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
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.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The term “substantially” in claim 15 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “substantially” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Does “without substantially changing a flow rate” mean that a flow rate change of 5, 10, 15 or 20% is acceptable?
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 1-12 and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Hertzberg (US 2012/0211482) in view of Johannson (US 4,029,463) or Kuhne (US 2009/0064984).
With respect to the limitations of claim 1, Hertzberg teaches a cooking system (title, abstract) comprising: a housing including at least a top wall, bottom wall, and side walls, said housing defining a hollow chamber (Figs 3-7, cavity 14, top 16, bottom 18, sides 20, 22, rear wall 24, 0019) including a cooking chamber (14) and a convecting chamber (second cavity 58, 00021); a fan shroud (baffle 36, 0021) mounted within the hollow chamber, the fan shroud forms a partition that separates the cooking chamber and the convecting chamber (0021) and includes a through-hole (horizontal aperture 52, 0022); a convection heater disposed within (heating element 30, 0020, 0023) said convecting chamber; and at least one fluidly communicable opening positioned in (vertical apertures 54, 0022) the fan shroud between said convecting chamber and said cooking chamber, said at least one fluidly communicable opening fully extending between said top wall and said bottom wall (Figs 4, 7, shows combined apertures fully extending between top and bottom wall) of said housing, the convection heater is configured to draw air from a central region of the cooking chamber axially into the convecting chamber via the through-hole and to expel the air radially into the cooking chamber via the at least one fluidly communicable opening (Fig 6 shows airflow direction through central apertures 52 and out from apertures 54). Hertzberg discloses the claimed invention except for explicitly showing said at least one fluidly communicable opening fully extending between said top wall and said bottom wall of said housing.
However, Johansson discloses said at least one fluidly communicable opening fully extending between said top wall and said bottom wall (Figs 1, 3, side walls 16 having through-flow openings 17 distributed substantially over the entire surface thereof, Col 3, Lines 5-10) of said housing is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the cooking system of Hertzberg having at least one fluidly communicable opening extending between said top wall and said bottom wall silent to the recited full extension with said at least one fluidly communicable opening fully extending between said top wall and said bottom wall of said housing of Johansson for the purpose of providing a known opening configuration that allows heated air to be quickly distributed over an entire height of the cooking chamber to allow for uniform heating of the food products.
Additionally, said at least one fluidly communicable opening fully extending between said top wall and said bottom wall of said housing is known in the art. Kuhne, for example, discloses that fan shroud (separating wall 9, 0024) openings (Figs 2, 3, left and right openings between separating wall 9 and peripheral walls 4 for exiting heated air, arrows B, 0025) fully extending between the top and bottom wall of the housing (0008, 0009, a uniform distribution of the hot air over the whole preparation space can be achieved by adapting the separating wall in appropriate manner, whereby the meals in the preparation space are all heated to about the same extent). It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the cooking system of Hertzberg having at least one fluidly communicable opening extending between said top wall and said bottom wall silent to the recited full extension with said at least one fluidly communicable opening fully extending between said top wall and said bottom wall of said housing of Kuhne for the purpose of providing a known opening configuration that promotes a uniform distribution of the hot air over the whole preparation space, whereby food items in the preparation space are all heated to about the same extent (0008).
With respect to the limitations of claims 2, 12 and 15, Hertzberg in view of Johansson and Kuhne discloses the air is expelled from the convecting chamber extends over a full height of the fan shroud (Johansson, Col 3, Lines 5-10; Kuhne, Figs 1, 2, 0008, 0009);
further comprising a through-hole guard (Kuhne, Figs 3, 4, guard indicated by 17) positioned in overlapping arrangement with the through-hole (Kuhne, suction opening 12);
the at least one fluidly communicable opening is configured to increase a pressure within the convecting chamber without substantially changing a flow rate of the air within the convecting chamber (shape and spacing of vertical apertures 54 provides for an increase in pressure without substantially changing a flow rate of the air).
