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 .
Status of the Application
The claims filed 09 July 2025 have been entered. Claims 10-15 and 17 are pending and are under examination. Claims 1-9, 16 and 18-35 have been cancelled. The previous claim objections have been withdrawn in view of applicant’s amendments to the claims. The previous 112 rejections have been withdrawn in view of applicant’s amendments to the claims. The previous 103 rejections have been modified in view of applicant’s amendments to the claims.
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.
Claims 10, 11, 12 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wei (CN105533535, 2016, Fruit and vegetable freeze-dried snack preparation method and product thereof) in view of Moritsu (TW201345439A, Dehydrated vegetable blocks and method of producing same).
All citations to Wei and Moritsu refer to the English translations.
Regarding claim 10 , Wei discloses a method of making a freeze dried snack (edible composition) [0008] comprising fresh bean sprouts, fresh caraway, fresh wild guava and fresh loquat (flavoring comprising ripened fruits and/or vegetables) (Embodiment 6 [0078]) where the fresh bean sprouts, guava, loquat and caraway are put into a beater and broken into a slurry (mixed) [0079]. Wei further discloses fully mixing the slurry to obtain a homogenate [0080], which meets the claim limitation of homogeneously mixing the sprouted plants and the flavorings.
Wei further discloses pouring the slurry into a grid-like mold [0081], pre-freezing the molded slurry at -60 oC [0082], which meets the claim limitation of molding and freezing the homogeneous mixture into frozen product forms.
Wei discloses subsequently freeze drying the composition [0083], which meets the claim limitation of freeze-drying the frozen product forms resulting in the edible composition.
Wei discloses making the homogenate, freezing at a temperature of -60oC (-76oF) and then subsequently freeze-drying wherein: pre-freezing temperature is -30oC (-22oF), sublimation temperature-20oC (-4oF), and resolution temperature is 40oC (104oF) [0082-0084]. All of the processing temperatures of Wei are below 105oF, which meets the claim limitation of maintaining the embryonic sprouted plants and homogeneous mixture at a temperature below 105oF throughout the manufacturing of the edible composition.
Wei does not disclose unmolding the flash frozen mixture before freeze drying.
Moritsu, in the field of dehydrated vegetables, discloses methods for manufacturing a dried vegetable block including where the vegetables are subject to a compression molding step [42], the product is molded into a rectangular parallelepiped shape [43] and subsequently freeze dried [47]. Moritsu discloses the resulting product has a small shape and is not easily broken and can be stored at room temperature for a long time without deterioration [49]. Moritsu further discloses injecting hot water can restore the original flavor, texture and volume of the molded freeze dried vegetables [49]. Since the molded freeze dried product is injected with water and restored to its original volume, the molded freeze dried product is considered to have been unmolded to yield one or more individual pieces before being restored to its original volume.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the freeze dried mixture in molds of Wei with the unmolding of Moritsu in order to obtain a food product which has a small shape and is not easily broken and can be stored at room temperature for a long time without deterioration.
Regarding claim 11, Wei discloses the fresh bean sprouts and caraway are put into a beater and broken into a slurry [0079] and then are fully mixed obtaining a homogenate, which is considered to meet the claim limitation of pureeing.
Regarding the order of the method steps of claim 11 Wei discloses mixing and then pureeing, but is silent as to pureeing before mixing. However, the selection of any order of performing process steps is prima facie obvious in the absence of new or unexpected results. MPEP 2144.04 IV C. Given that Wei provides a method for pureeing and freeze drying a sprouted plant and a flavoring, the claimed order of steps is not considered to provide unexpected results.
Regarding claim 12, Wei discloses the fresh bean sprouts and caraway are put into a beater and broken into a slurry [0079] and then are fully mixed obtaining a homogenate [0080] before the step of freeze drying [0083], which is considered to meet the claim limitations of pureeing the homogeneous mixture before freeze drying.
Regarding claim 15, Wei discloses the fresh bean sprouts, guava, loquat and caraway are put into a beater and broken into a slurry [0079] and then are fully mixed obtaining a homogenate [0080] before the step of freeze drying [0083], which is considered to meet the claim limitation of emulsifying the homogenous mixture.
Claims 13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wei (CN105533535, 2016, Fruit and vegetable freeze-dried snack preparation method and product thereof) in view of Moritsu (TW201345439A, Dehydrated vegetable blocks and method of producing same) as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences, hereafter OSU (Sprout Production, Feb 15, 2010, https://horticulture.oregonstate.edu/oregon-vegetables/sprout-production-0).
