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
Claims 1-19 are pending.
Claim Objections
Claims 18 is objected to because of the following informalities:
With respect to instant claim 18, line 2, it is suggested that Applicant delete “betaines and hydroxy sultaines/” and insert “betaines, hydroxy sultaines,”.
With respect to instant claim 18, line 3, it is suggested that Applicant delete “and” and insert “or”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-10 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gardner et al (US2021/0340429) in view of Allef et al (US2014/0349902).
With respect to independent, instant claim 1, Gardner et al teach compositions comprising a neutral surfactant or a reaction product thereof and a reaction product of a saccharide polymer and a fatty acid may be obtained in the presence of water and a hydroxide base ( optionally in the presence of the neutral surfactant), the saccharide polymer comprising a dextran, a dextrin compound, or any combination thereof. The reaction product of the saccharide polymer and the fatty acid may be present at a concentration effective to lower surface tension of the neutral surfactant. The reaction products may be incorporated in soaps and other personal care products. See Abstract. Maltodextrins represent an advantageous saccharide polymer for use herein in terms of their low cost, environmentally benign nature, and the relative ease with which they may be chemically reacted with fatty acids having a range of chain lengths. Depending on the fatty acid reacted with a maltodextrin, the hydrophobic lipophilic
balance (HLB) of the reaction products may range from about 5 to about 20 or more, wherein known molecular contributions may be utilized to calculate the HLB value. As such, maltodextrin reaction products may offer numerous advantages and a wide range of applicability for use downhole and in other applications in which surfactants are commonly used, such as in soaps and other personal care products. Dextran reaction products may offer similar advantages and features to those of maltodextrin reaction products, including the ability to produce low surface tension values, and be formed and used under similar conditions. See para. 20.
Maltodextrins may be characterized in terms of their dextrose equivalent (DE) value. Dextrose equivalent is a measure of the amount of reducing sugars (e.g., glucose
monomers) that are present in a saccharide polymer, particularly a dextrin, expressed as a percentage relative to dextrose. Starch, which is functionally non-reducing, has a
defined dextrose equivalent of 0, whereas dextrose itself has a dextrose equivalent of 100. Dextrose equivalent may be calculated by dividing the molecular weight of glucose by Mn and multiplying the result by 100. Higher dextrose equivalent values are characteristic of a lower number of covalently linked glucose monomers (shorter polymer backbone length, thereby providing a higher relative percentage of terminal reducing sugars). Maltodextrins suitable for forming a reaction product with one or more fatty acids according to the disclosure herein may exhibit dextrose equivalent values ranging from 3 to about 25 or from 3 to about 20. In more specific embodiments, dextrose equivalent values of the maltodextrins may range from about 4.5 to about 7.0, or from about 7 .0 to about 10.0, or from about 9.0 to about 12.0. See para. 25. Compositions of the present disclosure may comprise a neutral surfactant and/or a zwitterionic surfactant in combination with the foregoing reaction products. See para. 29. Betaine surfactants are a type of zwitterionic surfactant. Since the net charge of zwitterionic surfactants is zero, they also may be considered to constitute neutral
surfactants in the disclosure herein. Zwitterionic surfactants, such as cocamidopropyl betaine, may also be present in the compositions in some instances, either alone or in combination with a neutral surfactant, particularly when producing foamable formulations comprising the reaction products. See para. 31. The compositions of the disclosure herein may replace a surfactant used in an adjuvant composition or be
used in combination with a surfactant already present in an adjuvant composition. Examples of suitable additional components that may be present in adjuvant compositions containing a reaction product of the present disclosure include, but are not
limited to, other surfactants, anti-foam compounds, particulates, metal oxides (e.g., silica, alumina, titania, zirconia, and the like), electrolytes, salts, organic solvents, wetting agents, dispersants, emulsifying agents, de-emulsifying agents, penetrants, preservatives, colorants, acids, bases, buffers, chelating agents, etc. Other surfactants that may be present in the adjuvant compositions are not particularly limited and may include any one or a combination of cationic, anionic, neutral or zwitterionic surfactants. See para. 62. The compositions may replace a surfactant used in a body wash, shampoo, or liquid soap or be used in combination with a surfactant already present in a body wash, shampoo or liquid soap. See paras. 74 and 75.
Gardner et al do not teach the use of an alkyl polyglycoside surfactant, a rhamnolipid surfactant, or a sophorlipid surfactant; or a composition containing a dextran-based or dextrin-based polysaccharide surfactant, an alkyl polyglycoside surfactant, a rhamnolipid surfactant, or a sophorlipid surfactant, and the other requisite components of the composition in the specific amounts as recited by independent, instant claim 1 and respective dependent claims.
