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, claims 1-6, in the reply filed on 04/13/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that non-elected method claims 7-15 have been amended and made to constitute a combination of limitations directly corresponding to the combination of limitations in elected apparatus claims 1-6, and hence are examinable together.
This is found to be persuasive in-part for non-elected claims 7-14, however is not persuasive regarding claim 15, because claim 15 recites a computer-readable storage medium, operable with a computer which executes a method which utilizes a system having components which are recited in claim 1, it being unclear from the claim construction whether such execution of method corresponds to what is comprised in the computer-readable storage medium.
The requirement is still deemed proper, regarding claim 15 and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 7-14 have been rejoined with elected claims 1-6, and it is also noted that newly added claims 16-20 are dependent on elected claim 1, hence claims 1-14 and 16-20 are examined on the merits herein.
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.
Claims 3-6, 8-11, 13, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
In claim 3, in the “the controller” clause, “the preparation parameters” (plural) is inconsistent with subsequent recitation of “at least one of…” concerning a plurality of types of parameters (singular or plural).
In each of claims 5 and 10, “the high-flavor sweetener” lacks antecedent basis, being inconsistent with preceding recitation in claim 1 of “high-intensity sweetener”, “high-flavor sweetener” otherwise being a relative, subjective term of indefinite scope.
In claim 6 , in each of the clauses beginning “operation 1”, “operation 2” and “operation 3”, “the pipelines” and “the pipeline” each, respectively, lack antecedent basis, since the claim clauses lack recitation of which of the pipelines or pipeline, respectively are being referenced.
In claim 8, in the “determining” clause, “the preparation parameters” (plural) is inconsistent with subsequent recitation of “at least one of…” concerning a plurality of types of parameters (singular or plural).
In claim 13, the absence of the article “and” before the last clause beginning “after the evaporation crystallization is performed” makes the claim indefinite as to whether such clause is the last in the series of recited operation 2 functions.
In claim 19, in the last clause, “corresponding the reference vectors” is grammatically confusing (insertion of “to” after “corresponding” is suggested).
In claim 20, it is unclear whether “each of feature vectors” refers back to the “historical taste feature vectors” and “historical particle size distribution feature vectors” introduced in claim 19, or instead refers to separate or additional “feature vectors”.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 2, 7, 12, 14 and 16-18 are allowed.
Independent claim 1 would distinguish and be non-obvious over all of the prior art in view of recitation of “A system for preparing a compound crystal of erythritol and a high-intensity sweetener, wherein the system comprises a fermentation liquid storage tank, a ceramic membrane filtration system, a nanofiltration system, a first evaporator, a first crystallization kettle, a first centrifuge, a sugar dissolution tank, a decolorization tank, an ion exchange column, a blending tank, a second evaporator, a second crystallization kettle, a second centrifuge, a hot-air drying tank, a fluidized drying bed, and a finished product tank sequentially connected through pipelines, and wherein
the system further comprises a high-intensity sweetener storage tank, a primary mother liquor tank, and a secondary mother liquor tank”
and in view of further recitation of (the system comprising) wherein the fermentation liquid storage tank is disposed with a feed inlet for sterilized erythritol fermentation liquid, the nanofiltration system is disposed with a penetrating liquid feed outlet, the penetrating liquid feed outlet is connected to a feed inlet of the first evaporator through a pipeline, the sugar dissolution tank is disposed with a feed inlet for purified water, the blending tank is disposed with a feed inlet for the high-intensity sweetener, each of the first centrifuge and the second centrifuge is disposed with a solid material feed outlet and a liquid material feed outlet, the liquid material feed outlet of the first centrifuge is connected to a feed inlet of the primary mother liquor tank through a pipeline, a feed outlet of the primary mother liquor tank is connected to the feed inlet of the first evaporator through a pipeline, the liquid material feed outlet of the second centrifuge is connected to a feed inlet of the secondary mother liquor tank through a pipeline, a feed outlet of the secondary mother liquor tank is connected to a feed inlet of the blending tank through a pipeline, and the finished product tank stores a prepared compound crystallization product of the erythritol and the high-intensity sweetener.