With respect to the limitations of claims 3, 4, 5, 6, 10 and 11, Hertzberg teaches the top wall, the bottom wall, and the side walls define an access opening through which the hollow chamber is accessible, and the housing further comprises a door (Fig 3, door 26, 0019) arranged in the opening and configured to provide access to the hollow chamber (cavity 14) through the opening;
the air expelled from the convecting chamber is directed along interior surfaces of the side walls toward the door (Fig 6, exit air moving towards front of cavity 14 towards door 26);
the air is configured to deflect off the door toward the central region (Fig 6, central return air) of the cooking chamber;
the convection heater (30) comprises an air movement device configured to draw the air into the convecting chamber via the through-hole and to expel the air into the cooking chamber via the at least one fluidly communicable opening (Fig 6, blowers or fans 32, 34, see air flow arrow direction);
further comprising at least one guide extending between the fan shroud and an interior surface of at least one of the side walls (Figs 3-5, radius bottom corners of bottom wall 18), the guide has a contour configured to direct the air expelled from the convecting chamber toward the cooking chamber;
the contour is a curved contour (radius bottom corners of bottom wall 18) extending from adjacent the at least one fluidly communicable opening (vertical apertures 54).
With respect to the limitations of claims 7, 8 and 9, Hertzberg discloses the claimed invention except for the convection heater comprises a convective heating element that is mounted concentrically outward of the air movement device; the air movement device is configured to direct the air over the convective heating element as it is expelled from the convecting chamber; a diameter of the through-hole is approximately equal to a diameter of the air movement device. However, Kuhne discloses the convection heater comprises a convective heating element (Figs 1-4, heating elements 10, 0024) that is mounted concentrically outward of the air movement device (fan 11, 0024); the air movement device is configured to direct the air over the convective heating element as it is expelled from the convecting chamber (Figs 1, 2, 0024); a diameter of the through-hole is approximately equal to a diameter of the air movement device (Figs 1, 2, suction opening 12, fan 11, 0025) is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the cooking system of Hertzberg having a convention heater and air movement device silent to the recited concentric heating element with the convection heater comprises a convective heating element that is mounted concentrically outward of the air movement device; the air movement device is configured to direct the air over the convective heating element as it is expelled from the convecting chamber; a diameter of the through-hole is approximately equal to a diameter of the air movement device of Kuhne for the purpose of providing a known alternative convective heating element and air movement device configuration that is suitable for drawing air out of cooking chamber that is blown along heating elements and back into preparation space (0024).
With respect to the limitations of claim 16, Hertzberg teaches a cooking system (title, abstract) comprising: a housing including at least a top wall, bottom wall, and side walls, said housing defining a hollow chamber (Figs 3-7, cavity 14, top 16, bottom 18, sides 20, 22, rear wall 24, 0019) including a cooking chamber (14) and a convecting chamber (second cavity 58, 00021); a convection heater (heating element 30, 0020, 0023) disposed within said convecting chamber (58); at least one fluidly communicable opening (vertical apertures 54, 0022) between said convecting chamber and said cooking chamber, said at least one fluidly communicable opening fully extending between said top wall and said bottom wall (Figs 4, 7, shows combined apertures fully extending between top and bottom wall) of said housing; and at least one guide extending (Figs 3-5, radius bottom corners of bottom wall 18) from adjacent to the at least one fluidly communicable opening, the at least one guide has a curved contour radius bottom corners of bottom wall 18); the at least one guide is configured to direct air expelled from the convecting chamber by the convection heater through the at least one fluidly communicable opening along an interior surface of at least one of the side walls of the housing between the top wall and the bottom wall of the housing (see figure 6). Hertzberg discloses the claimed invention except for explicitly showing said at least one fluidly communicable opening fully extending between said top wall and said bottom wall of said housing.
However, Johansson discloses said at least one fluidly communicable opening fully extending between said top wall and said bottom wall (Figs 1, 3, side walls 16 having through-flow openings 17 distributed substantially over the entire surface thereof, Col 3, Lines 5-10) of said housing is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the cooking system of Hertzberg having at least one fluidly communicable opening extending between said top wall and said bottom wall silent to the recited full extension with said at least one fluidly communicable opening fully extending between said top wall and said bottom wall of said housing of Johansson for the purpose of providing a known opening configuration that allows heated air to be quickly distributed over an entire height of the cooking chamber to allow for uniform heating of the food products.
Additionally, said at least one fluidly communicable opening fully extending between said top wall and said bottom wall of said housing is known in the art. Kuhne, for example, discloses that fan shroud (separating wall 9, 0024) openings (Figs 2, 3, left and right openings between separating wall 9 and peripheral walls 4 for exiting heated air, arrows B, 0025) fully extending between the top and bottom wall of the housing (0008, 0009, a uniform distribution of the hot air over the whole preparation space can be achieved by adapting the separating wall in appropriate manner, whereby the meals in the preparation space are all heated to about the same extent). It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the cooking system of Hertzberg having at least one fluidly communicable opening extending between said top wall and said bottom wall silent to the recited full extension with said at least one fluidly communicable opening fully extending between said top wall and said bottom wall of said housing of Kuhne for the purpose of providing a known opening configuration that promotes a uniform distribution of the hot air over the whole preparation space, whereby food items in the preparation space are all heated to about the same extent (0008).
