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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 9/29/2026 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 9/28/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant's amendment filed on 9/28/2026 has been entered.
Claims 1, 7, 11, 13, and 17 have been amended.
Claims 2-6, 8-10, 12, 14-16, and 18-20 are as previously presented.
Claims 1-20 are still pending in this application, with claims 1 and 7 being independent.
Applicant’s amendments to claims 1 and 7 overcomes the 7/30/2026 rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 of claims 1-20. However, the amendment to claim 1 has introduced a new 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection, see below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments regarding amended claim 1 are not persuasive [Remarks pps. 9-22: “Numerous aspects of these elements are not taught or suggested by the art of record as discussed in detail below, and if anything, Christopher teaches away from such elements.”].
Applicant’s arguments directed towards Christopher [“6) Christopher Teaches Away From Powering A Burner From A Combination Of Power Provided Simultaneously By Both A Battery And By A 240 V Electric Power Circuit” and “7) Christopher And Bunya Are Not Properly Combinable With The Other Cited References To Teach The Elements of Claim 1”] are moot in view of the new rejection with Bunya replacing Christopher.
Applicant’s arguments directed towards Bunya are not persuasive, see the new 103 rejection in view of Jenkins (US 20160051078 A1), Bruckbauer (US 20190137109 A1), Leidig (US 20130186886 A1), and Bunya (US 20230309202 A1) and response below.
“1) A Burner Being Powered From A Combination Of Power Provided Simultaneously By Both The Battery And By A 120 V Electric Power Circuit”
Regarding Bunya: “However, even if this is true (which Applicant does not concede), Bunya fails to teach or suggest "at least one of the four circular burners being powered from a combination of power provided simultaneously by both the battery and by the 120 V electrical power circuit” as recited in claim 1…”
Examiner respectfully disagrees, and has presented the prior art as disclosing the structure recited in the claim [an induction burner, a battery, a grid connection] wherein the battery and the electrical power circuit can be arranged so as to simultaneously power the burner.
“2) Peak Output Power Of An Individual Burner Being Greater Than The Maximum Power Available From A Connected 120 V Circuit”
Regarding Bunya: “However, even if this is true (which Applicant does not concede), this is not a teaching of generating "a peak output power of the at least one of the four circular burners is greater than a maximum power capable of being supplied through the connected 120 V electrical power circuit alone, the peak output power being unattainable by the at least one of the four circular burners using power from the 120 V electrical power circuit alone without supplemental power from the battery," as recited in claim 1…”
Examiner respectfully disagrees, and has presented the prior art as disclosing the structure recited in the claim [an induction burner having a peak output power, a battery supplying supplemental power, and a grid connection, having a set maximum power] wherein the battery and the electrical power circuit can be arranged so as to simultaneously power the burner, such that a resulting combined output power of the burner may exceed the maximum power set for the grid connection.
“3) A Burner Being Powered From A Combination Of Power Provided Simultaneously By Both The Battery And By A 240 V Electric Power Circuit”
Regarding Bunya, the prior art has been presented as teaching that it is known to allow an appliance to be connected to different power circuits, and the test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary reference; nor is it that the claimed invention must be expressly suggested in any one or all of the references. Rather, the test is what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981). In this case, the combined teachings of Bruckbauer and Bunya suggest the appliance of Jenkins/Leidig may advantageously have A Burner Being Powered From A Combination Of Power Provided Simultaneously By Both The Battery And By A 240 V Electric Power Circuit.
“4) Peak Output Power Of An Individual Burner Being Greater Than The Maximum Power Available From A Connected 240 V Circuit A Burner Being Powered From A Combination Of Power Provided Simultaneously By Both The Battery And By A 240 V Electric Power Circuit”
Regarding Bunya, Examiner respectfully disagrees, and has presented the prior art as disclosing the structure recited in the claim [an induction burner having a peak output power, a battery supplying supplemental power, and a grid connection, having a set maximum power] wherein the battery and the electrical power circuit can be arranged so as to simultaneously power the burner, such that a resulting combined output power of the burner may exceed the maximum power set for the grid connection, and the prior art has also been presented as teaching that it is known to allow an appliance to be connected to different power circuits, and the test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary reference; nor is it that the claimed invention must be expressly suggested in any one or all of the references. Rather, the test is what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981). In this case, the combined teachings of Bruckbauer and Bunya suggest the appliance of Jenkins/Leidig may advantageously have A Burner Being Powered From A Combination Of Power Provided Simultaneously By Both The Battery And By A 240 V Electric Power Circuit
“5) Bunya Directs A Person Of Ordinary Skill Toward Peak Shaving And Reduced Commercial-Source Consumption, Rather Than Toward Exceeding The Maximum Power Capability Of The Connected Electrical Circuit And Therefore Fails To Provide A Reason To Modify The Cited References To Reach The Claimed Power Capability Relationship”
Examiner respectfully disagrees, and has presented Bunya as disclosing this feature in the rejection below. Specifically, by allowing a burner to be powered by the battery or the grid, the flexibly powered burner can be selectively powered so as to provide increased power above what is expected from the grid, by supplementing battery power. This arrangement also allows for reducing costs by limiting a power drawn from the grid in favor of battery power (the battery being charged during times of cheaper electrical rates).
Claim Interpretation
The claims are directed towards an inductive cooktop appliance having a conventional plug/cord configured to connect to and supply electricity from conventional residential receptacles/circuits [fig. 1: electric receptacles 165; see p. 23, Table 1 showing similar conventional residential appliances requiring either 120V or 240V].
The limitation “individually or collectively” is used by the claims to describe conventional structure known in the art, i.e., one or more power cords configured to couple with both a 120V and a 240V circuit, e.g., such that it fits a particular power supply plug (i.e., 120V or 240V receptacle) and corresponds to the requirements of the appliance (i.e., the appliance is configured to receive 120V or 240V), or is of an adequate length (e.g., includes extension cords, to collectively connect to the receptacle).
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.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, regards as the invention.
