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.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over NPL document entitled New Functional Fluids (cited in the IDS filed 1/9/2025 – hereinafter referred to as NFF).
Regarding claims 1-15, NFF discloses functional fluids. The requirements for brake fluids in order to meet the DOT 4 and DOT 5.1 standards are low viscosity (max. 750 cSt at -40°C) and high dry and wet boiling points (Page 3-4/L. 3-4, see Table 1). In Example 3 of NFF, it is disclosed a composition that contains 50% by weight of methoxy triethylene glycol silicon dimethyl ester (MTGSE) (component E of the present application), 24% by weight of methoxy triethylene glycol (MTG) (component A of the present application), 24% by weight of butoxy tricthylene glycol (BTG) (component B of the present application) and 2% by weight of diisopropylamine (component D of the present application) (Page 4-5/L. 10-22 and see Tables 2 and 4 and Examples 3 and 8).
Example 3 differs from the present application in that the composition contains too much of component (B) butoxy triethylene glycol and in that the viscosity at -40°C is not disclosed.
It is the position of the examiner that concentration is a result effective variable and as such can be optimized without undue experimentation. Discovery of optimum value of result effective variable in known process is ordinarily within the skill in the art and would have been obvious, consult In re Boesch and Slaney (205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980)). It is further the position of the examiner that the viscosity recited in claim 1 would be inherent to the composition recited in NFF as it discloses the same components as the instant claims in nearly the same concentration ranges.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VISHAL V VASISTH whose telephone number is (571)270-3716. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-4:30 and 7:00-10:00p.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Prem Singh can be reached at 5712726381. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/VISHAL V VASISTH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1771
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