hob to the grid.”], fully power the stove appliance [e.g., during a grid failure, or in a mobile application; para. 0017: “The main idea of the present invention is the combination of the power supply for the induction coil by an integrated battery on the one hand and the mobile and stationary part of the cooking hob on the other hand. Said stationary part forms a docking station. The mobile part of the cooking hob is the proper cooking hob. Normally, the proper cooking hob is located in the docking station on the worktop of the kitchen such as a conventional cooking hob. However, the mobile part of the cooking hob can also be used on the dining table or outdoor. The mobile part of the cooking hob is functional without connection to the grid.”; para. 0026: “According to a special embodiment of the present invention the cooking hob includes at least one further inverter circuit for transmitting the direct current from the battery into an alternating current for the grid. Thereby the further inverter circuit may be arranged on the lower part of the cooking hob. The battery can feed the grid, when the grid fails or the power of the grid is reduced or limited.”].
Christopher, in the same field of endeavor [i.e., a cooking appliance and benefits of a battery combined with a grid connection; fig. 1: grill 10], teaches grill 10 configured to operate with power drawn from both a battery and the electrical power receptacle [p. 7, col. 1: “It is an object of the present invention to provide a dual power electric grill which uses combined AC and DC powered elements to produce high heat for grilling meat, fish and other food quickly and thoroughly.”], obtaining current power output capacity data [i.e., the residential power distribution system being limited to 15-20A; col. 1: “The AC source is the normal household electrical wall outlet in the United States which accepts power from the distribution grid through step-down transformers delivering 120V, 60 Hertz, AC current (or comparable in countries outside the United States). Houses, apartments and other buildings are typically provided with a power distribution panel which divides household service into separate circuits, each being fused (or having circuit breakers) at 15-20 amperes”], implementing power output configuration based at least in part on the current power use data and the current power output capacity, including powering the stove appliance via power from one or both of the electrical power receptacle and the one or more lithium-based batteries [i.e., a combination of power is simultaneously provided from the battery and the residential power distribution system so as to provide additional power for grilling, e.g., in addition to the limited AC wattage provided by the grid, the battery supplies additional DC wattage; a battery can supply 1800 watts of additional DC power on top of the 1800 watts of AC power supplied by a 15 amp household circuit; col. 1: “A 15 ampere circuit can safely deliver 1800 watts of AC power. By using the same circuit to charge batteries when the grill is not in use, one can store enough energy to obtain an additional 1800 watts of D.C. power from these batteries when needed for grilling.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the stove appliance of Jenkins by combining the teachings and suggestions of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher, with a reasonable expectation of success, by:
Including a power cord with a plug configured to couple with the 120V, 15A, electrical power receptacle of a power distribution system of a residential home, since Bruckbauer teaches an appliance configured to be connected to different supply voltages of conventional residential power distribution systems, thus the power cord allows the appliance to be plugged into and flexibly powered by the available energy supply;
Including one or more lithium-based batteries configured to: store power obtained from the power cord with the plug coupled with the electrical power receptacle of the power distribution system of the residential home, fully power the four induction cooking zones disposed on the top face of the stove housing of the stove appliance, and fully power the oven of the stove appliance, since Leidig teaches this allows the appliance to still function during an outage [para. 0064: “A further option of the present invention is the use of the electric energy in the battery 14 for feeding the grid, when the grid fails or the power of the grid is reduced or limited.”] wherein the power output configuration and battery charging configuration are determined and implemented for the purpose of to maximize storage of power by the one or more lithium-based batteries from a power grid when such power is at a low or lower cost [para. 0065-66: “The inventive cooking hob may comprise a control circuit, which limits the energy and/or power for the induction coil 12, when the cooking hob is supplied only by the battery 14. Such a control circuit increases the independence of the cooking hob. The charging procedure of the rechargeable battery 14 is preferably performed at a time, when the energy demand to the grid is relative low, so that also the energy costs are low. In many countries the energy costs are lower, if the charging procedure of the battery 14 is performed overnight.”];
Including obtaining current power output capacity data, wherein the power output configuration is based at least in part on the current power use data and the current power output capacity, including powering the stove appliance via power from one or both of the electrical power receptacle and the one or more lithium-based batteries since Christopher teaches this allows for increased heat output for grilling [p. 7, col. 2, lines 30-50: “The present dual power high heat electric grill produces twice as much heat as other electric grills without requiring the use of high voltage (240 volt) circuits. This is accomplished by using two different power sources, an AC source and a DC battery source in a hybrid configuration…”]; wherein a battery charging configuration based at least in part on the current power use data and the current power output capacity, including charging or not charging the one or more lithium-based batteries via power from the electrical power receptacle, such that power output configuration and the battery charging configuration are determined and implemented for the purpose of to minimize charging time for the one or more lithium-based batteries [e.g., charging the batteries when the grills is not in use; col. 1: “By using the same circuit to charge batteries when the grill is not in use, one can store enough energy to obtain an additional 1800 watts of D.C. power from these batteries when needed for grilling.”]