Claim 1:
The recitation of “one or more power cords configured to individually or collectively couple with both a 120 V and a 240 V electrical power circuit of a power distribution system”, “the 120 V electrical power circuit”, “the connected 120 V electrical power circuit”, “the electrical power circuit”, “the 240 V electrical power circuit”, “the connected 240 V electrical power circuit”, and wherein “the inductive cooking appliance configured to:” power a burner solely from the battery; power a burner with the battery and 120 V simultaneously; “and” power a burner with the battery and 240 V simultaneously, renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear if the amended claim now requires the new matter wherein the appliance is to be connected to a 120 V circuit and a 240 circuit at the same time (thereby introducing the well-understood negative effects of simultaneous supply of single-phase and multi-phase power). The instant claim does not explicitly recite the structural limitations required of this simultaneous connection to differently phased circuits of a power distribution system. Therefore, in order to at least avoid new matter issues, the claim will be interpreted as requiring that the appliance is able to be configured so as to connect to a 120 V electrical power circuit, or a 240 V electrical power circuit.
Claims 2-6 are also rejected due to dependence on a rejected claim.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jenkins (US 20160051078 A1) in view of Bruckbauer (US 20190137109 A1), Leidig (US 20130186886 A1), and Bunya (US 20230309202 A1).
Regarding claim 1,
Jenkins discloses: An inductive cooking appliance [fig. 1: food preparation system 600; para. 0127: “…FIG. 6 is shown and described as a stove with a gas cooktop, it is appreciated that a wide range of cooking appliances and apparatuses may be provided in connection with the systems and techniques described herein, such as, for example, electric cooktops (e.g., induction and radiant cooktops), grilles, smokers and other cooking apparatuses having a variety of fuel sources.”] comprising:
exactly four circular burners, and no more and no fewer than four circular burners, disposed at a top face of the inductive cooking appliance, with the four circular burners comprising induction coils at the top face of the inductive cooking appliance [see fig. 6, depicting four independently controlled burners 622a-622d; para. 0090];
a set of cooking appliance controls configured for operation of the inductive cooking appliance, including at least operation of the four circular burners, the set of cooking appliance controls including:
separate controls for the respective four circular burners, defined by four separate circular knobs [fig. 6: control devices 640a-640d; para. 0097: “In other embodiments, the control devices 640a-640d may have a variety of different forms and may resemble various knobs and/or dials of conventional stoves and the other cooking appliances.”], and
an electronic screen configured to present information to a user including information regarding operation of the four circular burners [see fig. 6, showing computing device 650, display 611, displays 642a-642d; para. 0095: “According to some embodiments, the cooking information generated by the ACC system may include visual cooking information or cooking instructions that are conveyed to a user through one or more display units, such as a display of the computing device 650 itself, a separate display 611 on the cooking unit 610, and/or displays 642a-642d of the control devices 640a-640d.”]; and
a processor, a memory,
an interface, and
[Jenkins discloses the conventional practice of using a processor coupled to memory, a power management module, various sensors, and an interface to control the appliance; fig. 18; para. 0121: "Additional features and functionality will now be described with reference to FIG. 18. FIG. 18 schematically depicts a control system 1800 an audio input device 1822"].
However, although Jenkins discloses a residential electrically powered inductive cooktop, Jenkins does not disclose details of the power supply for the inductive cooktop. Specifically, Jenkins does not disclose:
one or more power cords configured to individually or collectively couple with both a 120 V and a 240 V electrical power circuit of a power distribution system, wherein the one or more power cords are configured to allow installation and operation of the inductive cooking appliance without requiring an electrical upgrade or modification to the power distribution system; or
a battery system comprising:
a greater than or equal to 0.75 kWh lithium-based battery configured to obtain and store power from the electrical power circuit,
a battery control system that includes control circuitry comprising one or more processors,
an electrical power bus,
the inductive cooking appliance configured to:
power at least one of the four circular burners with power drawn solely from power stored by the battery;
power the at least one of the four circular burners with power drawn from both the battery and the 120 V electrical power circuit, where powering the at least one of the four circular burners includes the at least one of the four circular burners being powered from a combination of power provided simultaneously by both the battery and by the 120 V electrical power circuit such that a peak output power of the at least one of the four circular burners is greater than a maximum power capable of being supplied through the connected 120 V electrical power circuit alone, the peak output power being unattainable by the at least one of the four circular burners using power from the 120 V electrical power circuit alone without supplemental power from the battery; and
power the at least one of the four circular burners with power drawn from both the battery and the electrical power circuit, where powering the at least one of the four circular burners includes the at least one of the four circular burners being powered from a combination of power provided simultaneously by both the battery and by the 240 V electrical power circuit such that a peak output power of the at least one of the four circular burners is greater than a maximum power capable of being supplied through the connected 240 V electrical power circuit alone, the peak output power being unattainable by the at least one of the four circular burners using power from the 240 V electrical power circuit alone without supplemental power from the battery.
Bruckbauer, in the same field of endeavor [a residential inductive cooktop appliance, i.e., a kitchen hob; para. 0009: “The hob system comprises in particular at least one hob and at least one fume extractor apparatus. The hob can be a glass ceramic hob, an induction hob… The hob is in particular an electric hob. The hob converts in particular electrical energy directly or indirectly into heat. For this purpose, the hob comprises electrical components…”; para. 0071: “As a result of the particularly space-saving configuration of the compact hob system, it is possible to achieve an increase in the available storage space below the kitchen worktop.”], teaches one or more power cords coupling to a conventional residential electrical power supply system, i.e., the hob is connectable to a 120 V and a 240 V electrical power circuit of a power distribution system [paras. 0106-108: “The modular hob system comprises two circuits, a control circuit and a power circuit (or load circuit). The power circuit serves for supplying the electrical consumers with energy. Electrical consumers are the components connected to the control device, such as hobs and fume extractor apparatus. The power circuit is connected to the electrical power supply system… The components connected to the control device can be connected to different types of energy sources for energy supply. The control device can be connected in particular to an electrical power supply system at 50 Hz or 60 Hz. It can be operated with an operating voltage of either 230 V, 240 V or 110 V. It can be connected to a single-phase, two-phase, three-phase, four-phase or five-phase power supply system.”] with conventional plugs/cords [i.e., power leads; para. 0075: “For energy supply, the control device is connected to the power supply unit via a power lead.”].
