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
The amendment filed 01/27/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-3 and 5-15 remain pending in the application. Applicant’s amendments to the Specification and Claims have overcome each and every objection and 112(b) rejection previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 10/27/2025, except where otherwise stated.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
The Brief Description of the Drawings for Figure 5, which states “FIG. 5 shows a scree with menus and image data according to one embodiment of the present invention.” should read “FIG. 5 shows a screen with menus and image data according to one embodiment of the present invention.”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 1, “when situated the container” should read “when situated in the container”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-3 and 5-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 1, “volumetric scales”, “water-to-solid volume ratios” and “constant aggregate volume of the dry ingredient” are not described in the specification. The Applicant’s Specification does not appear to contain any reference to volume or volume measurement specifically. The Applicant Arguments provided 01/27/2026 suggest support for the amendments is found in Figure 2, #111 and 112, and page 23, line 13 to page 24 line 3 of the Specification. However, 111 and 112 are simply unlabeled lines on inner layer 11, and the cited passage from the Specification refers only to the “amount” of water, not the volume. Volume is narrower in scope than amount, which can also refer to weight, mass, etc., and therefore, volume and related terminology (“volumetric scales”, “water-to-solid volume ratios” and “constant aggregate volume of the dry ingredient”) cannot be substituted for “amount” without adequate support in the Specification. Consequently, claim 1 fails to comply with the written description requirement.
Also, regarding claim 1, “the volumetric scales defining a target water level relative to a cumulative volume of a food component consisting of the dry ingredient, the seasoning composition, and the raw rice when situated the container” and “the scales being calibrated to achieve a plurality of user-desired cooked food textures for a constant aggregate volume of the dry ingredient, the seasoning composition and the raw rice” is not fully supported by the Specification, which states (Page 5, lines 16-19) the inner layer may include a plurality of first scales formed according to an amount of the water to be supplied depending on a texture of the raw rice after the dry ingredient and the raw rice are inserted. Thus, the cumulative volume in the Specification includes the rice and dry ingredient, but not the seasoning composition as now claimed. Consequently, claim 1 fails to comply with the written description requirement.
Additionally, with regard to claim 1, “the scales being calibrated to achieve a plurality of user-desired cooked food textures for a constant aggregate volume of the dry ingredient, the seasoning composition and the raw rice” is not supported by the Applicant’s Specification, which refers to scales being used to achieve a “rice texture” rather than a “food texture” for the combination of the dry ingredient, the seasoning composition and the raw rice. The Applicant’s Specification states (Page 5, lines 16-19) the inner layer may include a plurality of first scales formed according to an amount of the water to be supplied depending on a texture of the raw rice after the dry ingredient and the raw rice are inserted. Consequently, claim 1 fails to comply with the written description requirement.
Claims 2-3 and 5-15 are rejected as a result of depending upon rejected claim 1.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-3 and 5-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, it is unclear if “a container having a can substantially cylindrical shape so as to be shelf-stable” is the same as, or different than “the container including an inner layer . . . and an outer layer”. The Applicant has amended claim 1 to change “a container including an inner layer . . . and an outer layer” to “the container including an inner layer . . . and an outer layer” which suggests that “the container” is the same as “a container having a can substantially cylindrical shape so as to be shelf-stable”, which was previously understood to be part of the raw rice can. If these limitations both refer to the same container, then it is unclear how the “container having a can substantially cylindrical shape so as to be shelf-stable” is capable of vacuum-storing rice and having “an open-top cavity”, where an open top would prevent maintenance of a vacuum. Additionally, raw rice is stated to be inserted together with the dry ingredient, the seasoning, and a present amount of water into “the container including an inner layer . . . and an outer layer”, but this appears to contradict the earlier limitation which states that the rice is already vacuum-stored in the container. Furthermore, if the containers are the same, it is unclear if this is supported by the Applicant’s Specification, which indicates that the container with the inner and outer layer 10 and the container that is a part of the raw rice can 40 are separate containers, as shown in Figure 7, for example. If the containers are intended to be different, then “the container including an inner layer . . . and an outer layer” lacks antecedent basis. For the purposes of further examination, the Examiner has understood “a container having a can substantially cylindrical shape so as to be shelf-stable” to be different than “the container including an inner layer . . . and an outer layer”.
Regarding claim 1, it is unclear if “the container” on line 22 refers to “a container having a can substantially cylindrical shape so as to be shelf-stable” or “the container including an inner layer . . . and an outer layer”. Consequently, claim 1 is rejected as indefinite.
Claims 2-3 and 5-15 are rejected as indefinite as a result of depending upon indefinite claim 1.
Claim 13 is rejected as indefinite for depending upon claim 4, which has been canceled. For the purposes of further examination, claim 13 is understood to depend from claim 1.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR 20210094678 A) in view of Gilbert (US 20050208182 A1), Ferrel (US 2898214 A), Chen (US 5355777 A), Johnson (US 20150140162 A1), Belorgey (FR 3016276 A1), Bett-Garber et al. (Influence of Water-to-Rice Ratio . . .), Ertvaag (US 20200121124 A1), and Mori (US 20030188639 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kim teaches (Paragraph 0008, 0015) a cooking kit according including: an ingredient pack in which uncooked ingredients that are washed and cut so that they can be consumed when heated are vacuum-packed; a seasoning pack in which uncooked seasoning that adds flavor to the ingredients in the ingredient pack is vacuum packed; a small rice pack in which raw material rice is vacuum-packed in a state that can be made into rice when heated at the same time as the ingredients and seasoning; and a bowl-shaped container (container having a body with a bottom surface and a side wall forming an open-top cavity) in which the ingredients and seasoning in the ingredient pack are placed together with the rice made from the raw material rice so that they can be consumed when heated, wherein the rice is vacuum-packed in a dehydrated state. Kim further teaches (Paragraph 0009) adding water corresponding to a marker to the container (pre-set amount), putting the ingredients, seasoning, and raw rice in it, and heating it to produce a rice-covered dish (in the form of a bowl due to the bowl-shaped container) made of the ingredients, seasoning, and raw rice. Additionally, Kim teaches (Paragraph 0029) vacuum packaging means that fresh, uncooked food ingredients are easy to store, preventing spoilage (i.e., the vacuum packaged ingredients, including the ingredient pack and the raw rice, are shelf-stable). Also, Kim teaches (Paragraph 0054; Fig. 2 #50, 51, 52) markers 50 such as a plurality of scales 51, 52 may be displayed on the inner surface of the container 50. Kim further teaches (Paragraph 0055) the marker 50 on the inside of the container represents the amount of water that must be added before heating the raw rice, food ingredients, and seasoning.
Kim also teaches (Paragraph 0014) the small rice pack is configured as a cup-shaped packaging, where substantially cylindrical cups are well known in the art. Furthermore, changes in the shape of a device or product are obvious absent persuasive evidence that the particular configuration of the claimed device or product is significant (See MPEP 2144.04 IV B).
Kim is silent on the ingredient in the ingredient pack being a dry ingredient. Kim is further silent on the raw rice container being a can. Additionally, Kim is silent on the container including an inner layer having a bottom surface and a side wall forming an open-top cavity and an outer layer surrounding the inner layer and having a handle. Also, Kim is silent on the scales being provided on the inner layer, and the scales being volumetric scales. Furthermore, Kim is silent on the volumetric scales defining a target water level relative to a cumulative volume of a food component consisting of the dry ingredient, the seasoning composition, and the raw rice when situated the container; and wherein the plurality of volumetric scales includes at least a first scale and a second scale corresponding to distinct water-to-solid volume ratios, the scales being calibrated to achieve a plurality of user-desired cooked food textures for a constant aggregate volume of the dry ingredient, the seasoning composition and the raw rice.
Gilbert teaches (Paragraph 0001, 0028-0029) shelf stable meal kits that include dehydrated food products, wherein a raw vegetable product is subjected to process steps including pre-dehydrating treatments including washing and cutting, drying or dehydration, and packaging.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim to dry the ingredient in the ingredient pack in view of Gilbert since both are directed to cooking kits including washed, cut, and packaged ingredients, since drying an ingredient to pack in a cooking kit is known in the art as shown by Gilbert, since dehydration/drying extends the shelf life of foods by a reduction in the water activity, which inhibits microbial growth and enzyme activity (Gilbert, Paragraph 0003), and since drying/dehydrating the ingredients would lower their size and weight, making transport easier.
Ferrel teaches (claim 1) a process for preparing canned rice.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim to provide a can as the raw rice container as taught by Ferrel since both are directed to products including rice in a container, since placing rice in a can is known in the art as shown by Ferrel, since cans are sealed and sterilized with heat (Ferrel, Col. 2, lines 28-29) which would protect the rice from damage or contamination, since cans may be sealed under high vacuum to prevent the discoloration of rice (Ferrel, Col. 5, lines 8-9), and since placing the rice in a can would prevent accidental exposure of the rice compared to packaging like paper and plastic bags that can be easily torn.
Furthermore, the substitution or use of a can as a rice container would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art since placing rice in a container is known in the art from Kim, since the use of a can as a container for rice is known in the art from Ferrel, and since substitution of one known element for another yields predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art (See MPEP 2143 I. B.).
Chen teaches (Col. 1, lines 6-10) a cooking device having an outer pot (outer layer) which is thermally insulated, and an inner pot (inner layer) removably placed in the outer pot. As shown in Figure 2, inner pot 13 has a body with a bottom surface and a side wall forming an open-top cavity. Chen further teaches (Col. 3, lines 57-59; Fig. 2 #2, 8, 11) an outer flange 8 secured to outer shell 2 (outer layer) includes handles 11, shown in Figure 2.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim to configure the container to include an inner layer having a bottom surface and a side wall forming an open-top cavity and an outer layer surrounding the inner layer and having a handle as taught by Chen since both are directed to containers having a bottom surface and a side wall forming an open-top cavity for holding food items, since a container for holding food items comprising an inner layer having a bottom surface and a side wall forming an open-top cavity and an outer layer surrounding the inner layer and having a handle is known in the art as shown by Chen, since the outer pot (outer layer) helps "seal in" the foodstuff containing a sufficient amount of heat to become cooked by its own latent heat, without receiving additional heat from or losing heat substantially to an external environment (Chen, Col. 2, lines 3-8), since an outer layer can provide thermal insulation, protecting a user from being burned, since the extremely low heat loss of the inner pot (inner layer) to the insulating container (outer layer) and the excellent insulating capacity of the insulating container itself, allows the cooking device to be utilized for cooking steamed rice, gruel, meats, beans, a variety of vegetables and the like for saving the energy consumed in the process of cooking (Chen, Col. 3, lines 32-37), since an outer layer with a handle can make handling of the container easier and prevent accidental spills, since a removable inner layer can allow for removal for cleaning and transporting the food without additional weight or volume from the outer layer, and since original flavors of the foodstuff may be maintained after being cooked and the efficiency of cooking can be greatly improved due to the configuration of the inner layer and outer layer (Chen, Col. 5, lines 60-68; Col. 6, lines 1-6).
