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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: COOKING DEVICE WITH GAS CIRCULATION
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
¶¶ 31 and 172 of the as-filed specification each recite, multiple times, “a part air holes,” which is ungrammatical and should be replaced with “some air holes,” or some other acceptable intended construction.
¶ 104 of the as-filed specification recites “adjusting the heating effect of the food in the top shelf 41,” where “adjusting” should be “to adjust.”
¶ 166 of the as-file specification recites, “While, the gas blown out from the inner ring,” where “while” should be “meanwhile” or simply deleted.
¶ 181 of the as-filed specification ends by reciting “reducing the occupied space,” which should recite “to reduce the occupied space.”
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
Claims 10–17 and 25 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 10 recites, “wherein the gas circulation apparatus comprises a gas driving part, wherein when driven by the gas driving part.” The passage should be amended to make clear that what is “driven” is the “gas circulation apparatus.”
Claim 15 recites “a large diameter end of the driving cover body side wall,” but this limitation already has antecedent basis from claim 14, and should therefore employ the definite article.
Claim 25 recites “at least a part air holes of the first ring of outlet air holes and the second ring of outlet air holes being disposed at the driving cover body peripheral bottom wall, and at least a part air holes of the third ring of outlet air holes and the return air holes being disposed at the driving cover body central bottom wall.” The language of “at least a part air holes” is ungrammatical, and should be amended to recite something like “at least some air holes,” or some other acceptable construction, depending on Applicant’s intent.
Claims 11–14, 16, and 17 are objected to due to dependency upon objected-to claims.
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 12 and 17 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.
Claim 12 recites “the gas driving part cavity,” but this limitation lacks antecedent basis because it depends from claim 10 rather than claim 11.
Claim 17 recites “an end of the driving cover body side wall facing away from the driving cover body top wall.” The claim is indefinite because this appears to be the same as the “large diameter end of the driving cover body side wall” “away from the driving cover body top wall” at the end of claim 14, yet the language suggests that it’s possibly a different “end.”
Claim Rejections — 35 USC § 102
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, and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Guo et al. (CN 205962510 U, cited by Applicant, translation provided by the Office).
Claim 1: Guo discloses a cooking device (title, “Air Convection Heating Cooking Apparatus”), comprising:
a housing (1) having a cooking cavity (see figs. 1 and 2);
a gas circulation apparatus (3) disposed in the housing (see fig. 2) and configured to drive gas in the cooking cavity to flow and circulate (ibid.);
a heating apparatus (5) disposed in the cooking cavity (see figs. 1 and 2);
a shelf apparatus (6, 10) comprising a bottom shelf (10) and a top shelf (6) disposed above the bottom shelf (see figs. 1 and 2), a gap being formed between the top shelf and the bottom shelf (ibid.), and the gap being formed as a gas flow channel located below the top shelf (see the flow arrows in fig. 2); and
a gas guide structure (part of 10) configured to guide gas blown out by the gas circulation apparatus to flow into the gas flow channel and then pass through the top shelf (see the flow arrows proximate to 10 in fig. 2).
Claim 4: Guo discloses that the gas guide structure comprises:
an inner guide structure at least partially disposed in the gas flow channel and configured to guide gas in the gas flow channel to pass through the top shelf (see the middle of 10 in figs. 1 and 2 including an broad, shallow upwardly-extending portion).
Claim 5: Guo discloses that:
the gas guide structure comprises an outer guide structure (the outer angled part of 10) and an inner guide structure (the inner broad, shallow upwardly extending part of 10); and
the bottom shelf comprises a bottom shelf bottom wall and a bottom shelf side wall (both bottom and side walls are clearly shown on 10 in figs. 1 and 2), the inner guide structure being disposed on the bottom shelf bottom wall (see 10 in figs. 1 and 2), and the bottom shelf side wall being configured as the outer guide structure (ibid.).
Claims 1 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Oguri et al. (JP 2015-025646 A, cited by the Office with translation provided).
Claim 1: Oguri discloses a cooking device (title, “Heating Cooker”), comprising:
a housing (1, 2) having a cooking cavity (3);
a gas circulation apparatus (93) disposed in the housing and configured to drive gas in the cooking cavity to flow and circulate;
a heating apparatus (91) disposed in the cooking cavity;
a shelf apparatus (see e.g. fig. 4) comprising a bottom shelf (6) and a top shelf (700) disposed above the bottom shelf, a gap being formed between the top shelf and the bottom shelf (via 701), and the gap being formed as a gas flow channel located below the top shelf (see the flow arrows in e.g. fig. 4); and
a gas guide structure (part of 6) configured to guide gas blown out by the gas circulation apparatus to flow into the gas flow channel and then pass through the top shelf (see 6 and the proximate flow arrows in fig. 4).