With respect to the limitations of claims 17 and 18, Hertzberg teaches further comprising a fan shroud mounted (baffle 36, 0021) within the hollow chamber, the fan shroud forms a partition that separates the cooking chamber (14) and the convecting chamber (58) and includes a through-hole (horizontal aperture 52, 0022);
the convection heater is configured to draw air from a central region of the cooking chamber axially into the convecting chamber via the through- hole and to expel the air radially into the cooking chamber via the at least one fluidly communicable opening (see figure 6);
Claims 19 and 20 are similarly rejected as set forth in the rejection of claims 3, 4 and 5.
Claims 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Hertzberg (US 2012/0211482) in view of Johannson (US 4,029,463) or Kuhne (US 2009/0064984) as applied to claim 1 and 13, further in view of Jeong (KR20060039544). An English machine translation of Jeong (KR20060039544) is included with the Notice of Reference Cited (PTO-892).
With respect to the limitations of claims 13 and 14, Herzberg in view of Johannson or Kuhne discloses the claimed invention except for the through-hole guard comprises a body formed from at least one layer of a material that is permeable to air and water vapor; the at least one layer is a metal wire mesh.
However, Jeong discloses the through-hole guard comprises a body formed from at least one layer of a material that is permeable (Figs 1-6, filter portion 520, fine sized mesh, 0017) to air and water vapor; the at least one layer is a wire mesh (0017) is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the cooking system of Hertzberg in view of Johannson or Kuhne having a through-hole guard silent to permeable layer with the through-hole guard comprises a body formed from at least one layer of a material that is permeable to air and water vapor; the at least one layer is a wire mesh of Jeong for the purpose of providing a known integrated filter configuration that filters the oil or foreign matter contained in the air is sucked by the convection fan (0017, 0007).
Herzberg in view of Johannson or Kuhne and Jeong discloses the claimed invention except for the wire mesh is metal. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to have the wire mesh be metal, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable mesh material involves only routine skill in the art (see MPEP 2144.04).
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claim 1-15 of the instant application is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-19 of U.S. Patent No. 11,985,734. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims recite similar limitations as evidenced below.
US Patent 11,985,734 Claims 1-19
Instant Application Claims 1-15
1. A cooking system positionable on a support surface, the cooking system comprising: a housing having a hollow interior including an internal cooking chamber for receiving a food item, the interior of the housing having a ceiling, a floor, and a height extending between the ceiling and the floor; at least one radiative heating element arranged within the hollow interior and operable to heat the cooking chamber; a fan shroud mounted within the hollow interior, the fan shroud forming a partition that separates the cooking chamber from a convection chamber, the convection chamber being in fluid communication with the cooking chamber; an air movement device; and a convection heater disposed within the convection chamber and operable to heat an air flow moved by the air movement device; wherein the cooking system is operable in a convection cooking mode, and during the convection cooking mode the at least one radiative heating element is selectively energized; characterized in that openings are formed within the fan shroud at respective sides of the fan shroud, the openings extending generally over a full height of the fan shroud between the ceiling and the floor of the interior of the housing, and the air movement device is arranged to force the air flow out from the convection chamber through the openings, evenly over the height of the interior of the housing between the ceiling and the floor.
2. The cooking system of claim 1, wherein a cooking cycle of said convection cooking mode includes at least one convection cooking segment during which said convection heater is energized, and at least one pulsing segment during which said at least one radiative heating element is energized.
3. The cooking system of claim 2, wherein said convection heater includes a convective heating element, and during said at least one pulsing segment, said convective heating element is de-energized.
4. The cooking system of claim 2, wherein the convection heater includes a convective heating element, and during the at least one pulsing segment the air movement device is energized, while the convective heating element is de-energized.
5. The cooking system of claim 2, wherein during said at least one pulsing segment, a power provided to said at least one radiative heating element is less than a full power associated with operation of said at least one radiative heating element.
6. The cooking system of claim 5, wherein during the at least one pulsing segment, the at least one radiative heating element is operated at 50% of the full power.