Additionally, as shown above, Kim teaches that the container may comprise a plurality of scales. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand to place such markers on the inner layer so that the markers are adjacent to the food so that a user could visually compare the amount of food ingredients and water to the markers when configuring the container with an inner layer for the reasons stated above with regard to claim 1.
Johnson teaches (Paragraph 0002, 0051; Fig. 7 #10, 20, 70, 80) rice cooking containers wherein a bowl 10 includes a water line 80 above a rice line 70, wherein the actual water W provided when filled up to the water line 80 includes this space between the rice line 70 and the water line 80 as well as space between individual grains of rice (or other grains) filling the reservoir 20 up to the rice line 70 (i.e., the water line/scale marks the water level relative to a cumulative amount of a food component consisting of the raw rice when situated in the container).
The Examiner notes that the “target water level relative to a cumulative volume of a food component consisting of the dry ingredient, the seasoning composition, and the raw rice when situated the container” is understood to be the level that water reaches in the inner layer upon the addition of water to the inner layer, which already contains the dry ingredient, seasoning composition, and raw rice, similar to the description in Page 23, lines 19-22 of the Applicant’s Specification, which states, “the container 10 may include a plurality of first scales 111 and 112 formed according to an amount of the water to be supplied depending on a texture of the raw rice after the dry ingredient and the raw rice are inserted”.
It is noted that Johnson only refers to the water level relative to the amount rice, rather than amount of rice, dry ingredient and seasoning, but markings for ingredients that disclose the amount of an ingredient to be supplied after multiple prior ingredients are added are known in the art.
Belorgey teaches (Paragraph 0001) a container for preparing a mixture of foods according to a culinary recipe, wherein a recipe card which is associated with a given recipe and which is in the form of a piece of material having two main faces on at least one of which are formed height marks each associated with an ingredient of said given recipe and the positions of which on the piece of material are defined such that, when the recipe card is held in position by said recipe card holding means, each height mark marks the height of the mixture after incorporation of the ingredient associated with said height mark, wherein multiple ingredients are added on top of each other as shown by the scale in Figure 2.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim, as modified above, to configure the scales to indicate a target water level relative to a cumulative volume of a food component consisting of the dry ingredient, the seasoning composition, and the raw rice when situated in the container in view of Johnson and Belorgey, since each of Kim, Johnson, and Belorgey is directed to a food container with scales, since Kim teaches a food product comprising ingredients, seasoning, rice, and water, since scales to indicate the amount of water to be supplied after the rice is inserted is known in the art as shown by Johnson, since scales to indicate the amount of an ingredient to be supplied after multiple prior ingredients are added are known in the art as shown by Belorgey, since configuring the scales to indicate the target water level relative to a cumulative volume of a food component consisting of the dry ingredient, the seasoning composition, and the raw rice when situated in the container would allow a user to add water without having to first remove the rice, seasoning, and dry ingredient, since configuring the scales to indicate the target water level relative to a cumulative volume of a food component consisting of the dry ingredient, the seasoning composition, and the raw rice when situated in the container allows the user to add the required amounts of water, rice, seasoning, and dry ingredient without needing a separate measuring cup for each component individually, and since a measuring cup may need to be cleaned and dried between each measurement of ingredients, for example when changing from a liquid to a solid, so that remnants of a previous ingredient remaining stuck to the internal walls of the measuring cup do not distort the measurement of the next ingredient (Belorgey, Paragraph 0001), while a container scale for water after prior ingredients are added would not have such drawbacks.
Additionally, Bett-Garber et al. teaches (Conclusions) the water-to-rice ratio significantly affects texture quality, wherein increasing the amount of water used for cooking can increase intensities of the texture attributes, initial starchy coating, slickness, stickiness between grains, cohesiveness, and uniformity of bite and decrease the intensities of hardness, stickiness to lips, springiness, and chewiness.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim, as modified above, to provide plurality of scales including at least a first scale and a second scale corresponding to distinct water-to-solid volume ratios, the scales being calibrated to achieve a plurality of user-desired cooked food textures for a constant aggregate volume of the dry ingredient, the seasoning composition and the raw rice in view of Bett Garber et. al. since both are directed to food products comprising rice, since using a scale for the amount of water used when cooking a rice containing food product is known from Kim, since adjusting the amount of amount of water to achieve different rice textures (which will also affect the texture of the food as a whole as a result of the rice being combined with the other ingredients) is known in the art from Bett-Garber et al., since consumers have a variety of preferences in texture, so providing multiple scales for water corresponding to different textures would satisfy a greater number of consumers, and since some recipes or meals may call for different textures, so providing multiple scales for water corresponding to different textures would allow for production of a larger variety of meals/recipes.
Additionally, it is noted that the above cited prior art is silent on the scales being used for volume specifically, with Bett-Garber et al. teaching (Materials and Methods) the use of water-to-rice weight ratios.
However, volumetric scales for measuring water are well-known in the art.
For example, Ertvaag teaches (Paragraph 0001, 0046) a container for heat treatment of a foodstuff in a liquid (such as water), wherein a cup has internal and external marks indicating the amount of foodstuff and the corresponding amount of liquid for different normal servings, the marks corresponding to the volume of the liquid. Also, Ertvaag teaches (claim 1) ratios of the volumes of the foodstuff represented by the at least one first set of marks to volumes of the liquid represented by the at least one second set of marks are predetermined based on the type of foodstuff that is to be heat-treated.
Mori teaches (Paragraph 0001) a method and apparatus for cooking rice in a microwave oven, wherein a container is provided with a first set of water level markings on a portion of an inner surface of the container and a second set of water level markings on a further portion of the inner surface of the container, where each marking of said first set of markings corresponds to a number of cups of short grain rice to be cooked and indicates the level to which the container should be filled with water so that the water/rice ratio, by volume, is substantially in the range of 1.3 to 1.4 and where each marking of said second set of markings corresponds to a number of cups of long grain rice to be cooked and indicates the level to which the container should be filled with water to ensure that the water/rice ratio, by volume, is substantially 1.2, wherein the cup for measuring the cups of short grain rice and long grain rice is of a predetermined volume.
Substitution or use of volume as the measurement unit for water and the ratio of water to solids would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art since the use of scales for an amount of water relative to a cumulative volume of a food component to achieve a plurality of user-desired cooked food textures is known and obvious in view of the prior art as shown by, Kim, Johnson, Belorgey, and Bett-Garber et a., since the use of volume as measuring unit for an amount of water shown on a scale of a container for food preparation is known in the art from Ertvaag and Mori, since the conversion between quantity parameters, such as weight and volume, particularly of water which has a known density, is well understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and since substitution of one known element for another yields predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art (See MPEP 2143 I. B.).
Regarding claim 5, Kim teaches (Paragraph 0009) completing a rice-covered dish of the ingredients, seasoning, and raw rice by heating after adding water (bowl of rice served with toppings).
Kim is silent on the inner layer being configured such that a second scale for measuring an amount of the raw rice determined according to a recipe, a third scale for measuring the dry ingredient, and the first scales are sequentially formed on a side wall of the inner layer in a height direction.
As shown above, Johnson teaches (Paragraph 0002, 0051; Fig. 7 #10, 20, 70, 80) rice cooking containers wherein a bowl 10 includes a water line 80 (first scale) above a rice line 70 (second scale), wherein the actual water W provided when filled up to the water line 80 includes this space between the rice line 70 and the water line 80 as well as space between individual grains of rice (or other grains) filling the reservoir 20 up to the rice line 70 (i.e., the water line/scale marks the amount of water to be supplied after the rice is inserted).
Belorgey teaches (Paragraph 0001) a container for preparing a mixture of foods according to a culinary recipe, wherein a recipe card which is associated with a given recipe and which is in the form of a piece of material having two main faces on at least one of which are formed height marks each associated with an ingredient of said given recipe and the positions of which on the piece of material are defined such that, when the recipe card is held in position by said recipe card holding means, each height mark marks the height of the mixture after incorporation of the ingredient associated with said height mark, wherein multiple ingredients are added on top of each other as shown by Figure 2, which includes at least a first, second, and third scale on the side wall of the container.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim, as modified above, to configure the inner layer such that a second scale for measuring an amount of the raw rice determined according to a recipe, a third scale for measuring the dry ingredient, and the first scales are sequentially formed on a side wall of the inner layer in a height direction in view of Johnson and Belorgey, since each of Kim, Johnson, and Belorgey is directed to a food container with scales, since a first scale to indicate the amount of water to be supplied positioned above a second scale for the rice is known in the art as shown by Johnson, since multiple scales on the side wall for different ingredients to be stacked on top of each other are known in the art as shown by Belorgey, since configuring the inner layer to have first scales for the amount of water placed by height sequentially above the rice and dry ingredient scales would allow a user to add water without having to first remove the rice and dry ingredient, since configuring the scales sequentially on a side wall of the inner layer in a height direction allows the user to add the required amounts of water, rice, and dry ingredient without needing a separate measuring cup for each component individually, and since a measuring cup may need to be cleaned and dried between each measurement of ingredients, for example when changing from a liquid to a solid, so that remnants of a previous ingredient remaining stuck to the internal walls of the measuring cup do not distort the measurement of the next ingredient (Belorgey, Paragraph 0001), while a container scales sequentially on a side wall of the inner layer in a height direction would not have such drawbacks.
It is noted that, Kim as modified above, does not explicitly state that dry ingredient scale is sequential to the rice scale in the height direction (which has been understood by the Examiner to mean that the dry ingredient scale is above the rice scale), however, the height order of the scales would have been obvious to try since (using/doing) sequentially ordered ingredient scales to measure multiple ingredients in a single container is known in the art as shown by Johnson and Belorgey, since sequentially ordering the scales has a finite number of identified, predictable potential solutions (rice above dry ingredient or dry ingredient above rice), and since one of ordinary skill in the art could have pursued these known potential solutions with a reasonable expectation of success (See MPEP 2143 E).
Regarding claim 6, Kim teaches (Fig. 4 #40-1, 41, 53) in another embodiment of the present invention, the small rice pack 40 may be configured as a small rice pack 40-1 including a cup-shaped packaging as shown in FIG. 4, wherein the inside of the cup, is marked with an inner scale 53 as a marker that can measure the amount of water or raw rice 41 measured differently depending on the dish to be completed using ingredients, seasoning, and raw rice 41, so that the packaging can perform the function of a measuring cup (wherein measuring the water necessitates first removing the rice, which as stated above with regard to claim 1 is placed in the interior of the container, then adding water up to the scale and adding the water to the interior of the container).
