CTNF 18/576,448 CTNF 85085 DETAILED ACTION 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. 2. This application is a 371 of App. No. PCT/US2021/122514, filed on 10/06/2021. The preliminary amendment filed on 01/04/2024 is entered and acknowledged by the Examiner. 3. Claims 1-10 are pending. Claims 1-10 are under examination on the merits. Information Disclosure Statement 4. The information disclosure statement submitted on 01/04/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the examiner has considered the information disclosure statement. Priority 02-25 5. Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on CN application filed 10/06/2021. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the CN application PCT/US2021/122514 as required by 35 U.S.C. 119(b). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 6. 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. 7. Claims 1-3, 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a)(1) as being unpatentable over Onuki et al. (JP 2011-148858 A, machine translation, hereinafter “’858”) in view of Kurokawa et al. (JP 2016-017133 A, machine translation, hereinafter “’133”). Regarding claims 1,7-8 : ‘858 teaches a liquid detergent composition (Page 6/31, [0007]) comprising (A): 40-70 mass% of an ethoxylated and propoxylated nonionic surfactant (Page 7/31, [0008]; Page 8/31, [0013]; Page 10/31, [0018])), a component (B): an antioxidant such as vitamin E (tocopherol) (Page 7/31, [0009]) in the amount of 0.03% by mass or more and 2% by mass or less, and more preferably 0.05 to 1 % by mass (Page 10/31, [0019]), and a component (C): water (Page 7/31, [0008]). ‘858 teaches the composition has a stock solution pH of 5-8 at 25°C, with the pH adjusting agent including alkanoamine (Page 10/31, [0020]; Page 20/31, [0060],Table 3, Example 13; Page 22/31, [0069]). ‘858 does not expressly teach 0.01 wt% to 5 wt%, preferably 0.01 wt% to 0.1 wt% of a hydroxyl amine, wherein the hydroxyl amine is selected from the group consisting of diethanolamine, aminoethyl ethanolamine, diiso propanolamine or combinations thereof. However, ‘133 teaches a liquid detergent composition (Page 5/32, [0005]) comprising an ethoxylated and propoxylated nonionic surfactant as a component (A) (Page 6/32, [0008]-[0011]), the polymeric phenolic antioxidants, d I-α tocopherol in the amount of 0.01 to 2% by mass relative to the total amount of the liquid detergent (Page 19/32, [0063]), and alkali agent ( e.g. pH adjuster) include monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, and triethanolamine. The content of the alkaline agent is preferably 0.5 to 5% by mass relative to the total amount of the liquid detergent (Page 19/32, [0061]) with benefit of providing to adjust the pH of liquid detergent composition (Page 20/32, [0069]). In an analogous art of the liquid detergent composition, and in the light of such benefit before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the alkali agent ( e.g. pH adjuster) by ‘858, so as to include 0.01 wt% to 5 wt% of a hydroxyl amine, wherein the hydroxyl amine is selected from the group consisting of diethanolamine, aminoethyl ethanolamine, diisopropanolamine or combinations thereof as taught by ‘133, and would have been motivated to do so with reasonable expectation that this would result in providing to adjust the pH of liquid detergent composition as suggested by ‘133 (Page 20/32, [0069]). Thus, the subject as a whole would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have selected the overlapping portion of the range disclosed by the reference because overlapping ranges have been held to be a prima facie case of obviousness, see In re Malagari, 182 U.S.P.Q 549. It Regarding claims 2-3 : The disclosure of ‘858 in view of ‘133 is adequately set forth in paragraph above and is incorporated herein by reference. ‘858 teaches a liquid detergent composition (Page 6/31, [0007]) comprising (A): 40-70 mass% of an ethoxylated and propoxylated nonionic surfactant (Page 7/31, [0008]; Page 8/31, [0013]; Page 10/31, [0018])). ‘133 teaches a liquid detergent composition (Page 5/32, [0005]) comprising an ethoxylated and propoxylated nonionic surfactant as a component (A) (Page 6/32, [0008]-[0011]). Regarding claim 9 : The disclosure of ‘858 in view of ‘133 is adequately set forth in paragraph above and is incorporated herein by reference. ‘858 teaches the antioxidant is DL-α-tocopherol (Page 7/31, [0009]), and the hydroxyl amine is aminoethyl ethanolamine (Page 10/31, [0020]; Page 20/31, [0060],Table 3, Example 13; Page 22/31, [0069]). ‘133 teaches the antioxidant is DL-α-tocopherol (Page 19/32, [0063]), and the hydroxyl amine is aminoethyl ethanolamine (Page 19/32, [0061]). 8. Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a)(1) as being unpatentable over Onuki et al. (JP 2011-148858 A, machine translation, hereinafter “’858”) in view of Kurokawa et al. (JP 2016-017133 A, machine translation, hereinafter “’133”) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Maynard et al. (US Pub. No. 2013/0231508 A1, hereinafter “’508”). Regarding claims 4-5 : The disclosure of ‘858 in view of ‘133 is adequately set forth in paragraph 7 above and is incorporated herein by reference. ‘858 in view of ‘133 does not expressly teach the surfactant has structure (II), wherein n of structure (II) is 3 to 11, preferably 7 to 9. PNG media_image1.png 184 348 media_image1.png Greyscale However, ‘508 teaches a composition comprising one or more alkoxylates of formula I (Page 1, [0013]) such as ethoxylated 2,6,8-trimethyl-4-nonanol (Page 2, [0024]; Page 2, [0026]) , wherein variable "n" that describes the molar amount of charged ethylene oxide used in making the compound. In some embodiments, n is at least about 2, alternatively at least about 3, alternatively at least about 4, alternatively at least about 5, alternatively at least about 6, alternatively at least about 7, or alternatively at least about 8. In some embodiments, n is about 30 or less, alternatively about 20 or less, alternatively about 15 or less, or alternatively about 12 or less (Page 2, [0017]) with benefit of providing a process for making alkoxylates of formula I as set forth, wherein the process provides alkoxylates that exhibit narrow molecular weight distribution (Page 1, [0008]; Page 1, [0015]) and low amounts of residual unreacted alcohol ((Page 1, [0008]; Page 2, [0016]). The alkoxylates have utility in a variety of applications, such as use as surfactants (Abstract). In an analogous art of the liquid detergent composition, and in the light of such benefit before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the ethoxylated non-ionic surfactant by ‘858, so as to include the surfactant having structure (II), wherein n of structure (II) is 3 to 11, preferably 7 to 9 as taught by ‘508, and would have been motivated to do so with reasonable expectation that this would result in providing a process for making alkoxylates of formula I as set forth, wherein the process provides alkoxylates that exhibit narrow molecular weight distribution (Page 1, [0008]; Page 1, [0015]) and low amounts of residual unreacted alcohol ((Page 1, [0008]; Page 2, [0016]). The alkoxylates have utility in a variety of applications, such as use as surfactants as suggested by ‘508 (Abstract). Thus, the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made, since the substitution of equivalents (i.e., in view of the art recognized functional equivalence of the two ethoxylated non-ionic surfactants) requires no express motivation as long as the prior art recognizes the equivalency. In re Fount USPQ 532 (CCPA 1982); In re Siebentritt, 152 USPQ 618 (CCPA 1967); Graver Tank & Mfg. Co. Inc. v Linde Air Products Co., 85 USPQ 328 (USSC). 9. Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a)(1) as being unpatentable over Onuki et al. (JP 2011-148858 A, machine translation, hereinafter “’858”) in view of Kurokawa et al. (JP 2016-017133 A, machine translation, hereinafter “’133”) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hreczuch et al. (2-Ethylhexanol Derivatives as Nonionic Surfactants: Synthesis and Properties, J Surfact Deterg (2016) 19:155–164, hereinafter “Hreczuch”). Regarding claim 6 : The disclosure of ‘858 in view of ‘133 is adequately set forth in paragraph 7 above and is incorporated herein by reference. 858 in view of ‘133 does not expressly teach the surfactant has structure (III), wherein X of structure (III) is 2 to 8 and y of structure (III) is 3 to 40. PNG media_image2.png 108 496 media_image2.png Greyscale However, Hreczuch teaches the synthesis and property of 2-ethylhexanol derivatives as nonionic surfactants (Page 156, left Col., Scheme 1) with benefit of providing 2-ethylhexanol alkoxylates represented by a general formula EHP m E n , where m is a natural number within the range 0≤ m ≤3; surfactants are obtained with a KOH and a double metal cyanide (DMC)-type catalyst, respectively. It is confirmed that the DMC-type catalyst provides significantly narrower distribution of homologues and higher conversion of the starting material. Additionally, higher selectivity and lower content of byproducts was also evidenced in the case of the DMC-type catalyst as compared to KOH (Page 163, right Col., Conclusions. Lines 1-13). PNG media_image3.png 128 334 media_image3.png Greyscale In an analogous art of the liquid detergent composition, and in the light of such benefit before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the