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 .
References in Specification
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 4-7, are 12-17 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.
In regard to claim 4, the limitation “87 to 95% nitrogen” is indefinite. Claim 3 defines the fertilizer compound as urea. Pure urea is approximately 46% nitrogen by weight. It is chemically impossible for the encapsulated fertilizer (which includes the weight of the core and coatings) to contain 87-95% nitrogen.
In regard to claim 5, the phrase “comprising a solution” is unclear. The encapsulated fertilizer is a solid product and it is unclear how a solution is included in the encapsulated solid fertilizer.
In regard to claims 7 and 15 the phrase “wherein the solution has an inhibitor concentration of 1:2-1:8” is indefinite. The term “concentration” is usually defined with units (e.g. wt. %). The range appears to be a ratio, not a concentration and it is unclear what the ratio represents.
In regard to claim 12, the claimed solution comprising “starch and micronized sulfur” is contradictory. Claim 8 (from which claim 12 depends) recites a step c) of adding a solution and sprinkling starch and it is unclear if the starch is sprinkled separately from the solution or if the starch is present as the solution in step c.
In regard to claim 17, the claimed “drying stages” are “at least 5 min in duration”. Because the drying stages occur after each of the steps b) to e) (claim 16), it is unclear if all drying stages are 5 min in duration or each stage is 5 minutes each.
Indication of Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3 and 8-11 are allowed. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Ogle et al. (US Patent Publication No. 2010/0011825) is directed to a fertilizer composition that comprises a water-soluble central core of a plant nutrient compound in particulate form, a polymer coating on the plant nutrient, an intermediate layer (IL) on the layer of polymer, and a layer of elemental sulfur on the intermediate layer [para. 0013].
Patra et al. (US Patent No. 6,336,949) is directed to a urea nitrogenous fertilizer coated with terpene (e.g. an organic compound) [col. 3, lines 49-51].
Birthisel et al. (US Patent Publication No. 2007/0163317) discloses surface decorating granules embedded a coating with a fertilizer core, optional friable layer, coating, and active agent granules [para. 0012; Fig. 2].
Holt et al. (US Patent Publication No. 2022/0289641) discloses a coated fertilizer granule including a core that includes a water-soluble fertilizer material, a coating comprising a urethane layer impregnated with a super absorbent polymer, a controlled release layer disposed between the core and the coating and a surface treatment layer disposed about the coating that includes a surfactant and a solvent [0005].
The prior art references do not teach or render obvious all the cumulative limitations of independent claims 1 and 8 with particular attention to a “second layer comprising a polymer, micronized sulfur and starch, a third layer surrounding the second layer and a fourth layer surrounding the third layer, each of said third and fourth layers comprising micronized sulfur and starch”.
Conclusion
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/JENNIFER A SMITH/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1731 December 9, 2025