CTNF 18/552,287 CTNF 100653 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 08-25-01 AIA Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-9 and 15-20 in the reply filed on October 13, 2025 is acknowledged. Claims 10-11, 13-14, and 21 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Drawings 06-22 AIA The drawings are objected to because Fig 15 fails to provide units for the y-axis . Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claim 17 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 17 recites the limitation "an air pressure difference of material layers" in lines 1-2. Claim 3, the claim upon which claim 17 depends, does not recite an air pressure or a difference in air pressures between materials, nor is it clear what is meant by “material layers”. For this reason, claim 17 is rejected. For the purposes of examination, the air pressure difference will be interpreted as the difference between the pressure of the blowing hot air and the pressure between the particles in the fluidized bed. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Shaoyun et al. (CN 106509368 A) . With respect to Claim 9, Shaoyun et al. teaches a method of preparing a granular sodium butyrate feed. [0027] Shaoyun et al. is silent to a method of producing a butyrate salt additive according to claim 1. According to MPEP 2113 I, “[E]ven though product-by-process claims are limited by and defined by the process, determination of patentability is based on the product itself. The patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production”. Therefore, Shaoyun et al. anticipates claim 9 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-3, 5-9, 15, 16, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shaoyun et al. (CN 106509368 A) in view of Guo et al. (CN 102274703 A) . With respect to Claim 1, Shaoyun et al. teaches a method of preparing a granular sodium butyrate feed [0027] comprising the steps of mixing butyric acid, water, [0028] and sodium hydroxide, [0029] spheronizing the material, [0032] and passing to a fluidized bed for drying. [0033] This invention reads on a method for providing a butyrate salt additive comprising a butyrate feed liquid and a fluidized bed, but is silent to the method being performed with a crystal nucleus in a cyclic fluidization crystallization method. Guo et al. teaches a large-scale, continuous, energy-saving, fluidized bed, spray granulation drying process suitable for feed additives. [0008] The method comprises the steps of spraying a fluid onto seed particles in a fluidized bed, growing the seed particles through agglomeration and coating while drying under hot air, discharging the material to a vibrating screen to be sorted by size, drying the particles a second time to a desired moisture and temperature, then sending them to a second screen, and, finally, materials larger than desired are recycled to be used as seeds for the fluidized bed. [0009] This reads on the limitation of providing a crystalizing nucleus for a fluidizer bed and a cyclic fluidization crystallization method. Shaoyun et al. and Guo et al. exist within the same field of endeavor in that they teach methods of forming granulated feed particles. Where Shaoyun et al. teaches a specific feed additive in the form of sodium butyrate, Guo et al. teaches a cyclical method comprising crystal nuclei on a fluidized bed. One of ordinary skill would be motivated to produce the composition taught by Shaoyun et al. using the method taught by Guo et al. due to the efficiency and adaptability of the method. [0014] Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant invention, to have used the teachings of Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. to produce a butyrate salt additive by the process of providing a crystal nucleus and a butyrate feed liquid for a fluidized bed and forming butyrate particles by a cyclic fluidization crystallization method, thereby rendering claim 1 obvious. With respect to Claim 2, Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. teaches the invention recited in claim 1, as described above. Additionally, the product taught by Shaoyun et al. is a sodium butyrate additive [0027] and the method of Guo et al. uses the product of the method to seed the method itself. [0009] Therefore, the seed used in the method of Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. would be a crystal of sodium butyrate. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant invention, to have used the teaching of Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. to produce a sodium butyrate additive according to the process recited in claim 1, wherein the crystal nucleus is a butyrate crystal nucleus, thereby rendering claim 2 obvious. With respect to Claim 3, Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. teaches the invention recited in claim 1, as described above. Additionally, Guo et al. teaches the method comprises the steps of spraying a fluid onto seed particles in a fluidized bed, growing the seed particles through agglomeration and coating while drying under hot air, drying the particles a second time to a desired moisture and temperature, and, finally, materials larger than desired are recycled to be used as seeds for the fluidized bed. [0009] This reads on the steps of blowing hot air into the fluidized bed after providing the crystal nucleus, spraying the butyrate feed liquid to make particles grow, continuously drying the particles, and drying the continuously dried particles. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant invention, to have used the teaching of Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. to produce a sodium butyrate additive according to the process recited in claim 1, wherein the process comprises blowing hot air into the fluidized bed after providing the crystal nucleus, spraying the butyrate feed liquid to make particles grow, continuously drying the particles, and drying the continuously dried particles, thereby rendering claim 3 obvious. With respect to Claim 5, Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. teaches the invention recited in claim 3, as described above. Additionally, Shaoyen et al. teaches that the reaction for producing the sodium butyrate additive comprises adjusting the feeding speed of the reactants, wherein the feeding speed is faster in the early stage and slower in the later stage. [0030] A method of adding reactants faster in the early stage and slower in the later stage describes the general conditions of the limitation recited in claim 5, wherein the spray volume of the butyrate feed liquid occurs in stages, wherein the first, second, and third-grades have decreasing values. Additionally, the values of 280-400kg/hour, 280-380 kg/hour, and 250-370 kg/hour for the first, second, and third-grades respectively are simply the results of routine optimization. According to MPEP 2144.05 II, “[W]here 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”. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant invention, to have used the teaching of Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. to produce a sodium butyrate additive according to the method recited in claim 3, wherein step 2 comprises spraying the volume of the liquid butyrate feed in grades, such that the first-grade is 280-400kg/hour, the second-grade is 280-380 kg/hour, and the third-grade is 250-370 kg/hour, thereby rendering claim 5 obvious. With respect to Claim 6, Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. teaches the invention recited in claim 3, as described above. Additionally, Guo et al. teaches the method comprises the step of drying under hot air and drying the particles a second time to a desired moisture and temperature. [0009] Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant invention, to have used the drying step of Guo et al. to produce a sodium butyrate additive according to the method of claim 3, wherein a dehydration in step 3 is by hot air, thereby rendering claim 6 obvious. With respect to Claim 7, Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. teaches the invention recited in claim 3, as described above. Additionally, Shaoyun et al. teaches two drying steps in a fluidized bed in order to obtain a granular product. [0033] Guo et al. teaches drying the particles a second time to a desired moisture. [0009] The recitation of “dried to a liquid content of 0.1 to 6%” is simply the results of routine optimization. According to MPEP 2144.05 II, “[W]here 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”. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant invention, to have used the teaching of Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. to produce a sodium butyrate additive according to the method of claim 3, wherein step 4 comprises the particles flow out of the fluidized bed when dried to a liquid content of 01.-6%, thereby rendering claim 7 obvious. With respect to Claim 8, Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. teaches the invention recited in claim 3, as described above. Additionally, Guo et al. the method comprises the step of discharging the material to a vibrating screen to be sorted by size after drying the particles to a desired moisture content. [0009] Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant invention, to have used the teaching of Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. to produce a sodium butyrate additive according to the method of claim 3, wherein the method comprises a step 5 of screening the particles prepared in step 4 according to particle size, thereby rendering claim 8 obvious. With respect to Claim 9, Shaoyun et al. teaches a method of preparing a granular sodium butyrate feed. [0027] Shaoyun et al. is silent to a method of producing a butyrate salt additive according to claim 1. According to MPEP 2113 I, “[E]ven though product-by-process claims are limited by and defined by the process, determination of patentability is based on the product itself. The patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production”. Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. does teach the invention recited in claim 1, as described above. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the application, to have used the teaching of Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. in order to produce a butyrate salt additive according to the method of claim 1, thereby rendering claim 9 obvious. With respect to Claim 15, Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. teaches the invention recited in claim 1, as described above. Additionally, Shaoyun et al. teaches a method of preparing a granular sodium butyrate feed. [0027] Therefore, Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. renders claim 15 obvious. With respect to Claims 16 and 19, Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. teaches the invention recited in claim 3 and 6, as described above. Shaoyun et al. teaches to control the temperature of the reaction taught to between 80-120°C, [0017] and the temperature of drying occurs in stages and is between 80-90°C and 110-120°C. [0020] Additionally, Guo et al. teaches two air heaters and two air blowers. [0011] Both references are silent to blowing air in grades, wherein the temperature is changed depending on the grade. Shaoyun et al. teaches changing the temperature throughout the reaction and teaches three different temperature grades, and Guo et al. teaches using different blowers that can be set to different temperatures. The change in temperature across blowers teach the general conditions of the limitations recited in claim 16 and 19, but neither Shaoyun et al. nor Guo et al. teach the exact temperatures recited or a third grade of temperatures. The temperatures taught by Shaoyun et al. overlap with the temperature ranges recited in the second and third grades. MPEP 2144.05 I states, “In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists” and according to MPEP 2144.05 II, “[W]here 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”. One would have been motivated to optimize the temperatures of the reaction in order to determine the best method for producing the feed additive, additionally, the temperature ranges taught by Shaoyun et al. overlap with two of the three grades recited in claims 16 and 19. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant invention, to have used the teachings of Shaoyun et al. and Guo et al. to produce a butyrate salt additive according to the method recited in claims 3 and 6 respectively, wherein step 1 comprises the hot air being graded such that the first-grade is between 140-180°C, the second-grade is between 120-160°C, and the third-grade is between 100-140°C, thereby rendering claims 16 and 19 obvious. With respect to Claim 18, Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. teaches the invention recited in claim 3, as described above. Additionally, Shaoyun et al. teaches a method wherein the reaction consists of 400kg butyric acid, 210kg water, [0028] and 182kg sodium hydroxide, [0029] resulting in a butyrate concentration of about 50%. Therefore, Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. renders claim 18 obvious. With respect to Claim 20, Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. teaches the invention recited in claim 8, as described above. Additionally, Guo et al. teaches the particle size can be adjusted between about 0.3-5mm. [0028] According to the instant invention, a mesh size of 14 corresponds to 1.4mm and a mesh size of 60 corresponds to 0.25mm. [Table 1] According to MPEP 2144.05 I, “In the case where the claimed ranges ‘overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art’ a prima facie case of obviousness exists”. The range disclosed by Guo et al. overlaps with the range recited in claim 20. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant invention, to have used the teaching of Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. in order to produce a sodium butyrate additive according to the method recited in claim 8, wherein the particle size in step 5 is between 10 and 120 meshes, thereby rendering claim 20 obvious . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 4 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shaoyun et al. (CN 106509368 A) in view of Guo et al. (CN 102274703 A) as applied to claim 3 above, in further view of Bhandari et al. (Handbook of Food Powders - Processes and Properties, Knovel.com) . With respect to Claim 4 and 17, Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. teaches the invention recited in claim 3, as described above. Shaoyun et al. teaches that the optimal temperature for the reaction taught is between 105-110 °C. [0029] This temperature falls within the range recited in claims 4 and 17. Shaoyun et al. and Guo et al. are silent to the inlet air pressure of the fluidized bed. Bhandari et al. teaches the general principles of fluidization, equipment used for fluidization, and examples of fluidization as applied to food powder production. [Abstract] Bhandari et al. teaches the phenomenon of fluidization is due to the velocity of the fluid that flows up through the particles in the bed. [Pg. 179, Par. 4] Specifically, Bhandari et al. teaches a fluid velocity range wherein a pressure difference facilitates the formation of the fluidization bed, [Fig. 8.1] and that the fluidization range depends on the physical properties of the particles. [Pg. 180, Par. 2] Shaoyun et al., Guo et al., and Bhandari et al. exist within the same field of endeavor in that they teach fluidization methods and properties. Where Shaoyun et al. teaches a specific feed additive in the form of sodium butyrate, Guo et al. teaches a cyclical method comprising crystal nuclei on a fluidized bed, and Bhandari et al. teaches the physical properties and theories behind the process of fluidization. One would be motivated to combine Bhandari et al. with the teachings of Shaoyun et al. and Guo et al. in order to optimize the conditions of the method of fluidization. The fluid velocity of the air in the fluidization bed would be directly related to the pressure of the air inlet. In the interest of producing an optimized fluidized bed, one would be motivated to experiment with the pressure of the air inlet to determine the optimal pressure to achieve fluidization. The general conditions of the limitations recited are described by the combination of Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. with Bhandari et al., but the exact conditions are not taught. According to MPEP 2144.05 II, “[W]here 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”. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant invention, to have used the teachings of Shaoyun et al. in view of Guo et al. and Bhandari et al. in order to produce a butyrate salt additive according to the process recited in claim 3, wherein step 1 comprises a total inlet air temperature of 1000-2000 Pa or an air pressure difference of materials layers of 1000-3000Pa and a total inlet air temperature of 100-200°C or a temperature of the amterial layers between 40-180°C, thereby rendering claim 4 and 17 obvious. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH CULLEN MERCHLINSKY whose telephone number is (571)272-2260. 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Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /J.C.M./Examiner, Art Unit 1791 /Nikki H. Dees/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1791 Application/Control Number: 18/552,287 Page 2 Art Unit: 1791 Application/Control Number: 18/552,287 Page 3 Art Unit: 1791 Application/Control Number: 18/552,287 Page 5 Art Unit: 1791 Application/Control Number: 18/552,287 Page 6 Art Unit: 1791 Application/Control Number: 18/552,287 Page 7 Art Unit: 1791 Application/Control Number: 18/552,287 Page 8 Art Unit: 1791 Application/Control Number: 18/552,287 Page 9 Art Unit: 1791 Application/Control Number: 18/552,287 Page 10 Art Unit: 1791 Application/Control Number: 18/552,287 Page 11 Art Unit: 1791 Application/Control Number: 18/552,287 Page 12 Art Unit: 1791