Kim is silent on providing a plurality of first scales formed according to an amount, which is obtained by dividing an amount of the water to be supplied depending on a texture of the raw rice after the dry ingredient and the raw rice are inserted by a natural number, and pouring the water a plurality of times. Kim is further silent on the scales being marked on the outer side of the raw rice can.
Johnson teaches (Paragraph 0002, 0051; Fig. 7 #10, 20, 70, 80) rice cooking containers wherein a bowl 10 includes a water line 80 above a rice line 70, wherein the actual water W provided when filled up to the water line 80 includes this space between the rice line 70 and the water line 80 as well as space between individual grains of rice (or other grains) filling the reservoir 20 up to the rice line 70 (i.e., the water line/scale marks the amount of water to be supplied after the rice is inserted).
It is noted that Johnson only refers to rice and water, rather than rice, water, and the dry ingredient, but markings for ingredients that disclose the amount of an ingredient to be supplied after multiple prior ingredients are added are known in the art.
Belorgey teaches (Paragraph 0001) a container for preparing a mixture of foods according to a culinary recipe, wherein a recipe card which is associated with a given recipe and which is in the form of a piece of material having two main faces on at least one of which are formed height marks each associated with an ingredient of said given recipe and the positions of which on the piece of material are defined such that, when the recipe card is held in position by said recipe card holding means, each height mark marks the height of the mixture after incorporation of the ingredient associated with said height mark, wherein multiple ingredients are added on top of each other as shown by the scale in Figure 2.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim, as modified above, to configure the scales to indicate the amount of water to be supplied after the dry ingredient and the raw rice are inserted in view of Johnson and Belorgey, since each of Kim, Johnson, and Belorgey is directed to a food container with scales, since scales to indicate the amount of water to be supplied after the rice is inserted is known in the art as shown by Johnson, since scales to indicate the amount of an ingredient to be supplied after multiple prior ingredients are added are known in the art as shown by Belorgey, since configuring the scales to indicate the amount of water to be supplied after the dry ingredient and the raw rice are inserted would allow a user to add water without having to first remove the rice and dry ingredient, since configuring the scales to indicate the amount of water to be supplied after the dry ingredient and the raw rice are inserted allows the user to add the required amounts of water, rice, and dry ingredient without needing a separate measuring cup for each component individually, and since a measuring cup may need to be cleaned and dried between each measurement of ingredients, for example when changing from a liquid to a solid, so that remnants of a previous ingredient remaining stuck to the internal walls of the measuring cup do not distort the measurement of the next ingredient (Belorgey, Paragraph 0001), while a container scale for water after prior ingredients are added would not have such drawbacks.
Additionally, Bett-Garber et al. teaches (Conclusions) the water-to-rice ratio significantly affects texture quality, wherein increasing the amount of water used for cooking can increase intensities of the texture attributes, initial starchy coating, slickness, stickiness between grains, cohesiveness, and uniformity of bite and decrease the intensities of hardness, stickiness to lips, springiness, and chewiness.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim, as modified above, to provide a plurality of scales according to an amount of the water to be supplied depending on a texture of the raw rice in view of Bett Garber et. al. since both are directed to rice products, since using a rice container with a scale for the amount of water used when cooking a rice containing food product is known from Kim, since using different amounts of water for different dishes is known in the art from Kim, since adjusting the amount of amount of water to achieve different rice textures is known in the art from Bett-Garber et al., since consumers have a variety of preferences in rice texture, so providing multiple scales for water corresponding to different textures would satisfy a greater number of consumers, and since some recipes or meals may call for different rice textures, so providing multiple scales for water corresponding to different textures would allow for production of a larger variety of meals/recipes.
Furthermore, it is noted that one is a natural number, and, therefore, a scale that measures the amount of water to be supplied, as disclosed above, also measures the amount of water to be supplied divided by one, a natural number. Additionally, division of the amount by other numbers, e.g. 2, 3, such that the scale measures half or third of the amount of water to be supplied, constitute changes in size/proportion, which are not sufficient to patentably distinguish over the prior art. When the only difference between the prior art and the claims is a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device or product, and a device or product having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device or product, the claimed device or product is not patentably distinct from the prior art device (See MPEP 2144.04 IV A) It is further noted, that in the case of, e.g. half or a third of the amount of water, pouring the water multiple times would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to achieve the required total amount of water. Moreover, using a smaller scale with multiple pours would be obvious, as doing so would allow the use of a smaller rice can, thus saving space for storage and transportation.
Ertvaag teaches (Paragraph 0001, 0059) a container for heat treatment of a foodstuff in a liquid (such as water), wherein measurement marks for adding the amount of water are preferably designed as laser engraved marks on the inside and/or outside of the cup.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim to place the first scales on the outer side of raw rice can (as a substitute or in addition to the scale on the inside) in view of Ertvaag since both are directed to containers for food products with scales for measuring water, since placing scales for measuring water on the exterior of a container is known in the art as shown by Ertvaag, since placing the scales of the outer side of the raw rice can would increase their visibility to the consumer, and since markings on the outside will not be obscured by the material inside the rice can.
Additionally, while Kim does not explicitly teach outside scales, such placement would have been obvious to try since (using/doing) scales to measure water is known in the art as shown by Kim, since placement of the scales has a finite number of identified, predictable potential solutions (inside or outside), and since one of ordinary skill in the art could have pursued these known potential solutions with a reasonable expectation of success (See MPEP 2143 E).
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR 20210094678 A) in view of Gilbert (US 20050208182 A1), Ferrel (US 2898214 A), Chen (US 5355777 A), Johnson (US 20150140162 A1), Belorgey (FR 3016276 A1), Bett-Garber et al. (Influence of Water-to-Rice Ratio . . .), Ertvaag (US 20200121124 A1), and Mori (US 20030188639 A1), and further in view of Lee (KR 101308033 B1) and Weems (US 20050037114 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Chen, as modified above, is silent on the container being configured such that: the inner layer is formed of polypropylene so as to be washable and usable multiple times, the inner layer is provided with a hanging wire coupled to two diametrically opposite ends of an upper portion of the inner layer through hinge coupling so as to be rotatable, and the outer layer and the inner layer are separable from each other; and the outer layer has a heat-insulating property, and a protruding handle is formed on a side surface of the outer layer.
As shown above, Chen teaches (Col. 1, lines 6-10) a cooking device having an outer pot (outer layer) which is thermally insulated, and an inner pot (inner layer) removably placed in the outer pot. Chen further teaches (Col. 3, lines 57-59; Fig. 2 #2, 8, 11) an outer flange 8 secured to outer shell 2 (outer layer) includes handles 11. As shown in Figure 2, handle 11 protrudes from the side of the outer layer. In addition, Chen teaches (Col. 4, lines 7-17; Fig. 2 #13, 14, 16) a lift-out stem 16 (hanging member) is pivotally attached (i.e., rotatable hinge coupling) to flange 14 of inner pot 13 (inner layer). As shown in Figure 2, both ends of lift-out stem 16 (hanging member) are attached to both points of an upper portion of the inner layer.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim to configure the container such that inner layer is provided with a hanging member having both ends coupled to two ends of an upper portion of the inner layer through hinge coupling so as to be rotatable, and the outer layer and the inner layer are separable from each other; and the outer layer has a heat-insulating property, and a protruding handle is formed on a side surface of the outer layer as taught by Chen since both are directed to containers for holding food items, since a container configured such that inner layer is provided with a hanging member coupled to two ends of an upper portion of the inner layer through hinge coupling so as to be rotatable, and the outer layer and the inner layer are separable from each other; and the outer layer has a heat-insulating property, and a protruding handle is formed on a side surface of the outer layer is known in the art as shown by Chen, since a rotating hanging member attached to the inner layer can allow for easier removal, transportation, and holding of the inner layer, preventing accidental spills, since configuring the hanging member to be rotatable allows the hanging member to be moved to access the interior of the inner layer, since providing the outer layer with thermal insulation keeps food at the desired temperature and protects a user from being burned, since an outer layer with a handle protruding from the side can make handling of the container easier and prevent accidental spills, and since a removable inner layer can allow for removal for cleaning and transporting the food without additional weight or volume from the outer layer.
Lee teaches (Paragraph 0001, 0004, 0012; Fig. 1 #10, 30; Fig. 4 #33) a multipurpose cooking vessel comprising a main body 10 (outer layer) and a strainer 30 (inner layer) with a handle 33 which, as shown in Figures 4 and 5 is a wire coupled to two diametrically opposite ends of an upper portion of the strainer 30 (inner layer).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim, as modified above, to use a wire coupled to two diametrically opposite ends of an upper portion of the inner layer as the hanging member as taught by Lee since both are directed to containers for food products, since an inner layer with a hanging wire coupled to two diametrically opposite ends of an upper portion of the inner layer is known in the art as shown by Lee, since wire is thin, allowing the handle to occupy less space and weight compared to thicker handles, allowing access to the food in the inner layer, since a wire handle is durable and capable of withstanding heat, since coupling the hand to two diametrically opposite ends will allow the use of a single handle, simplifying production cost, reducing weight, making the inner layer easier to carry, and since coupling the wire at diametrically opposite ends of an upper portion of the inner layer will ensure that the inner layer is balanced and not heavier on one side when lifted or carried by the wire, preventing tipping and spilling.
Weems teaches (Paragraph 0013, 0015-0016) a method and case-ready package for extending the shelf life of perishable food, wherein package 10 for storing a perishable food item comprises a tray 14 that is preferably a dishwasher safe, recyclable and reusable polypropylene tray.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim as modified above to form the inner layer of polypropylene so as to be washable and usable multiple times in view of Weems since both are directed to containers for holding food products, since polypropylene food containers that are washable and usable multiple times are known in the art as shown by Weems, since polypropylene is heat resistant (Weems, Paragraph 0016), allowing the container to hold food that has been heated, and since polypropylene is dishwasher safe and reusable, so consumers can conveniently clean the inner layer with a dishwasher instead of requiring manual labor, and can reuse the inner layer, reducing waste.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR 20210094678 A) in view of Gilbert (US 20050208182 A1), Ferrel (US 2898214 A), Chen (US 5355777 A), Johnson (US 20150140162 A1), Belorgey (FR 3016276 A1), Bett-Garber et al. (Influence of Water-to-Rice Ratio . . .), Ertvaag (US 20200121124 A1), and Mori (US 20030188639 A1), and further in view of Nunez (Yes, You Should Wash Rice . . .).
