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 without traverse of Group II, claims 9-15 in the reply filed on 2/10/26 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-8 are withdrawn from consideration as being directed to non-elected invention.
Specification
The following guidelines illustrate the preferred layout for the specification of a utility application. These guidelines are suggested for the applicant’s use.
Arrangement of the Specification
As provided in 37 CFR 1.77(b), the specification of a utility application should include the following sections in order. Each of the lettered items should appear in upper case, without underlining or bold type, as a section heading. If no text follows the section heading, the phrase “Not Applicable” should follow the section heading:
(a) TITLE OF THE INVENTION.
(b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS.
(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT.
(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT.
(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A READ-ONLY OPTICAL DISC, AS A TEXT FILE OR AN XML FILE VIA THE PATENT ELECTRONIC SYSTEM.
(f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR.
(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.
(1) Field of the Invention.
(2) Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.
(h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.
(i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S).
(j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.
(k) CLAIM OR CLAIMS (commencing on a separate sheet).
(l) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE (commencing on a separate sheet).
(m) SEQUENCE LISTING. (See MPEP § 2422.03 and 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825). A “Sequence Listing” is required on paper if the application discloses a nucleotide or amino acid sequence as defined in 37 CFR 1.821(a) and if the required “Sequence Listing” is not submitted as an electronic document either on read-only optical disc or as a text file via the patent electronic system.
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 9-15 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.
In claim 9, it’s unclear what is intended by all the numbers in parentheses. The claim is vague and indefinite in that the method recite “ making wafer according to claim 1” but claim 1 is withdrawn from consideration. Line 4, the recitation of “ the forming chamber” does not have proper antecedent basis. Line 8, the recitation “ said granular material, said forming chamber” does not have antecedent basis. It’s not clear what granular material the claim is referring to. Line 11, the recitation “ the structure, said surface” does not have antecedent basis.
In claim 10, the number in parentheses has the same problem as claim 9. The recitation of “ said pre-set pattern” does not have antecedent basis.
In claim 12, the numbers in parentheses have the same problem as claim 9.
Claims 13-15 have the same problem as claim 12.
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.
Claim(s) 9-10,12,15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Foglia ( EPA 1967069) in view of Estebanez (2022/0295820).
For claim 9, Foglia discloses a method for making a wafer comprising the steps of forming wafer batter, introducing the batter into forming chamber of the oven plate and baking the batter between the complementary plate and counter plate. For claims 11-12,14, Foglia discloses baking plate having forming chamber and are flexible between open and closed condition to form the wafer. ( see paragraphs 0033-0036, figure 5)
Foglia does not disclose the step of introducing granular material into the forming chamber as in claim 9, granular material in pre-set pattern as in claim 10 and cavities housing granular as in claim 15.
Estebanez disclose a method of making confectionery products. Estebanez discloses depositing one or more inclusions into a mold cavity before depositing a food product into the mould cavity. A stamp is then inserted into the mold to cool the food product and press the food product towards the wall of the mold cavity. The deposit of the inclusions into the mold cavity gives externally visible inclusions as shown in figures 9A-9D. ( see abstract, paragraphs 0009,0039-0041
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a step of introducing granular or inclusion material into the mold cavity in the Foglia process as taught by Estebanez when desiring to obtain wafer having visually external inclusions to enhance the taste and appearance of the wafer. It would have been obvious to set the inclusion in any pre-set pattern depending on the look desired. Foglia disclose wafer batter. The difference between wafer batter and batter dough is only in the terminology as there is no parameter define a dough versus the batter.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11,13,14 are allowable over prior art. There is no disclosure of inserts made of elastic material in the baking plate in Foglia. There is no prior art disclosing such inserts. Thus, there is no suggestion or motivation to add the inserts in the Foglia process.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LIEN THUY TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-1408. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday.
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May 14, 2026
/LIEN T TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1793
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