Leidig, in the same field of endeavor [a battery system of an inductive cooking hob using AC heating elements; para. 0019: “In particular, the inverter circuit may be provided for transmitting a direct current from the battery and/or from the power supply circuit into an alternating current for the corresponding induction coil.”; para. 0040: “The cooking hob includes a glass ceramic panel 10 at the top side and a base plate 18 at the bottom side. An induction coil 12, a battery 14 and a power supply unit 16 are arranged side-by side between the glass ceramic panel 10 and the base plate 18.”], teaches a greater than or equal to 0.75 kWh lithium-based battery configured to obtain and store power from the electrical power circuit [para. 0024-25: “For example, the battery includes at least one lithium-ion-accumulator... Preferably, the battery has a capacity between 0.5 kWh and 2 kWh.”], the battery configured to store power obtained from the power distribution system of the residential home [para. 0048: “The recharging of the battery 14 is performed by a direct connection of the cooking hob to the grid.”], and supply power to a conventional inverter [i.e., through a DC electrical power bus of the battery output], the inverter outputting AC power to the heating elements, allowing the inductive cooking appliance to power at least one of the four circular burners with power drawn solely from power stored by the battery [e.g., during a grid failure, or in a mobile application; para. 0017: “The main idea of the present invention is the combination of the power supply for the induction coil by an integrated battery on the one hand and the mobile and stationary part of the cooking hob on the other hand. Said stationary part forms a docking station. The mobile part of the cooking hob is the proper cooking hob. Normally, the proper cooking hob is located in the docking station on the worktop of the kitchen such as a conventional cooking hob. However, the mobile part of the cooking hob can also be used on the dining table or outdoor. The mobile part of the cooking hob is functional without connection to the grid.”; para. 0026: “According to a special embodiment of the present invention the cooking hob includes at least one further inverter circuit for transmitting the direct current from the battery into an alternating current for the grid. Thereby the further inverter circuit may be arranged on the lower part of the cooking hob. The battery can feed the grid, when the grid fails or the power of the grid is reduced or limited.”], and a battery control system that includes control circuitry comprising one or more processors for charging the battery [e.g., charging of the battery only when energy costs are low; paras. 0065-66: “The inventive cooking hob may comprise a control circuit, which limits the energy and/or power for the induction coil 12, when the cooking hob is supplied only by the battery 14. Such a control circuit increases the independence of the cooking hob. The charging procedure of the rechargeable battery 14 is preferably performed at a time, when the energy demand to the grid is relative low, so that also the energy costs are low. In many countries the energy costs are lower, if the charging procedure of the battery 14 is performed overnight.”].
However, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer and Leidig does not explicitly disclose the inductive cooking appliance configured to:
power the at least one of the four circular burners with power drawn from both the battery and the 120 V electrical power circuit, where powering the at least one of the four circular burners includes the at least one of the four circular burners being powered from a combination of power provided simultaneously by both the battery and by the 120 V electrical power circuit such that a peak output power of the at least one of the four circular burners is greater than a maximum power capable of being supplied through the connected 120 V electrical power circuit alone, the peak output power being unattainable by the at least one of the four circular burners using power from the 120 V electrical power circuit alone without supplemental power from the battery; and
power the at least one of the four circular burners with power drawn from both the battery and the electrical power circuit, where powering the at least one of the four circular burners includes the at least one of the four circular burners being powered from a combination of power provided simultaneously by both the battery and by the 240 V electrical power circuit such that a peak output power of the at least one of the four circular burners is greater than a maximum power capable of being supplied through the connected 240 V electrical power circuit alone, the peak output power being unattainable by the at least one of the four circular burners using power from the 240 V electrical power circuit alone without supplemental power from the battery.
Bunya, in the same field of endeavor, teaches that it is known to simultaneously supply power from both the grid [fig. 2: commercial electricity source 50] and the battery [para. 0033: “The storage battery 14 is configured to store electricity that has been smoothed by the rectifier circuit 15. The storage battery 14 is, for example, a secondary battery, such as a lithium battery.”] so as to deliver additional power to an inductive heating element [para. 0086: “The heating cooking apparatus 100 of Embodiment 3 further includes a second induction heating mode in which the second driving circuit 12 is operated in addition to the first driving circuit 11 to supply high-frequency current to the heating coil 6.”], or to conserve energy [para. 0093: “As described above, in Embodiment 3, the first driving circuit 11, which receives electricity supplied by the commercial electricity source 50, and the second driving circuit 12, which receives electricity supplied by the storage battery 14, each supply high-frequency current to the heating coil 6 in the second induction heating mode. Thus, induction heating of the heating target 51 can be attained by use of electricity supplied by the storage battery 14 while less electricity supplied by the commercial electricity source 50 is used. Therefore, induction heating can be performed with less power consumption. In addition, the second induction heating mode can be used for peak shaving during use of commercial electricity source 50. For example, the maximum possible power consumption for a time period in which the unit price of the electricity supplied by the commercial electricity source 50 is high is set in advance in the controller 10. When there is a need to perform induction heating with a power output exceeding the maximum possible power consumption, the second induction heating mode is used to utilize electricity from the storage battery 14. More specifically, for example, when the maximum possible power consumption is set to 2,000 W and electricity exceeding 2,000 W is needed, operation in the second induction heating mode is executed so that electricity from the storage battery 14 is utilized. With this configuration, energy saving can be facilitated.”], the corresponding circuit including at least the electrical power bus and DC power [see fig. 2, showing an electrical power bus connected to commercial electricity source 50, and a DC power bus connected to rectifier circuit 15].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the inductive cooktop appliance of Jenkins by combining the teachings and suggestions of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya, with a reasonable expectation of success, by:
Including one or more power cords configured to individually or collectively couple with both a 120 V and a 240 V electrical power circuit of a power distribution system, wherein the one or more power cords are configured to allow installation and operation of the inductive cooking appliance without requiring an electrical upgrade or modification to the power distribution system, since
Bruckbauer teaches an appliance configured to be connected to different supply voltages of conventional residential power distribution systems, thus the one or more power cords allows the appliance to be flexibly powered according to the available energy supply;
Including a battery system comprising: a greater than or equal to 0.75 kWh lithium-based battery configured to obtain and store power from the electrical power circuit, a battery control system that includes control circuitry comprising one or more processors, an electrical power bus, the inductive cooking appliance configured to power at least one of the four circular burners with power drawn solely from power stored by the battery; power the at least one of the four circular burners with power drawn from both the battery and the 120 V electrical power circuit, where powering the at least one of the four circular burners includes the at least one of the four circular burners being powered from a combination of power provided simultaneously by both the battery and by the 120 V electrical power circuit such that a peak output power of the at least one of the four circular burners is greater than a maximum power capable of being supplied through the connected 120 V electrical power circuit alone, the peak output power being unattainable by the at least one of the four circular burners using power from the 120 V electrical power circuit alone without supplemental power from the battery; and power the at least one of the four circular burners with power drawn from both the battery and the electrical power circuit, where powering the at least one of the four circular burners includes the at least one of the four circular burners being powered from a combination of power provided simultaneously by both the battery and by the 240 V electrical power circuit such that a peak output power of the at least one of the four circular burners is greater than a maximum power capable of being supplied through the connected 240 V electrical power circuit alone, the peak output power being unattainable by the at least one of the four circular burners using power from the 240 V electrical power circuit alone without supplemental power from the battery, since:
Leidig teaches the appliance can still function during an outage [para. 0064: “A further option of the present invention is the use of the electric energy in the battery 14 for feeding the grid, when the grid fails or the power of the grid is reduced or limited.”], and
Bunya further teaching the appliance can supply combined energy from a connected grid and battery simultaneously so as to deliver a total power to the coil above what is solely available from the grid connection [Bunya discloses that if the selected power supply circuit is only able to supply a maximum power of 2000W, the peak output power of a burner may be increased to 2200W by supplementing an additional 200W from the battery; para. 0092; i.e., the intended use of the appliance, and the setting of the maximum possible power consumption, e.g., the supply from the grid electrically conventionally limited by amperage limitations of the circuitry, or from a user implemented limitation with regards to cost/electricity rates].
