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 § 102
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 103865196 (B). (Please note that the English language description of said document, is taken from Applicant’s supplied English Language translation of the examination report of the Patent Office Of The People’s Republic of China for Application No.: 202180059950) .
CN 103865196 (B) discloses a compound rare earth calcium zinc hear stabilizer which comprises a main stabilizer and an auxiliary stabilizer, wherein the main stabilizer comprises the following components: 15-25 kg of rare earth 3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienoic acid, 30-35 kg of calcium stearate, 14 kg of zinc laurate, with a total of 65-75 kg of the primary stabilizer; and the components of the auxiliary stabilizer are as followed: dibenzoylmethane, triphenyl phosphite, distearyl thiodipropionate, diundecyl phthalate and epoxidized soybean oil with the mass ratio of 1: 12: 3: 1: 3, with a total of 25-35 kg of the secondary stabilizer. Applicant’s claims 1-2 are deemed to be directly anticipated over said auxiliary stabilizer composition.
Claim(s) 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 108059779 (A). (Please note that the English language description of said document, is taken from Applicant’s supplied English Language translation of the examination report of the Patent Office Of The People’s Republic of China for Application No.: 202180059950) .
CN 108059779 (A) discloses environment-friendly antioxidant termination additives for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and method of preparation thereof, wherein the raw materials comprise, in parts by weight, 20 parts of a plasticizer, 15 parts of a heat stabilizer, 5 parts of phenolic antioxidants, 5 parts of phosphite antioxidants, 5 parts of a sulfur-containing antioxidant, 10 parts of a lipophilic surfactant, 15 parts of hydrophilic surfactants, 5 parts of a co-solvent, 1 part of a thickener, and 70 parts of deionized water, wherein the phenolic antioxidants are Antioxidant 1076 and. Antioxidant 300; the phosphite antioxidants are antioxidant 168 and antioxidant TPP; the sulfur-containing antioxidant is antioxidant DSTP, the plasticizer is epoxidized soybean oil; the hydrophilic surfactants are Tween 80 and OP-10; and the co-solvent is sodium benzoate, see the specification, paragraph [0036], and Example 1.
Please note that antioxidant 168 is Irgafos 168 which is tris(2,4-ditert butyl)phenyl phosphite. Please note that TPP is triphenylphosphite. Please note that DSTP is distearyl-3,3’-thiodipropionic acid ester which is just another name for Applicant’s 3,3’thiodipropionic acid dioctadecylester anti-oxidant of independent claim 1.
Applicant’s claims 1-2 are thus deemed to be directly anticipated over said antioxidant additive composition for PVC.
Claim(s) 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 103289607 (B).
CN 103289607 (B) discloses a hot melt adhesive for an aluminum alloy material. The hot melt adhesive for the aluminum alloy material is prepared from the following components in parts by weight: 100 parts of EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer) resin, 15-20 parts of PE (polyethylene) resin, 12-30 parts of butadiene styrene rubber tackified resin, 2-3 parts of rosin pentaerythritol ester, 10-40 parts of microcrystalline wax, 10-12 parts of wollastonite in powder, 1-2 parts of aluminum nitride, 0.1-0.3 part of antioxidant 1035, 0.1-0.2 part of antioxidant 168, 0.2-0.3 part of antioxidant DSTDP, 6-8 parts of triethyl citrate and 2-3 parts of epoxy soybean oil. A preparation method of the hot melt adhesive comprises the following steps of: firstly preparing the butadiene styrene rubber tackified resin, then mixing the butadiene styrene rubber tackified resin with other raw materials, extruding by virtue of an extruder, cooling and pelletizing. The hot melt adhesive for the aluminum alloy material has strong bonding property, and self-made rubber tackified resin is added in a formula, so that the made hot melt adhesive is enhanced in bonding property and good in weather resistance, heat resistance, ageing resistance and toughness.