Regarding claim 22, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher discloses the stove appliance of claim 21.
Jenkins as modified by Christopher further teaches:
wherein the battery system further comprises an internal rectification circuit configured for converting 60Hz AC current to DC current.
In this case, Christopher describes conventional battery chargers including a rectifier for converting AC into DC, thereby allowing automatic charging of the batter [col. 3: “Commercial battery chargers, which may be fully automatic, typically use a step-down transformer to feed four diodes in a full wave rectifier configuration to convert AC to DC and may also use a capacitor for smoothing the output along with a diode by-pass to prevent over-charging.”].
Regarding claim 23, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher discloses the stove appliance of claim 21.
Jenkins as modified by Leidig further teaches:
wherein the power output configuration and the battery charging configuration are further determined based at least on a time of day and a cost of electrical power obtained from an electrical grid connected to the power distribution system of the residential home [Leidig discloses that in many countries, energy cost is related to demand/time of day; para. 0065-66].
Claims 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jenkins (US 20160051078 A1) in view of Bruckbauer (US 20190137109 A1), Leidig (US 20130186886 A1), and Christopher (US 6037571 A) as applied to claim 21 above, and further in view of De Luca (US 20180142925 A1).
Regarding claim 24, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher discloses the stove appliance of claim 21.
Jenkins as modified by Leidig further teaches:
wherein the stove appliance obtains electrical power generated by solar [Leidig discloses that the appliance is able to be powered from solar energy; para. 0063: “The inventive cooking hob allows a loading of the battery 14, when electric energy is available, e.g. as solar energy or from regenerative supplied isolated networks.”].
However, Jenkins as modified by Leidig does not explicitly disclose solar panels.
De Luca, in the same field of endeavor, teaches electrical power generated by solar panels [para. 0060: “According to various embodiments, the controller/charger 704 may be connected to a power line (not shown). The power line may be connected to an electrical energy source, such as, a solar panel, a wind generator, electrical grid, or the like. When the power line provides electrical energy via an alternating current (AC), the controller/charger 704 may include an AC to Direct Current (DC) converter to charge storage devices in the power supply 700. In some embodiments, when the power line provides electrical energy via a DC, the controller/charger 704 may include a DC-to-DC converter to convert incoming voltage to a DC voltage needed by a charger in the controller/charger 704.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the stove appliance of Jenkins, Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher, such that the stove appliance obtains electrical power generated by solar panels at the residential home via the power distribution system of the residential home, since De Luca teaches solar panels as capable of generating electrical power from solar energy for supply to appliances.
Claims 25-27 and 30-38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jenkins (US 20160051078 A1) in view of Bruckbauer (US 20190137109 A1) and Leidig (US 20130186886 A1).
