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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 4-13, and 40-43 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Dietz, US Patent Publication 2021/0108000
Regarding claim 1, Dietz teaches an oleophilic cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic fibres [0415], wherein the oleophilic cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic fibres are capable of retarding oil and/or grease migration.
The instant specification in paragraph [0054] states that the fibres are capable of retarding leaking of oil and/or grease out of the product as a result of interaction between the oleophilic cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic fibres and the oil and/or grease.
Therefore the oleophilic properties are what causes the fibers to be capable of retarding the oil and grease migration. It is therefore understood that as long as the fibers expressly are oleophilic, then the act of being capable of retarding the oil and grease migration will be implicitly taught. This seems to be done in the act of absorbing the oil and grease and therefore stopping the migration, which all fibers that are oleophilic will be capable of.
If there is a specific structure or aspect of the fibers that allows for the retarding of the oil or grease migration that is not inherent to the fact that the fibers are oleophilic, then it will need to be explicitly claimed.
Regarding claim 4, Dietz remains as applied above and further teaches that the oleophilic cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic fibres are in the form of a fibre network or form at least a part of a fibre network [0324], and said retarding comprises retarding oil migration in said fibre network or said at least part of a fibre network [0415].
Regarding claim 5, Dietz remains as applied above and further teaches wherein said oil and/or grease comprises animal oil, vegetable oil, petrochemical oil, or any mixture thereof [0432]. Dietz teaches the use of the fibers to be utilized with absorbing the food oils as claimed.
Regarding claim 6, Dietz remains as applied above and further teaches wherein said oleophilic cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic fibres carry oleophilic functional groups and/or comprise an oleophilic material [0415].
Regarding claim 7, Dietz remains as applied above and further teaches wherein at least part of said oleophilic functional groups and/or said oleophilic material is located on the surfaces of the oleophilic cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic fibres [0415].
Regarding claims 8-9, Dietz remains as applied above and further teaches wherein the oleophilic cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic fibres are obtained by modifying unmodified cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic fibres to increase their oleophilicity in comparison to the unmodified cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic fibres, and wherein said modification is based on covalent bonds, ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic interactions and/or van der Waals interactions [0415]. Dietz teaches the use of covalent bounds of the functional groups to the cellulose based fibers [0415].
Regarding claims 10-11 and 40, Dietz remains as applied above and further teaches wherein the oleophilic functional groups or material are selected from the group consisting of: hydrocarbons and/or hydrocarbon compounds and/or hydrocarbon derivatives, which are unsaturated or saturated, straight-chain or branched or cyclic, which optionally have functional groups; polymers and their derivatives; low molecular weight compounds selected from the group consisting of amino acids, phenolics, fatty acids, alcohols, glycerol, and propylene glycol; and organic and inorganic minerals and mineral derivatives [0415]. Dietz teaches the use of fatty acids [0415].
Regarding claims 12-13, Dietz remains as applied above and will read on these claims indirectly as both claims 12 and 13 further define an optional limitation of oleophilic materials. This limitations is listed as an optional replacement for the functional groups in claim 6 and therefore only one or the other needs to be shown to read on the claims.
Regarding claim 41-42, Dietz remains as applied above and further teaches wherein the oleophilic cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic fibres comprise an oleophilic material adsorbed, absorbed, physically entrapped, or impregnated into the cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic fibres [0415-0419] and wherein the oleophilic material is selected from the group consisting of calcium carbonate, talc, kaolin, silane, siloxane, chitin, chitosan, and combinations thereof (silane [0419]).
Regarding claim 43, Dietz remains as applied above and further teaches wherein the oleophilic cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic fibres have a length-weighted average fibre length of from 0.5 to 10 mm (teaches a range up to 2000 microns or 2 mm [0327] with a most preferable range with a top range of 500 microns or 0.5 mm).
Claim(s) 1, 4-9, 11-13, and 41-44 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Curran et al, US Patent Publication 2014/0342098.
Regarding claim 1, Curran teaches a cellulose fiber (woven or non-woven substrate [0028] of cellulose [0029 and 0049] that are made oleophilic by treatment with an oleophilic coating to absorb hydrocarbon chemicals [0007 and 0060] which are capable of retarding oil and grease migration (teaches absorbing the oil materials [0007]).
Regarding claims 4-9, 11-13, and 41-44, Curran teaches that the substrate is a fiber network of cellulose fibers (cotton cloth in one example and wood material in another [0060 and 0049]) to absorb hydrocarbon chemicals [0007] by including a oleophilic material (silane based coating [0026] on the surface of the fibers which can be held through covalent bonds [0030], and the materials can be in the shape of particles [0033] in the amount of at least 0.05 wt% (up to 30% [0069]) to entrap the oleophilic materials on fibers (one example included fibers of 3-4 mm in length [0068] and that the base substrate can be woven or non-woven fibers from materials including paper and wood [0028-0029 and claim 17]. It is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention that the use of woven and non-woven substrates from either paper or wood would have to go through either a chemical or mechanical pulping process.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACOB T MINSKEY whose telephone number is (571)270-7003. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-6 PM.
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JACOB T. MINSKEY
Examiner
Art Unit 1741
/JACOB T MINSKEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1748
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