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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on November 5, 2025 has been entered.
Status of Application
Receipt of Applicant’s remarks and amended claims filed on November 5, 2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 1, 3, 5-7, 9-11, 14-16, and 18-19 are pending in this application.
Claims 2, 4, 8, 12-13, 17, and 20 have been cancelled.
Claim 9 has been amended.
Claims 10-11, 14-16, and 18-19 remain withdrawn from consideration per the restriction requirement dated March 7, 2025.
Withdrawn Objections/Rejections
Claim Objections
The objection to claim 9 under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate of claim 1 has been withdrawn in view of the amendment to the claim to recite “the wet wipe composition is further incorporated into a consumer product selected from the group consisting of hand wipes, face wipes. baby wipes, cosmetic wipes, feminine hygiene wipes, cooling wipes, cleaning wipes. flushable wipes, and combinations thereof.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The rejection of claims 1, 3, 5-7, and 9 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujimura et al. (JP 2016165431A) in view of Thom et al. (Microbial Growth Modification by Compressed Gases and Hydrostatic Pressure, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 1984, p780-787) has been withdrawn in view of the arguments that N2O is not an inert gas.
Newly Applied Rejections
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 3, 5-7, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujimura et al. (JP 2016165431A) in view of Yu et al. (High-Pressure Carbon Dioxide Used for Pasteurization in Food Industry, Food Engineering Reviews (2020) 12:364-380).
Fujimura discloses a wipe cleaning disinfection sheet containing nanobubble water that can be used for an infant whose skin is delicate and an elderly person whose skin is weak without adding a cleaning agent or a bactericidal agent to a nonwoven fabric sheet (abstract).
The nanobubbles may be produced by pressurizing and introducing the water to be treated and the gas directly into the static fluid mixer (description of embodiments).
Preservatives MAY be added, but are not disclosed as a required element (description of embodiments).
Regarding claim 2, a nonwoven fabric sheet is a wet wipe substrate.
Regarding claim 3, the nanobubbles can be nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, helium, and mixtures thereof (description of embodiments).
Regarding claims 6-7, Fujimura discloses 0.2L of carbon dioxide dissolved in 1 L of water (Examples), which is 0.009 mol/L. It is the position of the Examiner that 0.009 is “about 0.01” as recited in the instant claims.
Regarding claim 9, the substrate including sheets which can be used to clean infant skin (baby wipes) or as cleansing wipes (Solution).
Fujimura does not disclose the pressure at which the gas is added to the wet wipe formulation.
Yu discloses the bactericidal effect of high pressure carbon dioxide (HPCD) has been known for many years (abstract).
High-pressure carbon dioxide (HPCD) is a type of nonthermal pasteurization that applies pressurized CO2, at between 0.1 MPa (1 bar) and 50 MPa (500 bar). HPCD uses less sophisticated equipment, since most microbes can be inactivated at under 50 MPa. HPCD possesses great potential as a novel, nonthermal pasteurization technology, and the bactericidal effects on various microorganisms (High Pressure Carbon Dioxide).
Regarding claim 5, it is noted that 1 bar is 14.5 PSI, therefore Yu discloses HPCD is done between 14.5 PSI to 7251.9 PSI.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to have used the teachings of Yu in the formulation of Fujimura since Yu is drawn to treatment of food stuffs, the same technique and process can be adapted to topical cosmetic treatment solutions. Applicant’s attention is directed to MPEP 2141.01(a) which discloses in order for a reference to be proper for use in an obviousness rejection under 35 USC 103, the reference must be analogous art to the claimed invention. In re Bigio, 381 F.3d 1320, 1325, 72 USPQ2d 1209, 1212 (Fed. Cir. 2004). A reference is analogous art to the claimed invention if: (1) the reference is from the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention (even if it addresses a different problem); or (2) the reference is reasonably pertinent to the problem faced by the inventor (even if it is not in the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention). Note that "same field of endeavor" and "reasonably pertinent" are two separate tests for establishing analogous art; it is not necessary for a reference to fulfill both tests in order to qualify as analogous art. See Bigio, 381 F.3d at 1325, 72 USPQ2d at 1212. In the instant case, Yu was attempting to provide bactericidal effects on foodstuffs, whereas the instant claims are attempting to provide bactericidal effects on cosmetic formulations (Instant specification, paragraph 0023).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MELISSA S MERCIER whose telephone number is (571)272-9039. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:30 am to 4 pm EST.
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/MELISSA S MERCIER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1615
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