Regarding claim 25,
Jenkins discloses:
A stove appliance [cookware device; para. 0001], the stove appliance comprising:
a stove housing [see fig. 6, showing cooking unit 610 as a stove housing, configured to be disposed in residential kitchen; para. 0043];
one or more induction cooking zones disposed on a top face of the stove housing [e.g., fig. 6, depicting four independently controlled burners 622a-622d, configurable as induction cooking zones; para. 0090; para. 0127: “…FIG. 6 is shown and described as a stove with a gas cooktop, it is appreciated that a wide range of cooking appliances and apparatuses may be provided in connection with the systems and techniques described herein, such as, for example, electric cooktops (e.g., induction and radiant cooktops), grilles, smokers and other cooking apparatuses having a variety of fuel sources.”];
an oven comprising an oven door disposed on a front face of the stove housing [see fig. 6, showing an oven and oven door];
[i.e., a conventional residential electrical power receptacle in a user’s home; [para. 0043: “The user's cooking environment in this example may, for example, include a kitchen and possibly additional portions of the user's home, but may have other forms in other embodiments.”]; and
a battery system that is an internal and integral component of the stove appliance, the battery system disposed within the stove housing of the stove appliance [Jenkins is mainly directed to an “Automated Cooking Control ("ACC") system”, but at least describes the conventional use of an internal and integral battery as a power source for the knob, the appliance configured to recharge the battery; para. 0117: “…The wireless communication module 1231 may include a wireless transmitter (e.g., an RF transmitter) and may be coupled to a power source 1229 (e.g., a battery) for powering the wireless transmitter and/or other circuitry components.”; para. 0109: “According to some embodiments, a heat sink (not shown) may also be provided and coupled to the power source 678 of the wireless communication module 674, and may be configured to recharge the power source 678 using heat obtained from an external heat source during one or more cooking episodes.”] and comprising:
However, although Jenkins discloses an electrically powered inductive cooktop for a residential home, Jenkins does not disclose:
a power cord with a plug configured to couple with an electrical power receptacle of a power distribution system of building,
the battery system comprising:
one or more batteries configured to: store power obtained from the power cord with the plug coupled with the electrical power receptacle of the power distribution system of the building, fully power the one or more induction cooking zones disposed on the top face of the stove housing of the stove appliance, and fully power the oven of the stove appliance, and
a stove electrical receptacle disposed on an external face of the stove housing, the stove electrical receptacle configured to share power stored by the one or more batteries with one or more home appliances by plugging the one or more home appliances into the stove electrical receptacle, the stove electrical receptacle configured to provide electrical power to the one or more home appliances and fully power the one or more home appliances, the one or more home appliances including at least one of a refrigerator, a heat pump and a water heater.
Bruckbauer, in the same field of endeavor [a residential appliance, i.e., a kitchen hob and oven; para. 0009: “The hob system comprises in particular at least one hob and at least one fume extractor apparatus. The hob can be a glass ceramic hob, an induction hob… The hob is in particular an electric hob. The hob converts in particular electrical energy directly or indirectly into heat. For this purpose, the hob comprises electrical components…”; para. 0071: “As a result of the particularly space-saving configuration of the compact hob system, it is possible to achieve an increase in the available storage space below the kitchen worktop.”; para. 0122: “In principle, the hob system 1 can also comprise further elements or units. It is possible in principle, for example, to connect an oven and/or a steamer and/or a microwave appliance and/or an automatic coffee machine and/or further electrical appliances, for example a refrigerator, a freezer, a kettle or lighting, to the control device 2”], teaches a power cord with a plug configured to couple with the electrical power receptacle of a power distribution system of building, i.e., the hob is connectable to a 120 V and a 240 V electrical power circuit of a power distribution system [paras. 0106-108: “The modular hob system comprises two circuits, a control circuit and a power circuit (or load circuit). The power circuit serves for supplying the electrical consumers with energy. Electrical consumers are the components connected to the control device, such as hobs and fume extractor apparatus. The power circuit is connected to the electrical power supply system… The components connected to the control device can be connected to different types of energy sources for energy supply. The control device can be connected in particular to an electrical power supply system at 50 Hz or 60 Hz. It can be operated with an operating voltage of either 230 V, 240 V or 110 V. It can be connected to a single-phase, two-phase, three-phase, four-phase or five-phase power supply system.”] with conventional plugs/cords [i.e., power leads; para. 0075: “For energy supply, the control device is connected to the power supply unit via a power lead.”].
