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 § 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.
Claims 1-11, and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Geret et al, US 2010/0197546.
Geret et al teach a dishwashing detergent in tablet form comprising 3.6% polyester formed from 1,2-propanediol, ethylene glycol, terephthalic acid dimethyl ester, and 5-sulphoisophthalic acid dimethyl ester (¶120 and 122) wherein the tablet has two or more distinct regions (layers) and the polyester is in one layer of the tablet (claim 15). The examiner maintains that these distinct regions satisfy the first and second cartridges of present claim 14 when this term is given its broadest reasonable interpretation.
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 1-11 and 16-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over O’Connell et al, US 2014/0038878.
O’Connell et al teach a powdered washing agent comprising 0.5% Texcare SRA 300F soil release polymer, a preferred aromatic polyester of the present invention (¶151, example). Dishwashing agents are a preferred utility of the invention (¶85-87) and so it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to use the example above as a dishwashing agent.
Claims 1-11 and 16-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lundberg et al, US 2015/0322381.
Lundberg et al teach a laundry sour composition comprising 1-15% Texcare SRN 300 soil release polymer, a preferred aromatic polyester of the present invention (¶195, example). These compositions can be used in a warewashing machine (¶185) and so it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to use the example above as a warewashing composition.
Claims 1-14 and 16-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Geret et al, US 2010/0197546 in view of Ingenbleek et al, US 2022/0400929.
Geret et al are relied upon as set forth above. The composition may be encased in a polyvinyl alcohol wrapping (¶39) but the reference does not teach multi-compartment pouch.
Such pouches are common in the art as taught by Ingenbleek et al, where a dishwashing detergent in tablet form may be in a polyvinyl alcohol multi-compartment pack (¶45). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to package a dishwashing tablet in a water-soluble pack as taught by both Geret et al and Ingenbleek et al with confidence of obtaining an effective unit-dose dishwashing detergent.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES I BOYER whose telephone number is (571)272-1311. The examiner can normally be reached M-S 10-430.
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, Angela Brown-Pettigrew can be reached at 5712722817. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHARLES I BOYER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
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