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
No claims are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group and Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 03/24/2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I and Sub-species II and 1 in the reply filed on 03/24/2026 is acknowledged.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by JP 2012-55246 to Shibazaki.
In regard to claim 1, Shibazaki discloses pest control system comprising: a plurality of first light sources (second insect attracting light source 3) configured to emit light with a first wavelength (500-700 nm) to a first region (area about where 3 are deployed in Fig. 1 and the first region illuminated by 3 is shown in Figs. 2-3) of a cultivation region (field 5) in which crops (4) are cultivated, to suppress damage to the crops caused by harmful insects (80); and one or more second light sources (first insect attracting light source 2) configured to emit light with a second wavelength (300-400 nm) to gather the harmful insects (80) in a second region (within 20-21 and the range encompassed by the exteriorly emitted light from 2 as shown in Figs. 2-3) that is a part of the cultivation region and smaller than the first region (see Figs. 2-3; light shielding unit 21 confines the light from 2 to only have a certain range, whereas the light from 3 is not shielded; see Figs. 2-3).
In regard to claim 8, Shibazaki discloses an insect trap (first attracting light source 2 includes a trapping trap such as an adhesive sheet) installed in the second region (within 20-21) to capture the harmful insects.
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) 2 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2012-55246 to Shibazaki in view of JP 2010-252671 to Ishiwatari et al.
In regard to claim 2, Shibazaki discloses wherein the one or more second light sources (2) are configured to emit the light with the second wavelength (300-400 nm) that attract the harmful insects (80) and beneficial insects (8) to the second region (within 20-21 and the range encompassed by the exteriorly emitted light from 2 as shown in Figs. 2-3; see Fig. 2 and the upper figure in Fig. 3 showing both harmful 80 and beneficial insects 8 being attracted by the light of 2), and that the beneficial insects being insects are naturally occurring (8 exist in the field 5) to suppress damage to the crops caused by the harmful insects, but does not disclose the beneficial insects being insects that had been released in the cultivation region to suppress damage to the crops caused by the harmful insects. Ishiwatari et al. disclose the beneficial insects being insects that had been released in the cultivation region to suppress damage to the crops caused by the harmful insects (Conventionally, in order to control pests generated on agricultural crops, it is known to disperse the natural insects of the harmful insects to the cultivation field and prey on the harmful insects by the natural enemy insects. In this kind of pest control configuration, plant a bunker plant where the prey insects of the natural enemy insects grow in or around the cultivation field, and avoid the natural enemy insects falling into food shortage after pest predation. Thus, there are those that try to maintain the density of natural enemy insects in the cultivation field). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the pest control system of Shibazaki such that the beneficial insects being insects that had been released in the cultivation region to suppress damage to the crops caused by the harmful insects in view of Ishiwatari et al. in order to allow the user to control and increase the density of the beneficial insects in the cultivation region so that there are sufficient beneficial insects to suppress damage to the crops caused by the harmful insects.
In regard to claim 6, Shibazaki discloses wherein a region in which the light with the second wavelength (300-400 nm) is emitted by the one or more second light sources (2) is smaller than a region in which the light with the first wavelength (500-700 nm) is emitted by the plurality of first light sources (3; light shielding unit 21 confines the light from 2 to only have a certain range, whereas the light from 3 is not shielded; see Figs. 2-3).
Claim(s) 3-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2012-55246 to Shibazaki in view of JP 2010-252671 to Ishiwatari et al. as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of JP 2006-158348 to Taguchi et al.
In regard to claim 3, Shibazaki and Ishiwatari et al. do not disclose a predetermined number of the beneficial insects according to a size of the cultivation region. Taguchi et al. disclose a predetermined number of the beneficial insects according to a size of the cultivation region (“In addition, citrus fruits, grapes, pears, and apples are cultivated frequently with mites, which develops resistance to chemicals against tick agents that are chemical pesticides. There are also frequent situations where it is not possible to control. As a solution to this, similar to the above, an attempt was made to release pests' natural enemy insects to control the pests, but a temporary pest density suppression effect immediately after releasing the natural enemy insects was recognized, Most of the pest control effects were not persistent. When pests are controlled using natural enemy insects, generally, a method is used in which pests are released at an early stage when the pest density is low. This is because the damage control effect by natural enemies is less likely to appear after the density of the pests is increased. However, in order to find pests in the crop cultivation field in the early stages of development, skill is required and often overlooked. For this reason, after the pest generation density becomes high, a method of releasing chemical enemies after spraying chemical pesticides is often used.” and that “In order to achieve the above object, the biological control method of the present invention releases the natural enemy insects inside and/or around the crop cultivation field in order to control the pests, and the natural enemy insects are free of the pests. However, during the control period, the alternative bait and its habitat will be placed in and around the field so that it will prey on the released alternative bait and proliferate and exert its inhibitory effect when pests are generated. It is installed to maintain the density of the natural enemy insects, suppress the increase of the harmful insects, and prevent the crops from being damaged. As used herein, “alternative bait” refers to insects or animals that serve as food for natural enemies. Since the method of the present invention can be applied regardless of the generation time of pests, it also solves the difficulty in determining the timing for releasing natural enemy insects, which has been a problem in the past.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the pest control system of Shibazaki and Ishiwatari et al. such that it comprises a predetermined number of the beneficial insects according to a size of the cultivation region in view of Taguchi et al. in order to apply the proper number of beneficial insects within a cultivation area of a given size so that the beneficial insects do not overwhelm the population of harmful insects to thereby deplete their food source and so that spraying of pesticides can be avoided and proper management of the balance between the number of beneficial insects with respect to the number of harmful insects is maintained so that the beneficial insects can have a steady and prolonged effect in controlling the harmful insects.