Leidig, in the same field of endeavor [a battery system of an inductive cooking hob using AC heating elements; para. 0019: “In particular, the inverter circuit may be provided for transmitting a direct current from the battery and/or from the power supply circuit into an alternating current for the corresponding induction coil.”; para. 0040: “The cooking hob includes a glass ceramic panel 10 at the top side and a base plate 18 at the bottom side. An induction coil 12, a battery 14 and a power supply unit 16 are arranged side-by side between the glass ceramic panel 10 and the base plate 18.”], teaches one or more batteries [para. 0024-25: “For example, the battery includes at least one lithium-ion-accumulator... Preferably, the battery has a capacity between 0.5 kWh and 2 kWh.”], configured to store power obtained from the power cord with the plug coupled with the electrical power receptacle of the power distribution system of the building [para. 0048: “The recharging of the battery 14 is performed by a direct connection of the cooking hob to the grid.”], fully power the stove appliance [e.g., during a grid failure, or in a mobile application; para. 0017: “The main idea of the present invention is the combination of the power supply for the induction coil by an integrated battery on the one hand and the mobile and stationary part of the cooking hob on the other hand. Said stationary part forms a docking station. The mobile part of the cooking hob is the proper cooking hob. Normally, the proper cooking hob is located in the docking station on the worktop of the kitchen such as a conventional cooking hob. However, the mobile part of the cooking hob can also be used on the dining table or outdoor. The mobile part of the cooking hob is functional without connection to the grid.”; para. 0026: “According to a special embodiment of the present invention the cooking hob includes at least one further inverter circuit for transmitting the direct current from the battery into an alternating current for the grid. Thereby the further inverter circuit may be arranged on the lower part of the cooking hob. The battery can feed the grid, when the grid fails or the power of the grid is reduced or limited.”], and a stove electrical receptacle disposed on an external face of the stove housing, the stove electrical receptacle configured to share power stored by the one or more batteries with one or more appliances by plugging the one or more home appliances into the stove electrical receptacle, the stove electrical receptacle configured to provide electrical power to the one or more appliances and fully power the one or more appliances [para. 0067: “The cooking hob may have at least one power output for supplying external electric and/or electronic devices. This is particularly advantageous for an outdoor use.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the stove appliance of Jenkins by combining the teachings and suggestions of Bruckbauer and Leidig, and Christopher, with a reasonable expectation of success, by:
Including a power cord with a plug configured to couple with the electrical power receptacle, since Bruckbauer teaches an appliance configured to be connected to different supply voltages of conventional residential power distribution systems, thus the power cord allows the appliance to be plugged into and flexibly powered by the available energy supply;
Including one or more batteries configured to: store power obtained from the power cord with the plug coupled with the electrical power receptacle of the power distribution system of the building, fully power the one or more induction cooking zones disposed on the top face of the stove housing of the stove appliance, and fully power the oven of the stove appliance, since Leidig teaches this allows the appliance to still function during an outage [para. 0064: “A further option of the present invention is the use of the electric energy in the battery 14 for feeding the grid, when the grid fails or the power of the grid is reduced or limited.”]
Including a stove electrical receptacle disposed on an external face of the stove housing, the stove electrical receptacle configured to share power stored by the one or more batteries with one or more home appliances by plugging the one or more home appliances into the stove electrical receptacle, the stove electrical receptacle configured to provide electrical power to the one or more home appliances and fully power the one or more home appliances, the one or more home appliances including at least one of a refrigerator, a heat pump and a water heater, since Leidig teaches that the power output of the appliance is able to advantageously supply power to external electric devices at least requiring the same power as the appliance.
Regarding claim 26, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer and Leidig discloses the stove appliance of claim 25.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer and Leidig further discloses:
wherein the stove appliance obtains 120V, 15A electrical power from electrical power receptacle of the power distribution system of the building [Leidig; the rating of the conventional residential electrical power receptacle in a user’s home; para. 0043; Bruckbauer; paras. 0106-108: “… The control device can be connected in particular to an electrical power supply system at 50 Hz or 60 Hz. It can be operated with an operating voltage of either 230 V, 240 V or 110 V. It can be connected to a single-phase, two-phase, three-phase, four-phase or five-phase power supply system.”]
Regarding claim 27, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer and Leidig discloses the stove appliance of claim 25.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer and Leidig further discloses:
wherein the one or more batteries are lithium-based batteries [Leidig; para. 0024-25: “For example, the battery includes at least one lithium-ion-accumulator... Preferably, the battery has a capacity between 0.5 kWh and 2 kWh.”].
Regarding claim 30,
Jenkins discloses:
A stove appliance [cookware device; para. 0001], the stove appliance comprising:
a stove housing [see fig. 6, showing cooking unit 610 as a stove housing, configured to be disposed in residential kitchen; para. 0043];
one or more cooking zones [e.g., fig. 6, depicting four independently controlled burners 622a-622d, configurable as induction cooking zones; para. 0090; para. 0127: “…FIG. 6 is shown and described as a stove with a gas cooktop, it is appreciated that a wide range of cooking appliances and apparatuses may be provided in connection with the systems and techniques described herein, such as, for example, electric cooktops (e.g., induction and radiant cooktops), grilles, smokers and other cooking apparatuses having a variety of fuel sources.”];
[i.e., a conventional residential electrical power receptacle in a user’s home; [para. 0043: “The user's cooking environment in this example may, for example, include a kitchen and possibly additional portions of the user's home, but may have other forms in other embodiments.”]; and
a battery system comprising one or more batteries [Jenkins is mainly directed to an “Automated Cooking Control ("ACC") system”, but at least describes the conventional use of an internal and integral battery as a power source for the knob, the appliance configured to recharge the battery; para. 0117: “…The wireless communication module 1231 may include a wireless transmitter (e.g., an RF transmitter) and may be coupled to a power source 1229 (e.g., a battery) for powering the wireless transmitter and/or other circuitry components.”; para. 0109: “According to some embodiments, a heat sink (not shown) may also be provided and coupled to the power source 678 of the wireless communication module 674, and may be configured to recharge the power source 678 using heat obtained from an external heat source during one or more cooking episodes.”]
