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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 14 April 2023 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the Office.
Claim Objections
Claims 4, 7, 13, and 14 objected to because of the following informalities:
As to Claim 4: The claim recites “Octa decyl amine” which should read “octadecyl amine”.
As to Claim 7: The claim recites “The process as claimed in claim 5, comprises” but would read more clearly if it read ““The process as claimed in claim 5, further comprising”
As to Claim 13: The claim recites “un additized fuel” which should read “unadditized fuel”.
As to Claim 14: The claim recites “The process as claimed in claim 11, the additized fuel emits greenish yellow color” but would read more clearly if it read “The process as claimed in claim 11, wherein the additized fuel emits greenish yellow color”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-17 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.
As to Claim 1: The claim recites that the amount of time that the solution is heated or autoclaved is overnight. However, this does not recite a specific amount of time and it is unclear if the process being performed at night is what causes the reaction. Additionally, there does not appear to be a general teaching in the specification regarding the amount of time to be considered as overnight. Further, overnight is known to vary based on location and time of year. Does it have to be overnight at the location of the sample or is the fact that it was night somewhere else sufficient? For purposes of further consideration, the amount of time included in overnight was considered to be about 12-16 hours, corresponding to setting the sample before leaving the lab to run until first thing in the next workday.
As to Claim 1: The claim recites that “the process is a one step process”. However, the claim recites two different steps, namely a mixing step and a heating or autoclaving step. It is unclear how this can be considered a one step process.
As to Claim 7: It is unclear if the instant claim language is a hypothetical drawn to a property of if the claim is positively reciting a step wherein CQDs are added in the recited amount. For the purposes of further consideration, the claim is considered to require adding the CQDs to a non-polar hydrocarbon-based fuel in an amount ranging from 10 to 200 ppm.
As to Claim 7: The claim appears to add another step to the process of claim 1. It is unclear how the additional step presented in the instant claim can be performed in a one step process.
As to Claim 10: The claim recites “ethanol blended motor spirit”. It is unclear how ethanol can be included in a non-polar hydrocarbon-based fuel especially when there are no ranges on the amount of ethanol.
As to Claim 11: The claim appears to add another step to the process of claim 1. It is unclear how the additional step presented in the instant claim can be performed in a one step process.
As to Claim 14: The claim recites the limitation “greenish yellow color”. It is unclear what colors would be considered greenish yellow as compared to yellow or green as “greenish yellow” is a relative color description.
As to Claim 15: It is unclear if the instant claim language is drawn to a property that would be present under the recited conditions or if the claim is drawn to a positive step of adding 2-100 ppm of CQDs to a non-polar hydrocarbon-based fuel. For the purposes of further consideration, the claim is considered to require adding the CQDs to a non-polar hydrocarbon-based fuel in an amount ranging from 2 to 100 ppm.
As to Claim 15: The claim recites the limitation “greenish yellow light”. It is unclear what colors would be considered greenish yellow as compared to yellow or green as “greenish yellow” is a relative color description.
As to Claim 16: It is unclear if the instant claim language is drawn to a property that would be present under the recited conditions or if the claim is drawn to a positive step of adding 10-50 ppm of CQDs to a non-polar hydrocarbon-based fuel. For the purposes of further consideration, the claim is considered to require adding the CQDs to a non-polar hydrocarbon-based fuel in an amount ranging from 10 to 50 ppm.
As to Claim 16: The claim recites the limitation “greenish yellow light”. It is unclear what colors would be considered greenish yellow as compared to yellow or green as “greenish yellow” is a relative color description.
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW J OYER whose telephone number is (571)270-0347. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-6PM EST M-F.
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/Andrew J. Oyer/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1767
Prosecution Insights