wherein a conventional a battery control system is included so as to at least maintain a charge of the battery [Leidig para. 0066]
Regarding claim 2, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 1,
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses:
wherein the battery is removable from the inductive cooking appliance, replaceable and modular such that the battery can be coupled to other cooking appliances and such that the battery is configured for manual swapping of the battery by the user [It has been held by the courts that the mere fact that a given structure is integral does not preclude its consisting of various elements, and that constructing a formerly integral structure in various portions involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04(V.)(C.). In this case, it would have been obvious to a PHOSITA to have the battery be separable in order to, e.g., replace, repair, or clean].
Regarding claim 3, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 1.
Jenkins further discloses: further comprising:
a communication system [para. 0032: “Among other things, techniques are described herein for automated control of at least some parts of a food cooking process, such as to control activation and heating ( or other temperature modification) for one or more cooking locations ( e.g., one or more cooking surfaces or other pieces of cooking equipment, such as a stove top heating element, an oven, etc.)...At least some of the described techniques may be automatically performed in at least some embodiments by automated operations of a computer-implemented Automated Cooking Control ("ACC") system, which may optionally include multiple executable software modules, as described in greater detail below.”] configured to communicate with a remote server [para. 0044: “In the illustrated embodiment, the various computing devices and other equipment with communication capabilities may interact with each other via… a wireless local network ( e.g., using Wi-Fi)…In addition, computing devices and systems external to the cooking environment may in some embodiments communicate with at least some devices and cooking related equipment within the cooking environment over one or more external networks (e.g., the Internet).”; para. 0056: “For example, computing device 200 may be connected to other devices that are not illustrated, including through one or more networks, such as the Internet or via private networks (e.g., mobile communication networks, etc.), or via the World Wide Web. More generally, a computing device or other computing system may comprise any combination of hardware that may interact and perform the described types of functionality, such as when programmed or otherwise configured with appropriate software, including, without limitation, desktop or laptop or tablet or slate computers or other computers, smart phone computing devices and other cell phones, Internet appliances, PDAs and other electronic organizers, database servers, network storage devices and other network devices, wireless phones, pagers, television-based systems (e.g., using set-top boxes and/or personal/digital video recorders and/or game consoles and/or media servers), specialized controller devices, and various other consumer products that include appropriate communication capabilities.”], the remote server configured to control the inductive cooking appliance [para. 0038: “In addition, a copy of the ACC system (or particular ACC system module copies) for use with a particular cooking environment may execute in various manners, such as on one or more computing devices located in the cooking environment and/or on one or more remote computing devices that are not part of the cooking environment (e.g., that are in a different geographical location from a geographical location of the cooking environment, and that send instructions or other electronic communications over one or more public computer networks or other networks).”], including providing over-the-air (OTA) software updates to the inductive cooking appliance [para. 0039: “Similarly, such a Cooking Control Coordination service may distribute other types of information to ACC system copies, whether in addition to or instead of automated control recipes, such as instructional videos (e.g., to be played to users together with the execution of one or more automated control recipes as part of a cooking episode), representative food images (e.g., to be displayed to users together with the execution of one or more automated control recipes as part of a cooking episode), updates to ACC system modules, etc.”].
Regarding claim 4, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 3.
Jenkins further discloses: further comprising:
wherein the communication system is configured to communicate with the remote server via Wi-Fi and the Internet [para. 0044; para. 0056].
Regarding claim 5, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 1.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Bunya further discloses: further comprising:
a sensor coupled to the inductive cooking appliance, the sensor configured to monitor an operation condition of the inductive cooking appliance at a specific time point [i.e., a sensor for measuring a temperature during cooking; Jenkins para. 0037: “The cooking-related equipment used by the ACC system may further include cooking equipment whose temperature or other operation is controlled by control equipment, such as a pan or pot with an integrated surface temperature sensor and communication capabilities (whose temperature is controlled by an associated smart control knob), an oven grate or other interior, a grill surface or interior, a dome lid with integrated air temperature sensor, etc.”]; and
a control unit [Jenkins para. 0057: “Furthermore, in some embodiments, some or all of the systems and/or modules may be implemented or provided in other manners, such as at least partially or wholly in designed and configured firmware and/or hardware means, including, but not limited to, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), standard integrated circuits, controllers (e.g., by executing appropriate instructions, and including microcontrollers and/or embedded controllers), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs ), etc.”] communicatively coupled to the sensor, the control unit configured to receive information obtained from the sensor, the control unit being configured to determine whether to adjust power provided to the inductive cooking appliance from the battery based at least in part on the operation condition of the inductive cooking appliance [e.g., during a grid failure, the appliance being powered from the battery of Leidig; Jenkins para. 0103: “With reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, the control knob 1240 further includes a wireless communication device 1253 (e.g., Bluetooth module) such that the control knob 1240 may, among other things, receive control information and/or instructions based on temperature data acquired with a piece of temperature sensing cooking equipment, such as, for example, the temperature sensing pan 630a, as shown in FIG. 6 and discussed in detail further below, or a temperature sensing probe 1220, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 and described in further detail elsewhere.”].