However, although Jenkins discloses an electrically powered inductive cooktop for a residential home, Jenkins does not disclose:
a power cord with a plug configured to couple with an electrical power receptacle of a power distribution system; and
the battery system comprising one or more batteries configured to: store power obtained from the power cord with the plug coupled with the electrical power receptacle of the power distribution system, and power the one or more cooking zones.
Bruckbauer, in the same field of endeavor [a residential appliance, i.e., a kitchen hob and oven; para. 0009: “The hob system comprises in particular at least one hob and at least one fume extractor apparatus. The hob can be a glass ceramic hob, an induction hob… The hob is in particular an electric hob. The hob converts in particular electrical energy directly or indirectly into heat. For this purpose, the hob comprises electrical components…”; para. 0071: “As a result of the particularly space-saving configuration of the compact hob system, it is possible to achieve an increase in the available storage space below the kitchen worktop.”; para. 0122: “In principle, the hob system 1 can also comprise further elements or units. It is possible in principle, for example, to connect an oven and/or a steamer and/or a microwave appliance and/or an automatic coffee machine and/or further electrical appliances, for example a refrigerator, a freezer, a kettle or lighting, to the control device 2”], teaches a power cord with a plug configured to couple with the electrical power receptacle of a power distribution system i.e., the hob is connectable to a 120 V and a 240 V electrical power circuit of a power distribution system [paras. 0106-108: “The modular hob system comprises two circuits, a control circuit and a power circuit (or load circuit). The power circuit serves for supplying the electrical consumers with energy. Electrical consumers are the components connected to the control device, such as hobs and fume extractor apparatus. The power circuit is connected to the electrical power supply system… The components connected to the control device can be connected to different types of energy sources for energy supply. The control device can be connected in particular to an electrical power supply system at 50 Hz or 60 Hz. It can be operated with an operating voltage of either 230 V, 240 V or 110 V. It can be connected to a single-phase, two-phase, three-phase, four-phase or five-phase power supply system.”] with conventional plugs/cords [i.e., power leads; para. 0075: “For energy supply, the control device is connected to the power supply unit via a power lead.”].
Leidig, in the same field of endeavor [a battery system of an inductive cooking hob using AC heating elements; para. 0019: “In particular, the inverter circuit may be provided for transmitting a direct current from the battery and/or from the power supply circuit into an alternating current for the corresponding induction coil.”; para. 0040: “The cooking hob includes a glass ceramic panel 10 at the top side and a base plate 18 at the bottom side. An induction coil 12, a battery 14 and a power supply unit 16 are arranged side-by side between the glass ceramic panel 10 and the base plate 18.”], teaches one or more batteries [para. 0024-25: “For example, the battery includes at least one lithium-ion-accumulator... Preferably, the battery has a capacity between 0.5 kWh and 2 kWh.”], configured to store power obtained from the power cord with the plug coupled with the electrical power receptacle of the power distribution system [para. 0048: “The recharging of the battery 14 is performed by a direct connection of the cooking hob to the grid.”], and power the one or more cooking zones [e.g., during a grid failure, or in a mobile application; para. 0017: “The main idea of the present invention is the combination of the power supply for the induction coil by an integrated battery on the one hand and the mobile and stationary part of the cooking hob on the other hand. Said stationary part forms a docking station. The mobile part of the cooking hob is the proper cooking hob. Normally, the proper cooking hob is located in the docking station on the worktop of the kitchen such as a conventional cooking hob. However, the mobile part of the cooking hob can also be used on the dining table or outdoor. The mobile part of the cooking hob is functional without connection to the grid.”; para. 0026: “According to a special embodiment of the present invention the cooking hob includes at least one further inverter circuit for transmitting the direct current from the battery into an alternating current for the grid. Thereby the further inverter circuit may be arranged on the lower part of the cooking hob. The battery can feed the grid, when the grid fails or the power of the grid is reduced or limited.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the stove appliance of Jenkins by combining the teachings and suggestions of Bruckbauer and Leidig, with a reasonable expectation of success, by:
Including a power cord with a plug configured to couple with the electrical power receptacle of a power distribution system, since Bruckbauer teaches an appliance configured to be connected to different supply voltages of conventional residential power distribution systems, thus the power cord allows the appliance to be plugged into and flexibly powered by the available energy supply;
Including a battery system comprising one or more batteries configured to: store power obtained from the power cord with the plug coupled with the electrical power receptacle of the power distribution system, and power the one or more cooking zones, since Leidig teaches this allows the appliance to still function during an outage [para. 0064: “A further option of the present invention is the use of the electric energy in the battery 14 for feeding the grid, when the grid fails or the power of the grid is reduced or limited.”].
