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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I (Claims 1-7) in the reply filed on 09/30/2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground that the Group II invention is clearly and unambiguously a subset of the Group I invention, and therefore should be examined concurrently with the Group I invention because doing so would place no additional undue burden on the Examiner with regards to the search and examination of these claims. Applicant’s argument is persuasive, therefore, the invention of Group II (Claims 8-15) is hereby rejoined and fully examined for patentability under 37 CFR 1.104. Once the restriction requirement is withdrawn, the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 121 are no longer applicable. See In re Ziegler, 443 F.2d 1211, 1215, 170 USPQ 129, 131-32 (CCPA 1971). See also MPEP § 804.01.
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 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khangaonkar et al. 20150004238 A1.
Khangaonkar teaches an oil-in-water emulsions that include fat-soluble vitamins, and methods of producing the aforementioned emulsions. The emulsions may include any of a number of vitamins, including water-soluble vitamins, but the compositions are particularly amenable for use with fat-soluble vitamins, including those that may be susceptible to thermal and/or photochemical decomposition. A method of preparing an oil-in-water emulsion may, in some embodiments, include addition of at least one fat-soluble vitamin to a suitable solvent, controlled thermal processing to aid in dissolving and/or mixing, addition of an emulsion stabilizer, and high pressure homogenization. See paragraph 0026. The emulsion may include no more than about 25% water, no more than about 50% water, or no more than about 80% water by weight. See paragraph 0028. Emulsions described herein have been found to be stable for a period of time of at least about 3 months to about 4 months. In some embodiments, concentrated emulsions of low-water content that include beta-carotene may be stored for a period of at least 4 months and may be added at any time during storage to other ingredients to form a beverage product that includes a desired color. In some embodiments, beverages made using the emulsions described herein have been found to be stable for at least about 4 months or at least about 6 months. See paragraph 0031. Carrier oil is found in paragraphs 0035-0040. An emulsion comprising an oil-phase homogeneously dispersed within the continuous phase of the emulsion is found in paragraph 0031. Method for forming an emulsion, a solvent oil or part of the solvent oil may be part of a dispersed phase in the emulsion or part of a dispersed phase in a beverage product comprising the emulsion. Fat-soluble vitamins may become trapped or preferentially reside in the dispersed phase of the emulsion, and the emulsion may protect the vitamin from substantial exposure to a surrounding aqueous environment. In some embodiments, use of one or more oils or oils in combination with an emulsion stabilizer may substantially confine a vitamin to the dispersed phase of an emulsion, and confinement of the vitamin may provide an environment wherein thermal and/or photochemical degradation of the vitamin may be substantially inhibited. For example, oxidative reactions may be substantially less than if the vitamin were exposed to water or some lipid environments that include a substantial proportion of unsaturated fatty acids. See paragraph 0033. The size of oil-phase regions of the resultant emulsion was measured using a commercially available dynamic light scattering system, Zetasizer.TM., manufactured by Malvern Instruments Ltd. (Worcestershire, U.K.). As further shown in FIG. 3, the size of oil-phase regions of the emulsion was found to range between about 0.1 micrometers and about 0.15 micrometers. See paragraph 0085. Oil phase comprises particles with an average size of about 0.1 microns to about 0.5 microns. See claim 24.
It is noted that Khangaonkar does not expressly teach the claimed separation rate. However, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to, by routine experimentation optimize the teaching in Khangaonkar to obtain an emulsion having the claimed separation rate. This is because Khangaonkar recognizes the need for shelf stable emulsion having shelf-stable characteristic similar to that of the present invention, namely, an emulsion with low water content.
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUSAN T TRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-0606. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30 am-5:30 pm.
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, ROBERT A. WAX can be reached at 571-272-0623. 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.
/SUSAN T TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1615