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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant's amendment filed on 7/28/2026 has been entered.
Applicant’s amendments to the drawings overcome the 5/11/2026 objections to figures 10-24.
Claims 1-2 and 7 have been amended.
Claims 3-6 and 8-20 are as previously presented.
Claims 1-20 are still pending in this application, with claims 1 and 7 being independent.
Applicant’s amendments to the claims overcomes the 5/11/2026 rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) of claim 2.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments regarding the 5/11/2026 rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) of claims 1 and 17 are persuasive, therefore the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) of claims 1-6 and 17-20 have been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed 7/8/2026, regarding amended claim 1 (and similarly claim 7) have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
“Independent Claim 1”
In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually [p. 15: “However, even if this is true (which Applicant does not concede), this is not a teaching of "at least one of the four circular burners being powered from a combination of power provided simultaneously by both the battery and by the 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 available from the electrical power circuit alone," as recited in claim 1.”], one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
Applicant also argues, p. 15: “In contrast, within the full context of the Christopher disclosure, it is clear that Christopher merely teaches at most separately powered "AC and DC powered elements" that each "produce high heat," instead of operating "from a combination of power provided simultaneously by both the battery and by the 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 available from the electrical power circuit alone," as recited in claim 1. For example, Fig. 2 of Christopher clearly shows separate circuits that separately power a first set of DC heating elements 120 that are separate from a second set of AC heating elements 110. This is further illustrated in sections such as Col. 3 :29-32, and Col. 4:4-7 that discuss these separate sets of heating elements being separately switched on and off”
As presented below, Christopher has been presented as teaching the new limitations in the claims, i.e., the simultaneous/hybrid use of a battery to provide DC power in addition to AC power provided by the grid, so as to use the stored energy in the battery for high heat applications requiring more wattage than can be provided by, e.g., a 15 amp household circuit.
“Battery System Comprising A Processor, A Memory, A Battery Control System, An Interface, And An Electrical Power Bus”
In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually [p. 16-17: “Leidig fails to teach at least "a processor" and "a memory,"… The Office appears to be trying to combine the allegedly "conventional practice of using a processor coupled to memory" allegedly taught by Jenkins with the teachings of Leidig where at least the elements of "a processor" and "a memory," are clearly absent. However, the alleged general teachings of Jenkins ( even if true), are not sufficient to support a teaching of the specific elements of "a battery system" as recited in claim 1…. Specifically, the Office appears to be arguing that there is a "conventional practice of using a processor coupled to memory," and that it would be obvious to modify the supposed "battery system" of Leidig to include all the specific elements as recited in claim 1, including "a processor" and "a memory." That reasoning is conclusory. The Office does not identify any teaching in the cited references explaining why a person of ordinary skill would have or could have modified the "battery system" of Leidig to include the specific elements of a "battery system" cited in claim 1, including "a processor" and "a memory," which are specifically absent from Leidig, even if there is a general "conventional practice of using a processor coupled to memory."”; and p. 19: “Accordingly, Applicant respectfully traverses the unsupported argument that there is a "conventional practice of using a processor coupled to memory," and that it would therefore be obvious to modify the supposed "battery system" of Leidig to include all the specific elements as recited in claim 1, including "a processor" and "a memory," or vice versa.”], one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
In this case, Jenkins was presented as disclosing an cooking appliance with a processor and memory. Leidig was presented as teaching the benefit of a battery [so as to allow functionality during power outages; para. 0064] and a battery control system so as to advantageously charge the battery during times of low energy cost [para. 0066].
“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”
Pp. 19-20: “Applicant's claim 1 also recites "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." The cited references fail to teach or suggest such elements. For example, on page 6 of the Office Action, the Office argues that Jenkins teaches "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]." However, even if this is true (which Applicant does not concede), Fig. 6 and elements 622a-622d of Jenkins and paragraph [0090] as cited merely teach gas burners, and therefore cannot teach the specific element of "four circular burners comprising induction coils at a top face of the inductive cooking appliance." Jenkins as cited simply does not teach "induction coils," much less "induction coils at a top face of the inductive cooking appliance," as recited in claim 1.”