Regarding claim 3, Kim teaches (Paragraph 0008, 0015) a cooking kit according including: an ingredient pack in which uncooked ingredients that are washed and cut so that they can be consumed when heated are vacuum-packed; a small rice pack in which raw material rice is vacuum-packed in a state that can be made into rice when heated at the same time as the ingredients and seasoning; and a bowl-shaped container in which the ingredients and seasoning in the ingredient pack are placed together with the rice made from the raw material rice so that they can be consumed when heated, wherein the rice is vacuum-packed in a dehydrated state. Kim further teaches (Paragraph 0009) putting the ingredients, seasoning, and raw rice in the container, and heating it to produce a rice-covered dish (in the form of a bowl due to the bowl-shaped container) made of the ingredients, seasoning, and raw rice.
Kim, as modified above is silent on washing the dry ingredient and rice.
Nunez teaches (Paragraph 1, 2) that it is customary to wash fruits and vegetables before cooking and eating them and that rice should be washed for cleanliness.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim, to wash the dry ingredient and rice in view of Nunez, since both are directed to food products including vegetables and rice, since rinsing rice and ingredients such as vegetables is known in the art as shown by Nunez, since, since the rice and dry ingredient could get dirty before packaging, if the packaging is accidentally torn open, or after removing from the package, since rinsing rice removes dirt, dust, debris, chemicals, and bugs, getting rid of the types of things you probably don't want to eat in your finished rice dish (Nunez, Paragraph 2), since rinsing rice removes excess starch on the rice kernels' surface, which gives the cooked, finished product a fluffy texture with separate rice kernels (Nunez, Paragraph 3), and since washing the rice and the dry ingredient can remove dirt and debris that consumers would not desire in their food.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR 20210094678 A) in view of Gilbert (US 20050208182 A1), Ferrel (US 2898214 A), Chen (US 5355777 A), Johnson (US 20150140162 A1), Belorgey (FR 3016276 A1), Bett-Garber et al. (Influence of Water-to-Rice Ratio . . .), Ertvaag (US 20200121124 A1), and Mori (US 20030188639 A1), and further in view of Cheng (US 20190053332 A1), Li (CN 114049933 A), and Grimmer (US 20180144820 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Kim, as modified above, is silent on the instant cooked food supply system comprising: an interface provision unit for providing a purchase interface, which is for purchasing a container, an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and a raw rice can of the multi-use instant cooking kit independently or in a set, to a user terminal; a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed through the multi-use instant cooking kit to the purchase interface according to information on the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and the raw rice can selected from a user account; and an ingredient selection guide unit for guiding selection of the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and a type of raw rice according to disease and health characteristics of a user, which are information stored in the user account.
Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0031; Fig. 1#110, 130, 140, 150, 152) a vendor system 152 (interface provision unit) is connected to the recipe server 140 through the network 150, and a user operating the adaptive cooking appliance 110, a user device 130 (user terminal), or other networked device, may access content on the recipe server 140 (where accessing such content necessitates a purchase interface), including recipes and an online shopping option to purchase corresponding meal kits (e.g., an aggregation of prepared ingredients, cooking supplies and/or instructions for preparing a meal in accordance with a user skill level or preference) pre-prepped foods (e.g., uncooked food that has been prepared ready for oven cooking), ingredients, supplies, etc. from the vendor. Additionally, Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0057) a user may have an associated user account wherein, in operation, the user accesses the recipe server 410 through the user interface of the client application 404 (purchase interface) on the user device 402, wherein the client application 404 includes a login screen 406 for logging into the user's subscription account, and the user may then browse recipes 408, identify source ingredients for selected recipes 410 and order food 414 through a provider, such as meal kit provider 420 and online grocery provider 422.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim as modified above to provide an interface provision unit for providing a purchase interface, which is for purchasing a container, an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and a raw rice can of the multi-use instant cooking kit independently or in a set, to a user terminal in view of Cheng since both are directed to cooking kits, Kim discloses an ingredient pack, seasoning pack and raw rice container, since an interface provision unit for providing a purchase interface, which is for purchasing a kit comprising ingredients and cooking supplies, or individual ingredients and cooking supplies, to a user terminal is known in the art as shown by Cheng, since a purchase interface for purchasing a container, an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and a raw rice can of the multi-use instant cooking kit independently or in a set would be convenient to the user by providing a single source by which all needed components of the cooking kit may be acquired instead of having to purchase the container and ingredients separately from different websites or stores, since providing the purchase interface to a user terminal would provide convenience to the user by allowing them to make purchases anywhere, without having to travel to physical stores, and since providing a purchase interface for the container and food packs would prevent the users from running out of the necessary components for production of a meal.
Li teaches (Paragraph 0001, 0005-0007, 0077-0078) a method, system, device, electronic device, and storage medium for generating a dining report, wherein a meal report containing nutritional information on a cooked dish (information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed) is generated based on information about ingredients and seasonings used in cooking, wherein, in one possible implementation, the nutrients comprising the ingredients and seasonings are obtained from a cloud server. Li further teaches (Paragraph 0042) a device (cuisine result prediction information provision unit) is configured to receive the nutritional information of the cooked dish; generate the meal report based on the nutritional information of the cooked dish; and send the meal report to a user device.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim, as modified above, to include a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed through the multi-use instant cooking kit according to information on the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and the raw rice can in view of Li, since both are directed to food dishes prepared from a combination of ingredients, since Kim discloses a cuisine prepared with a multi-use cooking kit from an ingredient pack, seasoning pack and raw rice container, since a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed according to information on the ingredients and seasonings is known in the art from Li, since providing cuisine prediction information would be helpful to a user in determining if a prepared cuisine is desirable or provides the needed nutrition, so that the user can decide whether or not to prepare the cuisine or to supplement the cuisine with additional food items, and since nutritional information (cuisine result prediction information) in the meal report allows users to understand and reasonably adjust their eating habits based on the meal report, thereby guiding people to eat scientifically (Li, Paragraph 0059).
Additionally, it is noted that Li indicates that the cuisine result prediction information is sent to a user device, but not specifically to a purchase interface, and that Li does not explicitly state that the ingredients and seasonings are selected from a user account. However, as shown above, Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0057) a user may have an associated user account wherein, in operation, the user accesses the recipe server 410 through the user interface of the client application 404 (purchase interface) on the user device 402, wherein the client application 404 includes a login screen 406 for logging into the user's subscription account, and the user may then browse recipes 408, identify source ingredients for selected recipes 410 and order food 414 through a provider, such as meal kit provider 420 and online grocery provider 422.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim to provide cuisine result prediction information to the purchase interface since both Cheng and Li disclose accessing information through interfaces on user devices and using the purchase interface for purchases and providing cuisine result prediction information would simplify operation and ensure that the user would not have to switch between different interfaces. Additionally, the use of a user account for selection of the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and the raw rice can would be obvious since Cheng discloses use of user account for purchasing ingredients, since user-related and cooking-related information (e.g., food and cooking environment initial data, food and cooking environment throughout the cook, user assessments of cooking outcomes through a user feedback interface, etc., could be associated with a particular user account (Cheng, Paragraph 0060), and since recommended recipes may be determined based on one or more of user preferences, information gathered from the user's prior cooks, usage statistics and ratings of similar users, user preferences and ratings associated with the user's past cooks, and/or other data tracked by the user account (Cheng, Paragraph 0066), since recipe suggestions might also take into account the user's geographic location which may be determined through an address associated with the user account (Cheng, Paragraph 0066), and since selecting ingredients with a user account would ensure deliver of ingredients to the correct user.
Grimmer teaches (Paragraph 0011, 0073) a system (an ingredient selection guide unit) for recommending foods to a user based on health data, comprising a database, a memory and a processor, wherein a database stores user health data for each user within a community of users, and wherein a web server interface 104 may maintain a user profile (user account) for each user. Grimmer further teaches (Paragraph 0012) the recommended foods include prepared meals and recipes (where a recipe comprises ingredients). Also, Grimmer teaches (Paragraph 0063, 0171, 0176) individualized meal and food recommendations to a user based on that user's health vitals, such as height, weight, blood pressure, age, waist circumference; the user's genotype and in particular genetic markers, such as SNPs, and phenotype data as determined by blood tests, wherein, in some embodiments, a user’s blood is tested for genetic markers related to celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and coronary artery disease.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim as modified above to provide an ingredient selection guide unit for guiding selection of the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and a type of raw rice according to disease and health characteristics of a user, which are information stored in the user account in view of Grimmer since both are directed to food dishes prepared from a combination of ingredients, since Kim discloses a cuisine prepared with a multi-use cooking kit from an ingredient pack, seasoning pack and raw rice container, since providing an ingredient selection guide unit for guiding selection of foods according to disease and health characteristics of a user, which are information stored in the user account is known in the art as shown by Grimmer, since selecting ingredients based on health and disease data can ensure that the prepared cuisine does not actively harm the consumer, since selecting ingredients based on health and disease data can ensure that the prepared cuisine improves the health of the user, and since food recommendations help the user on a daily, weekly, monthly, or other frequent basis achieve a desired state of wellbeing or one or more health goals through healthy and personalized consumption (Grimmer, Paragraph 0010).
Claim(s) 8 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR 20210094678 A) in view of Gilbert (US 20050208182 A1), Ferrel (US 2898214 A), Chen (US 5355777 A), Johnson (US 20150140162 A1), Belorgey (FR 3016276 A1), Bett-Garber et al. (Influence of Water-to-Rice Ratio . . .), Ertvaag (US 20200121124 A1), Mori (US 20030188639 A1), Cheng (US 20190053332 A1), Li (CN 114049933 A), and Grimmer (US 20180144820 A1), and further in view of Saito (JP H1145297 A).
Regarding claim 8, Kim is silent on the cuisine result prediction information provision unit providing prediction image data of the cuisine and qualitative data representing specified attribute information of the cuisine to the purchase interface.
As shown above, Li teaches (Paragraph 0001, 0005-0007, 0077-0078) a method, system, device, electronic device, and storage medium for generating a dining report, wherein a meal report containing nutritional information on a cooked dish (qualitative data representing specified attribute information of the cuisine) is generated based on information about ingredients and seasonings used in cooking, wherein, in one possible implementation, the nutrients comprising the ingredients and seasonings are obtained from a cloud server. Li further teaches (Paragraph 0042) a device (cuisine result prediction information provision unit) is configured to receive the nutritional information of the cooked dish; generate the meal report based on the nutritional information of the cooked dish; and send the meal report to a user device.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim, as modified above, for the cuisine result prediction information provision unit to provide qualitative data representing specified attribute information of the cuisine in view of Li, since both are directed to food dishes prepared from a combination of ingredients, since a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing qualitative data representing specified attribute information of the cuisine is known in the art from Li, since providing nutritional data (qualitative data representing specified attribute information of the cuisine) would help a user determine if a prepared cuisine is desirable or provides the needed nutrition, so that the user can decide whether or not to prepare the cuisine or to supplement the cuisine with additional food items, and since nutritional information (qualitative data representing specified attribute information of the cuisine) in the meal report allows users to understand and reasonably adjust their eating habits based on the meal report, thereby guiding people to eat scientifically (Li, Paragraph 0059).
