Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/572,882

Steam release mechanism for an oven

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Dec 21, 2023
Examiner
BOGUE, JESSE SAMUEL
Art Unit
3746
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Breville Pty Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 5m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allow Rate
872 granted / 1105 resolved
+8.9% vs TC avg
Strong +21% interview lift
Without
With
+20.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
25 currently pending
Career history
1130
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.0%
-39.0% vs TC avg
§103
42.8%
+2.8% vs TC avg
§102
28.2%
-11.8% vs TC avg
§112
25.6%
-14.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1105 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
DETAILED ACTION 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 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. (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. Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 1 02( a1 ) as being anticipated by US Publication 20080148960 to Berger . As to claim 1 , Berger discloses An oven for cooking food, the oven comprising: a cavity for receiving the food to be cooked (2) ; a door that opens to allow food to be placed in the cavity (6) , and closed to enclose an interior space defined by the cavity (Fig 1) ; and a vent actuator (8, 8.1,8.2, Par 0011) configured to selectively open and close a vent opening (Door passage when open; Par 0025-0027) , such that a fluid path extends from the interior space to atmosphere when the vent opening is open ( Par 0025-0027 ) . As to claim 2 , Berger discloses comprising a processor for operative control of the vent actuator to open or close the vent opening at a predetermined time during and/or after the cooking of the food (Par 0021). As to claim 3 , Berger discloses the vent actuator is configured to move the door to provide the vent opening (6, Fig 1; Par 0025-0027 ) . As to claim 4 , Berger discloses the vent actuator includes a push rod (8.2 alt 8.3; configured to extend to push the door open to a vent open position to provide the vent opening ( Par 0025-0027 ). As to claim 5 , Berger discloses the door has a closing bias (Par 0020, 0026) when in the vent open position, and the push rod is configured to retract in response to the processor to allow the door to close ( Par 002 4 -0027 ) . As to claim 6 , Berger discloses the push rod is configured to partially retract in response to the processor to allow the door to move to an intermediate position between the vent open position and closed position (Par 0026; when motor power is removed by processor actuation the door moves to an intermediate position on its way to being closed. Note: the claim does not require that the door be moved to a stationary intermediate position) . As to claim 7 , Berger discloses the vent actuator includes a resilient element allowing the push rod to retract in response to an external force acting on the push rod when extended (Par 0020 door spring; alt Par 0024 Push rod Spring 8.4) . As to claim 8 , Berger discloses the resilient element is a coil spring (Par 0020 door spring; alt Par 0024 Push rod Spring 8.4) . As to claim 9 , Berger discloses the vent actuator includes a movable arm (8.2) to extend the push rod (8.3) , and the resilient element is a compressible portion of the arm (8.4) . As to claim 17 , Berger discloses to cook the food for a predetermined cooking time and the vent actuator configured to open the vent opening after the predetermined cooking time to release steam ( Par 0024-0027 ). Claims 1-2,10,13-14,17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 1 02(a1 ) as being anticipated by DE 102017115590 to Peter . As to claim 1 , Peter discloses An oven for cooking food (Fig 1) , the oven comprising: a cavity (11) for receiving the food to be cooked; a door (21) that opens to allow food to be placed in the cavity, and closed to enclose an interior space defined by the cavity; and a vent actuator (4) configured to selectively open and close a vent opening (2) , such that a fluid path extends from the interior space to atmosphere when the vent opening is open (Fig 2,3; Abs, Par 0007). As to claim 2 , Peter discloses comprising a processor (Par 0027) for operative control of the vent actuator to open or close the vent opening at a predetermined time during and/or after the cooking of the food (Par 0027-0029). As to claim 10 , Peter discloses the vent opening is formed in the cavity (2 Fig 1) and the vent actuator includes a vent flap (3) configured to selectively open and close the vent opening (Fig 2 ,3 ) . As to claim 1 3 , Peter discloses the vent flap is biased to close the vent opening (Fig 2,3). As to claim 1 4 , Peter discloses the vent actuator includes a motor (Par 0050) and at least one limit switch for selectively opening the vent opening (Par 0030). As to claim 1 7 , Peter discloses to cook the food for a predetermined cooking time and the vent actuator configured to open the vent opening after the predetermined cooking time to release steam (Par 0030). Claims 1-2,10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 1 02(a1 ) as being anticipated by US Patent 10495317 to Hancock . As to claim 1 , Hancock discloses An oven for cooking food (Fig 2a ) , the oven comprising: a cavity ( 323, Fig 3 ) for receiving the food to be cooked; a door ( 202 ) that opens to allow food to be placed in the cavity, and closed to enclose an interior space defined by the cavity; and a vent actuator ( 216/128; Col 16, Line 44-50 ) configured to selectively open and close a vent opening, such that a fluid path extends from the interior space to atmosphere when the vent opening is open ( 323 through 118 through 200 ). As to claim 2 , Peter discloses comprising a processor (216/128; Col 16, Line 44-50) for operative control of the vent actuator to open or close the vent opening at a predetermined time during and/or after the cooking of the food . As to claim 10 , Peter discloses the vent opening is formed in the cavity ( at 118 in 120 ) and the vent actuator includes a vent flap ( 118 ) configured to selectively open and close the vent opening (216/128; Col 16, Line 44-50) . As to claim 1 1 , Peter discloses the vent flap is within the cavity and configured for movement in response to the processor (118; 216/128; Col 16, Line 44-50) . As to claim 1 2 , Peter discloses the vent actuator has a movable abutment surface that is external to the cavity and the vent flap is connected to a tilt lever that is external to the cavity (118; 216/128; Col 16, Line 44-50) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) 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. 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. Claims 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 102017115590 to Peter as applied to claim 1 above in view of US Publication 20190110630 to Kitabayashi . As to claim 15 ,16 , Peter discloses comprising a user interface (101) but doesn’t go into detail regarding it, and does not expressly disclose to receive inputs related to at least one of: Food type; Food weight; Cooking process; and selected cooked food characteristics ; or how it discloses the cooking process selection available via the user interface includes at least one of: Toasting; Broiling; Baking; Roasting; Dehydrating; Pizza; Airfrying; and Slow cooking . Kitabayashi discloses how a user interface for an oven is commonly used for these features (Par 0021). At the time of invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for Peter to include how the user interface receive s inputs related to at least one of: Food type; Food weight; Cooking process; and selected cooked food characteristics ; or how it discloses the cooking process selection available via the user interface includes at least one of: Toasting; Broiling; Baking; Roasting; Dehydrating; Pizza; Airfrying; and Slow cooking using the teachings of Kitabayashi so that the cooking time and style can be tailored to the food for the desired cooking effects the user desires. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSE SAMUEL BOGUE whose telephone number is (571)270-1406 . The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:00-5:00. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Laurenzi can be reached on 571-270-7878. 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. /JESSE S BOGUE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 21, 2023
Application Filed
Feb 25, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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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
79%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+20.9%)
2y 5m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1105 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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