Examiner respectfully disagrees, and maintains that a PHOSITA would agree that Jenkins’ presented recitation of “…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.” in para. 0127, and further the four circular burners in fig. 6, discloses the four circular induction coils of claim 1.
“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 Where 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”
P. 21: “However, Bruckbauer as cited does not disclose the specific elements of "one or more power cords configured to individually or collectively couple with both a 120 V and a 240V 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." As best understood, Bruckbauer as cited does not disclose or discuss "power cords," methods of coupling with a "power distribution system," or power cords that "are configured to allow installation and operation of the inductive cooking appliance without requiring an electrical upgrade or modification to the power distribution system."”
Examiner respectfully disagrees, and maintains Bruckbauer discloses power cords, [i.e., power leads; para. 0075: “For energy supply, the control device is connected to the power supply unit via a power lead.”].
“Claims 2 and 14”; “It Would Not Be Obvious To Modify The Battery Of Jenkins Or Leidig To Reach The Specific Battery As Recited In Claims 2 And 14 In The Context of Claim 1”; “The Rejection Improperly Collapses Multiple Substantive Limitations Into "Separability"”; “The Office Misapplies and Misinterprets MPEP § 2144.04(V)(C)”; “The Reiection Improperly Relies on Conclusorv Reasoning Rather Than the Required Articulated Rationale with Rational Underpinning”; “To the Extent the Otfice Action Relies on Common Knowledge or Otficial Notice, Such Reliance is Improper”; “The Cited References Fail to Teach the Recited Elements”
P. 23: “However, the cited references fail to teach all of these claim elements; the Office fails to adequately address numerous substantive elements as required; the Office misinterprets the MPEP and relevant case law; and the Office appears to improperly invoke official notice without sufficient proof Accordingly, for at least these additional reasons, the Office Action fails to establish a prima facie case of obviousness as discussed in detail below.”
Examiner respectfully disagrees, and maintains that the combined cited references disclose/teach, or render obvious, the recited elements of claims 2 and 14, and notes that the claims do not recite the additional structure regarding “numerous substantive elements as required” [see Remarks pp. 23-36].
“Claims 3, 4, 12 and 19”
Pp. 36-37: “However, as best understood in paragraph [0038] of Jenkins as cited, the ACC system is merely running locally on various cooking devices and is not being controlled by a remote server. Accordingly, Jenkins as cited fails to teach or suggest a "remote server configured to control the inductive cooktop appliance," as recited in claim 3, and the Office therefore fails to establish a prima facie case of obviousness against claim 3.”
Examiner respectfully disagrees, and maintains that Jenkins discloses a remote server [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…”] configured to control the 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).”]
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 “a battery control system” is used by the claims to describe conventional structure known in the art, e.g., the conventional practice of using a processor coupled to sensors to control/manage charging and discharging [e.g., a charging circuit, storage sensing, overcharge protection, etc.] of a battery [i.e., a controller, e.g., a conventional battery management system (BMS) with known structures and features selected according to the given application, e.g., various suitable sensors; para. 0072: “The battery control system 440 in various embodiments can be configured to control power storage and/or power discharge of the battery 305 based on instructions from the processor, or the like. Additionally, in some embodiments, the battery control system 440 can determine various aspects, characteristics or states of the battery 305 such as a charge state (e.g., percent charged or discharged), battery charge capacity, battery health, battery temperature, or the like. For example, in various embodiments, a battery system 300 can comprise various suitable sensors to determine such aspects, characteristics or states of the battery 305 or aspects, characteristics or states of other elements of a building system 100 which can include environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, or the like internal to or external to a building 105.”]
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 § 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 Christopher (US 6037571 A).
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,
an electrical power bus,
the inductive cooking appliance configured to operate with power drawn solely from power stored by the battery and further configured to operate with power drawn from both the battery and the electrical power circuit that includes at least one of the four circular burners being powered from a combination of power provided simultaneously by both the battery and by the 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 available from the electrical power circuit alone.
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 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 further configured to operate with power drawn from both the battery and the electrical power circuit that includes at least one of the four circular burners being powered from a combination of power provided simultaneously by both the battery and by the 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 available from the electrical power circuit alone.
