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 .
Status of the Claims
Claim 1 is amended. Claims 2-5 are as previously presented. Claim 6 is cancelled. Therefore, claims 1-5 are currently pending and have been considered below.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on October 16, 2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 4-9, filed on 10/16/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-5 under U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of applicant’s amendment regarding the horizontal rotational force to overcome the elastic force and newly found prior art regarding that feature.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. KR10-2021-0077039, filed on 06/14/2021.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yeom et al. (KR 100753651 B1, hereinafter Yeom) in view of Lee (KR 20000018894 U) and Kim (KR 20180133126 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Yeom discloses a cooking device (Abstract, “…an electric pressure rice cooker…”) comprising:
a main body in which an inner pot is accommodated (Abstract, “…close an inner container accommodated in the main body.”);
a top plate provided in a lid cover coupled to the main body (Abstract, “A radiating plate(220) is coupled to a lower part of the lid ring to open and close an inner container accommodated in the main body.”);
a rotation cover coupled to the top plate to be rotatable along an edge of the top plate (Page 3, Para. 2, “…a handle assembly rotatably coupled to the cover housing for selectively rotating the link plate…”, and where the rotatable link plate is connected to the top plate, Abstract, “A certain space is disposed between the lid ring and the radiating plate to accommodate a link plate(230), a link(240), and a steam discharge member(260).”);
a locking structure comprising an engagement protrusion configured to be engaged with a flange of the inner pot (Page 5, Para. 8 from end, “A link 240 for locking the inner cylinder 120 and the heat sink 220 selectively by the rotation of the link plate 230 is provided between the link plate 230 and the heat sink 220.”, where the inner cylinder or the inner pot contains a flange stated as a protrusion that engages the link, Page 5, Para. 3-4 from end, “Looking at the structure of the link 240, one side of the link 240 is a "c" shaped hook portion 241 is formed…When the inner cylinder 120 is locked, the upper end protrusion 120a of the inner cylinder 120 and the end of the heat sink 220 are fitted into the hook portion 241.”.); and
a safety cover configured to apply an external force toward the safety protrusion under the safety protrusion based on an elastic force of an elastic member and to hinder the rotation cover from rotating when coming into contact with a side wall of the safety protrusion (Page 9, Para. 3 from end, “…the insertion pin 292 rises over the elastic force of the compression spring 293 by the minute steam pressure, the handle rotation preventing groove 242b Since the steam pressure inside the inner cylinder 120 falls below the reference pressure after the completion of cooking, the lid 200 becomes openable only when correcting safety.”, where the elastic force is from the compression spring, where an external force is the force of steam pushing the pin against a safety protrusion (the handle rotation preventing groove) that hinders the rotation cover from rotating, Page 8, Para. 3, “The handle rotation preventing groove 252b is formed at the other side of the arm 252, and the insertion pin 292 is selectively inserted into the handle rotation preventing groove 252b.”, where rotation is hindered when the pin contacts the side wall of the safety protrusion which happens when the pin is inserted into the groove),
wherein the locking structure is configured to linearly move, depending on a rotation angle of the rotation cover (Page 9, Para. 1, “When the link plate 230 rotates, the cam guide protrusion 243 is inserted into the cam guide slot 232, so that the link 240 moves linearly by the guide rail 223…”), between a locking position at which the engagement protrusion is located to overlap the flange of the inner pot in a vertical direction and an unlocking position spaced apart outward from the locking position in a radial direction (Page 8, Para. 7 from end, “…the link 240 is locking the inner cylinder 120 (see Fig. 8).”, and Page 8, Para. 6 from end, “In a state where the locking detection switch 236 is not in contact, the link 240 unlocks the inner cylinder 120 (see FIG. 10).”, where the locking position has the links overlap with the protrusions of the inner pot and where the unlocking position has the links removed outward in the radial direction away from the protrusions of the inner pot), and
wherein when the engagement protrusion is located at the first position, the safety cover comes into contact with the side wall of the safety protrusion (Page 8, Para. 3-4, “The handle rotation preventing groove 252b is formed at the other side of the arm 252, and the insertion pin 292 is selectively inserted into the handle rotation preventing groove 252b. In other words, when the minute residual vapor pressure remains approximately 0.04 Torr or more above the atmospheric pressure, the insertion pin 292 overcomes the elastic force of the compression spring 293 to raise the handle. Arm 252 cannot rotate because it is fitted in anti-rotation groove 252b (see FIG. 14).”, where the guide protrusion is, Page 8, Para. 8, “…cam guide protrusion 243 of the link 240 is located in the first horizontal portion 232a of the cam guide slot 232, and the sensing protrusion 235 is In the state of being in contact with the locking detection switch 236, the link 240 is locking the inner cylinder 120…”, where when the guide protrusion is in a locking position, the safety cover has the pin contact the protrusion to prevent opening during high pressure states) and
when the engagement protrusion is located at the second position, the safety cover comes into contact with a lower portion of the safety protrusion (Page 8, Para. 5, “On the other hand, when the minute residual vapor pressure remains approximately 0.04 Torr less than the atmospheric pressure inside the inner cylinder 120, the insertion pin 292 is lowered by the elastic restoring force of the compression spring 293, the handle Arm 252 is rotatable because it is disengaged from anti-rotation groove 252b (see FIG. 15)…”, and where the guide protrusion is in an unlocked state, the safety cover and pin is no longer contained within the groove, Page 8, Para. 6 from end, “…the cam guide protrusion 243 of the link 240 is located in the second horizontal portion 232c of the cam guide slot 232, the sensing protrusion 235 is In a state where the locking detection switch 236 is not in contact, the link 240 unlocks the inner cylinder 120 (see FIG. 10).”).