Regarding claim 6, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 1.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Bunya further discloses: wherein the inductive cooking appliance is configured to:
monitor an operation condition of the inductive cooking appliance at a specific time point, wherein the operation condition is monitored at least in part by a sensor coupled to the inductive cooking appliance [i.e., a sensor for measuring a temperature during cooking; Jenkins para. 0037: “The cooking-related equipment used by the ACC system may further include cooking equipment whose temperature or other operation is controlled by control equipment, such as a pan or pot with an integrated surface temperature sensor and communication capabilities (whose temperature is controlled by an associated smart control knob), an oven grate or other interior, a grill surface or interior, a dome lid with integrated air temperature sensor, etc.”];
collect power usage data of the inductive cooking appliance at the specific time point, wherein the power usage data indicates power provided to the inductive cooking appliance by the battery; and determine whether to adjust power provided to the inductive cooking appliance from the battery based at least in part on the operation condition of the inductive cooking appliance and the power usage data of the inductive cooking appliance [e.g., during a grid failure, the appliance being powered from the battery of Leidig; Jenkins para. 0103: “With reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, the control knob 1240 further includes a wireless communication device 1253 (e.g., Bluetooth module) such that the control knob 1240 may, among other things, receive control information and/or instructions based on temperature data acquired with a piece of temperature sensing cooking equipment, such as, for example, the temperature sensing pan 630a, as shown in FIG. 6 and discussed in detail further below, or a temperature sensing probe 1220, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 and described in further detail elsewhere.”].
Regarding claim 7,
Jenkins discloses: An inductive cooking appliance comprising:
a processor, a memory, an interface [Jenkins discloses the conventional practice of using a processor coupled to memory, a power management module, various sensors, and an interface to control the appliance; fig. 18; para. 0121: “Additional features and functionality will now be described with reference to FIG. 18. FIG. 18 schematically depicts a control system 1800…an audio input device 1822”], and
the inductive cooking appliance configured to operate with power
However, although Jenkins discloses a residential electrically powered inductive cooktop, Jenkins does not disclose details of the power supply for the inductive cooktop. Specifically, Jenkins does not disclose:
one or more power cords configured to couple with an electrical power circuit of a power distribution system; and
a battery system comprising:
a battery configured to obtain and store power from the electrical power circuit,
an electrical power bus,
the inductive cooking appliance configured to operate with power drawn from both the battery and the electrical power circuit, including by powering at least one heating element of the inductive cooking appliance using a combination of power drawn simultaneously from the battery and from the electrical power circuit, such that a peak output power of the at least one heating element is greater than a maximum power capable of being supplied through the electrical power circuit alone, the peak output power being unattainable by the at least one heating element using power from the electrical power circuit alone without supplemental power from the battery.
Bruckbauer, in the same field of endeavor [a residential inductive cooktop appliance, i.e., a kitchen hob; para. 0009: “The hob system comprises in particular at least one hob and at least one fume extractor apparatus. The hob can be a glass ceramic hob, an induction hob… The hob is in particular an electric hob. The hob converts in particular electrical energy directly or indirectly into heat. For this purpose, the hob comprises electrical components…”; para. 0071: “As a result of the particularly space-saving configuration of the compact hob system, it is possible to achieve an increase in the available storage space below the kitchen worktop.”], teaches one or more power cords coupling to a conventional residential electrical power supply system, i.e., the hob is connectable to electrical power circuit of a power distribution system [paras. 0106-108: “The modular hob system comprises two circuits, a control circuit and a power circuit (or load circuit). The power circuit serves for supplying the electrical consumers with energy. Electrical consumers are the components connected to the control device, such as hobs and fume extractor apparatus. The power circuit is connected to the electrical power supply system… The components connected to the control device can be connected to different types of energy sources for energy supply. The control device can be connected in particular to an electrical power supply system at 50 Hz or 60 Hz. It can be operated with an operating voltage of either 230 V, 240 V or 110 V. It can be connected to a single-phase, two-phase, three-phase, four-phase or five-phase power supply system.”] with conventional plugs/cords [i.e., power leads; para. 0075: “For energy supply, the control device is connected to the power supply unit via a power lead.”].
Leidig, in the same field of endeavor [a battery system of an inductive cooking hob using AC heating elements; para. 0019: “In particular, the inverter circuit may be provided for transmitting a direct current from the battery and/or from the power supply circuit into an alternating current for the corresponding induction coil.”; para. 0040: “The cooking hob includes a glass ceramic panel 10 at the top side and a base plate 18 at the bottom side. An induction coil 12, a battery 14 and a power supply unit 16 are arranged side-by side between the glass ceramic panel 10 and the base plate 18.”], teaches a battery configured to obtain and store power from the electrical power circuit [para. 0024-25: “For example, the battery includes at least one lithium-ion-accumulator... Preferably, the battery has a capacity between 0.5 kWh and 2 kWh.”], the battery configured to store power obtained from the power distribution system of the residential home [para. 0048: “The recharging of the battery 14 is performed by a direct connection of the cooking hob to the grid.”], and supply power to a conventional inverter [i.e., through a DC electrical power bus of the battery output], the inverter outputting AC power to the heating elements, allowing the inductive cooking appliance to operate with power drawn solely from power stored by the battery [e.g., during a grid failure, or in a mobile application; para. 0017: “The main idea of the present invention is the combination of the power supply for the induction coil by an integrated battery on the one hand and the mobile and stationary part of the cooking hob on the other hand. Said stationary part forms a docking station. The mobile part of the cooking hob is the proper cooking hob. Normally, the proper cooking hob is located in the docking station on the worktop of the kitchen such as a conventional cooking hob. However, the mobile part of the cooking hob can also be used on the dining table or outdoor. The mobile part of the cooking hob is functional without connection to the grid.”; para. 0026: “According to a special embodiment of the present invention the cooking hob includes at least one further inverter circuit for transmitting the direct current from the battery into an alternating current for the grid. Thereby the further inverter circuit may be arranged on the lower part of the cooking hob. The battery can feed the grid, when the grid fails or the power of the grid is reduced or limited.”], and a battery control system for charging the battery [e.g., charging of the battery only when energy costs are low; para. 0066: “The charging procedure of the rechargeable battery 14 is preferably performed at a time, when the energy demand to the grid is relative low, so that also the energy costs are low. In many countries the energy costs are lower, if the charging procedure of the battery 14 is performed overnight.”].