Please note that antioxidant 168 is Irgafos 168 which is tris(2,4-ditert butyl)phenyl phosphite. Please note that DSTDP is distearyl-3,3’-thiodipropionic acid ester which is just another name for Applicant’s 3,3’thiodipropionic acid dioctadecylester anti-oxidant of independent claim 1.
Applicant’s claims 1-2 are thus deemed to be directly anticipated over said hot melt adhesive.
Claim(s) 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2001192560 (A) (Please note that the English language description of said document, is taken in part from Applicant’s supplied English Language Translation of the Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority for PCT/EP2021/071402) in view of either WO 2019223201 (A) or CN 108219488 (A).
JP 2001192560 (A) discloses asphalt compositions having excellent physical properties such as penetration and mechanical strength. Said asphalt compositions comprise in part: 85-97 parts by weight of asphalt; 3-15 parts by weight of a block copolymer made from a monoalkly aromatic compound (e.g. styrene derivative) and a conjugated diene (e.g. butadiene etc.); and antioxidants such as triphenyl phosphite (TPP), tris(2,4-ditert butyl)phenyl phosphite (Irgatos 168) and distearyl-3,3’-thiodipropionate (DSTP) which is just another name for Applicant’s 3,3’thiodipropionic acid dioctadecylester anti-oxidant of independent claim 1, see JP 2001192560 (A)’s paragraphs [0023]-[0024] and claim 1.
JP 2001192560 (A)’s asphalt compositions differ from Applicant’s claimed additive composition (see claim 1-2) and claimed bituminous/asphalt compositions (see claims 3-7) in that there is not a direct teaching (i.e. by way of a specific example) to where the asphalt composition comprises Applicant’s claimed combination of primary anti-oxidants (a phenyl phosphite and 3,3’thiodipropionic acid dioctadecylester) in combination with epoxidized soybean oil which Applicant calls a secondary anti-oxidant.
WO 2019223201 (A) discloses epoxy asphalt compositions containing in part epoxidized soybean oil as an anti-aging agent that improves both high and low temperature performance of the asphalt and reduces cost due it is commercial availability and abundance.
CN 108219488 (A) discloses asphalt composition comprising a ductility improver component, wherein the ductility improver component comprises 50-60 pts. wt. plant asphalt, 25-35 pts. wt. epoxy soybean oil, 10- 20 pts. wt. oleic acid and 0-5 pts. wt. antioxidant.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to use JP 2001192560 (A)’s individual disclosure as strong motivation to actually use combinations of anti-oxidants, such as a combination of a phenyl phosphite anti-oxidant (e.g. TPP and/or Irgatos 168) and a distearyl-3,3’-thiodipropionate (DSTP) anti-oxidant, which is just another name for Applicant’s 3,3’thiodipropionic acid dioctadecylester anti-oxidant of independent claim 1, because said combination fall directly within JP 2001192560 (A)’s disclosure of being highly effective anti-oxidants for asphalt compositions. Furthermore, It is well known in the patent case law that it is not inventive to merely use combinations of components together for which they are individually known to be useful (in the present case, as anti-oxidants for asphalt) outside a showing of both superior and unobvious results.
It would also have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to use the individual disclosures of the either secondary reference to WO 2019223201 (A) or CN 108219488 (A), as strong motivation to actually further add epoxide soybean oil to JP 2001192560 (A)’s asphalt/bituminous composition for the benefits epoxide soybean oil would impart to the asphalt composition. Such disclosed benefits are anti-aging improvements, improvement in both high and low temperature performance of the asphalt, reduces cost due to epoxide soybean oil commercial availability and abundance (see WO 2019223201 (A)), and improvements in regards to the asphalt’s ductility (see CN 108219488 (A)). It is well known in the art that it is not inventive to merely follow the direct suggestions of prior-art reference(s).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH DAVID ANTHONY whose telephone number is (571)272-1117. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 10:00AM-6:30PM.
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/JOSEPH D ANTHONY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1764