Regarding claim 31, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer and Leidig discloses the stove appliance of claim 30.
Jenkins further discloses:
wherein the one or more cooking zones are induction cooking zones [para. 0127: “…FIG. 6 is shown and described as a stove with a gas cooktop, it is appreciated that a wide range of cooking appliances and apparatuses may be provided in connection with the systems and techniques described herein, such as, for example, electric cooktops (e.g., induction and radiant cooktops), grilles, smokers and other cooking apparatuses having a variety of fuel sources.”].
Regarding claim 32, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer and Leidig discloses the stove appliance of claim 30.
Jenkins as modified by Leidig further discloses:
further comprising an oven [see fig. 6, showing an oven], wherein the one or more batteries are further configured to power the oven of the stove appliance [i.e., the battery of Leidig providing power to the appliance of Leidig].
Regarding claim 33, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer and Leidig discloses the stove appliance of claim 30.
Jenkins as modified by Leidig further discloses:
wherein the battery system is an internal and integral component of the stove appliance with the battery system disposed within the stove housing of the stove appliance [Leidig: para. 0022: “For example, the at least one battery is arranged besides the corresponding induction coil and below the panel. In this case, the power supply circuit may be arranged besides the induction coil and/or the battery.”].
Regarding claim 34, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer and Leidig discloses the stove appliance of claim 30.
Jenkins as modified by Leidig further discloses:
further comprising a stove electrical receptacle disposed on an external face of the stove housing [Leidig: para. 0067: “The cooking hob may have at least one power output for supplying external electric and/or electronic devices. This is particularly advantageous for an outdoor use.”].
Regarding claim 35, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer and Leidig discloses the stove appliance of claim 34.
Jenkins as modified by Leidig further discloses:
wherein the stove electrical receptacle is configured to share power stored by the one or more batteries with one or more separate appliances [i.e., external electric devices; Leidig: para. 0067] by plugging the one or more separate appliances into the stove electrical receptacle [e.g., a microwave in the example environment of Jenkins; para. 0045: “In the example environment of FIG. 1, the cooking-related equipment includes control equipment such as one or more smart control knobs 120 for one or more stoves, and may optionally include a smart control stove 140 and/or other non-stove smart control equipment 180 ( e.g., non-stove smart control knobs, such as for an oven, grill, microwave, etc.; and/or other non-stove smart control cooking equipment pieces, such as an oven, grill, microwave, etc.).”].
Regarding claim 36, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer and Leidig discloses the stove appliance of claim 34.
Jenkins as modified by Leidig further discloses:
wherein the stove electrical receptacle is configured to provide electrical power to one or more home appliances and power operation of the one or more home appliances, the one or more home appliances including at least one of a refrigerator, a heat pump and a water heater.
In this case, since Leidig discloses a battery capable of powering the stove appliance, and a power output for connecting external devices to the battery, a PHOSITA would find it obvious to try, with a reasonable expectation of success, connecting other electrical residential appliances, such as a refrigerator, to the power output of Leidig.
Regarding claim 37, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer and Leidig discloses the stove appliance of claim 30.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer and Leidig further discloses:
wherein the stove appliance obtains 120V, 15A electrical power from electrical power receptacle of the power distribution system [Leidig; the rating of the conventional residential electrical power receptacle in a user’s home; para. 0043; Bruckbauer; paras. 0106-108: “… The control device can be connected in particular to an electrical power supply system at 50 Hz or 60 Hz. It can be operated with an operating voltage of either 230 V, 240 V or 110 V. It can be connected to a single-phase, two-phase, three-phase, four-phase or five-phase power supply system.”]
Regarding claim 38, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer and Leidig discloses the stove appliance of claim 30.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer and Leidig further discloses:
wherein the one or more batteries are lithium-based batteries [Leidig; para. 0024-25: “For example, the battery includes at least one lithium-ion-accumulator... Preferably, the battery has a capacity between 0.5 kWh and 2 kWh.”].
