DETAILED ACTION
Status of Application
Receipt of the Claim set, filed on 5/12/2026 is acknowledged.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-28 are pending.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election, without specific traverse, of Group I (claims 1-12) drawn to a a plurality of partially-open, hollow reservoirs in the reply filed on 5/12/2026 is acknowledged.
Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.03(a)). The restriction requirement is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 13-28 are withdrawn from consideration as directed to a non-elected invention.
Claims 1-12 are included in the prosecution.
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Surwade et al (US20200016564A1) hereinafter Surwade.
Regarding claims 1-12, Surwade is drawn to polymer-based partially-open, hollow reservoirs in the nano-size to micro-size range that encapsulate an additive, which can be released from the reservoirs using specific event stimuli such as reduction-oxidation and voltage change, or at will, using the same stimuli. This invention also relates to method preparing such reservoirs, and for releasing the additive. This invention further relates to matrix that comprises such reservoirs and the method of preparing such matrix. This invention also relates to applications, for example in corrosion inhibition, lubrication, and adhesion, that benefit from using such a controlled release of an additive (abstract).
Surwade discloses a plurality of partially-open, hollow reservoirs:
wherein a substantial number of said plurality of partially-open, hollow reservoirs comprises at least one encapsulant; wherein said plurality of partially-open, hollow reservoirs comprise a polymer comprising at least one conducting polymer;
wherein a substantial number of said plurality of partially-open, hollow reservoirs have at least one opening on their surface, such that the average opening area, in the aggregate, of said plurality of partially-open, hollow reservoirs is from about 0.25% to about 50% of the surface area in the aggregate of said plurality of partially-open, hollow reservoirs; wherein the average size of said plurality of partially-open, hollow reservoirs is in the range of from about 200 nm to about 10,000 nm; wherein said at least one encapsulant releasably resides within said plurality of partially-open, hollow reservoirs [0023].
Surwade discloses wherein said at least one conducting polymer is selected from polyaniline-based polymer, polyaniline-based polymer derivatives, polypyrrole, polypyrrole based polymer, polypyrrole based polymer's derivatives, blends thereof, and mixtures thereof [0029]. Surwade discloses wherein said conducting polymer is the polyaniline-based polymer, comprising at least one of polyaniline, poly-o-toluidine, poly-o-methoxyaniline, poly-o-ethylaniline, and poly-2-ethoxyaniline [0030]. Surwade discloses wherein said encapsulant is selected from the group consisting of a corrosion inhibiting additive, a lubricant additive, an adhesive additive, a biocide additive, an antifouling additive, a pesticide additive, a drug delivery additive, a corrosion sensor additive, a fragrance releasing additive, a catalyst additive, an ink additive, a dye additive, an enzyme additive, a reactant additive, and combinations thereof [0033].
Encapsulants with many functionalities, vel non, can be added to a POHR. Such functional additives include: corrosion inhibiting additives; lubricant additives; adhesive additives; biocidal additives; anti-fouling additives; pesticide additive [0104].
Surwade discloses the POHR encapsulated with pesticide, achieve a controlled pesticide release and also enables pesticide release in response to change in pH, which improves the pesticide use by reducing waste and pollution. Examples of pesticides amenable to the POHR encapsulation of the present invention include pyrethroids such as bifenthrin, permethrin, deltamethrin, lambda cyhalothrin, cyfluthrin, or betacyfluthrin; organophosphates such as chlorpyrifos; limonoids such as azadirachtin or meliartenin; phenyl pyrazoles or oxadiazines such as indoxacarb; phthalic acid diamides such as flubendiamide and anthranilic diamides, carbamates such as carbaryl (1-naphthyl N-methylcarbamate), neonicotinoids or nitroguanidines such imidacloprid, thiomethoxam, clothianidin or dinotefuran; diacylhydrazines such as halofenozide; neonicotines such as floconamid; organophosphates such as trichlorfon and pyrazoles such as fipronil [0206-0207].
Surwade does not explicitly disclose each of the components of the composition in a single embodiment for an anticipation rejection.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Surwade, to arrive at the instant invention.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because Surwade discloses all the required ingredients and for the same purpose (abstract) and Surwade discloses the POHR encapsulated with pesticide, achieve a controlled pesticide release and also enables pesticide release in response to change in pH, which improves the pesticide use by reducing waste and pollution [0206]. Further, one having ordinary still in the art would reasonably expect success in combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results, see MPEP 2141.
Conclusion
No claims are allowed.
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/QUANGLONG N TRUONG/Examiner, Art Unit 1615
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