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 .
This office action is in response to the application filed on September 7, 2023.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group II, claims 6 and 7, in the reply filed on April 24, 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the cited prior art reference does not disclose or suggest “bran derived from white wheat” (Remarks p. 3). This is not found persuasive because the cited reference teaches that the bran is ordinary wheat bran [0019], ordinary wheat is the same as common wheat, which as stated by applicant in the claims, is white wheat.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 1-5 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on April 24, 2026.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d) with a filing date of March 26, 2021. The certified copy of JP 2021053760 has been filed in the present application, received on September 7, 2023.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
The present application is a 371 National Stage Application of PCT/ JP2022/013853 which has a filing date of March 24, 2022.
Status of Application
Claims 1-7 were originally presented and subject to a restriction requirement. Claims 1-7 are pending; claims 1-5 are withdrawn. Claims 6 and 7 are presented for examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shi (CN 112106929; cited on PTO-892 dated Feb. 26, 2026).
Examiner’s note: citations of Shi refer to the machine translation.
Shi discloses preparing dried noodles (i.e., pasta) that are prepared (i.e., mixed; a method for producing dried pasta) [0008] with 35 parts by mass wheat bran powder in 100 parts by mass wheat flour (i.e., a flour ingredient) (claims 1 and 4) wherein the bran is derived from common wheat (Abstract; [0019]).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Arlotti et al. (US PG Pub. 2007/0148319), herein after referred to as Arlotti.
Arlotti discloses a process for the production of a flour (claim 6) and products, such as pasta shapes, made therefrom [0032] (i.e., a method for producing dried pasta), comprising a step of adding (i.e., mixing) 5-30 wt.% bran to a soft wheat flour (i.e., flour ingredient) based on the total weight of the flour to form a mixture (i.e., 5-40 parts by mass bran in 100 parts by mass of a flour ingredient) ([0025]; claim 2), wherein the flour and bran is Triticum aestivum [0001], which is the scientific name for common wheat.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi (CN 112106929; cited on PTO-892 dated Feb. 26, 2026) as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Miyajima et al. (JP 2015167507), herein after referred to as Shi and Miyajima, respectfully.
Examiner’s note: citations of Shi and Miyajima refer to each respective machine translation.
Shi discloses the method of producing a dried pasta as set forth above with regard to claim 6.
Shi also discloses that the pasta is in the form of noodles made from the dough as described (claim 1) (i.e., noodle strands obtained from a dough containing the flour ingredient and the bran).
Shi is silent as to the specific step of drying and drying temperature.
Miyajima, in the same field of invention, teaches pasta and noodles made from a dough containing a flour ingredient and bran that are dried at a temperature of 70°C [0035]. Miyajima teaches drying temperatures for flour and bran pasta where Shi is silent, thereby offering a guideline as to suitable drying temperatures. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of Shi to dry at the temperatures of Miyajima, thereby arriving at the claimed invention, with the reasonable expectation that the temperatures are suitable for drying the claimed pasta.
Conclusion
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/M.E.S./Examiner, Art Unit 1791
/Nikki H. Dees/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1791
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