DETAILED ACTION
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 present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s reply dated 16 September 2025 to the restriction requirement mailed 16 July 2025 has been received. Applicant has elected Group I, claims 1 – 15 without traverse. Claims 16 – 20 have been withdrawn from further consideration as directed to a non-elected invention and an action on the merits of claims 1 – 15 follows.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 recites “to permit release of moisture from an interior of the seal pouch”. It would appear the claim should recite ‘to prevent release of moisture from an interior of the sealed pouch’.
Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 7 recites “wherein susceptor occupies at least about 80% a surface area”. It would appear the claim should recite ‘wherein the susceptor occupies at least about 80% of a surface area’.
Claim 8 recites “to permit release of moisture from an interior of the seal pouch”. It would appear the claim should recite ‘to prevent release of moisture from an interior of the sealed pouch’.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 – 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 claims 1 and 8, line 1 and 2, there is no antecedent basis for the term “the food product”.
Claims 1 and 8 recite with respect to a vent “a spacing of at least about 14% of a length between the opposing first and second seals from each of the opposing first and second seals”. Since the claim recites that the vent has “a spacing of at least about 14% of a length between the opposing first and second seals” it is unclear what is meant by “from each of the opposing first and second seals”. The claim has been treated as the vent is to be about at least 14% of a length between the first and second seals. Clarification is required.
Claims 2 – 15 are rejected by virtue of their dependence on a rejected base claim.
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.
Claims 1, 3 – 8, and 10 – 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wnek et al. US 2008/0078759 in view of Mir US 2019/0117012.
Regarding claims 1 and 8, Wnek discloses a single use prepackaged frozen food product (paragraph [0017]) capable of roasting said food product in a microwave oven (paragraph [0002]) which comprises a plurality of frozen food pieces (chicken nuggets) having a moisture content by weight from about 10% to about 90% (where percent weight loss represents a moisture content) (test 2, 28.2%) and a sealed pouch containing the plurality of frozen food pieces positioned within an interior volume defined by the sealed pouch (paragraph [0082]). The sealed pouch is formed from a flexible material (MICROFLEX®) defining a plurality of inflatable segments (pillows) in a rectangular array having a susceptor (205) on an interior surface of the sealed pouch (paragraph [0100] and fig. 2C). The sealed pouch includes a top panel sealed to a bottom panel via opposing first and second seals to form the interior volume (paragraph [0121]), and a vent positioned through the flexible material to permit release of moisture from an interior of the seal pouch during microwave cooking (paragraph [0147]).
Further, Wnek also discloses the vents (slits 440b) would be off centered along edges 436 which is to say that Wnek is disclosing that vent is positioned with respect to the rectangular array of the plurality of inflatable segments such that at least two edges of the vent align with the rectangular array without intersecting an inflatable segment of the plurality of inflatable segments (paragraph [0123] and fig. 4A). The interior surface of the pouch is configured to contact at least a portion of the plurality of frozen food pieces as the plurality of inflatable segments inflate with moisture released from the plurality of frozen food pieces during microwave cooking to push the susceptor into contact with the food (expansion of water vapor and air in the closed cells 214 applies pressure on the susceptor film 205 ) (paragraph [0100]-[0101]). Contact occurs from each of a top orientation and a bottom orientation during microwave cooking of the microwave food package (the susceptor contacts all surfaces of the food product ) (paragraph [0016]) while moisture is released through the vent to roast the at least a portion of the plurality of frozen food pieces through heating of the susceptor (paragraph [0100]-[0101]).
Claims 1 and 8 differ from Wnek in the vent occupying a surface area from about 1.5% to about 2.5% of a total surface area of the interior surface, the vent positioned on the top panel with a spacing of at least about 14% of a length between the opposing first and second seals from each of the opposing first and second seals.
Mir discloses a single use prepackaged frozen food product capable of cooking said food product in a microwave oven (paragraph [0048]) which comprises a plurality of frozen food pieces positioned in the interior volume of a sealed pouch (fig. 2) which pouch is formed from a flexible material (base films) including a top panel sealed to a bottom panel to form the interior volume (paragraph [0050]) and a vent (slit 115) (engineered to break open at a particular level of pressure build-up) positioned in the top panel (paragraph [0051]) having a length between the opposing first and second seals, which length can vary (paragraph [0053]). As is clearly evidenced in figure 19 there would be a spacing of at least about 14% of a length between opposing first and second seals (i.e. the left and right seals), therefore teaching and suggesting a known degree of spacing between the vent and the opposing first and second seals. Once it was known to position a vent through the flexible material to permit release of moisture from an interior of the pouch during microwave cooking the substitution of one known vent for another known vent with a spacing of at least about 14% of a length between opposing first and second seals to obtain predictable results would have been an obvious matter of choice and design to the ordinarily skilled artisan (MPEP § 2143 I.(B). Regarding the particular surface area the vent would occupy Mir discloses that the vent (115) may have varying dimensional characteristics such that upon cooking the vent may resist premature opening or be delayed in structural breakdown to ensuring that the pouch is vented at the proper time (paragraph [0054]) which is to say that the surface area that the vent would occupy based on the total surface area of the interior surface would be a result effective variable that the ordinarily skilled artisan would regularly and routinely optimize. Where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation. The normal desire of scientists or artisans to improve upon what is already generally known provides the motivation to determine where in a disclosed set of percentage ranges is the optimum combination of percentages. It is a settled principle of law that a mere carrying forward of an original patented conception involving only change of form, proportions, or degree, or the substitution of equivalents doing the same thing as the original invention, by substantially the same means, is not such an invention as will sustain a patent, even though the changes of the kind may produce better results than prior inventions (MPEP § 2145 II.A.).
