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 .
Election/Restrictions
2. Applicant’s election without traverse of Group 1, claims 1-11 in the reply filed on 2/10/2026 is acknowledged. Claim 12 is a linking process claim and has been included with group 2. Claims 12-15 are withdrawn.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 8/22/2023, 2/7/2024, 7/1/2024, 1/30/2025, 8/21/2025, 9/16/2025, 11/25/2025 and 5/5/2026 were 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 § 103
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Claims 1-3, 5-11 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US 2001/0044477 A1) to Soane et al. (hereinafter Soane) in view of (US 2013/0040125 A1) to Eberstaller et al. (hereinafter Eberstaller) and in further view of (US 2010/02004349 A1) to Inohara et al. (hereinafter Inohara) and in further view of VICTOR A. OLIVEIRA et al, HYDROGELS OF CELLULOSE ACETATE CROSSLINKED WITH PYROMELLITIC DIANHYDRIDE - PART I: SYNTHESIS AND SWELLING KINETICS, Quim. Nova, 2013, Vol 36, No 1, Page 102-106 (hereinafter Oliveira).
Soane is directed toward thermally expandable microspheres made with cellulose. Soane discloses at paragraph [0018] that a shell surrounds a core of a blowing agent that is either a liquid or a solid. Soane discloses at paragraph [0059] that the shell may be made of a modified cellulose polymer. Soane discloses at paragraph [0061] that polymers, including cellulose, may contain one or more functionalities. Soane discloses at paragraph [0089] that the shells could be expanded at 160C, which is within the Tg range of Applicants range of 150 to 250C. Soane discloses at paragraph [0096] that the blowing agent used was isooctane. Soane discloses at paragraph [0061] that the shell may contain one or more reactive functionalities, such as carboxylic acids from maleic anhydride or alcohols.
Eberstaller is directed toward thermally expandable microspheres. Soane and Eberstaller are both directed toward thermally expandable microspheres and therefore are analogous art. Eberstaller teaches at paragraph [0023] that the expandable polymer is made of a cellulose acetate butyrate, which is an example of a cellulose acetate reacted with a butyrate used as an expandable particle using a heated blowing agent.
Inohara is directed toward thermally expandable microspheres. Soane and Inohara are both directed toward thermally expandable microspheres and therefore are analogous art. Inohara teaches at paragraph [0183] that the shells are made of a cellulose acetate. Inohara teaches at paragraph [0103] that a cross-linking agent minimizes the loss of the blowing agent.
Oliveira is directed toward thermally expandable microspheres made with cellulose. Soane and Oliveira are both directed toward thermally expandable microspheres made with cellulose and therefore are analogous art. Oliveira teaches that pyromellitic acid is used to crosslink shells of cellulose acetate. One would be motivated from the above cited references to use a carboxylic acid to crosslink a cellulose acetate shell to prevent loss of blowing agents during expansion.
It would be obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of the filing of the disclosure of Soane in view of the teachings of Eberstaller, Inohara and Oliveira to add a carboxylic acid to the shell formed by a cellulose acetate to improve thermal expansion by preventing blowing agent release that forms a prime facie case of obviousness for claims 1-3, 5-11 and 16-17.
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claims 4 and 18-19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
8. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art does not teach these hydrogen donors.
Conclusion
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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
Prosecution Insights