The closest prior art is deemed to constitute the following:
patent publication CN113248551 and the corresponding English translation, considered and evaluated in the Written Opinion of a preceding PCT Stage evaluation of the instant claims concerning a system for preparing refined xylose utilizing all of the above system components of claim 1, as above, however which lacks any teaching or suggestion of the recited structural relationships between nanofiltration system, 1st and 2nd centrifuge, primary and secondary mother liquor tanks and blending tank; and
also comprising Arango Moreno PGPUBS Documents US 2010/0034945 , Patent Publications CN 110771856 and CN 106748657, and the respective accompanying Escapenet or Machine English translations, concerning methods and structure for co-crystallization and purification of erythritol and one or more high sweetener products, and Ding et al PGPUBS Document US 2022/0324896 concerning production of artificial sweeteners by combination of centrifugation, pressure filtration, plural crystallization steps, membrane concentration, evaporation stages, ion exchange treatment, and spray drying treatment.
However, none of Arango Moreno, publications ‘856, or ‘657, nor Ding et al teach or suggest the recited structural relationships between nanofiltration system, 1st and 2nd centrifuge, primary and secondary mother liquor tanks and blending tank, lacking in the ‘551 publication.
Independent claim 7 would similarly distinguish and be non-obvious over all of the prior art in view of recitation of “A method for preparing a compound crystal of erythritol and a high-intensity sweetener, wherein the method uses a system for preparing a compound crystal of erythritol and a high-intensity sweetener-according to claim 1, wherein
the system comprises a fermentation liquid storage tank, a ceramic membrane filtration system, a nanofiltration system, a first evaporator, a first crystallization kettle, a first centrifuge, a sugar dissolution tank, a decolorization tank, an ion exchange column, a blending tank, a second evaporator, a second crystallization kettle, a second centrifuge, a hot-air drying tank, a fluidized drying bed, and a finished product tank sequentially connected through pipelines, and the system further comprises a high-intensity sweetener storage tank, a primary mother liquor tank, and a secondary mother liquor tank”, and in view of further recitation of
, wherein the fermentation liquid storage tank is disposed with a feed inlet for sterilized erythritol fermentation liquid, the nanofiltration system is disposed with a penetrating liquid feed outlet, the penetrating liquid feed outlet is connected to a feed inlet of the first evaporator through a pipeline, the sugar dissolution tank is disposed with a feed inlet for purified water, the blending tank is disposed with a feed inlet for the high-intensity sweetener, each of the first centrifuge and the second centrifuge is disposed with a solid material feed outlet and a liquid material feed outlet, the liquid material feed outlet of the first centrifuge is connected to a feed inlet of the primary mother liquor tank through a pipeline, a feed outlet of the primary mother liquor tank is connected to the feed inlet of the first evaporator through a pipeline, the liquid material feed outlet of the second centrifuge is connected to a feed inlet of the secondary mother liquor tank through a pipeline, a feed outlet of the secondary mother liquor tank is connected to a feed inlet of the blending tank through a pipeline, and the finished product tank stores a prepared compound crystallization product of the erythritol and the high-intensity sweetener.
Again, The closest prior art is deemed to constitute the following:
patent publication CN113248551 and the corresponding English translation, considered and evaluated in the Written Opinion of a preceding PCT Stage evaluation of the instant claims concerning a method and system for preparing refined xylose utilizing all of the above system components of claim 1, as above, however which lacks any teaching or suggestion of the recited structural relationships between nanofiltration system, 1st and 2nd centrifuge, primary and secondary mother liquor tanks and blending tank; and
also comprising Arango Moreno PGPUBS Documents US 2010/0034945 , Patent Publications CN 110771856 and CN 106748657, and the respective accompanying Escapenet or Machine English translations, concerning methods and structure for co-crystallization and purification of erythritol and one or more high sweetener products, and Ding et al PGPUBS Document US 2022/0324896 concerning production of artificial sweeteners by combination of centrifugation, pressure filtration, plural crystallization steps, membrane concentration, evaporation stages, ion exchange treatment, and spray drying treatment.
However, none of Arango Moreno, publications ‘856, or ‘657, nor Ding et al teach or suggest the recited structural relationships between nanofiltration system, 1st and 2nd centrifuge, primary and secondary mother liquor tanks and blending tank, lacking in the ‘551 publication.
Claims 3-6, 8-11, 13, 19 and 20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims, since these are all ultimately dependent on claims 1 and 7 which are allowable and non-obvious over the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon, or discussed above, is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Primary Examiner Joseph Drodge at his direct government formal facsimile phone number telephone number of 571-272-1140. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from approximately 8:00 AM to 1:00PM and 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner are unsuccessful, the examiner' s supervisor, Benjamin Lebron, of Technology Center Unit 1773, can reached at 571-272-0475.
The telephone number, for official, formal communications, for the examining group where this application is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JWD
06/04/2026
/JOSEPH W DRODGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1773
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