Allef et al teach compositions comprising water, at least one biosurfactant and at least one fatty acid, which are characterized in that the fraction of the sum of all
surfactants in the composition is from 1 to 30% by weight, and that the fraction of fatty acid, based on the sum of fatty acid and surfactants, is from 0.1 to 20% by weight, and to the use thereof as or for producing bath additives, shower gel, shampoos, conditioners, body cleansers or skin cleansers. See Abstract. Preferably, the composition according to the invention has, as biosurfactants, rhamnolipids, in particular mono-, di- or polyrhamnolipids and/or sophorolipids. See para. 28. Preferably, the composition according to the invention has, as surfactants which are not biosurfactants,
fatty alcohol polyglycol ether sulphates, monoglyceride sulphates, alkyl sulphates, mono and/or dialkyl sulphosuccinates, fatty acid isethionates, fatty acid sarcosinates, fatty acid taurides, fatty acid glutamates, ethercarboxylic acids, alkyl oligoglucosides, alkyl polyglucosides, fatty acid glucamides, alkylamidobetaines and/or alkyl betaines. See para.33.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use a rhamnolipid, sophorolipid, or alkyl polyglycoside surfactant in the composition taught by Gardner et al, with a reasonable expectation of success, because Allef et al teach the use of rhamnolipid, sophorolipid, or alkyl polyglycoside surfactants in a similar composition and further, Gardner et al teach the use of various additional surfactants.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to formulate a composition containing a dextran-based or dextrin-based polysaccharide surfactant, an alkyl polyglycoside surfactant, a rhamnolipid surfactant, or a sophorlipid surfactant, and the other requisite components of the composition in the specific amounts as recited by independent, instant claim 1 and respective dependent claims, with a reasonable expectation of success and similar results with respect to other disclosed components, because the broad teachings of Gardner et al in view of Allef et al suggest a composition containing a dextran-based or dextrin-based polysaccharide surfactant, an alkyl polyglycoside surfactant, a rhamnolipid surfactant, or a sophorlipid surfactant, and the other requisite components of the composition in the specific amounts as recited by independent, instant claim 1 and respective dependent claims.
Claims 11-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gardner et al (US2021/0340429) in view of Allef et al (US2014/0349902) as applied to claims 1-10 and 19 above, and further in view of Derks et al (US 9.339,449).
Gardner et al are relied upon as set forth above. However, Gardner et al do not teach the use of a hydrotrope such as sodium xylene sulfonate in addition to the other requisite components of the composition as recited by the instant claims.
Derks et al aqueous compositions comprising an anionic surfactant and a hyperbranched polyesteramide having at least one quaternized amine end group. The compositions, in particular in the form of shampoo preparations are suited for increasing the volume of hair treated therewith. Furthermore, such compositions provide styling attributes and increase the wet-combability of hair. See Abstract. In a further preferred embodiment, the compositions according to the invention also comprise a hydrotrope. A hydrotrope is a substance that improves the solubility of surfactants in water. Examples of hydrotropes are sodium xylene sulfonate, ammonium xylene sulphonate, sodium p-toluene sulfonate, sodium chlorobenzene sulfonate, sodium salicylate, proline, pyrogallol, resorcinol and urea. In all embodiments of the invention preferably sodium xylene sulfonate is used as hydrotrope. The total amount of the hydrotrope in the compositions according to the invention ranges from 0.5 to 30 wt.-%, preferably from 1 to 20 wt.-%, in particular from 1 to 5 wt.-% based on the total weight of the composition. See column 6, lines 45-69.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use sodium xylene sulfonate as a hydrotrope in the composition taught by Gardner et al, with a reasonable expectation of success, because Derks et al teach that the use of a hydrotrope such as sodium xylene sulfonate in a similar composition improves the solubility of the surfactants in water and further, such properties would be desirable in the composition taught by Gardner et al and Gardner et al teach the use of wide variety of optional ingredients.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Remaining references cited but not relied upon are considered to be cumulative to or less pertinent than those relied upon or discussed above.
Applicant is reminded that any evidence to be presented in accordance with 37 CFR 1.131 or 1.132 should be submitted before final rejection in order to be considered timely.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY R DEL COTTO whose telephone number is (571)272-1312. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8:30am-6:00pm, EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Angela Brown-Pettigrew can be reached at (571) 272-2817. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GREGORY R DELCOTTO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761
/G.R.D/August 30, 2026
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