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 .
Specification
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 6, 7, 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 6 is rejected because the terms “2-ethylhexanoic acid”, “sebacic acid”, and “toluic acid” appear twice in the claim. Also, it is not clear what constitutes “dotecanoic acid”. Clarification and correction are required.
In claims 7 and 9, Applicant uses the terms “inclusive” and “exclusive”. The examiner interprets “inclusive” to mean that the lower limit is included in the range. However, the examiner is not clear if “exclusive” means that the upper limit is excluded. Clarification and/or correction are required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 –
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ciardi (US 5,723,061-appears on the PTO-892).
Ciardi teaches an antifreeze composition containing a water-soluble liquid alcohol and a corrosion inhibitor system comprising (a) a mixture of at least two aromatic or aliphatic dicarboxylic acids, or of at least two salts of the said acids, (b) at least one 1,3-diazole chosen from imidazole, benzimidazole, imidazoline and hydrocarbon derivatives thereof, and (c) at least one triazole compound (see abstract).
The dicarboxylic acids include glutaric acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid, and phthalic acid. The composition may contain from 0.1 to 10 by weight of the mixture of dicarboxylic acids or of salts thereof. These weight percentages and those given later are based on the antifreeze composition (see col. 2, lines 58-67; col. 3, lines 1-6, 24-28). The composition comprises at least one 1,3-diazole chosen from imidazole, benzimidazole, imidazoline and the hydrocarbon derivatives thereof. The composition may contain from 0.01 to 2% by weight of at least one 1,3-diazole (see col. 3, lines 35-39). The composition also comprises at least one triazole compound which may be present in a proportion of from 0.01 to 1% by weight. The triazole compound is preferably a hydrocarbon compound of triazole or an aromatic triazole compound, such as benzotriazole or tolyltriazole (see col. 4, lines 39-45).
The antifreeze composition contains, as essential or major component by weight, a water-soluble liquid alcohol which makes it possible to lower the freezing point. The liquid alcohol is generally a glycol or a glycol ether. Ciardi teaches that the invention relates to an aqueous fluid containing water and from 10 to 90 % of the antifreeze composition (see col. 5, lines 43-60). Ciardi teaches that the pH of the composition is adjusted to a range of 8.0-8.5 and uses sodium hydroxide(see Examples).
Accordingly, Ciardi teaching all the material limitations of the claims anticipates the claims. With respect to Applicant’s intended use (a coolant composition for an electric vehicle), the preamble of a claim is not a limitation where the claim is drawn to a product and the preamble merely recites a contemplated use.
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Maes (US 20040075077-appears on the PTO-892).
Maes teaches a method of cooling an internal combustion engine comprising circulating in the cooling system of an engine an effective amount of an engine coolant comprising a liquid alcohol freezing point depressant, a C5 to C16 carboxylic acid or salts thereof separately or in combination with one or more aliphatic C5-C16 dicarboxylic acids or the alkali metal, ammonium or amine salt of said acids, and triazoles (see abstract; para 0012).
The carboxylic acids include heptanoic, octanoic, nonanoic, decanoic, undecanoic and dodecanoic, and mixtures thereof (see para 0014). The dicarboxylic acids include suberic, azelaic, sebacic, undecanedioic, dodecanedioic, the diacid of dicyclopentadiene, terephthalic, and mixtures thereof (see para 0015).
The triazole component is preferably hydrocarbyl triazole, more preferably an aromatic or an alkyl-substituted aromatic triazole; for example, benzotriazole or tolyltriazole. The hydrocarbyl triazole may be employed at concentrations of about 0.0001- 0.5 wt. % (see para 0016).
The coolant/antifreeze formulations most commonly used include mixtures of water and water soluble liquid alcohol freezing point depressants such as glycol and glycol ethers. The glycol ethers which can be employed as major components in the composition of Maes include glycols such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol, and dipropylene glycol, and glycol monoethers such as the methyl, ethyl, propyl and butyl ethers of ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol, and dipropylene glycol (see para 0019).
The coolant formulation is employed in admixture with an aqueous antifreeze/coolant solution comprising 10% to 90% by weight of water, a water soluble liquid alcohol freezing point depressant, preferably ethylene glycol, and at least one alkali metal hydroxide which is employed to adjust the pH of the composition to a range from about 6.5 to 9.5 (see para 0020; claim 28).
The composition comprises about 0.001 to 15.0 wt. monocarboxylic acid or salt (calculated as the free acid); and about 0.001 to 15.0 wt. % dicarboxylic acid (calculated as the free acid) (see para 0021). Example 1 provides for a coolant concentrate containing a major amount of ethylene glycol, a combination of carboxylate corrosion inhibitors comprising 3.25% of 2-ethyl hexanoic acid and 0.25% sebacic acid, 0.04% of imidazole, 0.2% of tolyltriazole and sufficient NaOH to neutralize the formulation at a pH between 7.0 and 9.0 (see para 0027).
Accordingly, Maes teaching all the material limitations of the claims anticipates the claims. With respect to Applicant’s intended use (a coolant composition for an electric vehicle), the preamble of a claim is not a limitation where the claim is drawn to a product and the preamble merely recites a contemplated use.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is cited for teaching the general state of the art and is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CEPHIA D TOOMER whose telephone number is (571)272-1126. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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, Prem Singh can be reached at 571-272-6368. 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.
/CEPHIA D TOOMER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1771 18032682/20251129