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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over of Rae et al. (KR101637032B1A).
Regarding Claim 1, Rae teaches a composite deoxidizer based on Al [0003] where an internal binder be added and be organic binder [0026] in a range of 2-10% weight percent [0027]; overlapping with the claimed range of 0.1-8 wt%, in the case where a claimed range overlaps or lies inside a range taught by the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. (See MPEP 2144.05(I))
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pinheiro et al. (BR102013014368A1) in view of Rae et al. (KR101637032B1).
Regarding Claim 1, Pinheiro teaches an Al deoxidizer comprising:
Aluminum pellets (briquettes) comprising organic binders (See Claim 2) but is silent using a weight percentage of 0.1-8 as claimed; however Rae teaches a composite deoxidizer based on Al [0003] where an internal binder be added and be organic binder [0026] in a range of 2-10% weight percent [0027] overlapping with the claimed range of 0.1-8 wt%, in the case where a claimed range overlaps or lies inside a range taught by the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. (See MPEP 2144.05(I))
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-20 are 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.
Regarding Claim 2, the closest prior art of record is Rae et al. (KR101637032B1A) which teaches a composite deoxidizer based on Al [0003] where an internal binder be added and be organic binder [0026] in a range of 2-10% weight percent [0027]; overlapping with the claimed range of 0.1-8 wt%; however the prior art does not teach or suggest each and every limitation of claim 2.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICARDO D MORALES whose telephone number is (571)272-6691. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 9 am- 4 pm.
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, Sally Merkling can be reached at 5712726297. 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.
/RICARDO D MORALES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1738
