CTNF 18/228,684 CTNF 85837 DETAILED ACTION Information Disclosure Statement 06-49-09 AIA The information disclosure statement filed 8/1/2023 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(3)(i) because it does not include a concise explanation of the relevance, as it is presently understood by the individual designated in 37 CFR 1.56(c) most knowledgeable about the content of the information, of each reference listed that is not in the English language. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claims 1-10 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 1, line 4 recites “the foam product.” There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The claim does not previously refer to a foam product. None of claims 2-10, which depend from claim 1, clarify the issue. Therefore, claims 1-10 are indefinite. Claim 7, line 1, recites “the pre-foaming device” and claim 7, line 2 recites “the primary foaming process.” There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim. The claim does not previously refer to a pre-foaming device or a primary foaming process, nor does claim 1 on which claim 7 depends. Claim 8 depends from claim 7 and does not clarify the issue. Claim 8 recites “the parison is foamed at 40-60 degrees C and 10-15 MPa for 20-40 minutes before being foamed at 100-160 degrees C and 40-50 MPa for 2-3 hours.” It is unclear when the step of being “foamed at 40-60 degrees C and 10-15 MPa for 20-40 minutes” is occurring. Claim 1 discusses primary foaming, and claim 7 recites “in the primary foaming process, sealed, injected with carbon dioxide, and foamed at 10-160 degrees C and 40-50 MPa for 2-3 hours.” However, claim 8 indicates that the parison is foamed at 40-60 degrees C and 10-15 MPa for 20-40 minutes before being foamed at 100-160 degrees C and 40-50 MPa for 2-3 hours, indicating that the primary foaming is actually at 40-60 degrees C and 10-15 MPa for 20-40 minutes, as this occurs before being foamed at 100-160 degrees C and 40-50 MPa for 2-3 hours, indicating that the being foamed at 100-160 degrees C and 40-50 MPa for 2-3 hours is actually the secondary foaming. Thus, it is unclear when the steps of claim 8 are actually occurring. Claim 9, line 1 recites “the secondary foaming temperature” in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation. The claim does not previously refer to a secondary foaming temperature, nor does claim 1 on which claim 9 depends. Claim 10, line 1 recites “the secondary foaming time” in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation. The claim does not previously refer to a secondary foaming time, nor does claim 1 on which claim 10 depends. Prior Art While the claims are indefinite for the reasons discussed above, there are no prior art rejections over the instant claims. The closest prior art references are the following: (1) CN 208290307; (2) Chang et al. (US 2022/0274297); (3) CN 110846011, and (4) Watkins (US 2014/0272379). Because CN 208290307 is not in English, the machine-translated English equivalent is cited below and is attached. Because CN 110846011 is not in English, the machine-translated English equivalent is cited below and is attached. CN 208290307 teaches a supercritical carbon dioxide foaming device. The device comprises a first foaming vessel and a second foaming vessel. See ¶8. CN ‘307 teaches that when in use, a resin and liquid carbon dioxide are mixed together in the first foaming kettle and the second foaming kettle. Discharge valves of both the first and second foaming kettles are opened to generate foam products. See page 8, second full paragraph of the attached translation. CN ‘307 fails to teach placing a parison in carbon dioxide solution for a primary foam followed by removing and putting the parison into the caron dioxide solution for secondary foaming to produce a foam product. Chang et al. teach foamed articles and methods or production thereof. In embodiments of Change et al., an article is maintained and held in a vessel with liquid carbon dioxide for a period of time sufficient to allow at least a portion of the carbon dioxide to infuse into at least a portion of a first region of the article. See ¶395. The carbon dioxide of Change et al. fills the vessel to a liquid level in which a first, second, and third region can be fully immersed in the carbon dioxide. See ¶397 and Figure 8B. Chang et al. fail to teach removing the article (corresponding to a “parison”) from the liquid carbon dioxide vessel, followed by putting the article back into the liquid carbon dioxide for a secondary foaming to produce a foam product. CN 110846011 teach formation of a gel which is saturated with carbon dioxide at 70ºC for 48 hours to prepare a gel foam. See page 7, lines 1-3. CN ‘011 fails to disclose putting a parison into carbon dioxide solution for a primary foaming, removing and putting the parison into the carbon dioxide solution for secondary foaming to produce a foam product. The gel of CN ‘011 is not a parison. There is no step of removing the gel of CN ‘011 from the carbon dioxide gas and no step of putting the gel back in carbon dioxide for a secondary foaming. Watkins teaches a method comprising infusing articles of a desired shape (corresponding to a “parison”) with a supercritical fluid, preferably carbon dioxide (¶40), wherein the carbon dioxide is preferably mixed with a polar fluid such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, or isopropanol. The mixture of the carbon dioxide and polar fluid is a solution. See ¶42. The articles are placed in a vessel, which is closed and CO2 is introduced. The article is saturated with the carbon dioxide (which again, can be mixed with a polar fluid making it a carbon dioxide solution which is added with the carbon dioxide solvent); the article is removed from the vessel; and the article is foamed by either immersing in a heated fluid or via microwaves or infrared irradiation. See ¶44-46. The hot liquids disclosed in Watkins include water, steam, or pressurized hot air. See ¶47-48. Watkins fails to teach a step of removing the article from the carbon dioxide solvent solution and then placing that article back in carbon dioxide solution. Watkins fails to teach that the heating liquids disclosed therein include carbon dioxide. The heating liquids include water, steam, and pressurized air. There is no motivation to use carbon dioxide at the heating medium to foam the articles of Watkins. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to K. B BOYLE whose telephone number is (571)270-7338. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 am to 5pm, 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, Randy Gulakowski can be reached at (571) 272-1302. 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. /K. BOYLE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1766 Application/Control Number: 18/228,684 Page 2 Art Unit: 1766 Application/Control Number: 18/228,684 Page 3 Art Unit: 1766 Application/Control Number: 18/228,684 Page 4 Art Unit: 1766 Application/Control Number: 18/228,684 Page 5 Art Unit: 1766 Application/Control Number: 18/228,684 Page 6 Art Unit: 1766 Application/Control Number: 18/228,684 Page 7 Art Unit: 1766