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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1 and 18-34, in the reply filed on 8/24/26 is acknowledged.
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 1 and 18-34 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.
A broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.05(c). In the present instance, claim 1 recites the broad recitation “C3-carboxylates”, and the claim also recites “,more specifically from propionate moieties” which is the narrower statement of the range/limitation. The claim(s) are considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims.
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 1, 18-21, 24-28, 30 and 32-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barroso et al (20190100673) in view of Zhu et al (6645280).
Barroso, paragraph 6 of the PGPUB, teaches the colored lead or colored chalk contains a sintered lead or chalk base body which is formed from a lead or chalk base material containing at least one binder with a proportion of from 1 to 25% by weight and at least one filler with a proportion of from 25 to 99% by weight. The sintered lead or chalk base body is impregnated with at least one colorant and at least one lubricant or one fatty or waxy substance or the colorant and the lubricant are introduced into or embedded in the sintered lead or chalk base body, the sintered lead or chalk base body being successively impregnated with the colorant and the lubricant.
Barroso, paragraph 18 of the PGPUB, teaches possible binders are organic materials, for example cellulose or cellulose derivatives.
Although the reference teaches cellulose derivatives, the reference does not teach a specific cellulose derivative.
Zhu teaches jet ink compositions.
Zhu, col. 2, teaches the jet ink composition comprises a solvent and one or more translucentizing agents.
Zhu, col. 3, teaches the translucentizing agent can be one or more high molecular weight materials, one or more low molecular weight materials, or a combination thereof. Typically, the high molecular weight material has a weight average molecular weight of less than 50,000, and preferably from about 2,000 to about 40,000.
Zhu, col. 3, teaches the high molecular weight material provides an advan tage that it helps to reduce or eliminate bleeding.
Zhu, col. 3, teaches examples of high molecular weight materials include cellulose derivatives such as cellulose acetate butyrate and cellulose acetate propionate.
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 use cellulose acetate propionate as taught by Zhu as the binder as taught by Barroso as cellulose acetate propionate reduces bleeding.
Regarding claims 18-21, the references teach cellulose acetate propionate which comprises saturated C3-carboxylates and n-propionates.
Regarding claim 24, 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 use a combination of cellulose acetate propionate and cellulose acetate butyrate as taught by Zhu as the binder as taught by Barroso as cellulose acetate propionate and cellulose acetate butyrate reduce bleeding.
Regarding claim 25, Zhu, col. 3, teaches the translucentizing agent can be one or more high molecular weight materials, one or more low molecular weight materials, or a combination thereof. Typically, the high molecular weight material has a weight average molecular weight of less than 50,000, and preferably from about 2,000 to about 40,000.
Regarding claim 26, Barroso, paragraph 6 of the PGPUB, teaches the colored lead or colored chalk contains a sintered lead or chalk base body which is formed from a lead or chalk base material containing at least one binder with a proportion of from 1 to 25% by weight.
Regarding claims 27-28, Barroso, paragraph 12 of the PGPUB, teaches boron nitride and/or a mineral filler, more particularly kaolin and/or talc and/or calcium carbonate and/or pumice powder, and/or clay are present in the lead or chalk base material as fillers.
Regarding claim 30, Barroso, paragraph 12 of the PGPUB, teaches boron nitride and/or a mineral filler, more particularly kaolin and/or talc and/or calcium carbonate and/or pumice powder, and/or clay are present in the lead or chalk base material as fillers.
Calcium carbonate is a white powder.
Regarding claim 32, Barroso, paragraph 32 of the PGPUB, teaches to make not only differently colored strokes, but also different color effects, the colored lead contains, in a first variant, at least one water-soluble or alcohol-soluble dye as colorant, more particularly an anionic or cationic dye.
Regarding claim 33, Barroso, paragraph 33 of the PGPUB, teaches the sintered lead or chalk base body is impregnated with at least one colorant and at least one lubricant or one fatty or waxy substance or the colorant and the lubricant.
Regarding claim 35, Barroso teaches a chalk base.
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barroso et al (20190100673) in view of Zhu et al (6645280) as applied to claim 21 and further in view of Shuto et al (5977347).
Although the reference teach cellulose acetate propionate, the references do not teach a ratio of acetate moieties to propionate moieties.
Shuto, abstract, teaches cellulose acetate propionate having a degree of acetyl substitution (DSac) and a degree of propionyl substitution (DSpr) satisfying the formulas (I) to (IV).
2.0<DSac≦2.95 (I)
0.05<DSpr≦0.8 (II)
2.6<DSac+DSpr≦3.0 (III)
1.9<DSac-DSpr (IV)
Therefore, then DSac is 2.5 and DSpr is .4 the ratio of acetate moieties to propionate moieties is 6.25.
Shuto, col. 3, teaches an object of the present invention is to provide cellulose acetate propionate that is soluble in various organic solvents.
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 use cellulose acetate propionate having a ratio of acetate moieties to propionate moieties of 6.25 as taught by Shuto as the CAP as taught by the references above to provide cellulose acetate propionate that is soluble in various organic solvents.
Claim 29 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barroso et al (20190100673) in view of Zhu et al (6645280) as applied to claim 1 and further in view of Claptien et al (20170349775).
Claptien teaches an extrudable, unexpanded colour pencil lead.
Claptien, paragraph 20 of the PGPUB, teaches the color pencil lead furthermore comprises between 25 and 50% by weight of a colorless mineral filler relative to the total weight of the lead.
Claptien, paragraph 21 of the PGPUB, teaches advantageously, it is a lamellar colorless mineral filler, more particularly chosen from a clay, boron nitride, mica and/or talc, for example a clay chosen in particular from montmorillonite, bentonite and kaolin.
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 use a lamellar colorless mineral filler as taught by Claptien as the filler as taught by the references above as this one advantageous binder used in a colored pencil composition.
Claim 31 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barroso et al (20190100673) in view of Zhu et al (6645280) as applied to claim 1 and further in view of Claptien et al (20170349775).
Claptien teaches an extrudable, unexpanded colour pencil lead.
Claptien, paragraph 20 of the PGPUB, teaches the color pencil lead furthermore comprises between 25 and 50% by weight of a colorless mineral filler relative to the total weight of the lead.
Claptien, paragraph 21 of the PGPUB, teaches more particularly, it is kaolin, in particular kaolin with a mass-based particle size D50 measured by sedimentation, for example using a Sedigraph® machine from the company Micromeritics, of between 2 and 5 μm.
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 use kaolin having a particle size between 2-5 microns as taught by Claptien as the filler as taught by the references above as this one advantageous binder used in a colored pencil composition.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US20050136080 teaches a cosmetic solid lead.
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/STEFANIE J COHEN/Examiner, Art Unit 1732 10/7/26