Regarding claim 13, Wei discloses fresh bean sprouts, guava, loquat and caraway are put into a beater and broken into a slurry (mixed) [0079].
Wei does not disclose the type of bean sprout.
OSU, in the field of producing edible vegetable sprouts for food purposes, discloses bean sprouts are produced primarily from mung bean seeds, soy bean seeds or adzuki bean seeds (p2, Varieties).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have selected the mung, soy or adzuki bean sprouts of OSU as the bean sprouts of Wei because since these bean sprouts are the most common for bean sprout production it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to choose from this finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding claim 15, Wei discloses the fresh bean sprouts, guava, loquat and caraway are put into a beater and broken into a slurry [0079] and then are fully mixed obtaining a homogenate [0080] before the step of freeze drying [0083], which is considered to meet the claim limitation of emulsifying the homogenous mixture.
Claims 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wei (CN105533535, 2016, Fruit and vegetable freeze-dried snack preparation method and product thereof) in view of Moritsu (TW201345439A, Dehydrated vegetable blocks and method of producing same) as applied to claim 10 above, and evidenced by Petre (Alina Petre, Raw Sprouts: Benefits and Potential Risks, 23 February, 2018, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/raw-sprouts).
Regarding claim 14, Wei discloses a mixture of 1kg guava, 1kg loquat, 1 kg fresh caraway and 1 kg bean sprouts [0078]. Which is equivalent to each ingredient present in 25wt% of the mixture prior to freeze-drying. The loquat and guava of Wei are considered to meet the claim limitation of flavorings comprising at least one mature and ripened fruit, which is therefore present at 50wt% of the mixture before freeze-drying and falls within the claimed range of 2-50wt% of the mixture.
Petre discloses sprouts are a rich source of nutrients and beneficial plant compounds. The sprouting process increases nutrient levels, making plants richer in protein, folate, magnesium, phosphorous, manganese and vitamins C and K compared to un-sprouted plants. Sprouting increases protein content, and essential amino acids. Sprouts are great sources of antioxidants and other beneficial plant compounds (p3, They Are Very Nutritious).
Regarding the quantity of sprouted plants of claim 14, Wei discloses a quantity 25wt%, which lies outside the claimed range of 50-98wt%. However, it is known in the art that the quantity of sprouted plant is a result effective variable, as disclosed by Peter the more sprouted plants the more protein, folate, magnesium, phosphorous, manganese and vitamins C and K, essential amino acids, antioxidants and other beneficial plant compounds. It has long been settled to be no more than routine experimentation for one of ordinary skill in the art to discover an optimum value of a result effective variable. Additionally, differences in concentration or temperature will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art unless there is evidence indicating such concentration or temperature is critical. MPEP 2144.05 II A. Since Applicant has not disclosed that the specific limitations recited in instant claims are for any particular purpose or solve any stated problem, absent unexpected results, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill to discover the optimum workable ranges of the method disclosed by the prior art by normal optimization procedures known in the art.
Regarding claim 15, Wei discloses the fresh bean sprouts, guava, loquat and caraway are put into a beater and broken into a slurry [0079] and then are fully mixed obtaining a homogenate [0080] before the step of freeze drying [0083], which is considered to meet the claim limitation of emulsifying the homogenous mixture.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wei in view of Moritsu as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of (Pietrzkowski WO 2006/127903).
Regarding claim 17, Wei discloses the mixture of bean sprouts and flavoring which is freeze dried as discussed above.
Wei does not disclose after freeze drying the mixture is pulverized into powder.
Pietrzkowski, also in the field of compositions comprised of sprouted plants, discloses a dicot sprout preparation comprising a dehydrated (by freeze drying) and powderized form of the dicot sprout (p3, lines 10-13). Pietrzkowski further discloses one or more functional and/or inactive ingredients may be added to the sprouts before processing including antioxidants (flavoring) (p7, lines 27-31). Pietrzkowski also discloses preparations suitable for combination with edible carriers may be solid, liquid or in powdered form (p9, lines 1-3) and these composition are administered to a mammal (p9, lines 16-17), which meets the claim limitation of formed into a powder prior to consumption. It is noted the instantly claimed method required no step of consumption.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the freeze dried mixture of bean sprouts, guava, loquat and caraway of Wei and the powderizing of Pietrzkowski in order to obtain a product that could be incorporated into edible carriers and subsequently administered to a mammal.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's remarks filed 09 July 2025 have been fully considered. No substantive arguments are presented in the remarks.
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.
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/C.L.G./Examiner, Art Unit 1793
/EMILY M LE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1793