Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/541,821

USER GUIDANCE FOR A FOOD PREPARATION DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Dec 15, 2023
Priority
Dec 20, 2022 — provisional 63/476,209
Examiner
CAMPBELL, THOR S
Art Unit
3761
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Ib Appliances US Holdings LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
75%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3m
Est. Remaining
76%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 75% — above average
75%
Career Allowance Rate
968 granted / 1291 resolved
+5.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +1% lift
Without
With
+1.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
39 currently pending
Career history
1345
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
75.4%
+35.4% vs TC avg
§102
13.1%
-26.9% vs TC avg
§112
2.2%
-37.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1291 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 . Election/Restrictions Claims 1-6, 17-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 03/09/2026. 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 (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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 7-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by MITSUBISHI (JP 2022023297A. MITSUBISHI disclose in reference to claim: 7. A food preparation device comprising: one or more food preparation functions selectable by a user; a guidance circuit configured to: receive an initial instruction for the selected function; analyze the initial instruction to identify subsequent functions depending on the initial instruction; and providing guidance based on the analysis, wherein the guidance comprises a limited subset of the functions for a next instruction. Note MITSUBISHI discloses a food preparation device comprising: one or more food preparation functions selectable by a user (The selection input key 43MC is a touch key for the cooperative cooking mode KM3; page 85, bottom third); a guidance circuit (the integrated control device MC; page 92, bottom third) configured to: receive an initial instruction for the selected function (the integrated control device MC commands the high temperature display based on the temperature information from the temperature detection circuit 93 that receives the temperature detection signals from various temperature sensors and the heating chamber control unit 159; page 92, bottom third); analyze the initial instruction to identify subsequent functions depending on the initial instruction (temperature information is obtained from the temperature detection circuit 93. If the measured temperature is abnormal, then the temperature is adjusted; page 331, bottom third); and providing guidance based on the analysis, wherein the guidance comprises a limited subset of the functions for a next instruction (Information on the cooking process, information on the heating source, control conditions, and the next cooking process can be used as a reference to display guidance information to prompt the users next input operation; page 122, middle third). 8. The food preparation device of claim 7, wherein the analysis comprises determining a sequence for the functions and the next instruction in the sequence is a next function in the sequence. Note MITSUBISHI discloses the food preparation device of claim 7, wherein the analysis comprises determining a sequence for the functions and the next instruction in the sequence is a next function in the sequence (the "cooperative cooking mode KM3" and the "cooperative operation program" are information for specifying a plurality of heating sources used to execute an individual object to be cooked (for example, a hamburger steak), and various control conditions. Includes information on the cooking process, information on standard heating temperature, control parameters, and the order (sequence) of heating sources to operate; pages 121 bottom third, and 122, upper third). 9. The food preparation device of claim 7, wherein the initial instruction comprises one or more of the functions for preparing the food. Note MITSUBISHI discloses the food preparation device of claim 7, wherein the initial instruction comprises one or more of the functions for preparing the food (The input key 43M1 can be used to select the object to be cooked; page 324, bottom third). 10. The food preparation device of claim 7, wherein the one or more functions comprise at least one of a cooking, pressure cooking, slow cooking, frying, air frying, baking, roasting, broiling, reheating, steaming, dehydrate, defrosting, or microwaving, sautéing, searing, grilling, coffee grinding, brewing, dispensing, or blending. Note MITSUBISHI discloses the food preparation device of claim 7, wherein the one or more functions comprise at least one of a cooking, pressure cooking, slow cooking, frying, air frying, baking, roasting, broiling, reheating, steaming, dehydrate, defrosting, or microwaving, sauteing, searing, grilling, coffee grinding, brewing, dispensing, or blending (A microwave cooking function and an oven cooking function may be operated using the heating chamber 113; page 88, upper third). 11. The food preparation device of claim 7, wherein the guidance circuit is further configured to: measure, with one or more sensors, one or more conditions of the food; and modify the guidance based on the measured one or more conditions. Note MITSUBISHI discloses the food preparation device of claim 7, wherein the guidance circuit is further configured to: measure, with one or more sensors, one or more conditions of the food (a non-contact temperature measuring unit detects the temperature of food placed in the heating chamber 113, and receives the temperature sensor 160 and the measurement signal from the temperature sensor. It consists of a circuit that analyzes and converts it into temperature information; page 112, middle third); and modify the guidance based on the measured one or more conditions (the integrated control device MC provides voice guidance to the user (step S2). The content of the voice guide is, for example, "To start heating, select microwave oven heating and press the start button."; page 128, bottom third). 12. The food preparation device of claim 11, wherein the measured conditions comprise a weight, temperature, humidity, density, volume, crispiness, or burned particle. Note MITSUBISHI discloses the food preparation device of claim 11, wherein the measured conditions comprise a weight, temperature, humidity, density, volume, crispiness, or burned particle (a non-contact temperature measuring unit detects the temperature of food; page 112, middle third). 13. A food preparation system comprising: the food preparation device from claim 7; an electronic device communicating with the food preparation device. Note MITSUBISHI discloses a food preparation system comprising: the food preparation device from claim 7; an electronic device communicating with the food preparation device (the heating cooker 1 can communicate wirelessly with the mobile information terminal 418; page 338, upper third). 14. The food preparation system of claim 13, wherein the electronic device comprises a mobile device with an application for interacting with the food preparation device. Note MITSUBISHI discloses the food preparation system of claim 13, wherein the electronic device comprises a mobile device with an application for interacting with the food preparation device (the mobile information terminal 418 can be placed on a table or the like and operated by the user. The application software for the cooking device 1 is stored in advance in the cooking device database 468 or the storage unit 467 of the portable information terminal 418; page 358 upper third & page 356, upper third). 15. The food preparation system of claim 13, wherein the one or more food preparation functions comprise preset functions. Note MITSUBISHI discloses the food preparation system of claim 13, wherein the one or more food preparation functions comprise preset functions (the heating cooker 1 is set to the "external notification mode", or is in a state where it can communicate wirelessly with the mobile information terminal 418 in other states. The "function setting menu" can be selected from the mobile information terminal 418; page 338, upper third). 16. The food preparation system of claim 15, wherein the user selects one of the preset functions and the guidance is based on the selected preset function. Note MITSUBISHI discloses the food preparation system of claim 15, wherein the user selects one of the preset functions and the guidance is based on the selected preset function (The control unit is preset in the function setting unit when the cooperative cooking menu is selected; page 29, bottom third). The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOR S CAMPBELL whose telephone number is (571)272-4776. The examiner can normally be reached M,W-F 6:30-10:30, 12-4. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ibrahime Abraham can be reached at 5712705569. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /THOR S CAMPBELL/ Primary Examiner Art Unit 3761 tsc
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 15, 2023
Application Filed
Jun 15, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
75%
Grant Probability
76%
With Interview (+1.0%)
2y 11m (~3m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1291 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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