Yeom does not disclose:
a safety protrusion formed on the inside of the rotation cover in a radial direction;
a safety cover configured to apply a first eternal force toward the safety protrusion in an upper direction under the safety protrusion based on an elastic force, and wherein the rotation cover rotates when a second external force greater than the elastic force of the elastic member is applied to the rotation cover, and
wherein the second external force is a rotational force applied in a horizontal direction.
However, Lee discloses, in the similar field of safety locks for cooking devices (Abstract, “…a safety lock of the pressure cooker.”), where a safety protrusion is located on the inside of the rotation cover in a radial direction (Page 1, Para. 4, “…a handle 20 having an insertion groove 25 for guiding the protruding pin 35 of the rotating plate 30: a protruding pin for fitting into the cam hole 31 of the rotating plate 30.”, where the protruding pin of the handle enters into a cam hole 31 on the rotation plate 30, where the cam hole is construed to be the radial safety protrusion). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the safety system in Yeom to have the protrusion be located on the rotation plate as taught by Lee.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of the protrusion structure of Lee being able to prevent the cover from unlocking during high pressures, where the shape allows for a braking effect, as stated by Lee, Page 4, Para. 5-7 from end, “The cam hole 31 of the rotating plate 30 is composed of an inclined arc 31b whose radius is further from the center of the rotating plate 30, in particular by providing a straight portion 31a formed by bending the inclined arc at both ends of the inclined arc 31b. The slippage of the opening and closing protrusion pin 41 is prevented to ensure the safety of the braking function…That is, the straight portion 31a formed in the cam hole 31 of the rotating plate 30 prevents sliding of the switch 40, thereby preventing the lock from being released, and the tension spring 50 exerts a force on the locked state.”.
Regarding the pin and protrusion configuration, it is the Examiner’s position that Yeom has the protrusion be within the handle and where the pin inserts into the protrusion while Lee has the protrusion on the rotating plate where the pin still inserts into the protrusion. This change in configuration is believed to be a mere rearrangement of parts, which has been held to be obvious. In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950). It is the Examiner’s position that adjustment of the protrusion groove from Yeom to be on the rotation plate would still achieve the ability to lock the cover in place as shown by Lee. Thus, such a rearrangement of parts would be a mere matter of user design choice.
