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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-6, 8 and 9 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 09/16/2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 11-13 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cagley et al. (5,112,638) in view of Rozas (H200005B).
With respect to claim 11, Cagley et al. teaches in Fig. 1 a system for managing throughput in a production facility (seen in Fig. 2a) for processing a sugar-containing crop material (beets; 8), the system (Fig.1) comprising; a) a first detection apparatus to detect a dry matter content and a sugar content of the crop material (as indirectly taught in Col. 21 lines 51-65; which discloses controlling a diffuser based on detect dry weight and sugar content); b) a second detection apparatus (i.e. Gas Chromatographic analysis via Fig. 5) in communication (as the results of the analysis are used to set the operating characteristics of the diffuser, 100; as Cagley et al. teaches testing the sugarbeet fiber prior to processing and after to ensure proper setting of the overall system used to process the fiber material; Col. 43 lines 36-62 ) with a fluid-based diffusion apparatus (100) to detect a processed sugar content of the fluid within the diffusion apparatus (100) when the crop material (8) is in the diffusion apparatus (100; as the chromatographic analysis can occur while crop material is in the diffusion; therefore, insofar has how the second detection is structurally defined relative to the system for managing throughput, the chromatographic analysis reads on the claimed limitation), said diffusion apparatus (100) having at least a plurality of operational modes (i.e. insofar as how the modes are structurally defined, on and off modes reads on the claim language, as well as controlled flows of beet and water inputs 101 and 104).
Cagley et al. remains silent regarding a controller for controlling an operation of the diffusion apparatus in each operational mode; and d) a memory and processor configured to: i) receive the dry matter content and the processed sugar content from the first and second detectors; ii) compare the dry matter content and the processed sugar content; iii) generate a comparison value; iv) determine whether the comparison value meets a threshold processed sugar yield target; and v) transmit a signal to the controller for maintaining or changing the operational mode of the diffusion apparatus based on the determination in step (iv).
Rozas teaches a similar diffusion apparatus seen in the figure having a controller [0036] for controlling an operation of a diffusion apparatus (seen in the figure) in each operational mode (i.e. a mode of operation; [0028]); and a memory and processor (as indirectly taught for performing the control and storing of data) configured to: receive dry matter content and the processed sugar (as the taught controller receive respective data related to the dry and sugar content of the material within the diffusion apparatus) from first and second detectors (1 and 10); compare the dry matter content and the processed sugar content (through the disclosed mathematical operations; see [0055-0065]); generate a comparison value (i.e. a determined variable); determine whether the comparison value meets a threshold processed sugar yield target (as the determined variables are compared against reference values for the purpose of controlling the diffusion apparatus; [0062-0063]; and transmit a signal to the controller for maintaining or changing the operational mode of the diffusion apparatus based on the determination (as Rozas teaches based on the determined variables relative to the reference values, water regulation through the diffusion apparatus is controlled; [0064-0065].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the instant invention to modify the system of Cagley et al. to include the controller and corresponding control logic such that the sensed data from Cagley et al. is used to actively control the diffusion apparatus of Cagley using the taught control logic of Rozas. Further, such a modification improves the quality of control, [0052], thereby improving the overall system of Cagley et al. by including an adaptive control characteristic for the diffusion apparatus.
With respect to claim 12, Cagley et al. as modified teaches the system wherein the threshold processed sugar yield target is generated by a second processor (as Rozas teaches a second processor 5 for determining the reference value that reads on the claimed “the threshold processed sugar yield target”).
With respect to claim 13, Cagley et al. as modified teaches the system wherein the first detection apparatus comprises a measurement apparatus (i.e. a mass spectrometry; Col. 7 lines 2-10) for measuring a raw sugar content of the crop material (8), preferably wherein the measurement apparatus (as disclosed in Col. 7 lines 2-10) uses spectrometry to measure the raw sugar content (as Cagley et al. teaches using mass spectrometry to measure material; see Col. 7 lines 2-10).
With respect to claim 16, Cagley et al. as modified teaches the system wherein the second processor (5 of Rozas) is configured to: a) receive a weight input indicating a quantity of the crop material (as Roza teaches Tfo, which is defined as a specific weight of beet used in the adaptive control of the diffusion apparatus); b) receive the dry matter content and the sugar content from the first detection apparatus (as the combination, as a whole, teaches the dry matter content and sugar content being detected in the system of Cagley et al.); and c) determine the threshold processed sugar yield target based on the weight input and the dry matter content (where the combination, as a whole, teaches the adaptive control being based on the target data, via Rozas, using the detected data from the detection of both the dry matter content and sugar content of the crop material).
Claim(s) 14 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cagley et al. (5,112,638) in view of Rozas (H200005B), as applied to claims 11 and 13, further in view of Beck (WO 2009017649A1).
With respect to claim 14, Cagley et al. as modified teaches all that is claimed in the above rejection of claim 13 but remains silent regarding a spectroscopic method selected from the group consisting of: infrared spectroscopy; mid-infrared spectroscopy; near infrared spectroscopy; Raman spectroscopy; hyperspectral imaging; refractometry; polarimetry; and a combination thereof.
Beck teaches a similar system that includes a spectroscopic method being an infrared spectroscopy (as Beck teaches on page 25, lines 14-26, using infrared reflectance spectroscopy for measuring crop material).
Because both Cagley et al. and Beck teaches methods for measuring characteristics of a crop using spectroscopic methods, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the instant invention to substitute the spectroscopic method of Cagley with the infrared reflectance spectroscopy of Beck to achieve the predictable results of measuring variation of a crop material. Further, such a modification aids in the speed and non-destructiveness of measuring a sample through minimum preparation, thereby improving the speed and accuracy of the measurement process taught in Cagley et al.
With respect to claim 15, Cagley et al. as modified teaches all that is claimed in the above rejection of claim 11 but remains silent regarding the system further comprising a third detection apparatus in communication with the diffusion apparatus to detect a crude protein content of a pulp formed from the crop material within the diffusion apparatus.
Beck teaches a similar system that includes analytical tool (page 5, line 23 to page 6 line 24) as a detection apparatus to detect a crude protein content of a pulp formed from the crop material (as Beck discloses using analytical data to detect a crude protein of a pulp of crop material).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the instant invention to modify the system of Cagley et al. to include the detection apparatus, i.e. analytical tool, to detect the pulp beet crop material in the diffusion apparatus of Cagley et al. because Beck teaches such a detection apparatus results in more accurate prediction results, page 5 line 23 to page 6 line 24, thereby improving the detection accuracy of Cagley et al.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Medoff (10,508,291) which teaches a biomass processing system involving the detection of materials and comparing the detected levels against thresholds.
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/MATTHEW G MARINI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853