DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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
2. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 7/21/2023 was filed timely. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
3. 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.
4. Claims 1-2, 4, 6-12, 15-19, 21 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The term preferably or especially renders the claim indefinite and should be removed for clarity of the claim boundaries. It is unclear if the element is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Claims 1-21 and 24-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US 2018/0353930 A1) to Rentsch et al. (hereinafter Rentsch) in view of the teachings of (WO 9927010 A1) to Ebner et al. (hereinafter Ebner).
Rentsch is directed toward food packaging containing O2 scavenging CaCO3 treatment. Rentsch discloses at paragraph [0027] that the coating is on a paper or polymer sheet like structure for food applications. Rentsch discloses at paragraph [0027] that the sheet is coated with a surface treated calcium carbonate. Rentsch discloses at paragraph [0029] that the calcium carbonate is either ground or precipitated and reacted with H3O+ ion donors. Rentsch discloses at paragraph [0018] that the calcium carbonate has a surface area of 0.5 to 150 m2/g, which reads on Applicants range of 20 to 200 m2/g. Rentsch discloses at paragraph [0251] that 6 to 12 parts binder to 100 parts calcium carbonate(6/106-12/112) = 5.6% to 10.7% that reads on Applicants range of 5 to 25% binder. Rentsch discloses each and every element, but is silent regarding an oxygen scavenger having a compound with at least one phenyl ring and at least two phenolic hydroxyl groups.
Ebner is directed toward a sheet having a composition to provide oxygen protection to food. Rentsch and Ebner are both directed toward a sheet having a composition to provide oxygen protection to food and therefore are analogous art. Ebner teaches at page 1, line 8 that the composition is a coating used on a structure to store food. Ebner teaches at page 1, line 15 that particles are impregnated with an oxygen scavenger. Ebner teaches at page 3, line 5 that the coating improves food shelf life. Ebner teaches at page 3, line 22 that phenolics are well know oxygen scavengers. Ebner teaches at page 5, line 25 that a polymer matrix in which a particulate material is distributed in a film wherein the particles are impregnated with the oxygen scavenger. Ebner teaches at page 6, line 23 that it has an alkaline pH of up to 10. Ebner teaches at page 7, line 17 that the particles may be calcium carbonate. Ebner teaches at page 9, line 14 that oxygen scavenger may be a hydroquinone, which structure reads on Applicants oxygen scavenger. Ebner teaches at page 6, line 18 that the particles have a pore volume of 0.07 to 4 cc/gm that reads on Applicants pore volume. Ebner teaches at page 12, line 5 that the oxygen scavenger is 10 to 30% of the total particle weight, which overlaps on Applicants range. Ebner teaches at page 15, line 5 that the binder may be an acrylic acid or PVA polymer. One skilled in the art would be motivated to combine the teachings by modifying the calcium carbonate particles of Rentsch with the oxygen scavenger loaded calcium carbonate particles of Ebner used to improve shelf life of packaged food.
It would be obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of the filing of the disclosure of Rentsch in view of the teachings of Ebner to modify the calcium carbonate particles to improve and extend shelf life of packaged foods that forms a prime facie case of obviousness for claims 1-21 and 24-25.
Conclusion
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFREY D WASHVILLE whose telephone number is (571)270-3262. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
/JEFFREY D WASHVILLE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1766