In regard to claim 4, Shibazaki discloses wherein the one or more second light sources (2) are configured to emit light with the second wavelength to gather a predetermined number or more of the harmful insects (80) entering the cultivation region (5) from an outside of the cultivation region (The first attracting light source unit 2 is provided in the attracting device 20 arranged around the field 5 outside the crop cultivation area 40 where the crop 4 is grown, and irradiates light toward the outside of the field 5) within a predetermined period (2 is lit during a time period when the field 5 is not irradiated with natural light in order to efficiently attract insects into the field).
In regard to claim 5, Shibazaki, Ishiwatari et al., and Taguchi et al. disclose wherein the beneficial insects (8 of Shibazaki) are insects that work as biological control agents (8 is the natural enemy of 80) against the harmful insects (80 of Shibazaki), and the predetermined number of the beneficial insects to be released into the cultivation region (as taught by Taguchi et al.) is determined such that a certain number or more of the beneficial insects among the predetermined number of the beneficial insects having been released into the cultivation region are continuously gathered in the second region (within 20-21 and the range encompassed by the exteriorly emitted light from 2 as shown in Figs. 2-3; see the upper figure of Fig. 3 of Shibazaki).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2012-55246 to Shibazaki in view of JP 2010-252671 to Ishiwatari et al. as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Aoki et al. 2013/0298445.
In regard to claim 7, Shibazaki and Ishiwatari et al. disclose wherein the first wavelength is a wavelength (500-700 nm) that has a lower insect attracting activity than the second wavelength and the second wavelength is a wavelength in a range from 316 nm to 560 nm (300-400 nm of Shibazaki), but do not disclose wherein the first wavelength is a wavelength in a range from 265 nm to 315 nm. Aoki et al. disclose a pest control system comprising a light source (24) configured to emit light with a first wavelength (260-305 nm) to a first region (plant P) of a cultivation region, to suppress damage to the plant caused by harmful insects (pests such as spider mites) by not attracting the harmful insects (see para. 0004), wherein the light source 24 illuminates the rear sides of the leaves of plant P with the light in the second wavelength of 260-305 nm and the use of the light disinfests spider mites (see para. 0024). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the first wavelength of Shibazaki and Ishiwatari et al. such that it has a wavelength in a range from 265-315 nm in view of Aoki et al. in order to provide an alternative mechanism for causing the harmful insects to go in an intended direction by repelling them from a given area so as to control the movement of the harmful insects and drive the harmful insects away from the given area so that they relocate to another desired area and that by substituting the first wavelength of Aoki et al. for the first wavelength of Shibazaki and Ishiwatari et al., it will cause the harmful insects to move toward the insect trap of Shibazaki.
Claim(s) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2012-55246 to Shibazaki in view of JP 2006-158348 to Taguchi et al.
In regard to claim 9, Shibazaki discloses a pest control system comprising: a first light source (second insect attracting light source 3) configured to emit light with a first wavelength (500-700 nm) to a first region (area about where 3 are deployed in Fig. 1 and the first region illuminated by 3 is shown in Figs. 2-3) of a cultivation region (field 5) in which crops are cultivated; a second light source (first insect attracting light source 2) configured to emit light with a second wavelength (300-400 nm) to a second region (within 20-21 and the range encompassed by the exteriorly emitted light from 2 as shown in Figs. 2-3) of the cultivation region (field 5) in which crops (4) are cultivated, the second region being smaller than the first region (light shielding unit 21 confines the light from 2 to only have a certain range, whereas the light from 3 is not shielded; see Figs. 2-3); and a number or more of beneficial insects (9), wherein the pest control system is configured to continuously keep the predetermined number or more of beneficial insects by, controlling the first light source (3) and the second light source (2) to adjust the light with the first wavelength and the light with the second wavelength (The first attracting light source unit 2 and the second attracting light source unit 3 are lit during a time period from sunset to sunrise when the field 5 is not irradiated with natural light in order to efficiently attract insects into the field 5. It is preferable. In addition, it is preferable that these light sources are turned on and off at the same time, and may be controlled according to the sunrise and sunset times stored in advance by using a solar time switch.), allowing the number or more of beneficial (8) insects in the second region (within 20-21 and the range encompassed by the exteriorly emitted light from 2 as shown in Figs. 2-3) to eliminate a certain number of harmful insects (80) among harmful insects entering or generated in the cultivation region (field 5) within a predetermined period (when the first 3 and second 2 light sources emit light to attract the harmful 80 and beneficial insects 8 thereto), and adjusting a number of remaining harmful insects (80) to be eliminated by the light with the first wavelength (500-700 nm; the number of harmful insects 80 eliminated by the light with the first wavelength is dictated by the length of the day when natural light is present and the first light source 3 is controlled by the solar light switch for the adjustment according to the hours of daylight for a given day in the calendar year which has shorter days in the winter but longer days in the summer), but does not disclose a predetermined number of beneficial insects. Taguchi et al. disclose a predetermined number of the beneficial insects according to a size of the cultivation