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 .
The previous prior art rejection under McDaniel (US 4902816) and McDaniel in view of Riccio et al (WO 2020076539, cited herein with identical US 20210347989), maintained and therefore it is proper to make this rejection FINAL.
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 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by McDaniel (US 4902816), cited in IDS and previous Office Action.
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.
Claim 4-11, 13-15 and new claims 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McDaniel in view of Riccio et al (WO 2020076539, cited herein with identical US 20210347989), cited in previous Office Action.
Regarding amended claim 10, Riccio teaches that blowing agent contains water and auxiliary agent (i.e., for instance) alkane.
Ricco discloses that the amount of the blowing agents depends on the desired density of the foam. For example, the amount of water may be in the range of from 0.05% to 2.5%, from 0.1% to 2%, or from 0.2% to 1.5%, based on the total weight of the polyol composition. The auxiliary (physical) blowing agent may be present in an amount of 2% or more, 3% or more, 4% or more, or even 5% or more, and at the same time 30% or less, 20% or less, 15% or less, or even 10% or less, by weight based on the total weight of the polyol composition (see 0039).
Regarding new claims 16-18, Ricco discloses such blowing agents as n-pentane, iso pentane and pentane isomers (see claim 8 and 0038)
The rejection can be found in the NON-FINAL office action mailed 1/29/2026 and is herein incorporated by reference
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/20/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant submits that the instant method require much less blowing agents compare to prior art cited.
This is incorrect. Riccio discloses claimed amount of a blowing agent (see 0039).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 GREGORY LISTVOYB whose telephone number is (571)272-6105. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm EST M-F.
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, Heidi Riviere Kelley can be reached at (571) 270-1831. 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.
GL
/GREGORY LISTVOYB/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765
Prosecution Insights