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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 3 and 4 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected method, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on December 24, 2025.
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 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito et al, US 2002/0132743 in view of Ives et al, US 2021/0388293
Saito et al teach a transparent soap bar containing C12-C18 fatty acids, where the amount of C12 and C14 fatty acids is 58% of the total fatty acid, a 73:27 NaOH/KOH mixture, glycerin, and water, wherein the fatty acids and glycerin are dissolved at a temperature between 65 to 75°C, and the solution is neutralized with the NaOH/KOH mixture, and the resulting transparent soap is poured into a mold and allowed to cool to form a soap bar (¶126, example 29). The fatty acid may be lauric acid such that a Na/K laurate soap bar is formed (¶26) and the KOH may be used in amount as high as 30% of the NaOH/KOH mixture (claim 3). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to neutralize lauric acid with NaOH and KOH at a 70/30 mixture, and to use glycerin as an ingredient to form a transparent soap bar as this is precisely what is taught by the reference.
With respect to the temperature for melting the fatty acid, Saito et al teach temperatures as high as 85°C for melting the soap ingredients (¶107, examples 20-27).
With respect to the saponification temperature, Saito does not discuss it, but it is well known that saponification temperatures range from 38-46°C as taught by Ives et al (see claim 1). The examiner maintains that all temperatures claimed are the standard temperatures for forming soap well-known in the art, and so the method claimed is rendered obvious by Saito et al and Ives et al.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Soap bars are ubiquitous in the art, lauric acid is a common fatty acid used for making soap, and mixtures of NaOH/KOH lyes are relatively common as well.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES I BOYER whose telephone number is (571)272-1311. The examiner can normally be reached M-S 10-430.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Angela Brown-Pettigrew can be reached at 5712722817. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHARLES I BOYER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
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