Additionally, it is noted that Li indicates that the cuisine result prediction information is sent to a user device, but not specifically to a purchase interface, and that Li does not explicitly state that the ingredients and seasonings are selected from a user account. However, as shown above, Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0057) a user may have an associated user account wherein, in operation, the user accesses the recipe server 410 through the user interface of the client application 404 (purchase interface) on the user device 402, wherein the client application 404 includes a login screen 406 for logging into the user's subscription account, and the user may then browse recipes 408, identify source ingredients for selected recipes 410 and order food 414 through a provider, such as meal kit provider 420 and online grocery provider 422.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim to provide cuisine result prediction information to the purchase interface since both Cheng and Li disclose accessing information through interfaces on user devices and using the purchase interface for purchases and providing cuisine result prediction information would simplify operation and ensure that the user would not have to switch between different interfaces.
Saito teaches (Paragraph 0001, 0013, 0075) cooking assistance device that calculates and predicts the final result of a dish prepared by a cooking appliance, and presents information about each dish to the user, wherein the cooking assistance device stores information for multiple dishes, including ingredients, amounts of ingredients, and programs that describe the processing to be performed by the cooking appliance, and can calculate, predict, and present the finished result, which is presented to the user by displaying, for example an external image, wherein an image of the appearance of the dish is displayed.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim as modified above, for the cuisine result prediction information provision unit to provide prediction image data of the cuisine in view of Saito, since both are direct to food dishes prepared from a combination of ingredients, since providing prediction image data of a cuisine based on the cuisine ingredients is known in the art as shown by Saito, since providing prediction image data of the cuisine would help a user determine if a prepared cuisine is desirable or appetizing, so that the user can decide whether or not to prepare the cuisine or to supplement the cuisine with additional food items, and since prediction image data can help the user in preparation of the cuisine by providing information about the expected end product.
Regarding claim 9, Kim is silent on the specified attribute information of the cuisine including at least one of flavor data including a bitter flavor, a sweet flavor, a salty flavor, a savory flavor, and a viscosity of the cuisine, nutrient data including information on calories and specified nutrients included in the cuisine, and target data including disease and health condition information of another user account that has purchased an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and raw rice included in a same cuisine.
As shown above, Li teaches (Paragraph 0001, 0005-0007, 0077-0078) a method, system, device, electronic device, and storage medium for generating a dining report, wherein a meal report containing nutritional information on a cooked dish (qualitative data representing specified attribute information of the cuisine) is generated based on information about ingredients and seasonings used in cooking, wherein, in one possible implementation, the nutrients comprising the ingredients and seasonings are obtained from a cloud server. Li further teaches (Paragraph 0042) a device (cuisine result prediction information provision unit) is configured to receive the nutritional information of the cooked dish; generate the meal report based on the nutritional information of the cooked dish; and send the meal report to a user device. Also, Li teaches (Paragraph 0123) the meal report while eating to understand the data such as energy (where calories are units of energy and one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that an energy amount could readily be converted to units of calories), protein, fat, carbohydrates, sodium and calcium they will consume (specified nutrients).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim, as modified above, for the specified attribute information of the cuisine to include nutrient data including information on calories and specified nutrients included in the cuisine in view of Li, since both are directed to food dishes prepared from a combination of ingredients, since specified attribute information of the cuisine including nutrient data including information on energy and specified nutrients included in the cuisine is known in the art from Li, since providing nutrient data including information on calories and detailed nutrients included in the cuisine would help a user determine if a prepared cuisine is desirable or provides the needed nutrition, so that the user can decide whether or not to prepare the cuisine or to supplement the cuisine with additional food items, since energy/calorie data can help a user determine how many people can share the cuisine or how much of the cuisine to eat, and since nutritional information in the meal report allows users to understand and reasonably adjust their eating habits based on the meal report, thereby guiding people to eat scientifically (Li, Paragraph 0059).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR 20210094678 A) in view of Gilbert (US 20050208182 A1), Ferrel (US 2898214 A), Chen (US 5355777 A), Johnson (US 20150140162 A1), Belorgey (FR 3016276 A1), Bett-Garber et al. (Influence of Water-to-Rice Ratio . . .), Ertvaag (US 20200121124 A1), Mori (US 20030188639 A1), Cheng (US 20190053332 A1), Li (CN 114049933 A), Grimmer (US 20180144820 A1), and Saito (JP H1145297 A), and further in view of Fujita (US 20230405808 A1), Cronin (US 20180352836 A1), Wang (CN 113724028 A), and Eden (US 20230215293 A1).
Regarding claim 10, Kim, as modified above, is silent on the flavor data being presented on the purchase interface as a radar chart, the radar chart being generated by numerical values for the flavors and the viscosity, which are derived from evaluation data of the another user account on the same cuisine.
Fujita teaches (Paragraph 0001, 0008, 0108; Fig. 5) an information processing apparatus and a cooking system wherein a flavor presentation unit generates data for presenting, to a user a flavor of a cooking object (cuisine), wherein taste (e.g., sourness, sweetness, saltiness, bitterness,) of the cooking object may be presented visually in a radar chart to the user 1. While not explicitly stated, since a radar chart presents quantitative information of the flavor data, such a chart is necessarily generated using numerical values.
It is noted that Fujita does not explicitly state that the radar chart including savory flavor data and the viscosity of the cuisine. However, providing a user with such information is known in the art as shown below, and providing the information also in a radar chart would further inform a user of the state of the cuisine, and help for a better understanding.
Cronin teaches (Paragraph 0018, 0034, 0064) systems and methods for customizing beverage , wherein, when the user enters what ingredients/supplements they plan on using, a web portal may depict a flavor type and level as ingredients are added, wherein a virtual flavor module may determine or identify at least one of many flavor profiles: bitter, sweet, sour, savory, salty, anise, and so on. Thus, determination and display of a savory flavor of a consumable product based on ingredients is known in the art also.
Wang teaches (Paragraph 0001, 0098-0103) a food information display method, device, server and storage medium, wherein food characteristic information corresponding to the type of food is obtained by the user through the application of the user terminal, wherein food characteristic information includes taste information, which may include viscosity after cooking.
Eden teaches (claim 1) determining flavoring information for food and beverage flavors based on analyzing collected user experience data.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim, as modified above, to present flavor data on the purchase interface as a radar chart, the radar chart being generated by numerical values for the flavors and the viscosity, which are derived from evaluation data of the another user account on the same cuisine in view of Fujita, Cronin, Wang, and Eden, since each of Kim, Fujita, Cronin, Wang, and Eden are directed to consumable products, since presenting flavor data including bitter, sweet, and salty flavor as a radar chart (which is necessarily generated using numerical values) is known in the art from Fujita, since outputting savory flavor data is known from Cronin, since outputting viscosity data for a cooked food product is known from Wang, since determination of flavor data based on another user is known from Eden, since flavor data in the form of a radar chart is easy for the user to see and compare, since showing bitter flavor, a sweet flavor, a salty flavor, a savory flavor, and a viscosity of the cuisine would allow the user to evaluate multiple taste components together, since using another user’s evaluation would provide ensure that the flavor data results from actual testing, and since providing a visual chart containing flavor data would allow a user to determine whether or not to prepare the cuisine or to supplement the cuisine with additional food items.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR 20210094678 A) in view of Gilbert (US 20050208182 A1), Ferrel (US 2898214 A), Chen (US 5355777 A), Johnson (US 20150140162 A1), Belorgey (FR 3016276 A1), Bett-Garber et al. (Influence of Water-to-Rice Ratio . . .), Ertvaag (US 20200121124 A1), Mori (US 20030188639 A1), Lee (KR 101308033 B1) and Weems (US 20050037114 A1), and further in view of Cheng (US 20190053332 A1), Li (CN 114049933 A), and Grimmer (US 20180144820 A1).
Regarding claim 11, Kim, as modified above, is silent on the instant cooked food supply system comprising: an interface provision unit for providing a purchase interface, which is for purchasing a container, an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and a raw rice can of the multi-use instant cooking kit independently or in a set, to a user terminal; a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed through the multi-use instant cooking kit to the purchase interface according to information on the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and the raw rice can selected from a user account; and an ingredient selection guide unit for guiding selection of the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and a type of raw rice according to disease and health characteristics of a user, which are information stored in the user account.
Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0031; Fig. 1#110, 130, 140, 150, 152) a vendor system 152 (interface provision unit) is connected to the recipe server 140 through the network 150, and a user operating the adaptive cooking appliance 110, a user device 130 (user terminal), or other networked device, may access content on the recipe server 140 (where accessing such content necessitates a purchase interface), including recipes and an online shopping option to purchase corresponding meal kits (e.g., an aggregation of prepared ingredients, cooking supplies and/or instructions for preparing a meal in accordance with a user skill level or preference) pre-prepped foods (e.g., uncooked food that has been prepared ready for oven cooking), ingredients, supplies, etc. from the vendor. Additionally, Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0057) a user may have an associated user account wherein, in operation, the user accesses the recipe server 410 through the user interface of the client application 404 (purchase interface) on the user device 402, wherein the client application 404 includes a login screen 406 for logging into the user's subscription account, and the user may then browse recipes 408, identify source ingredients for selected recipes 410 and order food 414 through a provider, such as meal kit provider 420 and online grocery provider 422.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim as modified above to provide an interface provision unit for providing a purchase interface, which is for purchasing a container, an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and a raw rice can of the multi-use instant cooking kit independently or in a set, to a user terminal in view of Cheng since both are directed to cooking kits, Kim discloses an ingredient pack, seasoning pack and raw rice container, since an interface provision unit for providing a purchase interface, which is for purchasing a kit comprising ingredients and cooking supplies, or individual ingredients and cooking supplies, to a user terminal is known in the art as shown by Cheng, since a purchase interface for purchasing a container, an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and a raw rice can of the multi-use instant cooking kit independently or in a set would be convenient to the user by providing a single source by which all needed components of the cooking kit may be acquired instead of having to purchase the container and ingredients separately from different websites or stores, since providing the purchase interface to a user terminal would provide convenience to the user by allowing them to make purchases anywhere, without having to travel to physical stores, and since providing a purchase interface for the container and food packs would prevent the users from running out of the necessary components for production of a meal.
