Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/538,427

Food Processor, Food Preparation Method, Computer Program Product and Storage Medium

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Dec 13, 2023
Priority
Dec 20, 2022 — EU 22 215 029.4
Examiner
LEFF, STEVEN N
Art Unit
1792
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
OA Round
2 (Final)
41%
Grant Probability
Moderate
3-4
OA Rounds
11m
Est. Remaining
49%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 41% of resolved cases
41%
Career Allowance Rate
237 granted / 574 resolved
-23.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+7.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 9m
Avg Prosecution
47 currently pending
Career history
626
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
4.2%
-35.8% vs TC avg
§103
46.2%
+6.2% vs TC avg
§102
22.5%
-17.5% vs TC avg
§112
21.1%
-18.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 574 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-4, 6-10 and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Thai et al. (WO2016070232) Thai teaches with respect to Independent claim 1, a food processor (par. 0096; par. 00106) configured and adapted to electronically accessing a recipe (par. 0043; par. 0050 par. 0051) and processing the recipe to perform a food preparation comprising multiple preparation stages (par. 0050 sequence of user setting; par. 0052; 0102 par. 00110; par. 0056), including preparation stages to be manually performed by a user (par. 0050 sequence of user setting par. 00110 user setting received; par. 0056 user setting motor speed, time duration; par. 00100 depress power button, set speed dial), in which the user himself must be active (par. 0050 sequence of user setting; par. 00110 user setting received; par. 0056 user setting motor speed, time duration; par. 00100 depress power button, set speed dial) performing comparisons between target working times (par. 0057 t1; alternatively par. 00102 duration adjusted; alternatively par. 00108 lines 1-2 completed blending combination) specified in the recipe for performing the preparation stages (par. 0057; par. 00102 replay of recorded sequence; par. 00108 lines 1-2 completed blending combination) and actual working times (par. 0057; time adjusted t2 12seconds; par. 00102 duration adjusted; par. 00108 “bit more”) actually required by a user of the food processor for performing the preparation stages (par. 0057; par. 00102 duration adjusted; par. 00108 “bit more”) determining at least one speed factor (par. 0090 certain food preparation style; par. 00102; par. 0056 blending motor speed v1; par. 0057; speed constant; par. 000102 amount inversely proportional to the percentage of sensed speed from recorded speed; par. 00108 last line percentage of the last time) relating to a working speed of the user on the basis of the comparisons made (par. 0103 duration speed setting maintained; par. 0090; par. 0057 time added/adjusted t2 12seconds; par. 00102 duration adjusted; par. 00108 “bit more”) and determining at least one future target working time (par. 00102; par. 00108 “bit more percentage; par. 0048; edited recorded sequence t1+t2; alternatively par. 00103 save adapted setting; par. 00111; par. 00112 later replayed) for performing at least one future preparation stage to be performed by the user (par. 00102; par. 00108 “bit more”) where determining is based on a predetermined target working time and the at least one determined speed factor (par. 00102; par. 00108 speed… time blending combination), where the food processor is configured and adapted to determine an average speed factor (par. 00102 where it is noted the average speed factor is taken with respect to replicated, no difference determined; i.e. average of same) with respect to an average working speed of the user based on the comparisons (par. 00102 where it is noted the average speed factor is taken with respect to replicated, no difference determined), and to determine the at least one future target working time (par. 00108 percentage of last combination) for performing the at least one future preparation stage (par. 00108 “bit more”) based on a predetermined target working time (par. 00108 time sequence) and the determined average speed factor (par. 00102 no difference determined of speed of shaft). With respect to Independent claim 8, a method of food preparation using a food processor (par. 0096; par. 00106) comprising electronically accessing a recipe (par. 0043; par. 0050 par. 0051) and processing the recipe to perform a food preparation comprising multiple preparation stages (par. 0050 sequence of user setting; par. 0052; 0102 par. 00110; par. 0056), performing comparisons between target working times (par. 0057 t1; alternatively par. 00102 duration adjusted; alternatively par. 00108 lines 1-2 completed blending combination) specified in the recipe for performing the preparation stages (par. 0057; par. 00102 replay of recorded