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 5/19/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the inventions are linked, this is not found persuasive for the reasons of record. Furthermore Yazaki (‘245) and Pulivarthi (2021) teach the claimed flour as discussed below. The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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.
When there are drawings, there shall be a “brief description of the several views of the drawings” (See 37 C.F.R. 1.74.).
The section heading “brief description of the several views of the drawings” as set forth in 37 C.F.R. 1.74 is missing. Please correct.
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.
Claim 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yazaki et al. (JP 2023016245) in view of Pulivarthi et al., Comprehensive Understanding of Roller Milling on the Physicochemical Properties of Red Lentil and Yellow Pea Flours; Processes 2021, 9, 1836 (2021).
Regarding Claim 1, Yazaki (‘245) teaches flour usable for pasta where the particles have a size distribution of less than 600 µm (See Abstract, p. 3, l. 10+, claims.), however, fails to expressly disclose the flour being made from red lentils and having the claimed particle size distribution.
Applicant does not set forth any non-obvious unexpected results for the flour having the claimed particle size distribution.
Pulivarthi (2021) teaches using red lentil flour for pasta wherein the red lentil flour provides a healthier food product due in part to the presence of adequate amounts of the amnio acid lysine wherein the lentil flours have different particle sizes (See Abstract, p. 2, paras. 4-6.); wherein each of the small, medium and large particle size red flours are produced by adjusting the type of roller, speed and spacing between the milling rollers have a particle size distribution (See FIGs 1 and 3.).
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Pulivarthi (2021) teaches the properties of flours of different sizes differ, including moisture, protein, crude fiber and bulk density (See pp. 13-14, Section 3.5.1, Table 4.).
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It would have been foreseeable and obvious prior to the earliest effective filing date with Yazaki (‘245) and Pulivarthi (2021) to substitute red lentil flour for other pasta flours to provide a healthier pasta that includes lysine. It further would have been foreseeable and obvious prior to the earliest effective filing to adjust the milling roller settings and blend flours of different particle size distribution as taught by Pulivarthi (2021) to provide a red lentil flour with desired moisture, protein, crude fiber and bulk density based on a consumer’s requirements. The adjustment of roller settings and blend profile would have been within the skill set of a person having ordinary skill in the art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRENT T O'HERN whose telephone number is (571)272-6385. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 5:00 am - 3:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Emily Le can be reached at 571-272-0903. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. 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.
/BRENT T O'HERN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1793
May 29, 2026
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