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 .
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 1-3 and 5-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zwartbol et al (EP0413274, cited on the 12/4/23 IDS).
Zwartbol, abstract, teaches an aqueous suspension comprising 8 to 28%, by weight of the total suspension, of water-soluble hydroxyethylcellulose dispersed in an aqueous solution comprising 20 to 35%, by weight of the total potassium carbonate and water, of potassium carbonate, 0.2 to 0.8%, by weight of the total suspension, of a wetting agent having a HLB of 6 to 9, and 0.08 to 0.6%, by weight of the total suspension, of a water-soluble or water-swellable thickener.
Zwartbol, paragraph 14, teaches the desired concentration of potassium carbonate in water varies with the hydroxyethylcellulose type and quantity.
Zwartbol, paragraph 16, teaches the thickener can be a xanthan gum which reads on a stabilizer as claimed in claim 1.
Zwartbol, paragraph 17, teaches the wetting agent can be sodium salt of polyacrylic acid which reads on a superplasticizer as claimed in claim 1.
Regarding claim 2, Zwartbol teaches hydroxyethylcellulose.
Regarding claim 3, Zwartbol, paragraph 12, teaches the polymers of this invention have a hydroxyethyl molar substitution (number of hydroxyethyl groups per anhydroglucose unit) of about 1.0 to about 4.2.
Regarding claims 5-6, the reference teaches xanthan gum.
Regarding claim 7, Zwartbol, abstract, teaches an aqueous suspension comprising 8 to 28%, by weight of the total suspension, of water-soluble hydroxyethylcellulose dispersed in an aqueous solution comprising 20 to 35%, by weight of the total potassium carbonate and water, of potassium carbonate, 0.2 to 0.8%, by weight of the total suspension, of a wetting agent having a HLB of 6 to 9, and 0.08 to 0.6%, by weight of the total suspension, of a water-soluble or water-swellable thickener.
Regarding claim 8, Zwartbol, paragraph 14, teaches the desired concentration of potassium carbonate in water varies with the hydroxyethylcellulose type and quantity.
Regarding claim 9, the reference composition is the same composition as claimed in claim 1 and therefore it would be expected that the composition as taught in the reference is stable for 30 days or more when left undisturbed on a level surface from 22-24oC and visually inspected for sedimentation or separation as claimed in claim 9.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is 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.
Although the reference teaches an aqueous suspension comprising 8 to 28%, by weight of the total suspension, of water-soluble hydroxyethylcellulose, the reference does not teach a polycarboxylate ether as claimed in claim 4.
There is no motivation in the reference to add a polycarboxylate ether into the composition.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US20080017078 teaches a liquid admixture composition.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEFANIE J COHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-5836. The examiner can normally be reached 10am- 6pm 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, Coris Fung can be reached at (571) 270-5713. 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.
/STEFANIE J COHEN/ Examiner, Art Unit 1732 9/23/26
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEFANIE J COHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-5836. The examiner can normally be reached 10am- 6pm 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, Coris Fung can be reached at (571) 270-5713. 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.
/STEFANIE J COHEN/ Examiner, Art Unit 1732 9/23/26
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