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 § 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 3 recites the limitation "the transceiver". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 6 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. Claim 6 does not include a period as such it is unclear if this is the full metes and bounds of the claim.
Claim 9 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. Claim 9 discloses “the motors provide wirelessly controlled rotation or flipping” where this is generally unclear as the motor must be attached to the device being flipped. It is unclear if this is mean to recite how the motors are “wirelessly controlled”.
Claim Objections
Claim 15 objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 15 should state “wherein the at least one sensor further comprises” for clarity to avoid it sounding like the video camera is the weight sensor from claim 1. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-7,9-11,13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent 5410948 to Eickmeyer in view of US Patent 8122817 to Nimerovskiy and further in view of US Patent 20220007467 to Lee and further in view of US Publication 20180008093 to Parker.
As to claim 1, Eickmeyer discloses An outdoor cooking device comprising: a cooking section (20 alt support wall 12) and a support (20 alt base pole Fig 1), the support arranged to elevate the cooking section (Fig 1); one or more heating elements (Col 4 Line 62-67); at least one food holder (26), having a spindle (56); at least one motor and a controller (Col 5, Line 41-55).
Eickmeyer does not expressly disclose at least one sensor comprising measuring means configured to weigh and/or measure thickness of food and a controller adapted to control the at least one motor to turn the spindle of the food holder based on the weight and/or thickness of the food.
Nimerovskiy discloses how it is essential to regulate the turning speed of a cooking spindle based on the shape and weight of the food being cooked (Col 2 Line 5-15, Col 3, Line 35-60).
Lee discloses how the weight and size of food will affect the recipe, and how a sensor is used to measure the food weight so as to effectively select using a programmed executable controller, the correct cooking settings for a recipe and how the speed of rotation and temperature of the cooking chamber is selected to accommodate the food type, such as flat food, and the food weight to effectively cook the food as desired (Abs, Par 0039, 0049-0050, 0054, 0068,0072,0078).
Parker discloses how optimal cooking routines are determined, tested, and updated based on food weight to affect temperature and rotation speed, using a programmed wireless controller (Abs, Par 0014, 0040, 0042,0052, 0087-0088).
At the time of invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Eickmeyer to include at least one sensor comprising measuring means configured to weigh and/or measure thickness of food and a controller adapted to control the at least one motor to turn the spindle of the food holder based on the weight and/or thickness of the food using the teachings of Nimerovskiy, Lee, and Parker so as to adjust the recipe for cooking the food item based on the parameters of the food item and modify the temperature and rotation speed and rate accordingly to insure that the food is cooked evenly and thoroughly, and to the users satisfaction.
As to claim 2, the modified Eickmeyer discloses a plurality of food holders, each having a spindle (Fig 1); and one or more sensors comprising measuring means configured to weigh and/or measure the thickness of food items (Lee: Abs, Par 0039, 0049-0050, 0054, 0068,0072,0078)(Parker: Abs, Par 0014, 0040, 0042,0052, 0087-0088).
As to claim 3, the modified Eickmeyer discloses the transceiver is adapted to control the at least one motor (Col 5, Line 41-55) to turn the spindle of a corresponding one of the plurality of food holders based on a weight of the corresponding one of the plurality of food holders and/or thickness of the food that is held thereby (Lee: Abs, Par 0039, 0049-0050, 0054, 0068, 0072, 0078) (Parker: Abs, Par 0014, 0040, 0042,0052, 0087-0088).
As to claim 4, the modified Eickmeyer discloses each of the one or more food holders is displaceable from the cooking section (Fig 3, opens to be displaced). Further full removal of the food holder is taught by Nimerovskiy where full removal would be obvious so as to allow cleaning of the device.
As to claim 5, the modified Eickmeyer discloses wherein each of the one or more food holders comprises a hinged top plate on a hinge with two pivot pins at one end, secured to a lower plate at a sliding catch (Fig 3 at 38 where 34’s connect; Fig 4 is also a sliding catch as slides onto 42).
As to claim 6, the modified Eickmeyer discloses comprising a battery to enable a self-contained device (Col 2, line 30-35; Fig 6 self contained).
As to claim 7, the modified Eickmeyer discloses a thermoelectric generator [broad interpretation](Col 4, line 60-67).
As to claim 9, the modified Eickmeyer discloses the burners include wirelessly enabled gas valves the motors provide wirelessly controlled rotation or flipping (Parker: Abs, Par 0014, 0040, 0042,0052, 0087-0088)(Lee: Abs, Fig 5).