ethoxylated non-ionic surfactant by ‘858, so as to include the surfactant having structure (III), wherein X of structure (III) is 2 to 8 and y of structure (III) is 3 to 40 as taught by Hreczuch, and would have been motivated to do so with reasonable expectation that this would result in providing 2-ethylhexanol alkoxylates represented by a general formula EHP m E n , where m is a natural number within the range 0≤ m ≤3; surfactants are obtained with a KOH and a double metal cyanide (DMC)-type catalyst, respectively. It is confirmed that the DMC-type catalyst provides significantly narrower distribution of homologues and higher conversion of the starting material. Additionally, higher selectivity and lower content of byproducts was also evidenced in the case of the DMC-type catalyst as compared to KOH as suggested by Hreczuch (Page 163, right Col., Conclusions. Lines 1-13). Thus, the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made, since the substitution of equivalents (i.e., in view of the art recognized functional equivalence of the two ethoxylated non-ionic surfactants) requires no express motivation as long as the prior art recognizes the equivalency. In re Fount USPQ 532 (CCPA 1982); In re Siebentritt, 152 USPQ 618 (CCPA 1967); Graver Tank & Mfg. Co. Inc. v Linde Air Products Co., 85 USPQ 328 (USSC). 10. Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a)(1) as being unpatentable over Onuki et al. (JP 2011-148858 A, machine translation, hereinafter “’858”) in view of Kurokawa et al. (JP 2016-017133 A, machine translation, hereinafter “’133”) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kizaki et al. (JPH 07188699 A, machine translation, hereinafter “’699”) Regarding claim 10 : The disclosure of ‘858 in view of ‘133 is adequately set forth in paragraph 7 above and is incorporated herein by reference.‘858 teaches the antioxidant is DL-α-tocopherol (Page 7/31, [0009]), and the hydroxyl amine is aminoethyl ethanolamine (Page 10/31, [0020]; Page 20/31, [0060],Table 3, Example 13; Page 22/31, [0069]). ‘133 teaches the antioxidant is DL-α-tocopherol (Page 19/32, [0063]), and the hydroxyl amine is aminoethyl ethanolamine (Page 19/32, [0061]). 858 in view of ‘133 does not expressly teach the hydroxyl amine is aminoethyl ethanolamine. However, ‘699 teaches a detergent composition (Page3/14, [0001]) comprising surfactant (Page 5/14, [0008]), wherein one or more surfactants selected from the group consisting of nonionic, anionic, and amphoteric surfactants (Page 5/14, [0009]), and amine compound such as monoethanolamine, N-(β-aminoethyl) ethanolamine, diethylenetriamine or morpholine (Page 7/14, [0019]) with benefit of providing detergency and finished appearance in the detergent composition for hard surfaces (Page 8/14, [0022]). In an analogous art of the liquid detergent composition, and in the light of such benefit before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the hydroxyl amine by ‘858, so as to include aminoethyl ethanolamine as taught by ‘699, and would have been motivated to do so with reasonable expectation that this would result in providing detergency and finished appearance in the detergent composition for hard surfaces as suggested by ‘699 (Page 8/14, [0022]). Thus, the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made, since the substitution of equivalents (i.e., in view of the art recognized functional equivalence of the two hydroxyl amines) requires no express motivation as long as the prior art recognizes the equivalency. In re Fount USPQ 532 (CCPA 1982); In re Siebentritt, 152 USPQ 618 (CCPA 1967); Graver Tank & Mfg. Co. Inc. v Linde Air Products Co., 85 USPQ 328 (USSC). Prior-Art Cited But Not Applied 11. Any prior-art reference which is cited on FORM PTO-892 but not applied is cited of interest to show the general state of the prior-art at the time of the application’s invention. Please see Terabayashi et al. (JP 2011-038087 A, machine translation). Examiner Information 12. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Bijan Ahvazi, Ph.D. whose telephone number is (571) 270-3449. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 9.00 A.M. -7 P.M.. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph Del Sole can be reached on 571-272-1130. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /Bijan Ahvazi/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763 05/04/2026 bijan.ahvazi@uspto.gov Application/Control Number: 18/576,448 Page 2 Art Unit: 1763 Application/Control Number: 18/576,448 Page 3 Art Unit: 1763 Application/Control Number: 18/576,448 Page 4 Art Unit: 1763 Application/Control Number: 18/576,448 Page 5 Art Unit: 1763
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