DETAILED ACTION
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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 10-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 10 claims “A process for reducing the release of microfibers during the washing process of textiles which are pretreated before the washing process with composition (Z) comprising”
The phrase “for reducing the release of microfibers during the washing process of textiles which are pretreated before the washing process with composition (Z) comprising” is interpreted as intended use.
Therefore, it is unclear to the examiner the exact method step taking place.
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 10-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bau et al (WO2017/191462, cited on the 3/22/24 IDS).
Bau teaches a liquid laundry composition.
Bau, abstract, teaches a composition comprises : A) a liquid detergent product; and B) a silicone additive.
Bau, page 2, teaches one or more silicone may be used.
Bau, pages 2-3, teaches suitable aminosiloxane polymers are represented by of one or more liquid aminoalkyl- containing polyorganosiloxanes (P) comprising at least 80 mole percent of units selected from units of the general formulae 7, 8, 9 and 10
PNG
media_image1.png
942
660
media_image1.png
Greyscale
amine number of at least .01 mequiv/g.
Bau, claim 7, teaches about 8 wt% cationic surfactants.
Bau, pages 7-8, teach a carrier can be water.
Bau, page 2, teaches the amount of silicone additive employed in the composition of this invention is from 0.01 wt. percent to 25 wt. percent.
Bau, examples, teach water present in the amount of 30 wt.
Bau, page 5, teaches the polyorganosiloxane-silicone resin mixture comprises between about 50 percent to about 99.9 percent by weight of the mixture, of one or more polyorganosiloxane fluid compounds, at least about 0.01 percent by weight of the mixture, of one or more silicone resins, and a maximum of about 5 percent by weight of the mixture, of water.
Bau, pages 5-6, teaches
PNG
media_image2.png
382
730
media_image2.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image3.png
150
656
media_image3.png
Greyscale
It 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 to choose the amount of resin and the amount of fluid in the composition to increase the whiteness of laundered fabrics, as well as to improve their ease of ironing, hydrophilicity, and softness.
Regarding claims 11-12, Bau teaches R, R1 and R3 can be monovalent hydrocarbon residues with 1 to 40 carbon atoms.
Regarding claim 13, Bau teaches each of the one or more polyorganosiloxane fluid compounds that contains at least 80 mol percent of units selected from the group consisting of units of the general formulae la, lb, II and III.
Therefore, the compounds can contain 100 mol percent of II.
Regarding claim 14, Bau teaches the viscosity of the polyorganosiloxane fluid compounds is at least about 1 mPa-s at 25 degrees centigrade, especially at least about 10 mPa-s, and has a maximum of about 100,000, especially at least about 10,000 mPa-s.
Regarding claim 15, Bau teaches dicanoladimethylammonium chloride as a fabric softener.
Regarding claim 16, Bau, page 15, teaches the solvent can be polyethylene glycols. Mixing the composition with water will result in an emulsion.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US20180055328 teaches adsorption of particles on a material.
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/
Prosecution Insights