Li teaches (Paragraph 0001, 0005-0007, 0077-0078) a method, system, device, electronic device, and storage medium for generating a dining report, wherein a meal report containing nutritional information on a cooked dish (information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed) is generated based on information about ingredients and seasonings used in cooking, wherein, in one possible implementation, the nutrients comprising the ingredients and seasonings are obtained from a cloud server. Li further teaches (Paragraph 0042) a device (cuisine result prediction information provision unit) is configured to receive the nutritional information of the cooked dish; generate the meal report based on the nutritional information of the cooked dish; and send the meal report to a user device.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim, as modified above, to include a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed through the multi-use instant cooking kit according to information on the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and the raw rice can in view of Li, since both are directed to food dishes prepared from a combination of ingredients, since Kim discloses a cuisine prepared with a multi-use cooking kit from an ingredient pack, seasoning pack and raw rice container, since a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed according to information on the ingredients and seasonings is known in the art from Li, since providing cuisine prediction information would be helpful to a user in determining if a prepared cuisine is desirable or provides the needed nutrition, so that the user can decide whether or not to prepare the cuisine or to supplement the cuisine with additional food items, and since nutritional information (cuisine result prediction information) in the meal report allows users to understand and reasonably adjust their eating habits based on the meal report, thereby guiding people to eat scientifically (Li, Paragraph 0059).
Additionally, it is noted that Li indicates that the cuisine result prediction information is sent to a user device, but not specifically to a purchase interface, and that Li does not explicitly state that the ingredients and seasonings are selected from a user account. However, as shown above, Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0057) a user may have an associated user account wherein, in operation, the user accesses the recipe server 410 through the user interface of the client application 404 (purchase interface) on the user device 402, wherein the client application 404 includes a login screen 406 for logging into the user's subscription account, and the user may then browse recipes 408, identify source ingredients for selected recipes 410 and order food 414 through a provider, such as meal kit provider 420 and online grocery provider 422.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim to provide cuisine result prediction information to the purchase interface since both Cheng and Li disclose accessing information through interfaces on user devices and using the purchase interface for purchases and providing cuisine result prediction information would simplify operation and ensure that the user would not have to switch between different interfaces. Additionally, the use of a user account for selection of the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and the raw rice can would be obvious since Cheng discloses use of user account for purchasing ingredients, since user-related and cooking-related information (e.g., food and cooking environment initial data, food and cooking environment throughout the cook, user assessments of cooking outcomes through a user feedback interface, etc., could be associated with a particular user account (Cheng, Paragraph 0060), and since recommended recipes may be determined based on one or more of user preferences, information gathered from the user's prior cooks, usage statistics and ratings of similar users, user preferences and ratings associated with the user's past cooks, and/or other data tracked by the user account (Cheng, Paragraph 0066), since recipe suggestions might also take into account the user's geographic location which may be determined through an address associated with the user account (Cheng, Paragraph 0066), and since selecting ingredients with a user account would ensure deliver of ingredients to the correct user.
Grimmer teaches (Paragraph 0011, 0073) a system (an ingredient selection guide unit) for recommending foods to a user based on health data, comprising a database, a memory and a processor, wherein a database stores user health data for each user within a community of users, and wherein a web server interface 104 may maintain a user profile (user account) for each user. Grimmer further teaches (Paragraph 0012) the recommended foods include prepared meals and recipes (where a recipe comprises ingredients). Also, Grimmer teaches (Paragraph 0063, 0171, 0176) individualized meal and food recommendations to a user based on that user's health vitals, such as height, weight, blood pressure, age, waist circumference; the user's genotype and in particular genetic markers, such as SNPs, and phenotype data as determined by blood tests, wherein, in some embodiments, a user’s blood is tested for genetic markers related to celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and coronary artery disease.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim as modified above to provide an ingredient selection guide unit for guiding selection of the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and a type of raw rice according to disease and health characteristics of a user, which are information stored in the user account in view of Grimmer since both are directed to food dishes prepared from a combination of ingredients, since Kim discloses a cuisine prepared with a multi-use cooking kit from an ingredient pack, seasoning pack and raw rice container, since providing an ingredient selection guide unit for guiding selection of foods according to disease and health characteristics of a user, which are information stored in the user account is known in the art as shown by Grimmer, since selecting ingredients based on health and disease data can ensure that the prepared cuisine does not actively harm the consumer, since selecting ingredients based on health and disease data can ensure that the prepared cuisine improves the health of the user, and since food recommendations help the user on a daily, weekly, monthly, or other frequent basis achieve a desired state of wellbeing or one or more health goals through healthy and personalized consumption (Grimmer, Paragraph 0010).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR 20210094678 A) in view of Gilbert (US 20050208182 A1), Ferrel (US 2898214 A), Chen (US 5355777 A), Johnson (US 20150140162 A1), Belorgey (FR 3016276 A1), Bett-Garber et al. (Influence of Water-to-Rice Ratio . . .), Ertvaag (US 20200121124 A1), Mori (US 20030188639 A1), and Nunez (Yes, You Should Wash Rice . . .), and further in view of Cheng (US 20190053332 A1), Li (CN 114049933 A), and Grimmer (US 20180144820 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Kim, as modified above, is silent on the instant cooked food supply system comprising: an interface provision unit for providing a purchase interface, which is for purchasing a container, an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and a raw rice can of the multi-use instant cooking kit independently or in a set, to a user terminal; a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed through the multi-use instant cooking kit to the purchase interface according to information on the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and the raw rice can selected from a user account; and an ingredient selection guide unit for guiding selection of the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and a type of raw rice according to disease and health characteristics of a user, which are information stored in the user account.
Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0031; Fig. 1#110, 130, 140, 150, 152) a vendor system 152 (interface provision unit) is connected to the recipe server 140 through the network 150, and a user operating the adaptive cooking appliance 110, a user device 130 (user terminal), or other networked device, may access content on the recipe server 140 (where accessing such content necessitates a purchase interface), including recipes and an online shopping option to purchase corresponding meal kits (e.g., an aggregation of prepared ingredients, cooking supplies and/or instructions for preparing a meal in accordance with a user skill level or preference) pre-prepped foods (e.g., uncooked food that has been prepared ready for oven cooking), ingredients, supplies, etc. from the vendor. Additionally, Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0057) a user may have an associated user account wherein, in operation, the user accesses the recipe server 410 through the user interface of the client application 404 (purchase interface) on the user device 402, wherein the client application 404 includes a login screen 406 for logging into the user's subscription account, and the user may then browse recipes 408, identify source ingredients for selected recipes 410 and order food 414 through a provider, such as meal kit provider 420 and online grocery provider 422.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim as modified above to provide an interface provision unit for providing a purchase interface, which is for purchasing a container, an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and a raw rice can of the multi-use instant cooking kit independently or in a set, to a user terminal in view of Cheng since both are directed to cooking kits, Kim discloses an ingredient pack, seasoning pack and raw rice container, since an interface provision unit for providing a purchase interface, which is for purchasing a kit comprising ingredients and cooking supplies, or individual ingredients and cooking supplies, to a user terminal is known in the art as shown by Cheng, since a purchase interface for purchasing a container, an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and a raw rice can of the multi-use instant cooking kit independently or in a set would be convenient to the user by providing a single source by which all needed components of the cooking kit may be acquired instead of having to purchase the container and ingredients separately from different websites or stores, since providing the purchase interface to a user terminal would provide convenience to the user by allowing them to make purchases anywhere, without having to travel to physical stores, and since providing a purchase interface for the container and food packs would prevent the users from running out of the necessary components for production of a meal.
Li teaches (Paragraph 0001, 0005-0007, 0077-0078) a method, system, device, electronic device, and storage medium for generating a dining report, wherein a meal report containing nutritional information on a cooked dish (information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed) is generated based on information about ingredients and seasonings used in cooking, wherein, in one possible implementation, the nutrients comprising the ingredients and seasonings are obtained from a cloud server. Li further teaches (Paragraph 0042) a device (cuisine result prediction information provision unit) is configured to receive the nutritional information of the cooked dish; generate the meal report based on the nutritional information of the cooked dish; and send the meal report to a user device.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim, as modified above, to include a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed through the multi-use instant cooking kit according to information on the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and the raw rice can in view of Li, since both are directed to food dishes prepared from a combination of ingredients, since Kim discloses a cuisine prepared with a multi-use cooking kit from an ingredient pack, seasoning pack and raw rice container, since a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed according to information on the ingredients and seasonings is known in the art from Li, since providing cuisine prediction information would be helpful to a user in determining if a prepared cuisine is desirable or provides the needed nutrition, so that the user can decide whether or not to prepare the cuisine or to supplement the cuisine with additional food items, and since nutritional information (cuisine result prediction information) in the meal report allows users to understand and reasonably adjust their eating habits based on the meal report, thereby guiding people to eat scientifically (Li, Paragraph 0059).
Additionally, it is noted that Li indicates that the cuisine result prediction information is sent to a user device, but not specifically to a purchase interface, and that Li does not explicitly state that the ingredients and seasonings are selected from a user account. However, as shown above, Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0057) a user may have an associated user account wherein, in operation, the user accesses the recipe server 410 through the user interface of the client application 404 (purchase interface) on the user device 402, wherein the client application 404 includes a login screen 406 for logging into the user's subscription account, and the user may then browse recipes 408, identify source ingredients for selected recipes 410 and order food 414 through a provider, such as meal kit provider 420 and online grocery provider 422.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim to provide cuisine result prediction information to the purchase interface since both Cheng and Li disclose accessing information through interfaces on user devices and using the purchase interface for purchases and providing cuisine result prediction information would simplify operation and ensure that the user would not have to switch between different interfaces. Additionally, the use of a user account for selection of the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and the raw rice can would be obvious since Cheng discloses use of user account for purchasing ingredients, since user-related and cooking-related information (e.g., food and cooking environment initial data, food and cooking environment throughout the cook, user assessments of cooking outcomes through a user feedback interface, etc., could be associated with a particular user account (Cheng, Paragraph 0060), and since recommended recipes may be determined based on one or more of user preferences, information gathered from the user's prior cooks, usage statistics and ratings of similar users, user preferences and ratings associated with the user's past cooks, and/or other data tracked by the user account (Cheng, Paragraph 0066), since recipe suggestions might also take into account the user's geographic location which may be determined through an address associated with the user account (Cheng, Paragraph 0066), and since selecting ingredients with a user account would ensure deliver of ingredients to the correct user.