As to claim 10, the modified Eickmeyer discloses the support includes a lid (10).
As to claim 11, the modified Eickmeyer discloses each food holder comprises perforated clamping plates having endmost spindles, such that a foodstuff is clamped between the plates (Fig 3).
As to claim 13, the modified Eickmeyer discloses three food holders and three speed controls (Fig 1)( Nimerovskiy: Fig 1,Col 3 Line 20-25;Col 4, Line 8-10).
As to claim 14, the modified Eickmeyer discloses a temperature sensor is provided to sense the internal temperature of the outdoor cooking device (Lee: Abs, Par 0039, 0049,0072)(Parker: Par 0049).
As to claim 15, the modified Eickmeyer discloses the at least one sensor comprises one or more video cameras, arranged such that a remote user can monitor the cooking of the foodstuffs (Lee: Par 0039,0075).
As to claim 16, the modified Eickmeyer discloses a probe is provided to sense internal temperature of food held in a holder (Parker: Par 0050) where use of such food would have been obvious so as to insure the food is cooked thoroughly through and avoid undercooking.
As to claim 17, the modified Eickmeyer discloses wherein the controller is adapted to also control the cooking temperature of the food items based on the weight and/or thickness of the food items (Lee: Abs, Par 0039, 0049-0050, 0054, 0068, 0072, 0078) (Parker: Abs, Par 0014, 0040, 0042,0052, 0087-0088).
As to claim 18, the modified Eickmeyer discloses a means to set cooking models combining temperature, timing and rotation patterns (Parker: Par 0087-0088), where such models would be obvious so as to insure correct cooking of food as tested and calibrated appropriately.
As to claim 19, the modified Eickmeyer discloses A method of cooking with an outdoor cooking device having a cooking section with a support to elevate the cooking section, one or more gas burners, a plurality of food holders each having a spindle, a plurality of sensors, each sensor comprising weighing means configured to weigh a corresponding one of the plurality of food holders, and at least one motor, the method comprising: controlling the at least one motor to turn the spindle of a corresponding one of the plurality of food holders based on a weight of the corresponding one of the plurality of food holders (as cited and rejected above Claim 1).
As to claim 20, the modified Eickmeyer discloses An outdoor cooking device comprising: a cooking section and a support, the support arranged to elevate the cooking section; one or more gas burners (Col 4, line 60-68); a plurality of food holders (Fig 1) wherein each food holder comprises perforated clamping plates configured for clamping foodstuff therebetween and has endmost spindles (Fig 3); a plurality of sensors, each sensor comprising a weighing means configured to weigh a corresponding one of the plurality of food holders; a plurality of motors; and a transceiver adapted to control the plurality of motors to turn the spindle of a corresponding one of the plurality of food holders based on a weight of the corresponding one of the plurality of food holders (as cited and rejected Claim 1 above).
Claims 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent 5410948 to Eickmeyer as applied to claim 1 above in view of US Publication 20070056577 to Chang.
As to claim 7, Eickmeyer does not expressly disclose a thermoelectric generator that turns heat into electrical energy.
Chang discloses how a rotational motor can use a battery or a thermoelectric generator (Par 0018-0019) in a BBQ.
At the time of invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Eickmeyer to include a thermoelectric generator using the teachings of Chang so as to allow for renewable power consumption to avoid unnecessary replacement and purchase of batteries.
Claims 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent 5410948 to Eickmeyer as applied to claim 1 above in view of US Publication 20160037966 to Chin.
As to claim 8, Eickmeyer does not expressly disclose the burners include wirelessly enabled gas valves.
Chin discloses the burners include wirelessly enabled gas valves (Abs).
At the time of invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Eickmeyer to include the burners include wirelessly enabled gas valves using the teachings of Chin so as to allow for ease of use and the ability to start up the system remotely such as when the user is unable to be in the vicinity of the cooking device.
Claims 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent 5410948 to Eickmeyer as applied to claim 11 above in view of US Publication 20080034980 to Nardone.
As to claim 12, Eickmeyer does not expressly disclose wherein the holders comprises stainless steel mesh which is taught by Nardone (Par 0022).
At the time of invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Eickmeyer to include wherein the holders comprises stainless steel mesh using the teachings of Nardone as this would have been a suitable material able to withstand grilling heat while maintaining long term reliability without staining or rusting.
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.
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/JESSE S BOGUE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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