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. Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. 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 appl icant regards as his invention. Claim 6 is 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. Claim 6 recites the “code for highway engineering geological investigation,” but fails to indica the source and year of the code rendering it unclear which code is being claimed. 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. 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. 1. Claim s 1-5 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chinese Patent Application Publication No. CN107047119 Duo et al . in view of Chinese Patent Application Publication No. CN113466176 to Yan et al. Duo et al . teaches mixing a saline soil sample to be tested with water, obtaining a saline soil leachate and measuring the conductivity of the leachate to determine the (total) soluble salt content. ( page 6 of English translation: “ (2) measuring the electrical conductivity of soil ” “ Experimental Methods ” ) Duo et al. does not teach measuring the refractive index of the leachate using a calibrated refractometer. Yan et al. teaches detecting salt concentrations in aqueous solution s refractive index salt concentration curves . ( English translation: Abstract) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before applicant’s effective filing date to modify Duo et al. to determine the salt concentration of the leachate using refractive index measurements as taught by Yan et al. as an alternative means to measure salt concentration by condu ctivity. As for using a standard curve that is a linear relationship between salt content and the refractive index , it would have been routine and obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to develop a standard curve using samples of know salt concentration measured by refractive index measurement for purposes of comparing and determining total salt concentration of samples to be tested. I.) Regarding applicant’s claim 1, as noted above Duo et al. in view of Yam et al. renders obvious all the elements of claim 1. Therefore, Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. renders claim 1 obvious. II.) Regarding applicant’s claim 2, as noted above Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. renders claim 1 obvious from which claim 2 depends. Claim 2 recites that the water is distilled water free of carbon dioxide. Duo et al. teaches distilled water, but not specifically distilled water free of carbon dioxide. (page 6 of English translation: “(2) measuring the electrical conductivity of soil” “Experimental Methods”) It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art before applicant’s effective filing date to modify Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. to use distilled water that is free of carbon dioxide as a precaution to preclude any substances that would interfere with the salt measurements. Therefore, Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. renders claim 2 obvious. III.) Regarding applicant’s claim 3, as noted above Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. renders claim 1 obvious from which claim 3 depends. Claim 3 recites that a mass ratio of the saline soil to be tested to the water is in a range of 1 : (1-5). Duo et al. teaches 20g of soil to 100g of water. (page 6 of English translation: “(2) measuring the electrical conductivity of soil” “Experimental Methods”) Therefore, Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. renders claim 3 obvious. IV.) Regarding applicant’s claim 4, as noted above Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. renders claim 1 obvious from which claim 4 depends. Claim 4 recites that the standard curve is obtained by a process comprising the steps of providing a series of saline soil leachates with a concentration gradient having known TSSC, as standard samples to be tested; and measuring refractive indexes of the standard samples to be tested, and plotting the standard curve with the refractive index as an abscissa and the soluble salt content as an ordinate. As noted above, it would have been routine and obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to develop a standard curve using samples of know salt concentration measured by refractive index measurement for purposes of comparing and determining total salt concentration of samples to be tested. Therefore, D uo et al. in view of Yan et al. renders claim 4 obvious. V.) Regarding applicant’s claim 5, as noted above Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. renders claim 1 obvious from which claim 5 depends. Claim 5 recites that the refractometer is a digital-display probe-type refractometer. Yan et al. teaches using a refractometer. (English translation, page 2 “Contents of the Invention”) Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. does not teach that the refractometer is a digital-display probe-type refractometer. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before applicant’s effective filing date to modify Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. to use any type of reflectometer in cluding a digital-display probe-type refractometer. Therefore, Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. renders claim 5 obvious. VI.) Regarding applicant’s claim 11, as noted above Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. renders claim 3 obvious from which claim 11 depends. Claim 11 recites that the standard curve is obtained by a process comprising the steps of providing a series of saline soil leachates with a concentration gradient having known TSSC, as standard samples to be tested; and measuring refractive indexes of the standard samples to be tested, and plotting the standard curve with the refractive index as an abscissa and the soluble salt content as an ordinate. As noted above, in Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. it would have been routine and obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to develop a standard curve using samples of know salt concentration measured by refractive index measurement for purposes of comparing and determining total salt concentration of samples to be tested. Therefore, Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. renders claim 11 obvious . 