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 .
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it contains more than 150 words. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 USC 112 4th paragraph, as being an improper dependent claim for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends and for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends. Specifically, claim 21 only requires structure a cylinder, electromagnetic wave generating system and controller and does not require actually performing steps of frequency matching step, step of calculating a change amount and heating termination step of claim 11. Applicant should consider amending claim 21 so that it does not include any reference to claim 1. As the Federal Circuit treats non-compliance with 35 USC 112 4th paragraph as a patentability issue, it is considered more appropriate to treat a claim that does not comply with 35 USC 112 4th paragraph by rejecting the claim under 35 USC 112 4th rather than by objecting to such claim under 37 CFR 1.75(c) as provided for in MPEP 608.01(n)(II). See Pfizer Inc. v. Ranbaxy Labs., Ltd., 457 F.3d 1284, 1291-92 (Fed. Cir. 2006).
Claims 11-20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art of record does not show or suggest step of calculating a change amount: recording the frequency of the electromagnetic wave signal that meets the preset matching condition each time ,and calculating the change amount in frequency of the electromagnetic wave signal that meets the preset matching condition from before the preset number of matches to the current match; heating termination step: stopping the operation of the electromagnetic wave generating system when any one of preset termination conditions is met, wherein, the preset termination conditions comprise the change amount being less than or equal to a preset change threshold as recited in claims 11-20.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: WO 2023/071686 discloses heating apparatus. Bilchinsky et al (US 9,078,297) discloses methods and systems for a modular processing device.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUANG T VAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4789. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9:00-6:00.
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, Steven W Crabb can be reached at 571-270-5095. 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.
/QUANG T VAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761 September 23, 2026
