CTNF 18/293,256 CTNF 91715 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 06-52 The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 29 January 2026 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 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 1-11 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 the term “main component” which is defined in [0014] as a component which is contained in the largest amount on a mass basis. However, it is unclear if this is the largest amount based on the whole material or just the thickening and gelling agent. Additionally, the main component is actually recited as two components. Is the additive amount of these two components the largest amount or is each one of the gums the top 2 amounts based on mass. For the purposes of further examination, the largest amount is considered to be of the thickening and gelling agent and is considered to be the amount of the two recited components combined. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yuichi et al. (WO2016/002596, from the IDS filed 29 January 2024, hereinafter referred to as “Yuichi”) . As to Claim 1 : Yuichi teaches a heat storage material for cooling (Pg. 1) comprising a clathrate hydrate of water and tetrahydrofuran, wherein the THF is present in an amount of 17% based on the water and THF mixture (Pg. 8, Fig. 1(a)). Yuichi does not teach an example comprising both locust bean gum and xanthan gum as gelling agents. However, Yuichi teaches that locust bean gum and xanthan gum are known gelling agents that can be used to form the composition into a gel state (Pg. 12). At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to use a combination of both the locust bean gum and the xanthan gum because Yuichi teaches, they can both be added as gelling agents to form the composition into a gel state (Pg. 12). As to Claim 2 : Yuichi renders obvious the cold storage material of claim 1 (supra). Yuichi further teaches examples wherein the composition does not contain any synthetic polymer (Pg. 40). As to Claim 3 : Yuichi renders obvious the cold storage material of claim 1 (supra). Yuichi does not teach an example where the ratio of the locust beam gum to the total amount of locust bean gum and xanthan gum is 0.15 to 0.85. However, Yuichi teaches that locust bean gum and xanthan gum are known gelling agents that can be used to form the composition into a gel state (Pg. 12). At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to use a combination of both the locust bean gum and the xanthan gum in equal amounts as a starting point because Yuichi teaches, they can both be added as gelling agents to form the composition into a gel state (Pg. 12). As to Claim 4 : Yuichi renders obvious the cold storage material of claim 1 (supra). Youchi further teaches an example wherein the amount of the gelling agent is 2% (Pg. 40) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 5 and 7-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yuichi et al. (WO2016/002596, from the IDS filed 29 January 2024, hereinafter referred to as “Yuichi”) in view of Suito et al, (US 2017/0037292, hereinafter referred to as “Suito”) . As to Claim 5, 7, and 8 : Yuichi renders obvious the cold storage material of claim 1 (see above). Yuichi does not teach that the composition includes a silver compound. However, Suito teaches that silver is highly effective in stabilizing the super cooled state [0034] and that known silver compounds can be silver (II) oxide (i.e., AgO) or silver carbonate (Ag 2 CO 3 ) [0037]. Yuichi and Suito are analogous art in that they are from the same field of endeavor, namely heat storage materials. At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to add the silver of Suito to the composition of Yuichi because Suito teaches that silver is highly effective in stabilizing the super cooled state [0034] and that known silver compounds can be silver (II) oxide (i.e., AgO) or silver carbonate (Ag 2 CO 3 ) [0037]. As to Claim 9 : Yuichi and Suito render obvious the cold storage material of claim 5 (supra). Suito does not explicitly teach the molar ratio of the silver compound to the water. However, Suito teaches that the silver is preferably in an amount of 1x10 5 ppm or less [0038]. At the time of filing it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to use any amount within this range including a molar ratio of 2.64*10 -8 to 3.75*10 -4 as a ratio of silver to water because Suito teaches that these are acceptable amounts of silver to include in the composition [0038] and that silver is highly effective in stabilizing the super cooled state [0034] and that known silver compounds can be silver (II) oxide (i.e., AgO) or silver carbonate (Ag 2 CO 3 ) [0037]. As to Claims 10 and 11 : Yuichi and Suito render obvious the cold storage material of claim 5 (supra). Suito further teaches that the amount of the silver compound can be 40 ppm [0040] which lies between 0.0010 or more and 0.010 or less . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yuichi et al. (WO2016/002596, from the IDS filed 29 January 2024, hereinafter referred to as “Yuichi”) in view of Kakiuchi et al. (US Patent #5,785,885, hereinafter referred to as “Kakiuchi”) . As to Claims 5 and 6 : Yuichi renders obvious the cold storage material of claim 1 (see above). Yuichi does not teach that the composition includes a silver compound. However, Kakiuchi teaches that silver phosphate is used as an inorganic salt in heat storage materials to stabilize the crystallization temperature with repeated melting and freezing (Col. 2, Lines 28-40). Yuichi and Kakiuchi are analogous art in that they are from the same field of endeavor, namely heat storage materials. At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to add the storage material of Kakiuchi to the composition of Yuichi because Kakiuchi teaches that silver phosphate is used as an inorganic salt in heat storage materials to stabilize the crystallization temperature with repeated melting and freezing (Col. 2, Lines 28-40) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yuichi et al. (WO2016/002596, from the IDS filed 29 January 2024, hereinafter referred to as “Yuichi”) . As to Claim 12 : Yuichi teaches a heat storage material for cooling (Pg. 1) comprising a clathrate hydrate of water and tetrahydrofuran, wherein the THF is present in an amount of 17% based on the water and THF mixture (Pg. 8, Fig. 1(a)). Yuichi does not teach an example comprising both locust bean gum and xanthan gum as gelling agents. However, Yuichi teaches that locust bean gum (a seed derived polysaccharide) and xanthan gum (i.e., a microorganism-derived polysaccharide) are known gelling agents that can be used to form the composition into a gel state (Pg. 12). At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to use a combination of both the locust bean gum and the xanthan gum because Yuichi teaches, they can both be added as gelling agents to form the composition into a gel state (Pg. 12). 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. 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, Mark Eashoo can be reached at (571)272-1197. 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. /Andrew J. Oyer/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1767 Application/Control Number: 18/293,256 Page 2 Art Unit: 1767
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