Christopher, in the same field of endeavor [i.e., a cooking appliance and benefits of a battery combined with a grid connection; fig. 1: grill 10], teaches grill 10 configured to operate with power drawn from both a battery and the electrical power circuit [p. 7, col. 1: “It is an object of the present invention to provide a dual power electric grill which uses combined AC and DC powered elements to produce high heat for grilling meat, fish and other food quickly and thoroughly.”], wherein a combination of power is simultaneously provided from the battery and the electrical power circuit so as to provide additional power for grilling [i.e., in addition to the AC wattage provided by the grid, the battery supplies additional DC wattage; e.g., a battery can supply 1800 watts of additional DC power on top of the 1800 watts of AC power supplied by a 15 amp household circuit; col. 1: “A 15 ampere circuit can safely deliver 1800 watts of AC power. By using the same circuit to charge batteries when the grill is not in use, one can store enough energy to obtain an additional 1800 watts of D.C. power from these batteries when needed for grilling.”].
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 Christopher, 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, an electrical power bus, the inductive cooking appliance configured to operate with power drawn solely from power stored by the battery and further configured to operate with power drawn from both the battery and the electrical power circuit that includes at least one of the four circular burners being powered from a combination of power provided simultaneously by both the battery and by the 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 available from the electrical power circuit alone, 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.”];
Christopher further teaching this allows for increased heat output for grilling [p. 7, col. 2, lines 30-50: “The present dual power high heat electric grill produces twice as much heat as other electric grills without requiring the use of high voltage (240 volt) circuits. This is accomplished by using two different power sources, an AC source and a DC battery source in a hybrid configuration…”];
wherein a conventional a battery control system is included so as to at least maintain a charge of the battery [Leidig para. 0066; Christopher p. 7, col. 2, lines 30-50]
Regarding claim 2, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 1,
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher 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 Christopher 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 Christopher 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 Christopher discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 1.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Christopher 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 Christopher discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 1.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Christopher 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.
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.
Christopher, in the same field of endeavor [i.e., a cooking appliance and benefits of a battery combined with a grid connection; fig. 1: grill 10], teaches grill 10 configured to operate with power drawn from both a battery and an electrical power circuit [p. 7, col. 1: “It is an object of the present invention to provide a dual power electric grill which uses combined AC and DC powered elements to produce high heat for grilling meat, fish and other food quickly and thoroughly.”], wherein a combination of power is simultaneously provided from the battery and the electrical power circuit so as to provide additional power for grilling [i.e., in addition to the AC wattage provided by the grid, the battery supplies additional DC wattage; e.g., a battery can supply 1800 watts of additional DC power on top of the 1800 watts of AC power supplied by a 15 amp household circuit; col. 1: “A 15 ampere circuit can safely deliver 1800 watts of AC power. By using the same circuit to charge batteries when the grill is not in use, one can store enough energy to obtain an additional 1800 watts of D.C. power from these batteries when needed for grilling.”].
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 Christopher, 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 is 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, 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.”];
Christopher further teaching this allows for increased heat output for grilling [p. 7, col. 2, lines 30-50: “The present dual power high heat electric grill produces twice as much heat as other electric grills without requiring the use of high voltage (240 volt) circuits. This is accomplished by using two different power sources, an AC source and a DC battery source in a hybrid configuration…”];
Regarding claim 8, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher 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 Christopher discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher 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 Christopher discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher 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 Christopher discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher 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.”],
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 Christopher 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 Christopher discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher discloses:
wherein the battery is greater than or equal to a 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 Christopher discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher 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 Christopher discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Christopher 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 Christopher discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Christopher 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 Christopher discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 7.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Christopher further discloses:
wherein the battery system further comprises a battery control system [i.e., a conventional a battery control system is included so as to at least maintain a charge of the battery; Leidig para. 0066; Christopher p. 7, col. 2, lines 30-50].
Regarding claim 18, Jenkins in view of Bruckbauer, Leidig, and Christopher discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 17.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Christopher 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 Christopher discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 17.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Christopher 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 Christopher discloses the inductive cooking appliance of claim 17.
Jenkins as modified by Bruckbauer, Leidig and Christopher 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
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Edward F Landrum can be reached at (571) 272-5567. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THEODORE J EVANGELISTA/Examiner, Art Unit 3761 /EDWARD F LANDRUM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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