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 .
Specification
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Burrington (US 20040020105-appears on PTO-1449).
Burrington teaches an emulsified water fuel blend containing aqueous organic ammonium salts. The emulsified water fuel blend lowers nitrogen oxide emissions from engines (see abstract). The organic ammonium salt includes compounds of the following formula
PNG
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136
335
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Greyscale
Wherein R1-R4 are independently H or an organic substitute having up to 18 carbon atoms. X being an anion of an inorganic or organic basic acid (see para 0010-0011).
Exemplary quaternary organic ammonium salts include but are not limited to hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (dodigen 1382.RTM.), hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (Dodigen 2544.RTM.), soya alkyltrimethylammonium chloride (Dodigen 5594.RTM.), coconut alkyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride (Dodigen 226.RTM.), coconut alkyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride (dodigen 5462.RTM.), coconut alkyl-2, 4-dichlorobenzyldimethylammonium chloride (Dodigen 1509.RTM.), stearyidimethylbenzylammonium chloride (Dodigen 1828.RTM.), di-coconut alkyldimethylammonium chloride (didigen 490.RTM.), disteryldimethyl-ammoniumchloride (Prapagen WK.RTM.), quaternary dialkylammonium chloride (Prapagen WKL.RTM.), di-tallow fatty alkyldimethylammonium chloride (Prapagen WKT.RTM.), Dodigen.RTM., Prapagen.RTM., and Genamin.RTM.-K brands such as Genamin.RTM.-KDM-F (a series of alkyltrimethylammonium chlorides) or distearyidimethylammonium chloride (Genamin.RTM.-DSAC) and didecylmethylpolyoxyethylammonium propionate (Dodigen.RTM. 3519), Prapgen.RTM. WK 1852, WKL, WKT (a series of di-fatty acid dimethyl-ammonium chlorides), a various benzyltrimethylammonium chlorides of the Dodigen.RTM. 1611 and 2809 types (see para 0017). Primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary ammonium salts as well as other which are suitable according to the invention of Burrington are described in McCutcheon's-Emulsifiers & Detergents. (1991), Glen Rock (see para 0018).
The emulsified fuel is comprised of a continuous fuel phase, a discontinuous water or aqueous phase, an emulsifying amount of an emulsifier (see para 0020).
The fuel comprises hydrocarbonaceous petroleum distillate fuel, non-hydrocarbonaceous materials that include but are not limited to water, oils, liquid fuels derived from vegetables, liquid fuels derived from minerals and mixtures thereof. A concentrate of the components may be blended to form a package (see para 0021). Suitable fuels include, but are not limited to, gasoline, diesel, kerosene, naphtha, aliphatics and paraffin. The fuel also includes but is not limited to mixtures of one or more hydrocarbonaceous fuels and one or more non-hydrocarbonaceous materials (see para 0022). In one embodiment, the fuel is any diesel fuel that contains up to about 0.05% by weight sulfur (see para 0024). This teaching suggests those fuels of present claim 10. The fuel is present in an amount of about 50 to about 95 % by weight (see para 0025).
The water is present in an amount from about 1% to about 50% by weight (see para 0027). Burrington teaches that at least one of an ionic or a nonionic compound having a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of about 1 to about 40 may be used in the emulsified fuel (see para 0031). The emulsifier is present in the fuel at a concentration of about 0.001% to about 20% by weight (see para 0069). The total concentration of additives in the fuel is from about 0.05% to about 30% by weight (see para 0073). The additives may also be prepared as a concentrate (see Example 1). Burrington meets the limitations regarding the claimed proportions of the components in the present fuel emulsion.
The emulsified fuel may be prepared by the steps of mixing the fuel, at least one emulsifier and other desired additives using standard mixing techniques to form a fuel additives mixture; and then the fuel additives mixture is mixed with water and at least one of an organic ammonium salt and optionally an antifreeze agent or soluble additives under emulsification conditions to form the desired emulsified fuel. Alternatively, a concentrate is formed in that all or substantially all the water, organic ammonium salt, and a portion of the fuel and all or substantially all the emulsifier is blended to form a concentrate of the emulsified fuel. The emulsified fuel, when used, is then blended with the rest of the fuel (see para 0021).
The ionic or nonionic compounds that are useful include alkanolamines, carboxylates including amine salts, metallic salts and the like poly(oxyalkylene) compounds, including block copolymers comprising alkylene oxide repeat units, carboxylated alcohol ethoxylates, ethoxylated alcohols, ethoxylated alkylphenols, ethoxylated amines and amides, ethoxylated fatty acids, ethoxylated fatty esters and oils, and propoxylated and ethoxylated fatty acids or alcohols (see para 0054).
The engines that may be operated in accordance with the invention include all compression-ignition (internal combustion) engines for both mobile (including locomotive and marine) and stationary power plants. The engines may employ conventional after treatment devices. These include engines that use diesel, gasoline, and the like. The engines that can be used include but are not limited to those used in automobiles, trucks, buses, locomotives, light and heavy duty diesel engines, stationary engines and the like. Included are on- and off-highway engines, including new engines as well as in-use engines. These include diesel engines of the two-stroke-per-cycle and four-stroke-per-cycle types (see para 0077). These teachings suggest using the fuel emulsion to power a diesel engine. Burrington meets the limitations of the claims other than the differences that are set forth below.
Burrington does not specifically teach the presence of at least two nonionic surfactants. However, no unobviousness is seen in this difference because he teaches nonionic surfactants and he teaches that mixtures of the surfactants may be used (see para 0031).
Burrington does not specifically teach that the quaternary ammonium surfactant is made by the claimed process of claim 3. However, even though product-by-process claims are limited by and defined by the process, determination of patentability is based on the product itself. The patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. If the product in the product-by-process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior product was made by a different process. In re Thorpe, 777 F.2d 695, 698, 227 USPQ 964, 966 (Fed. Cir. 1985).
With respect to the proportions set forth in the present claims, it is well settled that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. NL 7903961 teaches an emulsified fuel composition.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CEPHIA D TOOMER whose telephone number is (571)272-1126. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Prem Singh can be reached at 571-272-6368. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CEPHIA D TOOMER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1771 19183081/20260417