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
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.
Claims 1-3, 5-7, and 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wu (20110030858).
Regarding claims 1-3, 5-7, and 9-11, Wu discloses a gas generating composition for use in an air bag device that includes a fuel such as guanidine nitrate (0022) from 10-60 % (0017), an oxidizer such as basic copper nitrate (0024) from 20-70 %, a binder such as carboxymethyl cellulose (0040) from .5-15 % (0018), and an additive such as a cooling agent of size 10 micron (0032) of basic magnesium carbonate (0038) from 1-20 %.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the prior art does not disclose the composition with sufficient specificity. This is not persuasive because the entire range is disclosed by the prior art. Further one of skill in the art would expect the same results with respect to burn rate and ignition from 10-20 % that are achieved from 0 to 10%. Applicant has not shown that this is a critical feature nor provided any evidence of unexpected results. The ranges here are different than that disclosed in the case law because they are a much narrower range and there are examples within the claimed range.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AILEEN BAKER FELTON whose telephone number is (571)272-6875. The examiner can normally be reached Monday 9-5:30, Thursday 11-3, Friday 9-5:30.
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, Jonathan Johnson can be reached at 571-272-1177. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AILEEN B FELTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1734
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