However, Jenkins in view of Leidig does not explicitly disclose the inductive cooking appliance configured to operate with power drawn from both the battery and the electrical power circuit, including by powering at least one heating element of the inductive cooking appliance using a combination of power drawn simultaneously from the battery and from the electrical power circuit, such that a peak output power of the at least one heating element is greater than a maximum power capable of being supplied through the electrical power circuit alone, the peak output power being unattainable by the at least one heating element using power from the electrical power circuit alone without supplemental power from the battery.
Bunya, in the same field of endeavor, teaches that it is known to simultaneously supply power from both the grid [fig. 2: commercial electricity source 50] and the battery [para. 0033: “The storage battery 14 is configured to store electricity that has been smoothed by the rectifier circuit 15. The storage battery 14 is, for example, a secondary battery, such as a lithium battery.”] so as to deliver additional power to an inductive heating element [para. 0086: “The heating cooking apparatus 100 of Embodiment 3 further includes a second induction heating mode in which the second driving circuit 12 is operated in addition to the first driving circuit 11 to supply high-frequency current to the heating coil 6.”], or to conserve energy [para. 0093: “As described above, in Embodiment 3, the first driving circuit 11, which receives electricity supplied by the commercial electricity source 50, and the second driving circuit 12, which receives electricity supplied by the storage battery 14, each supply high-frequency current to the heating coil 6 in the second induction heating mode. Thus, induction heating of the heating target 51 can be attained by use of electricity supplied by the storage battery 14 while less electricity supplied by the commercial electricity source 50 is used. Therefore, induction heating can be performed with less power consumption. In addition, the second induction heating mode can be used for peak shaving during use of commercial electricity source 50. For example, the maximum possible power consumption for a time period in which the unit price of the electricity supplied by the commercial electricity source 50 is high is set in advance in the controller 10. When there is a need to perform induction heating with a power output exceeding the maximum possible power consumption, the second induction heating mode is used to utilize electricity from the storage battery 14. More specifically, for example, when the maximum possible power consumption is set to 2,000 W and electricity exceeding 2,000 W is needed, operation in the second induction heating mode is executed so that electricity from the storage battery 14 is utilized. With this configuration, energy saving can be facilitated.”], the corresponding circuit including at least the electrical power bus and DC power [see fig. 2, showing an electrical power bus connected to commercial electricity source 50, and a DC power bus connected to rectifier circuit 15].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the inductive cooktop appliance of Jenkins by combining the teachings and suggestions of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya, with a reasonable expectation of success, by:
Including one or more power cords configured to couple with an electrical power circuit of a power distribution system, since
Bruckbauer teaches an appliance configured to be connected to different supply voltages of conventional residential power distribution systems, thus the one or more power cords allows the appliance to be flexibly powered according to the available energy supply;
Including a battery system comprising:
a battery configured to obtain and store power from the electrical power circuit, an electrical power bus, wherein the inductive cooking appliance configured to operate with power drawn from both the battery and the electrical power circuit, including by powering at least one heating element of the inductive cooking appliance using a combination of power drawn simultaneously from the battery and from the electrical power circuit, such that a peak output power of the at least one heating element is greater than a maximum power capable of being supplied through the electrical power circuit alone, the peak output power being unattainable by the at least one heating element using power from the electrical power circuit alone without supplemental power from the battery, since:
Leidig teaches this allows the appliance to still function during an outage [para. 0064: “A further option of the present invention is the use of the electric energy in the battery 14 for feeding the grid, when the grid fails or the power of the grid is reduced or limited.”];
Bunya further teaching the appliance can supply combined energy from a connected grid and battery simultaneously so as to deliver a total power to the coil above what is solely available from the grid connection [Bunya discloses that if the selected power supply circuit is only able to supply a maximum power of 2000W, the peak output power of a burner may be increased to 2200W by supplementing an additional 200W from the battery; para. 0092; i.e., the intended use of the appliance, and the setting of the maximum possible power consumption, e.g., the supply from the grid electrically conventionally limited by amperage limitations of the circuitry, or from a user implemented limitation with regards to cost/electricity rates].
Regarding claim 8, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses:
wherein the one or more power cords are configured to allow installation and operation of the inductive cooking appliance without requiring an electrical upgrade or modification to the power distribution system and are individually or collectively configured to couple with both a 120 V and a 240 V electrical power circuit of the power distribution system.
Bruckbauer teaches the appliance configured to be connected to different supply voltages of conventional residential power distribution systems, thus the one or more power cords allows the appliance to be flexibly powered according to the available energy supply without an electrical upgrade or modification to the power distribution system.
Regarding claim 9, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses:
further configured to operate with power drawn solely from power stored by the battery.
Leidig teaches the appliance is configured to still function during an outage [para. 0064: “A further option of the present invention is the use of the electric energy in the battery 14 for feeding the grid, when the grid fails or the power of the grid is reduced or limited.”]
Regarding claim 10, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses: further comprising:
exactly four burners, and no more and no fewer than four burners, disposed at a top face of the inductive cooking appliance, with the four burners comprising induction coils at the top face of the inductive cooking appliance [see Jenkins fig. 6, depicting four independently controlled burners 622a-622d; para. 0090].
Regarding claim 11, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses: further comprising:
a set of cooking appliance controls configured for operation of the inductive cooking appliance, including at least operation of a plurality of burners [see Jenkins fig. 6, depicting four independently controlled burners 622a-622d; para. 0090], the set of cooking appliance controls including:
separate controls for respective burners of the plurality of burners, the separate controls defined by a plurality of separate knobs [Jenkins fig. 6: control devices 640a-640d; para. 0097: “In other embodiments, the control devices 640a-640d may have a variety of different forms and may resemble various knobs and/or dials of conventional stoves and the other cooking appliances.”], and
an electronic screen configured to present information to a user including information regarding operation of the plurality of burners [Jenkins fig. 6, showing computing device 650, display 611, displays 642a-642d; para. 0095: “According to some embodiments, the cooking information generated by the ACC system may include visual cooking information or cooking instructions that are conveyed to a user through one or more display units, such as a display of the computing device 650 itself, a separate display 611 on the cooking unit 610, and/or displays 642a-642d of the control devices 640a-640d.”].