Grimmer teaches (Paragraph 0011, 0073) a system (an ingredient selection guide unit) for recommending foods to a user based on health data, comprising a database, a memory and a processor, wherein a database stores user health data for each user within a community of users, and wherein a web server interface 104 may maintain a user profile (user account) for each user. Grimmer further teaches (Paragraph 0012) the recommended foods include prepared meals and recipes (where a recipe comprises ingredients). Also, Grimmer teaches (Paragraph 0063, 0171, 0176) individualized meal and food recommendations to a user based on that user's health vitals, such as height, weight, blood pressure, age, waist circumference; the user's genotype and in particular genetic markers, such as SNPs, and phenotype data as determined by blood tests, wherein, in some embodiments, a user’s blood is tested for genetic markers related to celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and coronary artery disease.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim as modified above to provide an ingredient selection guide unit for guiding selection of the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and a type of raw rice according to disease and health characteristics of a user, which are information stored in the user account in view of Grimmer since both are directed to food dishes prepared from a combination of ingredients, since Kim discloses a cuisine prepared with a multi-use cooking kit from an ingredient pack, seasoning pack and raw rice container, since providing an ingredient selection guide unit for guiding selection of foods according to disease and health characteristics of a user, which are information stored in the user account is known in the art as shown by Grimmer, since selecting ingredients based on health and disease data can ensure that the prepared cuisine does not actively harm the consumer, since selecting ingredients based on health and disease data can ensure that the prepared cuisine improves the health of the user, and since food recommendations help the user on a daily, weekly, monthly, or other frequent basis achieve a desired state of wellbeing or one or more health goals through healthy and personalized consumption (Grimmer, Paragraph 0010).
Claim(s) 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR 20210094678 A) in view of Gilbert (US 20050208182 A1), Ferrel (US 2898214 A), Chen (US 5355777 A), Johnson (US 20150140162 A1), Belorgey (FR 3016276 A1), Bett-Garber et al. (Influence of Water-to-Rice Ratio . . .), Ertvaag (US 20200121124 A1), and Mori (US 20030188639 A1), and further in view of Cheng (US 20190053332 A1), Li (CN 114049933 A), and Grimmer (US 20180144820 A1).
Regarding claims 13 and 14, Kim, as modified above, is silent on the instant cooked food supply system comprising: an interface provision unit for providing a purchase interface, which is for purchasing a container, an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and a raw rice can of the multi-use instant cooking kit independently or in a set, to a user terminal; a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed through the multi-use instant cooking kit to the purchase interface according to information on the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and the raw rice can selected from a user account; and an ingredient selection guide unit for guiding selection of the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and a type of raw rice according to disease and health characteristics of a user, which are information stored in the user account.
Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0031; Fig. 1#110, 130, 140, 150, 152) a vendor system 152 (interface provision unit) is connected to the recipe server 140 through the network 150, and a user operating the adaptive cooking appliance 110, a user device 130 (user terminal), or other networked device, may access content on the recipe server 140 (where accessing such content necessitates a purchase interface), including recipes and an online shopping option to purchase corresponding meal kits (e.g., an aggregation of prepared ingredients, cooking supplies and/or instructions for preparing a meal in accordance with a user skill level or preference) pre-prepped foods (e.g., uncooked food that has been prepared ready for oven cooking), ingredients, supplies, etc. from the vendor. Additionally, Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0057) a user may have an associated user account wherein, in operation, the user accesses the recipe server 410 through the user interface of the client application 404 (purchase interface) on the user device 402, wherein the client application 404 includes a login screen 406 for logging into the user's subscription account, and the user may then browse recipes 408, identify source ingredients for selected recipes 410 and order food 414 through a provider, such as meal kit provider 420 and online grocery provider 422.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim as modified above to provide an interface provision unit for providing a purchase interface, which is for purchasing a container, an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and a raw rice can of the multi-use instant cooking kit independently or in a set, to a user terminal in view of Cheng since both are directed to cooking kits, Kim discloses an ingredient pack, seasoning pack and raw rice container, since an interface provision unit for providing a purchase interface, which is for purchasing a kit comprising ingredients and cooking supplies, or individual ingredients and cooking supplies, to a user terminal is known in the art as shown by Cheng, since a purchase interface for purchasing a container, an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and a raw rice can of the multi-use instant cooking kit independently or in a set would be convenient to the user by providing a single source by which all needed components of the cooking kit may be acquired instead of having to purchase the container and ingredients separately from different websites or stores, since providing the purchase interface to a user terminal would provide convenience to the user by allowing them to make purchases anywhere, without having to travel to physical stores, and since providing a purchase interface for the container and food packs would prevent the users from running out of the necessary components for production of a meal.
Li teaches (Paragraph 0001, 0005-0007, 0077-0078) a method, system, device, electronic device, and storage medium for generating a dining report, wherein a meal report containing nutritional information on a cooked dish (information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed) is generated based on information about ingredients and seasonings used in cooking, wherein, in one possible implementation, the nutrients comprising the ingredients and seasonings are obtained from a cloud server. Li further teaches (Paragraph 0042) a device (cuisine result prediction information provision unit) is configured to receive the nutritional information of the cooked dish; generate the meal report based on the nutritional information of the cooked dish; and send the meal report to a user device.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim, as modified above, to include a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed through the multi-use instant cooking kit according to information on the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and the raw rice can in view of Li, since both are directed to food dishes prepared from a combination of ingredients, since Kim discloses a cuisine prepared with a multi-use cooking kit from an ingredient pack, seasoning pack and raw rice container, since a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed according to information on the ingredients and seasonings is known in the art from Li, since providing cuisine prediction information would be helpful to a user in determining if a prepared cuisine is desirable or provides the needed nutrition, so that the user can decide whether or not to prepare the cuisine or to supplement the cuisine with additional food items, and since nutritional information (cuisine result prediction information) in the meal report allows users to understand and reasonably adjust their eating habits based on the meal report, thereby guiding people to eat scientifically (Li, Paragraph 0059).
Additionally, it is noted that Li indicates that the cuisine result prediction information is sent to a user device, but not specifically to a purchase interface, and that Li does not explicitly state that the ingredients and seasonings are selected from a user account. However, as shown above, Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0057) a user may have an associated user account wherein, in operation, the user accesses the recipe server 410 through the user interface of the client application 404 (purchase interface) on the user device 402, wherein the client application 404 includes a login screen 406 for logging into the user's subscription account, and the user may then browse recipes 408, identify source ingredients for selected recipes 410 and order food 414 through a provider, such as meal kit provider 420 and online grocery provider 422.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim to provide cuisine result prediction information to the purchase interface since both Cheng and Li disclose accessing information through interfaces on user devices and using the purchase interface for purchases and providing cuisine result prediction information would simplify operation and ensure that the user would not have to switch between different interfaces. Additionally, the use of a user account for selection of the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and the raw rice can would be obvious since Cheng discloses use of user account for purchasing ingredients, since user-related and cooking-related information (e.g., food and cooking environment initial data, food and cooking environment throughout the cook, user assessments of cooking outcomes through a user feedback interface, etc., could be associated with a particular user account (Cheng, Paragraph 0060), and since recommended recipes may be determined based on one or more of user preferences, information gathered from the user's prior cooks, usage statistics and ratings of similar users, user preferences and ratings associated with the user's past cooks, and/or other data tracked by the user account (Cheng, Paragraph 0066), since recipe suggestions might also take into account the user's geographic location which may be determined through an address associated with the user account (Cheng, Paragraph 0066), and since selecting ingredients with a user account would ensure deliver of ingredients to the correct user.
Grimmer teaches (Paragraph 0011, 0073) a system (an ingredient selection guide unit) for recommending foods to a user based on health data, comprising a database, a memory and a processor, wherein a database stores user health data for each user within a community of users, and wherein a web server interface 104 may maintain a user profile (user account) for each user. Grimmer further teaches (Paragraph 0012) the recommended foods include prepared meals and recipes (where a recipe comprises ingredients). Also, Grimmer teaches (Paragraph 0063, 0171, 0176) individualized meal and food recommendations to a user based on that user's health vitals, such as height, weight, blood pressure, age, waist circumference; the user's genotype and in particular genetic markers, such as SNPs, and phenotype data as determined by blood tests, wherein, in some embodiments, a user’s blood is tested for genetic markers related to celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and coronary artery disease.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim as modified above to provide an ingredient selection guide unit for guiding selection of the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and a type of raw rice according to disease and health characteristics of a user, which are information stored in the user account in view of Grimmer since both are directed to food dishes prepared from a combination of ingredients, since Kim discloses a cuisine prepared with a multi-use cooking kit from an ingredient pack, seasoning pack and raw rice container, since providing an ingredient selection guide unit for guiding selection of foods according to disease and health characteristics of a user, which are information stored in the user account is known in the art as shown by Grimmer, since selecting ingredients based on health and disease data can ensure that the prepared cuisine does not actively harm the consumer, since selecting ingredients based on health and disease data can ensure that the prepared cuisine improves the health of the user, and since food recommendations help the user on a daily, weekly, monthly, or other frequent basis achieve a desired state of wellbeing or one or more health goals through healthy and personalized consumption (Grimmer, Paragraph 0010).
Regarding claim 15, Kim, as modified above, is silent on the instant cooked food supply system comprising: an interface provision unit for providing a purchase interface, which is for purchasing a container, an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and a raw rice can of the multi-use instant cooking kit independently or in a set, to a user terminal; a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed through the multi-use instant cooking kit to the purchase interface according to information on the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and the raw rice can selected from a user account; and an ingredient selection guide unit for guiding selection of the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and a type of raw rice according to disease and health characteristics of a user, which are information stored in the user account.
Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0031; Fig. 1#110, 130, 140, 150, 152) a vendor system 152 (interface provision unit) is connected to the recipe server 140 through the network 150, and a user operating the adaptive cooking appliance 110, a user device 130 (user terminal), or other networked device, may access content on the recipe server 140 (where accessing such content necessitates a purchase interface), including recipes and an online shopping option to purchase corresponding meal kits (e.g., an aggregation of prepared ingredients, cooking supplies and/or instructions for preparing a meal in accordance with a user skill level or preference) pre-prepped foods (e.g., uncooked food that has been prepared ready for oven cooking), ingredients, supplies, etc. from the vendor. Additionally, Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0057) a user may have an associated user account wherein, in operation, the user accesses the recipe server 410 through the user interface of the client application 404 (purchase interface) on the user device 402, wherein the client application 404 includes a login screen 406 for logging into the user's subscription account, and the user may then browse recipes 408, identify source ingredients for selected recipes 410 and order food 414 through a provider, such as meal kit provider 420 and online grocery provider 422.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim as modified above to provide an interface provision unit for providing a purchase interface, which is for purchasing a container, an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and a raw rice can of the multi-use instant cooking kit independently or in a set, to a user terminal in view of Cheng since both are directed to cooking kits, Kim discloses an ingredient pack, seasoning pack and raw rice container, since an interface provision unit for providing a purchase interface, which is for purchasing a kit comprising ingredients and cooking supplies, or individual ingredients and cooking supplies, to a user terminal is known in the art as shown by Cheng, since a purchase interface for purchasing a container, an ingredient pack, a seasoning pack, and a raw rice can of the multi-use instant cooking kit independently or in a set would be convenient to the user by providing a single source by which all needed components of the cooking kit may be acquired instead of having to purchase the container and ingredients separately from different websites or stores, since providing the purchase interface to a user terminal would provide convenience to the user by allowing them to make purchases anywhere, without having to travel to physical stores, and since providing a purchase interface for the container and food packs would prevent the users from running out of the necessary components for production of a meal.