Regarding claims 3 and 11, Wnek discloses there would be four chicken nuggets in the single use prepackaged frozen food product which is seen to be an amount sufficient to arrange the plurality of frozen food pieces in a substantially single layer on the bottom panel during microwave cooking (paragraph [0080]).
Regarding claim 4 and 12, Wnek in view of Mir disclose a single use prepackaged frozen food product capable of cooking said food product in a microwave oven (‘012, paragraph [0048]) which comprises a plurality of frozen food pieces positioned in the interior volume of a sealed pouch (fig. 2) which pouch is formed from a flexible material (base films) including a top panel sealed to a bottom panel to form the interior volume (‘012, paragraph [0050]) and a vent (slit 115) (engineered to break open at a particular level of pressure build-up) positioned in the top panel (‘012, paragraph [0051] and fig. 1). Once it was known to position a vent through the flexible material to permit release of moisture from an interior of the pouch during microwave cooking it is not seen that patentability would be predicated on the vent having a surface area of about 3.0% to about 5.0% of the surface area of the top panel. Limitations relating to the surface area of the vent of the top panel would not be sufficient to patentably distinguish over the prior art. The mere scaling up of a prior art surface area capable of being scaled up or down, if such were the case, would not establish patentability in a claim to an old surface area. Where the only difference between the prior art and the claims is a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed surface area and a single use prepackaged frozen food product having the claimed relative surface area would not perform differently than the prior art surface area, the claimed surface is not patentably distinct from the prior art (MPEP § 2144.04 IV.A.).
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Regarding claims 5 and 13, Wnek in view of Mir disclose there would be a longitudinal seal extending between the opposing first and second seals (924A) (‘759, paragraph [0145] and fig. 9A).
Regarding claims 6 and 14, Wnek in view of Mir disclose the vent (115) would be present in a longitudinal arrangement along the length of said package (‘012, paragraph [0051] and fig. 1) which would be seen as substantially parallel to the longitudinal seal of the single use prepackaged frozen food product (‘759, fig. 5).
Regarding claims 7 and 15, Wnek in view of Mir disclose the susceptor would occupy at least about 80% of a surface area of the sealed pouch (the susceptor layer generally forms the interior surface of the sleeve) (‘759, paragraph [0016]).
Regarding claim 10, Wnek in view of Mir disclose the bottom panel is capable of resting against a support surface of a microwave oven during microwave cooking (microwave packaging material resting on the cooling platform in the microwave oven) (‘759, paragraph [0016]).
Claims 2 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wnek et al. US 2008/0078759 in view of Mir US 2019/0117012 in view of Huang US 4,985,300.
Regarding claims 2 and 9 Wnek in view of Mir disclose the vent (115) of the single use prepackaged frozen food product would be positioned through the flexible material which would be capable of preventing passage of the plurality of frozen food pieces through the vent during storage of the prepackaged microwave food product since the vent is covered (sealed) and which cover is removed from the vent when said product is microwave cooking (‘012, paragraph [0051]).
Claims 2 and 9 differ from Wnek in view of Mir in the vent disclosing the cover would be removed from the vent prior to microwave cooking. It is seen however that the vent would be capable of being uncovered, i.e., removed should it be desired to do so the prior to microwave cooking.
Nevertheless, Huang discloses a single use prepackaged frozen food product (example 6) which comprises a sealed pouch formed from a flexible material having a susceptor on an interior surface of the sealed pouch (col. 3, ln 23 – 25). Huang further discloses said pouch would be made airtight but provided with vents, perforations (pinholes) and that said vents would be uncovered, that is opened, by the consumer prior to cooking in order to provide an escape for steam generated during microwave cooking (col. 5, ln 53 – 62) making it an obvious matter of choice and/or design to the ordinarily skilled artisan to have the modified the vent cover of Wnek in view of Mir to removably affixed to the vent prior to microwave cooking.
Conclusion
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/C.S./
Chaim SmithExaminer, Art Unit 1791 12 December 2025
/VIREN A THAKUR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1792