Regarding claim 12, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins discloses: further comprising:
a communication system [para. 0032: “Among other things, techniques are described herein for automated control of at least some parts of a food cooking process, such as to control activation and heating ( or other temperature modification) for one or more cooking locations ( e.g., one or more cooking surfaces or other pieces of cooking equipment, such as a stove top heating element, an oven, etc.)...At least some of the described techniques may be automatically performed in at least some embodiments by automated operations of a computer-implemented Automated Cooking Control ("ACC") system, which may optionally include multiple executable software modules, as described in greater detail below.”] configured to communicate with a remote server via Wi-Fi and the Internet [para. 0044: “In the illustrated embodiment, the various computing devices and other equipment with communication capabilities may interact with each other via… a wireless local network ( e.g., using Wi-Fi)…In addition, computing devices and systems external to the cooking environment may in some embodiments communicate with at least some devices and cooking related equipment within the cooking environment over one or more external networks (e.g., the Internet).”; para. 0056: “For example, computing device 200 may be connected to other devices that are not illustrated, including through one or more networks, such as the Internet or via private networks (e.g., mobile communication networks, etc.), or via the World Wide Web. More generally, a computing device or other computing system may comprise any combination of hardware that may interact and perform the described types of functionality, such as when programmed or otherwise configured with appropriate software, including, without limitation, desktop or laptop or tablet or slate computers or other computers, smart phone computing devices and other cell phones, Internet appliances, PDAs and other electronic organizers, database servers, network storage devices and other network devices, wireless phones, pagers, television-based systems (e.g., using set-top boxes and/or personal/digital video recorders and/or game consoles and/or media servers), specialized controller devices, and various other consumer products that include appropriate communication capabilities.”], the remote server configured to control the inductive cooking appliance [para. 0038: “In addition, a copy of the ACC system (or particular ACC system module copies) for use with a particular cooking environment may execute in various manners, such as on one or more computing devices located in the cooking environment and/or on one or more remote computing devices that are not part of the cooking environment (e.g., that are in a different geographical location from a geographical location of the cooking environment, and that send instructions or other electronic communications over one or more public computer networks or other networks).”], including providing over-the-air (OTA) software updates to the inductive cooking appliance [para. 0039: “Similarly, such a Cooking Control Coordination service may distribute other types of information to ACC system copies, whether in addition to or instead of automated control recipes, such as instructional videos (e.g., to be played to users together with the execution of one or more automated control recipes as part of a cooking episode), representative food images (e.g., to be displayed to users together with the execution of one or more automated control recipes as part of a cooking episode), updates to ACC system modules, etc.”].
Regarding claim 13, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses:
wherein the battery is a greater than or equal to 0.75 kWh lithium-based battery [Leidig para. 0024-25: “For example, the battery includes at least one lithium-ion-accumulator... Preferably, the battery has a capacity between 0.5 kWh and 2 kWh.”].
Regarding claim 14, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses:
wherein the battery is removable from the inductive cooking appliance, replaceable and modular such that the battery can be coupled to other cooking appliances and such that the battery is configured for manual swapping of the battery by a user [It has been held by the courts that the mere fact that a given structure is integral does not preclude its consisting of various elements, and that constructing a formerly integral structure in various portions involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04(V.)(C.). In this case, it would have been obvious to a PHOSITA to have the battery be separable in order to, e.g., replace, repair, or clean].
Regarding claim 15, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Bunya further discloses: further comprising:
a sensor coupled to the inductive cooking appliance, the sensor configured to monitor an operation condition of the inductive cooking appliance at a specific time point [i.e., a sensor for measuring a temperature during cooking; Jenkins para. 0037: “The cooking-related equipment used by the ACC system may further include cooking equipment whose temperature or other operation is controlled by control equipment, such as a pan or pot with an integrated surface temperature sensor and communication capabilities (whose temperature is controlled by an associated smart control knob), an oven grate or other interior, a grill surface or interior, a dome lid with integrated air temperature sensor, etc.”]; and
a control unit [Jenkins para. 0057: “Furthermore, in some embodiments, some or all of the systems and/or modules may be implemented or provided in other manners, such as at least partially or wholly in designed and configured firmware and/or hardware means, including, but not limited to, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), standard integrated circuits, controllers (e.g., by executing appropriate instructions, and including microcontrollers and/or embedded controllers), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs ), etc.”] communicatively coupled to the sensor, the control unit configured to receive information obtained from the sensor, the control unit being configured to determine whether to adjust power provided to the inductive cooking appliance from the battery based at least in part on the operation condition of the inductive cooking appliance [e.g., during a grid failure, the appliance being powered from the battery of Leidig; Jenkins para. 0103: “With reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, the control knob 1240 further includes a wireless communication device 1253 (e.g., Bluetooth module) such that the control knob 1240 may, among other things, receive control information and/or instructions based on temperature data acquired with a piece of temperature sensing cooking equipment, such as, for example, the temperature sensing pan 630a, as shown in FIG. 6 and discussed in detail further below, or a temperature sensing probe 1220, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 and described in further detail elsewhere.”].
Regarding claim 16, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Bunya further discloses: wherein the inductive cooking appliance is configured to:
monitor an operation condition of the inductive cooking appliance at a specific time point, wherein the operation condition is monitored at least in part by a sensor coupled to the inductive cooking appliance [i.e., a sensor for measuring a temperature during cooking; Jenkins para. 0037: “The cooking-related equipment used by the ACC system may further include cooking equipment whose temperature or other operation is controlled by control equipment, such as a pan or pot with an integrated surface temperature sensor and communication capabilities (whose temperature is controlled by an associated smart control knob), an oven grate or other interior, a grill surface or interior, a dome lid with integrated air temperature sensor, etc.”];
obtain power usage data of the inductive cooking appliance at the specific time point, wherein the power usage data indicates power provided to the inductive cooking appliance by the battery; and determine whether to adjust power provided to the inductive cooking appliance from the battery based at least in part on the operation condition of the inductive cooking appliance and the power usage data of the inductive cooking appliance [e.g., during a grid failure, the appliance being powered from the battery of Leidig; Jenkins para. 0103: “With reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, the control knob 1240 further includes a wireless communication device 1253 (e.g., Bluetooth module) such that the control knob 1240 may, among other things, receive control information and/or instructions based on temperature data acquired with a piece of temperature sensing cooking equipment, such as, for example, the temperature sensing pan 630a, as shown in FIG. 6 and discussed in detail further below, or a temperature sensing probe 1220, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 and described in further detail elsewhere.”].