Li teaches (Paragraph 0001, 0005-0007, 0077-0078) a method, system, device, electronic device, and storage medium for generating a dining report, wherein a meal report containing nutritional information on a cooked dish (information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed) is generated based on information about ingredients and seasonings used in cooking, wherein, in one possible implementation, the nutrients comprising the ingredients and seasonings are obtained from a cloud server. Li further teaches (Paragraph 0042) a device (cuisine result prediction information provision unit) is configured to receive the nutritional information of the cooked dish; generate the meal report based on the nutritional information of the cooked dish; and send the meal report to a user device.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim, as modified above, to include a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed through the multi-use instant cooking kit according to information on the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and the raw rice can in view of Li, since both are directed to food dishes prepared from a combination of ingredients, since Kim discloses a cuisine prepared with a multi-use cooking kit from an ingredient pack, seasoning pack and raw rice container, since a cuisine result prediction information provision unit for providing information on a cuisine prepared when cooking is performed according to information on the ingredients and seasonings is known in the art from Li, since providing cuisine prediction information would be helpful to a user in determining if a prepared cuisine is desirable or provides the needed nutrition, so that the user can decide whether or not to prepare the cuisine or to supplement the cuisine with additional food items, and since nutritional information (cuisine result prediction information) in the meal report allows users to understand and reasonably adjust their eating habits based on the meal report, thereby guiding people to eat scientifically (Li, Paragraph 0059).
Additionally, it is noted that Li indicates that the cuisine result prediction information is sent to a user device, but not specifically to a purchase interface, and that Li does not explicitly state that the ingredients and seasonings are selected from a user account. However, as shown above, Cheng teaches (Paragraph 0057) a user may have an associated user account wherein, in operation, the user accesses the recipe server 410 through the user interface of the client application 404 (purchase interface) on the user device 402, wherein the client application 404 includes a login screen 406 for logging into the user's subscription account, and the user may then browse recipes 408, identify source ingredients for selected recipes 410 and order food 414 through a provider, such as meal kit provider 420 and online grocery provider 422.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim to provide cuisine result prediction information to the purchase interface since both Cheng and Li disclose accessing information through interfaces on user devices and using the purchase interface for purchases and providing cuisine result prediction information would simplify operation and ensure that the user would not have to switch between different interfaces. Additionally, the use of a user account for selection of the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and the raw rice can would be obvious since Cheng discloses use of user account for purchasing ingredients, since user-related and cooking-related information (e.g., food and cooking environment initial data, food and cooking environment throughout the cook, user assessments of cooking outcomes through a user feedback interface, etc., could be associated with a particular user account (Cheng, Paragraph 0060), and since recommended recipes may be determined based on one or more of user preferences, information gathered from the user's prior cooks, usage statistics and ratings of similar users, user preferences and ratings associated with the user's past cooks, and/or other data tracked by the user account (Cheng, Paragraph 0066), since recipe suggestions might also take into account the user's geographic location which may be determined through an address associated with the user account (Cheng, Paragraph 0066), and since selecting ingredients with a user account would ensure deliver of ingredients to the correct user.
Grimmer teaches (Paragraph 0011, 0073) a system (an ingredient selection guide unit) for recommending foods to a user based on health data, comprising a database, a memory and a processor, wherein a database stores user health data for each user within a community of users, and wherein a web server interface 104 may maintain a user profile (user account) for each user. Grimmer further teaches (Paragraph 0012) the recommended foods include prepared meals and recipes (where a recipe comprises ingredients). Also, Grimmer teaches (Paragraph 0063, 0171, 0176) individualized meal and food recommendations to a user based on that user's health vitals, such as height, weight, blood pressure, age, waist circumference; the user's genotype and in particular genetic markers, such as SNPs, and phenotype data as determined by blood tests, wherein, in some embodiments, a user’s blood is tested for genetic markers related to celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and coronary artery disease.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Kim as modified above to provide an ingredient selection guide unit for guiding selection of the ingredient pack, the seasoning pack, and a type of raw rice according to disease and health characteristics of a user, which are information stored in the user account in view of Grimmer since both are directed to food dishes prepared from a combination of ingredients, since Kim discloses a cuisine prepared with a multi-use cooking kit from an ingredient pack, seasoning pack and raw rice container, since providing an ingredient selection guide unit for guiding selection of foods according to disease and health characteristics of a user, which are information stored in the user account is known in the art as shown by Grimmer, since selecting ingredients based on health and disease data can ensure that the prepared cuisine does not actively harm the consumer, since selecting ingredients based on health and disease data can ensure that the prepared cuisine improves the health of the user, and since food recommendations help the user on a daily, weekly, monthly, or other frequent basis achieve a desired state of wellbeing or one or more health goals through healthy and personalized consumption (Grimmer, Paragraph 0010).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see PAGES 2-8, filed 01/27/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-3 and 5-15 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, these arguments have been made in view of amendments to the claims, and, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made over Kim (KR 20210094678 A) in view of Gilbert (US 20050208182 A1), Ferrel (US 2898214 A), Chen (US 5355777 A), Johnson (US 20150140162 A1), Belorgey (FR 3016276 A1), Bett-Garber et al. (Influence of Water-to-Rice Ratio . . .), Ertvaag (US 20200121124 A1), and Mori (US 20030188639 A1) as shown above.
Regarding the Applicant’s argument that the combination of Kim, Johnson, Belorgey, and Bett-Garber fails to teach or suggest “the scales being calibrated to achieve a plurality of user-desired cooked food textures for a constant aggregate volume of the dry ingredient, the seasoning composition, and the raw rice” as recited in amended claim 1, since Johnson’s primary technical objective is to simplify the process and prevent common errors like "soupy" or "mushy" rice, rather than offering user-selectable texture profiles through multiple scale options, since Belorgey (Fig. 2, Paragraph 1255, 1512) states that the marks are defined by the specific quantities of each ingredient in a recipe (e.g., flour then milk) rather than offering variations for a single fixed-quantity kit, since Bett-Garber focused on evaluating weight-based ratios and fails to teach or suggest the physical calibration of scales for a constant aggregate volume, and since Bett-Garber provides the motivation to control texture but provides no mechanism for doing so within the physical constraints of the container recited in claim 1, and since Bett-Garber’s weight-based data cannot be equated to the physical, volumetric calibration system required by amended claim 1, the Examiner notes that 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).
Regarding Johnson, if the Applicant is suggesting the providing a plurality of scales for different water-to-solid volume ratios would teach away from Johnson, since Johnson only teaches a single scale for a given amount of rice, the Examiner respectfully disagrees. It is acknowledged that Johnson is silent on a plurality of scales for different water-to-solid volume ratios. However, Johnson states (Paragraph 0051) a distance between the water line 80 and the floor 30 is typically preferably 0.75 inches and exhibits generally effective results when between about 0.625 and 0.875 inches above the floor 30, indicating that effective results can be achieved over a range of potential amounts of water, and, therefore different water-to-solid volume ratios. Thus, even if Johnson only discloses one scale, it does not teach away from a plurality of scales.
Regarding Belorgey, the Examiner concedes that Belorgey alone does not explicitly disclose “the scales being calibrated to achieve a plurality of user-desired cooked food textures for a constant aggregate volume of the dry ingredient, the seasoning composition and the raw rice”. Belorgey discloses scales to indicate the amount of an ingredient to be supplied after multiple prior ingredients are added, and together with Johnson, would render it obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to configure the scales to indicate a target water level relative to a cumulative volume of a food component consisting of the dry ingredient, the seasoning composition, and the raw rice when situated in the container for the reasons stated above with regard to claim 1.
When considering the references as a whole, Kim, in view of Gilbert, Ferrel, and Chen, discloses a cuisine comprising a dry ingredient, seasoning, raw rice, and water provided in an inner layer with scales and discrete vertical heights. Johnson discloses scales for a target level of water relative to a cumulative amount of a food component consisting of rice, while Belorgey discloses scales for a target level of an ingredient relative to the cumulative amount of multiple other ingredients. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide a scale for a target water level relative to a cumulative volume of a food component consisting of the dry ingredient, the seasoning composition, and the raw rice for the reasons stated above with regard to claim 1. Furthermore, the effects of different amounts of water on the texture of rice are known from Bett-Garber et al., which teaches that the water-to-rice ratio significantly affects texture quality (which will also affect the texture of the food as a whole as a result of the rice being combined with the other ingredients). The Applicant contends that Bett-Garber provides the motivation to control texture but provides no mechanism for doing so within the physical constraints of the container recited in claim 1. The Examiner respectfully disagrees. The other cited prior art, particularly Kim, Johnson, and Belorgey disclose containers with a mechanism to control the amount of water (scales or marks), and one of ordinary skill in the art would easily recognize that additional scales could be provided for different amounts of water. In other words, it is known to provide a scale on a container for an amount of water to be used in preparation of a cuisine comprising rice, it is also known that different amounts of water can affect the resultant texture of the rice, and, therefore, the food comprising the rice. Consequently, providing additional scales for other amounts of water resulting in different textures would be obvious for the reasons stated above with regard to claim 1, e.g., providing multiple scales for water corresponding to different textures would satisfy a greater number of consumers, and since some recipes or meals may call for different textures, so providing multiple scales for water corresponding to different textures would allow for production of a larger variety of meals/recipes.
The Applicant also argues that Bett-Garber focused on evaluating weight-based ratios and Bett-Garber’s weight-based data cannot be equated to the physical, volumetric calibration system required by amended claim 1. These arguments are made in view of amendments to claim 1. The Examiner notes that claim 1 is now being rejected under 35 USC 112(a) for failing to comply with the written description requirement, since the Applicant’s Specification does not appear to contain any reference to volume or volume measurement specifically. Regardless, the Examiner has now cited Ertvaag and Mori which disclose the use of volume as measuring unit for an amount of water shown on a scale of a container for food preparation, and the conversion between quantity parameters, such as weight and volume, particularly of water which has a known density, is well understood by and within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art.
Consequently, claim 1, and all dependent claims remain rejected under 35 USC 103.
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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/AUSTIN PARKER TAYLOR/Examiner, Art Unit 1792
/ERIK KASHNIKOW/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1792