Further, Kim discloses, in the similar field of cookers with locking mechanisms (Abstract, “lid is prevented from being taken off from the vessel body due to the accidental release of the locking between the lid and the vessel body while cooking.”), where the cover includes safety protrusions (Page 2, Para. 3 from end, “The operation part 310 is formed in a long bar shape and has an engagement part 312”, and Page 2, Para. 2 from end, “The operation space 310 is bolted to the upper surface of the lid 200 so that the bolt fastening hole 311 engaged with the lid 200 is elongated in the left and right directions”), where the cover applies a first external force towards the safety protrusion in an upper direction under the safety protrusion based on an elastic force (Page 4, Para. 5, “user turns the turning handle 340 to engage the lid 200 with the container body 100, the operating spaces 310 are pinched by the spring 320 so that the lid 200 The longitudinally extending latching piece 352 and the transverse latching piece 354 are interlocked with each other by being brought close to the longitudinal latching piece 352 and the transverse latching piece 354 at this time.”, where the elastic force from the spring 320 applies in an upper direction under the protrusion, Fig. 7, where the spring 320 is attached to a hook on both ends that applies the spring force under the safety protrusion in an upper direction), where the rotation cover rotates when a second external force greater than the elastic force of the elastic member is applied to the rotation cover as a rotational force in the horizontal direction (Page 4, Para. 7, “in order for the lid 200 to be opened arbitrarily while the lid 200 is locked in the container body 100, the operation pins 314 Of the cam grooves 342 is larger than the outer circumferential surface of the engaging portion 345 of the cam groove 342 so that the engaged state of the longitudinal engaging pieces 352 and the lateral engaging pieces 354 can be broken An external force must be applied to the inter-actuation 310 or the pivoting handle 340.”, where the operation pin 314 is within the cam groove 342 of the pivoting handle 340 as a resting position as the spring 320 is a tension spring that returns to a position shown in Fig. 5, where the pivoting handle 340 must overcome the elastic force of the tension spring 320 through moving the operation pin 314 towards an outer circumference of the cam grooves in order to allow the safety protrusions to disengage with the pot rim, where the external rotational force is applied horizontally, Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “When the lid 200 is opened, the turning knob 340 is turned in the opposite direction so that the operating space 310 is opened as shown in Fig. Of course, at this time, the turning handle 340 is rotated with a relatively large force so that the engaging portion 345 of the cam groove 342 rides over the actuating pin 314.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the safety cover and protrusion interaction in modified Yeom to include the elastic spring force and the horizontal rotation force needed to overcome that spring force in order to allow the cover to be unlocked as taught by Kim.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to prevent unintentionally opening the cooking lid, where there must be intentional force applied by a user to get the lid to open, as stated by Kim, Page 4, Para. 7, “An external force must be applied to the inter-actuation 310 or the pivoting handle 340. Therefore, there is almost no possibility that the lid 200 unintentionally unlocks the container body 100 unless the user intentionally rotates the turning handle 340 intentionally to open the lid 200.”.
Regarding claim 2, modified Yeom teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the rotation cover comprises a guide groove comprising a first region spaced apart from a center of the rotation cover by a first distance and a second region spaced apart from the center of the rotation cover by a distance ranging from a first distance to a second distance from the center of the rotation cover (Yeom, Page 8, Para. 6 from end, “…the cam guide protrusion 243 of the link 240 is located in the second horizontal portion 232c of the cam guide slot 232…”, where the cam guide slot 232 has a ‘Z’ shape and where a region is closer to the center of the rotation cover compared to other regions), and the locking structure further comprises a guide protrusion accommodated in the guide groove and located in one of the first region and the second region depending on a rotation angle of the rotation cover (Yeom, Page 8, Para. 6-7 from end, “…cam guide protrusion 243 of the link 240 is located in the first horizontal portion 232a of the cam guide slot 232…the cam guide protrusion 243 of the link 240 is located in the second horizontal portion 232c of the cam guide slot 232…”, where the guide protrusion can be located between 232a and 232c depending on the rotation angle).
Regarding claim 3, modified Yeom teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above, discloses wherein the first distance is smaller than the second distance, and when the guide protrusion is located in the first region, the locking structure is located at the locking position (Yeom, Fig. 8, where the lid is in a locking position, where guide protrusion 243 is located in 232a position, which is closer to the center and the distance would be smaller), and when the guide protrusion is located in the second region, the guide protrusion is located at the unlocking position (Yeom, Fig. 10, where the lid is in an unlocking position, where guide protrusion 243 is located in 232c position, which is farther from the center than 232a).
Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yeom et al. (KR 100753651 B1, hereinafter Yeom) in view of Lee (KR 20000018894 U) and Kim (KR 20180133126 A1) in further view of Kim (KR 19980029120 U, hereinafter Kim 1998).
Regarding claim 4, modified Yeom teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above.
Modified Yeom does not disclose:
further comprising: a pressure control device comprising a cylinder including a first inner passage communicating with the accommodation space in the inner pot and a weight provided on the cylinder and configured to open/close the first inner passage depending on a steam pressure of the accommodation space; and
a lift pin configured to selectively press the weight by moving up and down between a pin-down position and a pin-up position depending on the rotation angle of the rotation cover.
