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 .
Claims 1-2, and 10 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected 09/09/25, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 09/09/25.
Applicant’s election without traverse of group II, and group III in the reply filed on 09/09/25 is acknowledged.
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.
Claims 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Olof Sunden (Norwegian Patent: 148269 here after Sunden).
Claim 3 is rejected. Sunder teaches a method for preparing a biodegradable
urea-formaldehyde-based sand-fixing (soil improvement) polymer material with water absorption and retention(swelling) [page 2 lines 16-27, page 9 last paragraph lines 8-10], the biodegradable urea-formaldehyde-based sand-fixing polymer material comprising:
a biodegradable urea-formaldehyde-based polymer composite with slow nutrient
release and water absorption and retention; and
a biodegradable polymer fabric (paper or fiber network);
the biodegradable urea-formaldehyde-based polymer composite being coated on
a surface of the biodegradable polymer fabric, and being embedded in meshes of the
biodegradable polymer fabric [page 2 lines 23-27; which in fact there being intermolecular hydrogen-bond interaction (chemical bond) between the biodegradable urea-formaldehyde-based polymer composite and the biodegradable polymer [page 2 last paragraph]; the method comprising:
coating the biodegradable urea-formaldehyde-based polymer (UF resin) composite on the surface of the biodegradable polymer fiber (cellulose stock, cellulose fibers) followed by thermal curing of the (biodegradable urea-formaldehyde-based polymer) composite on the surface of the biodegradable polymer fiber(cellulose), rolling and drying [page 7 lines 5-15, page 5 paragraph 5], to obtain the biodegradable urea-formaldehyde-based sand-fixing polymer material [page 9 last paragraph]. Although Sunder does not clearly teach the polymer material is slow nutrient release, however because there is hydrogen-bond interaction between the biodegradable urea-formaldehyde-based polymer composite and the biodegradable polymer (cellulose)[page 4 lines 19-23], it contributing to a better nutrient slow-release property. Sunden teaches the coating UF based polymer composite on biodegradable polymer fibers or fiber stock(cellulose), and not on a fabric. However, it is obvious to use cellulose fibers as paper (pieces of polymer fabric) to be coated with UF resin in absence of criticality. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have a method of Sunden and mix pieces of cellulose paper with UF resin (to be coated on it), because an ordinary skill in art can use plurality of fibers in form of fabric (or paper) rather than individual fibers in absence of criticality.
Claim 4 is rejected. Sunder does not teach a coating mass of the biodegradable urea-formaldehyde-based polymer composite on cellulose paper (biodegradable fabric); however, it is to the skill of an ordinary skill to optimize it with concentration of fibers in mixture, viscosity of mixture and pressure of the rollers. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have a method of Sunden where coating mass of the biodegradable urea-formaldehyde-based polymer composite on the biodegradable polymer fabric is 0.1-0.5 g/cm2, because it is to skill of an ordinary skill in art to optimize it in absence of criticality.
Claim 5 is rejected. Sunder teaches a pressure of the rolling is
4.9 MPa (50 Kp/cm2) [page 5 paragraph 5]. Although Sunder does not teach the speed of the rollers, however teaches drying with rollers [page 15 lines 7-10]. Therefor the rolling speed of the drying rollers are result effective variable and has to be optimized. If the rollers speed is very fast, the drying may not happens completely and slow rotating the rollers causes long drying time which is not economically desirable. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have a method of Sunden where the speed of the rolling is 10-50 rpm, because it is a result effective variable and has to be optimized.
Claim 6 is rejected as Sunder teaches the thermal curing is performed at below 60C including claimed (45-60C) range for 2 hours [page 6 paragraph 3]; and a temperature of the drying is 60°C [page 6 paragraph 3].
Claims 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Olof Sunden (Norwegian Patent: 148269 here after Sunden), further in view of Yaqing Liu et al (U. S. Patent Application: 2019/0031574, here after Liu).
Claims 7-9 are rejected. Sunder does not teach adjusting pH of formaldehyde and urea to 8. Liu teaches a method of making a water-absorbing and slow/controlled release fertilizer, a water-absorbing and water-retaining multi-nutrient biodegradable polymeric slow/controlled release fertilizer by reacting urea and formaldehyde and treat cellulose with it[abstract], and teaches adding formaldehyde and urea into a reaction vessel(reactor), followed by adjustment to pH=8 and reaction at a first preset temperature(40C) for a first preset time(2Hr); and adding an inorganic fertilizer containing phosphorus and potassium, and a superabsorbent monomer of the SAP into the reaction vessel, followed by reaction at a second preset temperature(40C) for a second preset time(12)[0011-0012] to obtain the biodegradable urea-formaldehyde-based polymer composite in a viscous state. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have a method of Sunden where step of forming urea formaldehyde resin composite is based on Liu, because it is suitable way to prepare UF resin for applying to cellulose material and make slow/controlled release fertilizers.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TABASSOM TADAYYON ESLAMI whose telephone number is (571)270-1885. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6.
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/TABASSOM TADAYYON ESLAMI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1718