Claim 9: Oguri disclose that the shelf apparatus is configured to partition the cooking cavity into a first cooking cavity (above 5U) and a second cooking cavity (between 5U and 5L), the heating apparatus being disposed in the first cooking cavity (appreciable from 91 in fig. 4), the gas circulation apparatus being configured to guide gas to flow and circulate in the first cooking cavity (see 93 and the flow arrows in fig. 4), and the shelf apparatus obstructing the gas in the first cooking cavity from flowing into the second cooking cavity by means of partition (evident from the flow arrows in fig. 4).
Claims 1 and 10–13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen et al. (CN 212089204 U, cited by Applicant, translation provided by the Office).
Claim 1: Chen discloses a cooking device (title, “Cooking Appliance”), comprising:
a housing (10) having a cooking cavity (1);
a gas circulation apparatus (40) disposed in the housing and configured to drive gas in the cooking cavity to flow and circulate;
a heating apparatus (50) disposed in the cooking cavity;
a shelf apparatus (13, 20) comprising a bottom shelf (13) and a top shelf (20) disposed above the bottom shelf, a gap being formed between the top shelf and the bottom shelf (see fig. 7), and the gap being formed as a gas flow channel located below the top shelf (evident from the flow arrows in fig. 7); and
a gas guide structure (part of 13) configured to guide gas blown out by the gas circulation apparatus to flow into the gas flow channel and then pass through the top shelf (see the flow arrows proximate to, and clearly influenced by, 13 in fig. 7).
Claim 10: Chen discloses that the gas circulation apparatus comprises a gas driving part (40), wherein when driven by the gas driving part, gas has a first part flowing in a first direction (some gas flowing into holes 331 would invariably have a circumferential direction aspect given the fan 40) and a second part flowing in a second direction (the gas flowing out of 334 would have a circumferential direction), one of the first direction and the second direction being a circumferential direction of the gas driving part (some gas flowing into holes 331 would invariably have a circumferential direction aspect given the fan 40), and another of the first direction and the second direction being a radial direction of the gas driving part (the gas flowing out of 334 would have a circumferential direction).
Claim 11: Chen discloses that the gas driving part has a gas driving part cavity (via 32) provided therein, the gas driving part comprising a fan blade part (40) at least partially disposed in the gas driving part cavity, and an annular gap between the fan blade part and a periphery of the gas driving part cavity having a width that varies in a radial direction of the gas driving part cavity (evident from the asymmetrical construction of 32 shown in figs. 1, 2, 4, and 7).
Claim 12: Chen discloses that a fan blade part (40) is eccentrically disposed with the gas driving part cavity (evident from 32 and 40 in fig. 7); or
the fan blade part (40) is coaxially arranged with the gas driving part cavity (figs. 1–4 and 7 clearly illustrate a kind of coaxial position of 40 and 32), a distance between a periphery of the gas driving part cavity and a central axis of the gas driving part cavity being variable (evident from the asymmetry of 32 shown in figs. 1, 2, 4, and 7).
Claim 13: Chen discloses that the gas driving part comprises:
a driving cover body (32) having a plurality of air holes (334) on a side surface (333) of the driving cover body facing towards the cooking cavity of the cooking device (appreciable from fig. 7); and
a fan blade part (40) rotatably arranged in the driving cover body (see fig. 7).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guo.
Guo discloses that the gas guide structure comprises:
an outer guide structure (the outermost angled part of 10 in figs. 1 and 2) at least partially disposed at a periphery of the gas flow channel and adapted to guide the gas to flow into the gas flow channel (evident from the flow arrows in fig. 2), wherein the outer guide structure comprises an outer guide wall disposed obliquely relative to the gas flow channel (fig. 2 shows an oblique angle at the outermost part of 10).
Guo is silent regarding that an included angle α between the outer guide wall and a cross-section of the cooking device satisfies: 110°≤α≤160°.
However, Guo’s figure clearly shows a slightly oblique angle, and based thereon, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have appreciated that an angle of 110° would be an acceptably accurate construction of what is suggested by Guo given its similarity and effective guiding function illustrated in fig. 2.
Claims 6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guo as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Zeng (CN 104146623 A, cited by Applicant, translation provided by the Office).
Claim 6: Guo discloses that the top shelf comprises a top shelf bottom wall and a top shelf side wall (both appreciably a part of 6 in figs. 1 and 2);
the bottom shelf comprises a bottom shelf bottom wall and a bottom shelf side wall (both appreciably a part of 10 in figs. 1 and 2), the bottom shelf side wall being configured as the outer guide structure (see the outer part of 10 in figs. 1 and 2), and the top shelf side wall being adjacent to and spaced apart from the bottom shelf side wall to form an air induction section that is in communication with the gas flow channel (see the flow arrows in fig. 2).
Guo is silent regarding the top shelf side wall being configured as an annular continuous wall.
However, Zeng discloses a highly similar apparatus with a top shelf side wall (the side wall of 52, see e.g. fig. 2 and 4–6) that is configured as an annular continuous wall (ibid.).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Guo’s top shelf to adopt an annular shape like that shown in Zeng as part of attaining the tight air flow regulation shown in Zeng.
Comment: See also Ou (CN 209499507 U, cited by Applicant).
