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
All outstanding rejections, except for those maintained below, are withdrawn in light of applicant’s amendment filed on 1/13/2026.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior office action.
No new grounds of rejection are set forth below. Thus, the following action is properly made final.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Spiller (US 3,919,042).
The rejection is adequately set forth in paragraph 3 of Office action mailed on 10/14/2025 and is incorporated here by reference.
Claims 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Spiller (US 3,919,042) in view of Kurata (US 2020/0031090).
The rejection is adequately set forth in paragraph 4 of Office action mailed on 10/14/2025 and is incorporated here by reference.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/13/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Specifically, applicant argues that it is inappropriate to rely on Spiller to teach the claimed viscosity at 50°C because the final viscosity is influenced by recrystallization during the cooling process and not by the gelatinization starting temperature.
The specification as originally filed does not teach or suggest that the final viscosity is dependent on the recrystallization. Rather, the specification clearly states that the “final viscosity correlates with the gelatinization temperature” (paragraph 0028). Also, Spiller teaches that gelatinization temperature (and thereby, intrinsically, the claimed final viscosity) is controlled within a range so that the powder retains its particulate form. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art to adjust the gelatinization temperature to correlate to the claimed final viscosity. While Spiller does not explicitly disclose the final viscosity after heating to 90°C, it is relied upon in an obviousness rejection and not anticipatory. Absent an explanation or showing that the starch particles of Spiller cannot have claimed final viscosity though having overlapping gelatinization temperature, the rejection will be appropriately maintained.
As a practical matter, the Patent Office is not equipped to manufacture products by the myriad of processes put before it and then obtain prior art products and make physical comparisons therewith.” In re Brown, 459 F.2d 531, 535, 173 USPQ 685, 688 (CCPA 1972).
Conclusion
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 VICKEY NERANGIS whose telephone number is (571)272-2701. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 am - 5:00 pm EST, Monday - Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph Del Sole can be reached at (571)272-1130. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/VICKEY NERANGIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763
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