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 .
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(s) 1 ,2, and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ching Lee (GB 2089632, provided herein) in view of Lee (US 2013/0108721, cited in IDS).
For claim 1, Ching Lee teaches a method of providing cryo-sprouts (mung or soy beans fig. 1A 1B, term cryo-sprout interpreted as per applicant’s specification para 0033) to a consumer (for consumers as per page 2, line 115) comprising:
placing seeds in a container (see fig. 3, seeds 26, placed on membrane 20, see claim 23, part a, pages 7, lines 83-90), wherein the container comprises a membrane (20) supported above the floor of the container on internal supports (supported on internal supports 18, see fig. 2-3, page 4, lines 7-11);
adding water sufficient for seed germination and growth into cryo-sprouts (claim 23, part b-c, page 7, lines 91-105);
covering the container with a lid (12) to form a covered container (fig. 3), wherein the covered container comprises an air-permeable seal (30, 32, gap 34) for air permeability and evaporation of water (Col. 5, lines 73-90), wherein the seeds are disposed on the membrane above the water or touching the water (see fig. 3, above or touching water surface 64);
wherein the air permeability rate and the water evaporation rate are at a rate sufficient for seed germination and growth into cryo-sprouts in the covered container without further addition of water during growth of cryo-sprouts (page 7, lines “supplying adequate moisture to said seeds to cause said seeds to germinate”).
Ching Lee is silent about incubating the covered container at a pathogen antagonistic temperature below about 45°F.
Lee teaches a method of growing cryo-sprouts (abstract) wherein the seeds are incubated at a pathogen antagonistic temperature below about 45°F (para 0025-0026, 5-10 deg C (32-50F)).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to include the step of incubating the seeds at a temperature of below 45F, as taught by Lee, into the method of Ching Lee, in order to provide optimal growth and germination conditions for the particular seed being grown.
For claim 2, modified Ching Lee further teaches wherein the seeds are hydrated seeds (22 of Ching Lee hydrates the seeds).
For claim 4, modified Ching Lee further teaches wherein the covered container comprises openings to increase the air permeability, wherein the openings comprise one or more vent slots configured for air exchange in the covered container (62).
Claim(s) 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ching Lee in view of Lee, as applied to claim 1 above, in further view of Voermans et al. (US 2014/0101997).
For claim 3, modified Ching Lee further teaches wherein the lid of the covered container is not removed until use by the consumer.
Voermans teaches a method of cultivating sprouts in a covered container (abstract and figs.) wherein the lid of the covered container is not removed until use by the consumer (para 0055-0057, closed container is sold, thus lid not removed until purchased by the consumer).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to include the step of maintaining the container in a sealed configuration until sale, as taught by Voermans, into the method of modified Ching Lee, in order to preserve the freshness for the consumer.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAGDALENA TOPOLSKI whose telephone number is (571)270-3568. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/MAGDALENA TOPOLSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642
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