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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is based on the 18/881971 application originally filed January 07, 2025.
Amended claims 32-51, filed March 25, 2025, are pending and have been fully considered. Claims 1-31 and 52-69 have been canceled.
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 32-51 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.
Regarding Claims 32-51, it is unclear to the “fractions” or “fractionate” are of the “substantially aqueous water soluble fraction”, “substantially water insoluble hydrophilic cellulosic biopolymer fraction”, and “substantially hydrophobic solution fraction” making the claim indefinite. It is unclear to what defines the fractions due to the current claims and specification define various embodiments for “substantially aqueous water soluble fraction”, “substantially water insoluble hydrophilic cellulosic biopolymer fraction”, and “substantially hydrophobic solution fraction” that cover different compounds. For example, applicants define a hydrophobic biohydrocarbon comprising a mixture of substantially hydrophobic hydrocarbons further comprising hydrophobic phenols, hydrophobic organic furans, hydrophobic oleoresins, and hydrophobic esters. However it is unclear as to what defines a “substantially hydrophobic solution fraction”. Are the fractions the same as the “hydrophobic biohydrocarbon” and “water insoluble hydrophilic cellulosic biopolymer”? The current specification defines numerous embodiments that define “substantially aqueous water soluble fraction”, “substantially water insoluble hydrophilic cellulosic biopolymer fraction”, and “substantially hydrophobic solution fraction” but it is unclear to which embodiment is defined in the claims. Further consideration and/or amending of the claims is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 32-51 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art reference(s): Dhyani et al. “A comprehensive review on the pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass” April 18, 2017; Winsness et al. (US 2019/0062508); Manesh et al. (US 9,382,283); Manesh et al. (US 9,365,525); Shabtai et al. (US 5,959,167) and Teo et al. (US 5,478,366) disclose various methods of processing lignocellulose biomass. However, the prior art fails to teach and/or suggest the claimed method of processing two feedstocks comprising a hydrophobic biohydrocarbon comprising a mixture of substantially hydrophobic hydrocarbons further comprising hydrophobic phenols, hydrophobic organic furans, hydrophobic oleoresins, and hydrophobic esters, and (2) a water insoluble hydrophilic cellulosic biopolymer that is essentially free of water soluble lignocellulosic biomass derivatives and hydrophobic lignocellulosic biomass derivatives.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LATOSHA D HINES whose telephone number is (571)270-5551. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
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, Prem Singh can be reached at 571-272-6381. 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.
/Latosha Hines/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1771
Prosecution Insights