Claims 28-29 and 39-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jenkins (US 20160051078 A1) in view of Bruckbauer (US 20190137109 A1) and Leidig (US 20130186886 A1) as respectively applied to claims 25 and 30 above, and further in view of Christopher (US 6037571 A).
Regarding claim 28, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer and Leidig discloses the stove appliance of claim 25.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer and Leidig further discloses: wherein the battery system further comprises:
a processor, and a memory [Jenkins: i.e., a computer; para. 0032: “At least some of the described techniques may be automatically performed in at least some embodiments by automated operations of a computer-implemented Automated Cooking Control ("ACC") system, which may optionally include multiple executable software modules,
as described in greater detail below.”], the memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the battery system to:
obtain current user power use data [para. 0094: “According to some embodiments, optimal or otherwise desirable parameters of the control algorithms for a may be inferred or learned based on sensor data collected in a plurality of past cooking episodes on the cooking unit 610 and stored in non-volatile memory on a plurality of computing devices 650 in a plurality of cooking environments, on a plurality of control devices 640a-640d in a plurality of cooking environments, or other computing devices and systems external to the cooking environment via one or more external networks (e.g., the Internet). According to some embodiments this data includes data collected from cooking episodes initiated by a plurality of users. According to some embodiments these parameters will be learned or inferred by algorithms running on the computing device 650, the control devices 640a-640d or other computing devices and systems external to the cooking environment via one or more external networks (e.g., the Internet) or a distributed combination of such devices working cooperatively.”; para. 0148],
implement a power output configuration, including powering the stove appliance via power from one [Jenkins describes the ACC system as automatically adjusting the temperature of cooking equipment via the knob, according to measured temperatures (para. 0092), wherein Leidig describes powering the appliance from battery during a power outage], and
implement a battery charging configuration, including charging or not charging the one or more batteries via power from the electrical power receptacle [Leidig; para. 0066: “The charging procedure of the rechargeable battery 14 is preferably performed at a time, when the energy demand to the grid is relative low, so that also the energy costs are low. In many countries the energy costs are lower, if the charging procedure of the battery 14 is performed overnight.”].
However, Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer and Leidig does not disclose:
obtain current power output capacity data,
implement a power output configuration, including powering the stove appliance via power from both of the electrical power receptacle and the one or more batteries.
Christopher, in the same field of endeavor [i.e., a cooking appliance and benefits of a battery combined with a grid connection; fig. 1: grill 10], teaches grill 10 configured to operate with power drawn from both a battery and the electrical power receptacle [p. 7, col. 1: “It is an object of the present invention to provide a dual power electric grill which uses combined AC and DC powered elements to produce high heat for grilling meat, fish and other food quickly and thoroughly.”], obtaining current power output capacity data [i.e., the residential power distribution system being limited to 15-20A; col. 1: “The AC source is the normal household electrical wall outlet in the United States which accepts power from the distribution grid through step-down transformers delivering 120V, 60 Hertz, AC current (or comparable in countries outside the United States). Houses, apartments and other buildings are typically provided with a power distribution panel which divides household service into separate circuits, each being fused (or having circuit breakers) at 15-20 amperes”], implementing power output configuration, including powering the stove appliance via power from both of the electrical power receptacle and the one or more lithium-based batteries [i.e., a combination of power is simultaneously provided from the battery and the residential power distribution system so as to provide additional power for grilling, e.g., in addition to the limited AC wattage provided by the grid, the battery supplies additional DC wattage; a battery can supply 1800 watts of additional DC power on top of the 1800 watts of AC power supplied by a 15 amp household circuit; col. 1: “A 15 ampere circuit can safely deliver 1800 watts of AC power. By using the same circuit to charge batteries when the grill is not in use, one can store enough energy to obtain an additional 1800 watts of D.C. power from these batteries when needed for grilling.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the stove appliance of Jenkins, Bruckbauer, and Leidig by combining the teachings and suggestions of Christopher, with a reasonable expectation of success, by:
Including obtaining current power output capacity data, wherein the power output configuration, including powering the stove appliance via power from one or both of the electrical power receptacle and the one or more lithium-based batteries since Christopher teaches this allows for increased heat output for grilling [p. 7, col. 2, lines 30-50: “The present dual power high heat electric grill produces twice as much heat as other electric grills without requiring the use of high voltage (240 volt) circuits. This is accomplished by using two different power sources, an AC source and a DC battery source in a hybrid configuration…”].