sequence; par. 00108 lines 1-2 completed blending combination) and actual working times (par. 0057; time adjusted t2 12seconds; par. 00102 duration adjusted; par. 00108 “bit more”) actually required by a user of the food processor for performing the preparation stages (par. 0057; par. 00102 duration adjusted; par. 00108 “bit more”) determining at least one speed factor (par. 0090 certain food preparation style; par. 00102; par. 0056 blending motor speed v1; par. 0057; speed constant; par. 000102 amount inversely proportional to the percentage of sensed speed from recorded speed; par. 00108 last line percentage of the last time) relating to a working speed of the user on the basis of the comparisons made (par. 0103 duration speed setting maintained; par. 0090; par. 0057 time added/adjusted t2 12seconds; par. 00102 duration adjusted; par. 00108 “bit more”) and determining at least one future target working time (par. 00102; par. 00108 “bit more percentage; par. 0048; edited recorded sequence t1+t2; alternatively par. 00103 save adapted setting; par. 00111; par. 00112 later replayed) for performing at least one future preparation stage to be performed by the user (par. 00102; par. 00108 “bit more”) where determining is based on a predetermined target working time and the at least one determined speed factor (par. 00102; par. 00108 speed… time blending combination), where the food processor is configured and adapted to determine an average speed factor (par. 00102 where it is noted the average speed factor is taken with respect to replicated, no difference determined; i.e. average of same) with respect to an average working speed of the user based on the comparisons (par. 00102 where it is noted the average speed factor is taken with respect to replicated, no difference determined), and to determine the at least one future target working time (par. 00108 percentage of last combination) for performing the at least one future preparation stage (par. 00108 “bit more”) based on a predetermined target working time (par. 00108 time sequence) and the determined average speed factor (par. 00102 no difference determined of speed of shaft). With respect to claims 2 and 9, on the basis of at least the at least one speed factor or on the basis of the at least one determined future target working time, at least an end time of the food preparation or a remaining time duration until the end time is reached are determined (par. 0057 time added/adjusted t2 12seconds; par. 00102 duration adjusted; par. 00108 “bit more”) and displayed perceptibly for the user (par. 0065; 0066) on the basis of the speed factor or the determined future working time (par. 0065, 0066). Claims 3 and 10, determine the at least one future target working time during food preparation (par. 0057 time added/adjusted t2 12seconds; par. 00102 duration adjusted; par. 00108 “bit more”) or to display the at least one future target working time perceptibly to the user during food preparation (par. 0065; 0066). Claim 4, determine the future target working time for performing a future manual preparation stage (par. 0057 t1+t2; par. 00103 save sequence; par. 00112 save, later replayed) Claim 6 and 12, different specific speed factors (par. 0057; speed constant; par. 000102 amount inversely proportional to the percentage of sensed speed from recorded speed; par. 00108 last line percentage of the last time) with respect to a respective working speed for different preparation stages are determined based on the comparisons, and the at least one future target working time for performing the at least one future preparation stage is determined based on a specific speed factor (par. 0057; speed constant; par. 000102 amount inversely proportional to the percentage of sensed speed from recorded speed; par. 00108 last line percentage of the last time) Claim 7, a profile memory for storing different user profiles of different users of the food processor, wherein the food processor is configured and adapted such that different speed factors of different users are assigned to the respective user profile and the at least one future target working time is determined on the basis of at least one user-specific speed factor from the user profile used for food preparation (par. 00111; 00112). Claim 13, wherein different speed factors of different users are assigned to a respective user profile stored in the food processor and the at least one future target working time is determined on the basis of at least one user-specific speed factor from the user profile used for food preparation (par. 00111; 00112). With respect to claim 14, a computer program product (par. 0036) comprising instructions that, when the computer program product is executed by a computer, cause the computer to execute the following stages electronically accessing a recipe (par. 0043; par. 0050 par. 0051) and processing the recipe to perform a food preparation comprising multiple preparation stages (par. 0050 sequence of user setting; par. 0052; 0102 par. 00110; par. 0056), performing comparisons between target working times (par. 0057 t1; alternatively par. 00102 duration adjusted; alternatively par. 00108 lines 1-2 completed blending combination) specified in the recipe for performing the preparation stages (par. 0057; par. 00102 replay of recorded sequence; par. 00108 lines 1-2 completed blending combination) and actual working times (par. 0057; time adjusted t2 12seconds; par. 00102 duration adjusted; par. 00108 “bit more”) actually required by a user of the food processor for performing the preparation stages (par. 0057; par. 00102 duration adjusted; par. 00108 “bit more”) determining at least one speed factor (par. 0090 certain food preparation style; par. 00102; par. 0056 blending motor speed v1; par. 0057; speed constant; par. 000102 amount inversely proportional to the percentage of sensed speed from recorded speed; par. 00108 last line percentage of the last time) relating to a working speed of the user on the basis of the comparisons made (par. 0103 duration speed setting maintained; par. 0090; par. 0057 time added/adjusted t2 12seconds; par. 00102 duration adjusted; par. 00108 “bit more”) and determining at least one future target working time (par. 00102; par. 00108 “bit more percentage; par. 0048; edited recorded sequence t1+t2; alternatively par. 00103 save adapted setting; par. 00111; par. 00112 later replayed) for performing at least one future preparation stage to be performed by the user (par. 00102; par. 00108 “bit more”) where determining is based on a predetermined target working time and the at least one determined speed factor (par. 00102; par. 00108 speed… time blending combination), where the food processor is configured and adapted to determine an average speed factor (par. 00102 where it is noted the average speed factor is taken with respect to replicated, no difference determined; i.e. average of same) with respect to an average working speed of the user based on the comparisons (par. 00102 where it is noted the average speed factor is taken with respect to replicated, no difference determined), and to determine the at least one future target working time (par. 00108 percentage of last combination) for performing the at least one future preparation stage (par. 00108 “bit more”) based on a predetermined target working time (par. 00108 time sequence) and the determined average speed factor (par. 00102 no difference determined of speed of shaft). With respect to claim 15, a computer readable storage medium having a computer program product stored thereon (par. 0036). Response to Arguments With respect to applicants urgings directed to Thai and applicants urging Thai is limited to a deviation from the recorded parameter. It is initially noted Thai teaches “If the processor determines the difference” (par. 00102) and thus the taught and claimed comparison is not limited by a difference and encompasses determining an average speed factor where the average is of a same speed factor, i.e. same user and target speed. With respect to applicants urging directed to preparation stages performed by the user, Thai teaches the operation and settings for both recording a user setting parameter and playback of a user recording parameter and/or user selection of a “bit more” function (par. 00108). With respect to applicants urging Thai is silent to comparing target working times (e.g., from a recipe) to actual working times of a user to determine a user working-speed factor applicant is urged to par. 00108 which uses the user speed time blending combination to determine a subsequent step of “bit more” function and the corresponding speed time combination and more specifically the user working-speed factor with a predetermined target working time to determine future target working times for user stages, i.e. “bit more” function and the corresponding speed time combination. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN N LEFF whose telephone number is (571)272-6527. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:30-5:00. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Erik Kashnikow can be reached at (571)270-34753475. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /STEVEN N LEFF/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1792
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Prosecution Timeline

Dec 13, 2023
Application Filed
Jan 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection (signed) — §102
Feb 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
May 06, 2026
Response Filed
Jul 30, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102
Sep 30, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
41%
Grant Probability
49%
With Interview (+7.9%)
3y 9m (~11m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 574 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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