2. Claim s 6 -10 are rejected under 35 USC 103 as being obvious over Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. as applied to claim 1 and further in view of Chinese Patent Application Publication No. CN 111721725 to Guo et al. , Chinese Patent Application Publication No. CN113848309 to Ouyang et al. and Applicant’s Admitted Prior Art found in paragraph [0004]. I.) Regarding applicant’s claim 6, claim 6 recites determining a total soluble salt content (TSSC) of the saline soil to be tested by the method as claimed in claim 1; adding a barium chloride solution to a saline soil leachate, and determining a sulfate ion content in the saline soil to be tested by using a barium ion electrode-sensing analyzer; determining a chloride ion content in the saline soil to be tested by using a chloride ion electrode-sensing analyzer; calculating a ratio k of the chloride ion content to the sulfate ion content; evaluating the soil type of the saline soil to be tested according to the ratio k, wherein under the condition that the ratio k is greater than 2, the soil type of the saline soil to be tested is chlorine saline soil; under the condition that the ratio k is not less than 1 and not more than 2, the soil type of the saline soil to be tested is sub-chlorine saline soil; under the condition that the ratio k is larger than or equal to 0.3 and less than 1, the soil type of the saline soil to be tested is sulfite saline soil; and under the condition that the ratio k is less than 0.3, the soil type of the saline soil to be tested is sulfate saline soil; and evaluating the salinization degree of the saline soil to be tested with the TSSC and the soil type of the saline soil to be tested according to the "code for highway engineering geological investigation". Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. does not teach adding Barium chloride to the leachate and determining sulfate ion and chloride ion content. Guo teaches a detection method of sulfate ion content in severe salinized so il that involves adding barium chloride to form sulfate ions. (English translation, page 2, last full paragraph) Ouyang et al. teaches that it is know n to use a chlorine-sulfur ratio to evaluate soluble salt in soil, and teaches that the chlorine-sulfur ratio effects conductivity measurements. (Abstract) In paragraph [0004] applicant teaches “ In the prior art, the soil type and salinization degree of the saline soil are mostly evaluated based on the contents of chloride ions and sulfate ions in soluble salts and a total soluble salt content (TSSC). ” It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before applicant’s effective filing date to modify Duo et al. in view of Yan et al. and add barium chloride to the leachate to produce sulfate ions as taught by Guo and measure the chlorine-sulfur ratio using conductivity measurements (electrode-sensing analyzers) as taught by Ouyang et al. to determine the degree of salinization of the soil based on the contents of chloride ions and sulfate ions as taught by Applicant’s Admitted Prior art to determine total soluble salt content. Ouyang et al.’s teaching that the chlorine-sulfur ratio is related to soluble salt in soils renders obvious the determination of the “k” ratios in claim 6. Therefore, Duo et al. in view of Yan et al., Guo et al., Ouyang et al. and Applicant’s Admitted Prior Art renders claim 6 obvious . II.) Regarding applicant’s claim 7, as noted above Duo et al. in view of Yan et al., Guo et al., Ouyang et al. and Applicant’s Admitted Prior Art renders claim 6 obvious from which claim 7 depends . Claim 7 recites mixing the saline soil to be tested with water, and conducting solid-liquid separation to obtain the saline soil leachate, wherein a mass ratio of the saline soil to be tested to the water is denoted as q; adding 5 to 10 drops of a hydrochloric acid solution into the saline soil leachate with a volume of Vi, heating to boiling, adding a barium chloride solution with a volume of V2 and a molarity of C1 thereto, reheating a resulting mixture to boiling, and allowing to stand and cooling, to obtain a pretreated solution; and measuring a molarity C2 of barium ions in the pretreated solution by using a barium ion electrode-sensing analyzer, and calculating the sulfate ion content in the saline soil to be tested according to Equation 1: C suifate ion = 9.6q(V2C1-(V1+V2)C2)/Vi Equation 1; wherein in Equation 1, C suifate ion represents the sulfate ion content in the saline soil to be tested, in wt%; q is the mass ratio of the saline soil to be tested to the water, with no unit; Vi is a volume of the saline soil leachate, in mL; V2 is a volume of the barium chloride solution, in mL; C1 is a molarity of the barium chloride solution, in mol/L; and C2 is a molarity of the barium ions in the pretreated solution, in mol/L. Guo et al. teaches adding hydrochloric acid and boiling the solution in addition to adding barium chloride. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to conduct routine engineering optimization experimentation to determine how much hydrochloric acid to add based on the volume of leachate, and how much barium chloride based on the molarity of the barium chloride. (English translation, page 2, last full paragraph) Therefore, Duo et al. in view of Yan et al., Guo et al., Ouyang et al. and Applicant’s Admitted Prior Art renders obvious adding 5 to 10 drops of a hydrochloric acid solution into the saline soil leachate with a volume of Vi, heating to boiling, adding a barium chloride solution with a volume of V2 and a molarity of C1 thereto, reheating a resulting mixture to boiling, and allowing to stand and cooling . As to Equation 1 in claim 7 , as noted above Guo et al. Ouyang et al. and Applicant’s Admitted Prior Art teaches determining sulfate ion content in soils to be tested. The mass ratio of soil sample to water, volume of leachate, volume and molarity of barium chloride solution and molarity of barium ions in the pretreated solution are all variables one skilled in the art would use to calculate sulfate ion content using the equation recited in claim 7 or an equivalent equation that would determine the sulfate ion content. Therefore, Duo et al. in view of Yan et al., Guo et al., Ouyang et al. and Applicant’s Admitted Prior Art renders claim 7 obvious . III.) Regarding applicant’s claim 