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 Objections
Claim 3 is objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate of claim 2. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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 1-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Carley et al. (2019/0045811) in view of Sauter et al. (2005/0282261).
Regarding claim 1, Carley et al. discloses a method for forming animal chews comprises a combination of protein, carbohydrate and fat, comprising the steps of:
providing a polymer [0025] which is non-toxic because the forming product is animal chew, consumable by animals;
mixing the non-toxic polymer with a flavor composition to yield a flavor composition-incorporated polymer, [0025]-[0026], [0036];
molding the flavor composition-incorporated polymer using a mold with two mold plates forming a cavity that defines the shape of the animal toy [0029]-[0031], [0036]-[0037], [0046]-[0048], wherein the flavor composition comprises a liquid system in which one of a liquid food flavor composition and a liquid solvent is a continuous phase and the other of the liquid food flavor composition and the liquid solvent is a dispersed phase, such as fatty acids, oils in water [0027]-[0030].
Carley et al. also discloses that a coating can be applied on rawhide chews by using a baste with desired coloring and/or flavoring or odor to make the chew toy more appealing to pets, wherein additives can be included in the baste to reduce odor or to provide dental care for pets by removing or preventing plaque or other deleterious build-up from the pet’s teeth, [0008].
However, Carley et al. fails to disclose the flavor composition is an emulsified flavor composition.
Sauter et al. discloses choline oxidases and the derivatives that are used in oral care products [0002] wherein choline oxidases and the derivatives are also used for the production of animal feeds since it has a protective effect on the liver [0385]-[0386]. Sauter et al. further discloses that many products includes an emulsifiers [0254] which can be applied in additional layers [0231].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to make Carley’s chew toy with emulsified flavor composition as taught by Sauter, for emulsifiers would provide consistence providers, thickeners, polymers, etc. [0254], and thus, would release a consistent flavor as the pet chewing on the toy.
Regarding claims 2-14, Carley further discloses that products of different sizes and/or types can be formed at different temperatures [0042]-[0044] and that different inner portion compositions are desired having different flavors or ingredients to provide flavor variety with a single animal chew 10. In the case of three or more portions, additional portions may be incorporated between the inner portion 20 and outer portion 15 in various ratios, [0058].
Sauter et al further discloses that different oils and fatty acid can be used, these include monoglyceride sulfates, mono and/or dialkylsulfosuccinates, fatty acid isethionates, fatty acid sarcosinates, fatty acid taurides, fatty acid glutamates, a-olefin sulfonates, ether carboxylic acids alkyl oligoglucosides, fatty acid glucamides, alkylamidobetaines and/or protein-fatty acid condensates [0255] and different esters oils are used [00256], wherein the oils includes different combination of esters of linear and/or branched carboxylic acid, mono-/di-/triglyceride mixture, [0256]. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide Carley with different esters, aromatic carboxylic acids, and different combinations thereof as taught by Sauter in order to achieve different desired effects such as improve flavor emulsion and/or removing or preventing plaque or other deleterious build-up from the pet’s teeth with the forming toy.
Regarding claim 15, Carley et al. further discloses the step of forming an animal chew 10 comprises an outer portion 15 and an inner portion 20, wherein the outer portion 15 is a hard composition that has similar hardness characteristics of a traditional rawhide chew and can be achieved by increasing the starches and other long chain and/or complex carbohydrates within the outer portion 15 formulations [0017]-[0018]; wherein the inner portion 20 may comprise ingredients selected from a group consisting of protein, meat, meat preparations, palatability enhancers, binders, fillers, glycerin, preservatives, colorings and combinations thereof [0022]-[0023], wherein the outer portion 15 and the inner portion 20 are prepared by a molding process [0030]-[0031].
Regarding claims 16-17, wherein the percentage of the outer layer emulsified flavor composition by weight of the outer layer flavor-composition incorporated polymer or by weight of the animal toy, can be seen to be a result effective variable. Therefore it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art during the course of routine experimentation to obtain various weight ratios between the outer layer emulsified flavor composition and the weight of the outer layer polymer and/or the weight of the animal toy disclosed in the present invention. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated by the desire to achieve particular ability for removing or preventing plaque or other deleterious build-up from the pet’s teeth.
Regarding claim 18, Carley further discloses that even though inner portion 20 is a smaller amount of material compared to outer portion 15, the dog will continue to chew outer portion 15 as the inner portion 20 is continually made available from the recess 25 (FIG. 3) within outer portion 15. Similarly, the outer portion that remains in the latter part of the chewing process will remain hard. This feature also gives an improved chewing experience for the dog. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to select materials with appropriate hardness to enhance the use of the pet toy.
Regarding claim 19, wherein the flavor is a natural food flavor, such as chicken liver, peanut butter, chicken, duck, pork, beef, lamb, fish and combinations thereof, [0026].
Regarding claim 20-24, wherein animal rawhide chews are formed, [0003].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Thu-Khanh T. Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)272-1136. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30-4:30.
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, Galen Hauth can be reached at 571-270-5516. 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.
/Thu Khanh T. Nguyen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1743
Prosecution Insights