Claim 8: Guo discloses that the top shelf bottom wall is provided with a partition support foot (9, see fig. 3) supported on the bottom shelf bottom wall and configured to partition the bottom shelf bottom wall and the top shelf bottom wall (shown, though not labeled, in figs. 1 and 2), in such a manner that the gas flow channel is formed between the bottom shelf bottom wall and the top shelf bottom wall (evident from fig. 2).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oguri.
Oguri discloses that the heating apparatus comprises an outer peripheral heating apparatus (with respect to fig. 4, one of ordinary skill in the art would have understood convection heater 91 to have a spiral shape, including an outermost ring that would constitute an outer peripheral heating apparatus), wherein the heating apparatus further comprises an inner peripheral heating apparatus surrounded by the outer peripheral heating apparatus (any of the inner rings of spiral heater 91).
Oguri is silent regarding an area enclosed by the outer peripheral heating apparatus accounting for one-half to three-quarters of a cross-sectional area of the cooking cavity.
However, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have appreciated that the outer peripheral heating apparatus of Oguri is depicted as having a cross-sectional area of about one-half of the cooking cavity in fig. 4, and would have found it obvious to use such a ratio as a fair guide for constructing an actual device from Oguri’s disclosure.
Comment: Applicant may object that the outer and inner peripheral heating apparatuses of Oguri are not truly distinct. However, the Office finds the reading of Oguri onto Applicant’s claimed invention fair since Applicant’s own outer and inner peripheral heating apparatuses (best shown in Applicant’s figs. 9 and 19) are integrally connected.
See also Kobayashi et al. (CN 206315383 U, cited by Applicant).
Claims 19 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen.
Claim 19: Chen discloses that the heating apparatus comprises an outer peripheral heating apparatus (the outermost ring of 50, best shown in fig. 3), wherein the heating apparatus further comprises an inner peripheral heating apparatus surrounded by the outer peripheral heating apparatus (any of the inner rings of 50).
Chen is silent regarding an area enclosed by the outer peripheral heating apparatus accounting for one-half to three-quarters of a cross-sectional area of the cooking cavity.
However, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have appreciated that the outer peripheral heating apparatus of Chen is depicted as having a cross-sectional area of about one-half of the cooking cavity in fig. 7, and would have found it obvious to use such a ratio as a fair guide for constructing an actual device from Chen’s disclosure.
Comment: Applicant may object that the outer and inner peripheral heating apparatuses of Chen are not truly distinct. However, the Office finds the reading of Chen onto Applicant’s claimed invention fair since Applicant’s own outer and inner peripheral heating apparatuses (best shown in Applicant’s figs. 9 and 19) are integrally connected.
See also Kobayashi et al. (CN 206315383 U, cited by Applicant).
Claim 21: Chen discloses that the gas circulation apparatus comprises a gas driving part (40), wherein the gas driving part comprises a driving cover body (32), the driving cover body having a plurality of air holes (331, 334) being provided on a side surface of the driving cover body (see fig. 4) facing towards the cooking cavity (appreciable from fig. 7), wherein the plurality of air holes comprise return air holes (331) and outlet air holes (334) disposed around the return air holes (see fig. 4).
Chen is silent regarding a total area of the plurality of air holes accounting for one-half to two-thirds of a cross-sectional area of the cooking cavity.
However, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have appreciated that Chen’s air holes are present on its driving cover body to allow its gas driving part to circulate air while protecting the gas driving part, and would have appreciated the benefits gained (e.g. more air flow) and lost (e.g. less protection) from having the air holes of Chen have a certain area compared to the cross-sectional area of the cooking cavity, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have been willing to determine that an area of the air holes of one-half to two-thirds of the cross-sectional area of the cooking cavity on the basis of those benefits gained and lost.
Allowable Subject Matter
All of claims 14–17 and 23–25 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the objections, as well as the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 14, while some aspects of the claim are somewhat known in the art, Chen is the most relevant prior art of record, but discloses its small diameter end and large diameter end of the driving cover body side wall positioned opposite to what is claimed. Even if the particular claimed structure of claim 14 alone was shown in a prior art reference, there would be no straightforward reason to modify Chen in such a significant way since Chen’s arrangement is so designed to function with the rest of its apparatus.
Claims 15–17 depend from claim 14.
Regarding claim 23, the claimed arrangement appears to take advantage of a well-known technique with fluids of giving greater flow area to areas with less fluid pressure to compensate for the distance from the gas driving part, but the claimed arrangement does not appear obvious to implement into Chen. Following from how Guo reads on claim 21, Guo fairly discloses air inlet holes 331 (forming one ring) and air outlet holes 334. The Office does not find it reasonable to somehow label certain inlet air holes 331 as two further rings of air outlet holes, nor does the Office find grounds to modify Guo’s air holes to adopt the claimed arrangement of rings.
Claims 24 and 25 depend from claim 23.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to John J. Norton whose telephone number is (571) 272-5174. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST.
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, Edward (Ned) F. Landrum can be reached at (571) 272-8648. 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.
/JOHN J NORTON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761
Prosecution Insights