Regarding claim 17, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Bunya further discloses:
wherein the battery system further comprises a battery control system that includes control circuitry comprising one or more processors [i.e., a conventional a battery control system is included so as to at least maintain a charge of the battery; Leidig para. 0065-66].
Regarding claim 18, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 17.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Bunya further discloses:
further configured to operate with power drawn solely from power stored by the battery.
Leidig teaches the appliance is configured to still function during an outage [para. 0064: “A further option of the present invention is the use of the electric energy in the battery 14 for feeding the grid, when the grid fails or the power of the grid is reduced or limited.”]
Regarding claim 19, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 17.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Bunya further discloses: further comprising:
a communication system [Jenkins para. 0032: “Among other things, techniques are described herein for automated control of at least some parts of a food cooking process, such as to control activation and heating ( or other temperature modification) for one or more cooking locations ( e.g., one or more cooking surfaces or other pieces of cooking equipment, such as a stove top heating element, an oven, etc.)...At least some of the described techniques may be automatically performed in at least some embodiments by automated operations of a computer-implemented Automated Cooking Control ("ACC") system, which may optionally include multiple executable software modules, as described in greater detail below.”] configured to communicate with a remote server [Jenkins para. 0044: “In the illustrated embodiment, the various computing devices and other equipment with communication capabilities may interact with each other via… a wireless local network ( e.g., using Wi-Fi)…In addition, computing devices and systems external to the cooking environment may in some embodiments communicate with at least some devices and cooking related equipment within the cooking environment over one or more external networks (e.g., the Internet).”; para. 0056: “For example, computing device 200 may be connected to other devices that are not illustrated, including through one or more networks, such as the Internet or via private networks (e.g., mobile communication networks, etc.), or via the World Wide Web. More generally, a computing device or other computing system may comprise any combination of hardware that may interact and perform the described types of functionality, such as when programmed or otherwise configured with appropriate software, including, without limitation, desktop or laptop or tablet or slate computers or other computers, smart phone computing devices and other cell phones, Internet appliances, PDAs and other electronic organizers, database servers, network storage devices and other network devices, wireless phones, pagers, television-based systems (e.g., using set-top boxes and/or personal/digital video recorders and/or game consoles and/or media servers), specialized controller devices, and various other consumer products that include appropriate communication capabilities.”], the remote server configured to control the inductive cooking appliance [Jenkins para. 0038: “In addition, a copy of the ACC system (or particular ACC system module copies) for use with a particular cooking environment may execute in various manners, such as on one or more computing devices located in the cooking environment and/or on one or more remote computing devices that are not part of the cooking environment (e.g., that are in a different geographical location from a geographical location of the cooking environment, and that send instructions or other electronic communications over one or more public computer networks or other networks).”], including providing over-the-air (OTA) software updates to the inductive cooking appliance [Jenkins para. 0039: “Similarly, such a Cooking Control Coordination service may distribute other types of information to ACC system copies, whether in addition to or instead of automated control recipes, such as instructional videos (e.g., to be played to users together with the execution of one or more automated control recipes as part of a cooking episode), representative food images (e.g., to be displayed to users together with the execution of one or more automated control recipes as part of a cooking episode), updates to ACC system modules, etc.”];
a sensor coupled to the inductive cooking appliance, the sensor configured to monitor an operation condition of the inductive cooking appliance at a specific time point [i.e., a sensor for measuring a temperature during cooking; Jenkins para. 0037: “The cooking-related equipment used by the ACC system may further include cooking equipment whose temperature or other operation is controlled by control equipment, such as a pan or pot with an integrated surface temperature sensor and communication capabilities (whose temperature is controlled by an associated smart control knob), an oven grate or other interior, a grill surface or interior, a dome lid with integrated air temperature sensor, etc.”]; and
a control unit [Jenkins para. 0057: “Furthermore, in some embodiments, some or all of the systems and/or modules may be implemented or provided in other manners, such as at least partially or wholly in designed and configured firmware and/or hardware means, including, but not limited to, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), standard integrated circuits, controllers (e.g., by executing appropriate instructions, and including microcontrollers and/or embedded controllers), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs ), etc.”] communicatively coupled to the sensor, the control unit configured to receive information obtained from the sensor, the control unit being configured to determine whether to adjust power provided to the inductive cooking appliance from the battery based at least in part on the operation condition of the inductive cooking appliance [e.g., during a grid failure, the appliance being powered from the battery of Leidig; Jenkins para. 0103: “With reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, the control knob 1240 further includes a wireless communication device 1253 (e.g., Bluetooth module) such that the control knob 1240 may, among other things, receive control information and/or instructions based on temperature data acquired with a piece of temperature sensing cooking equipment, such as, for example, the temperature sensing pan 630a, as shown in FIG. 6 and discussed in detail further below, or a temperature sensing probe 1220, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 and described in further detail elsewhere.”].
Regarding claim 20, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Bunya discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 17.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Bunya further discloses: wherein the inductive cooking appliance is configured to:
monitor an operation condition of the inductive cooking appliance at a specific time point, wherein the operation condition is monitored at least in part by a sensor coupled to the inductive cooking appliance [i.e., a sensor for measuring a temperature during cooking; Jenkins para. 0037: “The cooking-related equipment used by the ACC system may further include cooking equipment whose temperature or other operation is controlled by control equipment, such as a pan or pot with an integrated surface temperature sensor and communication capabilities (whose temperature is controlled by an associated smart control knob), an oven grate or other interior, a grill surface or interior, a dome lid with integrated air temperature sensor, etc.”];
obtain power usage data of the inductive cooking appliance at the specific time point, wherein the power usage data indicates power provided to the inductive cooking appliance by the battery; and determine whether to adjust power provided to the inductive cooking appliance from the battery based at least in part on the operation condition of the inductive cooking appliance and the power usage data of the inductive cooking appliance [e.g., during a grid failure, the appliance being powered from the battery of Leidig; Jenkins para. 0103: “With reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, the control knob 1240 further includes a wireless communication device 1253 (e.g., Bluetooth module) such that the control knob 1240 may, among other things, receive control information and/or instructions based on temperature data acquired with a piece of temperature sensing cooking equipment, such as, for example, the temperature sensing pan 630a, as shown in FIG. 6 and discussed in detail further below, or a temperature sensing probe 1220, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 and described in further detail elsewhere.”].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THEODORE J EVANGELISTA whose telephone number is (571)272-6093. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm EST.
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/THEODORE J EVANGELISTA/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
/EDWARD F LANDRUM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761