However, Kim 1998 discloses, in the similar field of cooking devices (Abstract, “…thermal pressure cooker…”), where there is a pressure control device that includes a cylinder that has a first inner passage communicating with the inner pot (Page 2, Para. 3-4, “The steam outlet of the electric thermal pressure cooker is a structure that is opened by the pressure when the pressure inside the cooker rises above a certain pressure to discharge the steam. In other words, if the internal pressure of the rice cooker is above a certain pressure, the steam outlet is open, and if the pressure is below a certain pressure, the steam outlet is closed.”), a weight on the cylinder that opens the cylinder depending on the steam pressure within the inner pot (Page 3, Para. 2 from end, “…opening / closing member 51 of the open steam outlet 50 is closed by its own weight.”, and Page 2, Para. 6 from end, “Therefore, the opening / closing member of the steam outlet is forced to be lifted and opened to release the steam. The vapor discharge port is closed by the weight of the weight opening and closing member.”), and a lift pin that moves the weight depending on the rotation angle of the cover (Page 4, Para. 3, “Here, the lever member 40 is installed between the inclined portion 12 and the opening and closing member 51 is moved up and down in relation to the inclined portion 12 to lift the opening and closing member 51 and the corresponding operation is released.”, and Page 3, last Para., “Subsequently, when the rotating disc 10 is completely rotated so that the lid 300 and the inner container 200 are completely coupled, the lever portion 40 reaches the inclined portion 12 at the lowest position as shown in FIG. 3 (a).”, where rotation of the cover is coupled with the lift pin movement). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the cooking device in modified Yeom to include the pressure release valve with weight and lift pin as taught by Kim 1998.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of a pressure control system that can allow for the gradual release of steam pressure within the inner pot before opening the lid, thereby preventing explosions, as stated by Kim 1998, Page 1, Para. 2 from end, “The present invention allows the steam outlet to be gradually released by forcibly opening the steam outlet in the process of opening the lid after cooking using a pressure cooker, thereby suppressing the occurrence of an explosion situation due to steam discharge at the time of opening the lid.”.
Regarding claim 5, modified Yeom teaches the apparatus according to claim 4, as set forth above, discloses wherein the first region comprises a first position and a second position sequentially located in a direction in which the guide groove extends (Yeom, Page 5, last Para., “The cam guide slot 232 may be divided into three parts, and a first horizontal portion 232a and a second horizontal portion 232b are formed at both sides thereof, and the first horizontal portion 232a and the first horizontal portion 232a are formed.”, where there are multiple positions that the guide groove has between 232a and 232b).
Modified Yeom does not disclose:
when the guide protrusion is located at the first position, the lift pin is located at the pin- down position, and when the guide protrusion is located at the second position, the lift pin is located at the pin-up position, thereby pressing the weight.
However, Kim 1998 discloses where a lift pin can be positioned to move up and down depending on the rotation position of the cover (Page 4, Para. 3, “Here, the lever member 40 is installed between the inclined portion 12 and the opening and closing member 51 is moved up and down in relation to the inclined portion 12 to lift the opening and closing member 51 and the corresponding operation is released.”), where the lift pin is in a pin down position when the lid is fully closed (Page 3, last Para., “Subsequently, when the rotating disc 10 is completely rotated so that the lid 300 and the inner container 200 are completely coupled, the lever portion 40 reaches the inclined portion 12 at the lowest position as shown in FIG. 3 (a).”), and where the lift pin is in a pin up position when the lid is slowly approaching the open position, where a position between the fully closed and open position is construed to be the applicant’s second position (Page 4, Para. 6, “In this process (the process of releasing the locking jaws 11 and 201 due to the rotation of the rotating disc), the position of the inclined portion 12 formed on the rotating disc 10 changes on a certain circumference (arrow K direction). The inclined surface of the inclined portion 12 at the lower end of the 40 moves vertically upward while gradually contracting the elastic member 42 (arrow N direction).”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the lift pin structure in modified Yeom to include the relationship between lid positions as taught by Kim 1998.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of a pressure control system that can allow for the gradual release of steam pressure within the inner pot before opening the lid, thereby preventing explosions, as stated by Kim 1998, Page 1, Para. 2 from end, “The present invention allows the steam outlet to be gradually released by forcibly opening the steam outlet in the process of opening the lid after cooking using a pressure cooker, thereby suppressing the occurrence of an explosion situation due to steam discharge at the time of opening the lid.”.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN GUANHUA WEN whose telephone number is (571)272-9940 and whose email is kevin.wen@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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/KEVIN GUANHUA WEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
01/23/2026