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
Applicant's election with traverse of group I in the reply filed on 1/5/2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the grounds that the biosludge used in D1 is based on bird manure, which does not include lignocellulose. This is not found persuasive because the reference teaches high cellulose content organic waste such as poultry litter (paragraph 12), which contains at least some lignocellulose. Regardless, the prior art recognizes lignocellulosic biosludge from paper and pulp processes can be heated and used for larva feed.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 11-14 and 18-19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 1/5/2026.
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification (paragraph 6; Liu C, et al, Pretreatment is an important method for increasing the conversion efficiency of rice straw by black soldier fly larvae based on the function of gut microorganisms, Science of the Total Environment) is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because it contains an embedded hyperlink and/or other form of browser-executable code (paragraphs 5 and 6). Applicant is required to delete the embedded hyperlink and/or other form of browser-executable code; references to websites should be limited to the top-level domain name without any prefix such as http:// or other browser-executable code. See MPEP § 608.01.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-10 and 15-17 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 1, in line 3 before “step of heating” delete “the” and insert “a” to place the claim in better form.
Regarding claims 2-10 and 15-17, in line 1 delete “A” and insert “The” to place the claim in better form.
Regarding claim 3, in line 2 after “by heating” delete “it” in order to place the claim in better form.
Regarding claim 5, in line 2 before “step of separating” delete “the” and insert “a” to place the claim in better form.
Regarding claim 9, in line 2 before “step of diluting” delete “the” and insert “a” to place the claim in better form.
Regarding claim 10, in line 2 before “step of diluting” delete “the” and insert “a” to place the claim in better form.
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 1-10 and 15-17 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 claim 1, the preamble recites a method of preparing a larvae feed mix, but the body of the claim does not recite or otherwise indicate where in the process the feed mix is actually obtained. It is unclear if “a larvae feed mix” is actually obtained by the process of claim 1.
Regarding claim 2, in line 4 the limitation “to form a feed mix” renders the claim indefinite since it is unclear if the limitation is referring to the “larvae feed mix” of claim 1, or some other feed mix. It is further unclear if the feed mix is obtained in claim 1 or claim 2.
Regarding claim 3, in line 4 the limitation “to form a feed mix” renders the claim indefinite since it is unclear if the limitation is referring to the “larvae feed mix” of claim 1, or some other feed mix. It is further unclear if the feed mix is obtained in claim 1 or claim 3.
Regarding claim 5, in line 4 the limitation “to obtain the feed mix” renders the claim indefinite since it is unclear if the feed mix is actually obtained in claim 1 as cited in the preamble, or if the feed mix is obtained only after the step of claim 5.
Claims 4, 6-10 and 15-17 are rejected by virtue of their dependence on a rejected base claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 5-10 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Norgaard et al. (US 2022/0000144 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Norgaard et al. teaches a method for producing enriched biomass for use as a feed source (abstract) for invertebrates such as fly larvae (paragraph 57), where the biomass includes a sludge sourced from paper manufacture (paragraph 49) and therefore considered to be a type of “pulp and paper biosludge”, the biosludge comprising lignocellulose (paragraph 63), the method comprising heating the biosludge to a temperature of 120-200oC in a reactor to hydrolyze the components into sugars and to destructure the lignocellulose matrix (paragraph 69). The retention time in the reactor can be e.g., 2-4 hours (paragraph 93). Sugar is disclosed in Applicant’s specification to be a degradation product that can be digested by larvae (paragraph 26), and a sufficient heating time is disclosed to be between 5 and 600 minutes (paragraph 12). Therefore, the process of Norgaard et al. is construed to heat the biosludge for a “period of time to break down the lignocellulose to a form that can be digested by the larvae”.
Regarding claim 2, Norgaard et al. teaches the feed can be obtained from biosludge that is hygienized (paragraph 14 and 21). Further, the reference teaches the biosludge can be treated by a combination of thermal and enzymatic hydrolysis (paragraph 63), where enzymatic hydrolysis can be performed at e.g., 75oC (paragraph 71).
Regarding claim 3, Norgaard et al. teaches heating to a temperature of 120-200oC in a reactor for a duration greater than 5 minutes as stated for claim 1, and can be sterilized (paragraph 73).
Regarding claims 5-6, Norgaard et al. teaches the biosludge is pretreated with heat as stated for claim 1, fermented to obtain a protein composition (paragraph 104), then dried to obtain the feed (paragraphs 14 and 106). The drying is performed by known dewatering devices (paragraph 107).
Regarding claim 7, Norgaard et al. teaches the retention time in the reactor can be e.g., 2-4 hours (paragraph 93)
Regarding claim 8, Norgaard et al. teaches adding one or more additives such as protein, carbohydrate, and/or fat sources to adjust the nutritional content of the feed (paragraphs 83 and 111).
Regarding claim 9, Norgaard et al. teaches water is added to the biosludge to form an at least partially aqueous medium while maintaining at a temperature between 55-90oC (paragraph 80). The process is therefore construed to be a type of dilution of the biosludge.
Regarding claim 10, Norgaard et al. teaches heating the biosludge in the reactor at a temperature between 120-200oC as stated for claim 1, where the biosludge is combined with “strong acid that is diluted in water” (paragraph 69). The process is therefore construed to be a type of dilution of the biosludge.
Regarding claim 15, Norgaard et al. teaches the biosludge can be heated to a temperature between 55-90oC (paragraph 80).
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.
Claims 4 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Norgaard et al. as applied to claims 1-3, 5-10 and 15 above, and further in view of Medoff (US 2010/0124583 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Norgaard et al. does not teach heating is performed on a biosludge that has been dewatered.
Medoff teaches a method to produce food products from biomass (abstract), including lignocellulosic feedstock from paper and pulp waste streams (paragraph 111), where the feedstock is partially or fully dried (paragraphs 112 and 196).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the process of Norgaard et al. to dewater the biosludge before heating since the prior art recognizes the feedstock material can be dried prior to processing, since there is no evidence of unexpected results associated with the claimed feature, and in order to obtain a feedstock having a desired water content based on the amount of water to be added during processing e.g., hydrolysis or fermentation.
Regarding claim 16, Norgaard et al. teaches dewatering as stated for claim 6, but does not teach the dewatering device comprises a centrifuge.
Medoff further teaches dewatering by centrifuge (paragraphs 454 and 764).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the process of Norgaard et al. to dewater the biosludge using a centrifuge since the reference does not particularly limit the type of dewatering device, since the prior art recognizes centrifuges used for dewatering treated biosludge, and since there is no evidence of unexpected results associated with the claimed feature, and therefore as a substitution of art recognized equivalents suitable for the same purpose of removing water from a substance.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Norgaard et al. as applied to claims 1-3, 5-10 and 15 above.
Regarding claim 17, Norgaard et al. does not specify the temperature range of 100-190oC.
However, the temperature can be from 120-200oC as stated for claim 1. Further, the fermentation process can be performed at a temperature of e.g., 80-110oC, based on the type of organism used for said process (paragraph 80).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the process of Norgaard et al. to use the claimed temperature range since the reference teaches multiple ranges overlapping the claimed range, since there is no evidence of unexpected results associated with the claimed feature, and since the values would have been used during the course of routine experimentation and optimization procedures due to factors such as desired rate of hydrolysis and type of organism used for fermentation.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRYAN KIM whose telephone number is (571)270-0338. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30-6.
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/BRYAN KIM/Examiner, Art Unit 1792