7. The cooking system of claim 2, wherein a time of said at least one pulsing segment is shorter than a time of said at least one convection cooking segment.
8. The cooking system of claim 2, wherein said at least one pulsing segment occurs at a predetermined interval within said cooking cycle.
9. The cooking system of claim 2, wherein said at least one pulsing segment is initiated in response to a detection of a sensed condition.
10. The cooking system of claim 9, wherein said sensed condition includes accumulation of a food byproduct on said at least one radiative heating element.
11. The cooking system of claim 2, wherein a power delivered to the at least one radiative heating element during a pulsing segment is less than a power delivered to the convection heater during the convection cooking segment.
12. The cooking system of claim 2, wherein a time of said pulsing segment is less than a time of said convection cooking segment.
13. The cooking system of claim 12, wherein the convection cooking segment is three times as long as a pulsing segment.
14. The cooking system of claim 1, wherein said at least one radiative heating element includes a first radiative heating element arranged adjacent the ceiling of said cooking chamber and a second radiative heating element arranged adjacent the floor of said cooking chamber.
15. The cooking system of claim 14, wherein during said convection cooking mode, said second radiative heating element is selectively energized to clean said second radiative heating element.
16. The cooking system of claim 14, wherein during said convection cooking mode, both said first radiative heating element and said second radiative heating element are selectively energized to clean said second radiative heating element.
17. The cooking system of claim 1, wherein the cooking system is operable in a radiative cooking mode.
18. The cooking system of claim 17, wherein in the radiative cooking mode, only the at least one radiative heating element is energized.
19. The cooking system of claim 1, wherein the cooking system has a maximum power of 1800 W
1. A cooking system positionable on a support surface, the cooking system comprising: a housing including at least a top wall, bottom wall, and side walls, said housing defining a hollow chamber including a cooking chamber and a convecting chamber; a fan shroud mounted within the hollow chamber, wherein the fan shroud forms a partition that separates the cooking chamber and the convecting chamber and includes a through-hole; a convection heater disposed within said convecting chamber; andat least one fluidly communicable opening positioned in the fan shroud between said convecting chamber and said cooking chamber, said at least one fluidly communicable opening fully extending between said top wall and said bottom wall of said housing, wherein the convection heater is configured to draw air from a central region of the cooking chamber axially into the convecting chamber via the through-hole and to expel the air radially into the cooking chamber via the at least one fluidly communicable opening.
2. The cooking system of claim 1, wherein the air is expelled from the convecting chamber extends over a full height of the fan shroud.
3. The cooking system of claim 1, wherein the top wall, the bottom wall, and the side walls define an access opening through which the hollow chamber is accessible, and wherein the housing further comprises a door arranged in the opening and configured to provide access to the hollow chamber through the opening.
4. The cooking system of claim 3, wherein the air expelled from the convecting chamber is directed along interior surfaces of the side walls toward the door.
5. The cooking system of claim 4, wherein the air is configured to deflect off the door toward the central region of the cooking chamber.
6. The cooking system of claim 1, wherein the convection heater comprises an air movement device configured to draw the air into the convecting chamber via the through-hole and to expel the air into the cooking chamber via the at least one fluidly communicable opening.
7. The cooking system of claim 6, wherein the convection heater comprises a convective heating element that is mounted concentrically outward of the air movement device.
8. The cooking system of claim 7, wherein the air movement device is configured to direct the air over the convective heating element as it is expelled from the convecting chamber.
9. The cooking system of claim 7, wherein a diameter of the through-hole is approximately equal to a diameter of the air movement device.
10. The cooking system of claim 1, further comprising at least one guide extending between the fan shroud and an interior surface of at least one of the side walls, wherein the guide has a contour configured to direct the air expelled from the convecting chamber toward the cooking chamber.
11. The cooking chamber of claim 10, wherein the contour is a curved contour extending from adjacent the at least one fluidly communicable opening.
12. The cooking device of claim 1, further comprising a through-hole guard positioned in overlapping arrangement with the through-hole.
13. The cooking device of claim 12, wherein the through-hole guard comprises a body formed from at least one layer of a material that is permeable to air and water vapor.
14. The cooking device of claim 13, wherein the at least one layer is a metal wire mesh.
15. The cooking device of claim 1, wherein the at least one fluidly communicable opening is configured to increase a pressure within the convecting chamber without substantially changing a flow rate of the air within the convecting chamber.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THIEN S TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7745. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday [8:00-4:00].
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/THIEN S TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761 12/11/2025