region (“In addition, citrus fruits, grapes, pears, and apples are cultivated frequently with mites, which develops resistance to chemicals against tick agents that are chemical pesticides. There are also frequent situations where it is not possible to control. As a solution to this, similar to the above, an attempt was made to release pests' natural enemy insects to control the pests, but a temporary pest density suppression effect immediately after releasing the natural enemy insects was recognized, Most of the pest control effects were not persistent. When pests are controlled using natural enemy insects, generally, a method is used in which pests are released at an early stage when the pest density is low. This is because the damage control effect by natural enemies is less likely to appear after the density of the pests is increased. However, in order to find pests in the crop cultivation field in the early stages of development, skill is required and often overlooked. For this reason, after the pest generation density becomes high, a method of releasing chemical enemies after spraying chemical pesticides is often used.” and that “In order to achieve the above object, the biological control method of the present invention releases the natural enemy insects inside and/or around the crop cultivation field in order to control the pests, and the natural enemy insects are free of the pests. However, during the control period, the alternative bait and its habitat will be placed in and around the field so that it will prey on the released alternative bait and proliferate and exert its inhibitory effect when pests are generated. It is installed to maintain the density of the natural enemy insects, suppress the increase of the harmful insects, and prevent the crops from being damaged. As used herein, “alternative bait” refers to insects or animals that serve as food for natural enemies. Since the method of the present invention can be applied regardless of the generation time of pests, it also solves the difficulty in determining the timing for releasing natural enemy insects, which has been a problem in the past.”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the pest control system of Shibazaki and Ishiwatari et al. such that it comprises a predetermined number of the beneficial insects according to a size of the cultivation region in view of Taguchi et al. in order to apply the proper number of beneficial insects within a cultivation area of a given size so that the beneficial insects do not overwhelm the population of harmful insects to thereby deplete their food source and so that spraying of pesticides can be avoided and proper management of the balance between the number of beneficial insects with respect to the number of harmful insects is maintained so that the beneficial insects can have a steady and prolonged effect in controlling the harmful insects.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2012-55246 to Shibazaki in view of JP 2006-158348 to Taguchi et al. as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Shimoda et al. 2019/0000061.
In regard to claim 10, Shibazuki and Taguchi et al. disclose the predetermined number of beneficial insects staying in the cultivation region by maintaining the population density of beneficial insects by providing an alternative bait for the beneficial insects to consume when the population of harmful insects is reduced by the beneficial insects so as to sustain the beneficial insect population (as taught by Taguchi et al.), but do not disclose wherein the first light source and the second light source are controlled so that the predetermined number of beneficial insects stay in the cultivation region for at least 20 days or more. Shimoda et al. disclose a method of attracting and fixing predatory insects wherein a violet light is irradiated by a light-emitting diode on a crop or in the vicinity of a crop to attract predatory insects (see paras. 0024, 0041), the light having a wavelength of 385-425 or 405 nm (see para. 0024), and that settling a predatory insect involves causing a predatory insect which is present in a place of interest to stay at the place within a specified period of time and that examples of the stay period range from 2 minutes up to at least 10 days (see para. 0042). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the pest control system of Shibazuki and Taguchi et al. such that the first light source and the second light source are controlled so that the predetermined number of beneficial insects stay in the cultivation region for at least 20 days or more in view of Shimoda et al. in order to control the presence of the beneficial insects for use in pest control for an extended period of time for a duration as necessary to control the population of harmful insects as long as desired by the user.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Roy-Moisan et al. 2025/0120383 disclose a pest control system comprising: a plurality of first light sources (a first horticultural light source configured to illuminate a first group of plants or crops according to a lighting scenario) configured to emit light with a first wavelength (see paras. 0046, 0086) to a first region (where the first light source is deployed) of a cultivation region in which crops are cultivated, to suppress damage to the crops caused by harmful insects (see para. 0061); and one or more second light sources (a second horticultural light source configured to illuminate a second group of plants or crops according to a pest management lighting scenario, the pest management lighting scenario having at least one pest-mitigating feature affecting an undesirable organism present in the second zone) configured to emit light with a second wavelength (see paras. 0046, 0086) to gather the harmful insects in a second region (see para. 0061).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DARREN W ARK whose telephone number is (571)272-6885. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kimberly Berona can be reached at (571) 272-6909. 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.
/DARREN W ARK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3647
DWA
Prosecution Insights