Regarding claim 29, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher discloses the stove appliance of claim 28.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher further discloses: wherein the power output configuration and the battery charging configuration are determined and implemented for the purpose of one or more of:
to maximize storage of power by the one or more batteries from renewable energy sources;
to maximize storage of power by the one or more batteries from a power grid when such power is at a low or lower cost;
to maximize performance of one or more of the induction cooking zones and/or oven of the stove appliance;
to maximize energy efficiency of the stove appliance;
to maximize energy storage by the one or more batteries; and
to minimize charging time for the one or more batteries [e.g., charging the batteries when the grills is not in use; Christopher: col. 1: “By using the same circuit to charge batteries when the grill is not in use, one can store enough energy to obtain an additional 1800 watts of D.C. power from these batteries when needed for grilling.”].
Regarding claim 39, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer and Leidig discloses the stove appliance of claim 30.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer and Leidig further discloses: wherein the battery system further comprises:
a processor, and a memory [i.e., a computer; para. 0032: “At least some of the described techniques may be automatically performed in at least some embodiments by automated operations of a computer-implemented Automated Cooking Control ("ACC") system, which may optionally include multiple executable software modules,
as described in greater detail below.”], the memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the battery system to:
implement a power output configuration, including powering the stove appliance via power from one [Jenkins describes the ACC system as automatically adjusting the temperature of cooking equipment via the knob, according to measured temperatures (para. 0092), wherein Leidig describes powering the appliance from battery during a power outage], and
implement a battery charging configuration, including charging or not charging the one or more batteries via power from the electrical power receptacle [Leidig; para. 0066: “The charging procedure of the rechargeable battery 14 is preferably performed at a time, when the energy demand to the grid is relative low, so that also the energy costs are low. In many countries the energy costs are lower, if the charging procedure of the battery 14 is performed overnight.”].
However, Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer and Leidig does not disclose:
implement a power output configuration, including powering the stove appliance via power from both of the electrical power receptacle and the one or more batteries.
Christopher, in the same field of endeavor [i.e., a cooking appliance and benefits of a battery combined with a grid connection; fig. 1: grill 10], teaches grill 10 configured to operate with power drawn from both a battery and the electrical power receptacle [p. 7, col. 1: “It is an object of the present invention to provide a dual power electric grill which uses combined AC and DC powered elements to produce high heat for grilling meat, fish and other food quickly and thoroughly.”], implementing power output configuration, including powering the stove appliance via power from both of the electrical power receptacle and the one or more lithium-based batteries [i.e., a combination of power is simultaneously provided from the battery and the residential power distribution system so as to provide additional power for grilling, e.g., in addition to the limited AC wattage provided by the grid, the battery supplies additional DC wattage; a battery can supply 1800 watts of additional DC power on top of the 1800 watts of AC power supplied by a 15 amp household circuit; col. 1: “A 15 ampere circuit can safely deliver 1800 watts of AC power. By using the same circuit to charge batteries when the grill is not in use, one can store enough energy to obtain an additional 1800 watts of D.C. power from these batteries when needed for grilling.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the stove appliance of Jenkins, Bruckbauer, and Leidig by combining the teachings and suggestions of Christopher, with a reasonable expectation of success, by:
Including wherein the power output configuration, including powering the stove appliance via power from one or both of the electrical power receptacle and the one or more lithium-based batteries since Christopher teaches this allows for increased heat output for grilling [p. 7, col. 2, lines 30-50: “The present dual power high heat electric grill produces twice as much heat as other electric grills without requiring the use of high voltage (240 volt) circuits. This is accomplished by using two different power sources, an AC source and a DC battery source in a hybrid configuration…”].
Regarding claim 40, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher discloses the stove appliance of claim 39.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher further discloses: wherein the power output configuration and the battery charging configuration are determined and implemented for the purpose of one or more of:
to maximize storage of power by the one or more batteries from renewable energy sources;
to maximize storage of power by the one or more batteries from a power grid when such power is at a low or lower cost;
to maximize performance of one or more of the induction cooking zones of the stove appliance;
to maximize energy efficiency of the stove appliance;
to maximize energy storage by the one or more batteries; and
to minimize charging time for the one or more batteries [e.g., charging the batteries when the grills is not in use; Christopher: col. 1: “By using the same circuit to charge batteries when the grill is not in use, one can store enough energy to obtain an additional 1800 watts of D.C. power from these batteries when needed for grilling.”].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THEODORE J EVANGELISTA whose telephone number is (571)272-6093. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm EST.
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/THEODORE J EVANGELISTA/Examiner, Art Unit 3761 /EDWARD F LANDRUM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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