8, as noted above Duo et al. in view of Yan et al., Guo et al., Ouyang et al. and Applicant’s Admitted Prior Art renders claim 6 obvious from which claim 8 depends. Claim 8 recites that determining a chloride ion content in the saline soil to be tested comprises mixing the saline soil to be tested with water, and conducting solid-liquid separation to obtain the saline soil leachate, wherein a mass ratio of the saline soil to be tested to the water is denoted as q; taking the saline soil leachate with a volume of V3, and measuring a molarity C3 of chloride ions in the saline soil leachate by using a chloride ion electrode-sensing analyzer; and calculating the chloride ion content in the saline soil to be tested according to Equation 2: C chloride ion = 3.55qC 3 Equation 2; wherein in Equation 2, C choride ion represents the chloride ion content in the saline soil to be tested, in wt%; q is the mass ratio of the saline soil to be tested to the water, with no unit; and C 3 represents the molarity of the chloride ions measured by the chloride ion electrode-sensing analyzer, in mol/L. As to Equation 2 in claim 8, as noted above Guo et al. Ouyang et al. and Applicant’s Admitted Prior Art teaches determining chloride ion content in soils to be tested. The mass ratio of soil sample to water and molarity of chloride ions are all variables one skilled in the art would find it obvious to use to calculate chloride ion content using the equation recited in claim 8 or an equivalent equation that would determine the chloride ion content. Therefore, Duo et al. in view of Yan et al., Guo et al., Ouyang et al. and Applicant’s Admitted Prior Art renders claim 8 obvious . IV.) Regarding applicant’s claim 9, as noted above Duo et al. in view of Yan et al., Guo et al., Ouyang et al. and Applicant’s Admitted Prior Art renders claim 6 obvious from which claim 9 depends. Claim 9 recites that evaluating the salinization degree of the saline soil to be tested comprises (1) under the condition that the saline soil to be tested is taken from a fine-grained soil layer, 1) under the condition that the saline soil to be tested is the chlorine saline soil or the sub-chlorine saline soil, evaluating the saline soil to be tested as weak saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 0.3 wt% and less than 1 wt%; evaluating the saline soil to be tested as moderate saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 1 wt% and less than 5 wt%; evaluating the saline soil to be tested as strong saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 5 wt% and less than 8 wt%; and evaluating the saline soil to be tested as excessive saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 8 wt%; 2) under the condition that the saline soil to be tested is the sulfite saline soil or the sulfate saline soil, evaluating the saline soil to be tested as weak saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 0.3 wt% and less than 0.5 wt%; evaluating the saline soil to be tested as moderate saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 0.5 wt% and less than 2 wt%; evaluating the saline soil to be tested as strong saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 2 wt% and less than 5 wt%; and evaluating the saline soil to be tested as excessive saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 5 wt%; and (2) under the condition that the saline soil to be tested is taken from a coarse-grained soil layer, 1) under the condition that the saline soil to be tested is the chlorine saline soil or the sub-chlorine saline soil, evaluating the saline soil to be tested as weak saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 2 wt% and less than 5 wt%; evaluating the saline soil to be tested as moderate saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 5 wt% and less than 8 wt%; evaluating the saline soil to be tested as strong saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 8 wt% and less than 10 wt%; and evaluating the saline soil to be tested as excessive saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 10 wt%; and 2) under the condition that the saline soil to be tested is the sulfite saline soil or the sulfate saline soil, evaluating the saline soil to be tested as weak saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 0.5 wt% and less than 1.5 wt%; evaluating the saline soil to be tested as moderate saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 1.5 wt% and less than 3 wt%; evaluating the saline soil to be tested as strong saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 3 wt% and less than 6 wt%; and evaluating the saline soil to be tested as excessive saline soil under the condition that the TSSC is greater than or equal to 6 wt%. The labeling of a weak saline soil, a moderate saline soil , a strong saline soil and an excessive saline soil based on the total soluble salt content are arbitrary labels that do not limit the method of claim 6 from which claim 9 depends. Therefore, Duo et al. in view of Yan et al., Guo et al., Ouyang et al. and Applicant’s Admitted Prior Art renders claim 9 obvious . V.) Regarding applicant’s claim 10, as noted above Duo et al. in view of Yan et al., Guo et al., Ouyang et al. and Applicant’s Admitted Prior Art renders claim 9 obvious from which claim 10 depends. Claim 10 recites that the fine-grained soil layer has a particle size of less than or equal to 0.075 mm, and the coarse-grained soil layer has a particle size of greater than 0.075 mm and less than or equal to 60 mm. The terms “fine-grained” and “course-grained” are relative terms and therefore it would have been obvious to apply fine-grained to a soil layer that has a particle size of less than or equal to 0.075 mm, and apply coarse-grained to a soil layer has a particle size of greater than 0.075 mm and less than or equal to 60 mm. Therefore, Duo et al. in view of Yan et al., Guo et al., Ouyang et al. and Applicant’s Admitted Prior Art renders claim 10 obvious. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Chinese Patent Application Publication No. CN 111707807 to Bian et al. teaches using conductivity to measure total water-soluble salts. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT MICHAEL S. GZYBOWSKI whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-3487 . 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