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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 11/21/2025 has been entered.
The amendment filed 11/21/2025 has been entered. Claims 7, 20-23 and 26 have been canceled. Claims 1-6, 8-19, and 24-25 are pending in the application. The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 15-18 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. Claim 15 has been amended to recite, “A process for the manufacture of a super-hydrophobic coated thermoplastic multilayer packaging film comprising: - a thermoplastic multilayer base layer (B)” on lines 1-3, deleting “mono or” from line 3 before “multilayer base layer (B)”, but then recites, “the process comprises the steps of: i) providing a thermoplastic uncoated film (A)/(B) comprising - a thermoplastic mono or multilayer base layer (B)” (emphasis added) on lines 23-25, such that it is unclear whether the base layer (B) is a mono or multilayer base and/or whether the process is meant to encompass a step of adding a layer to a monolayer base layer (B) to convert the monolayer base layer (B) into a multilayer base layer (B) as required by line 3.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 4 recites, “The film according to claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic base layer (B) is monolayer (b) comprising a major proportion of one or more thermoplastic resins” (emphasis added), however, given that claim 1 has been amended to deleted “mono” and require the thermoplastic base layer (B) to be a “thermoplastic multilayer base layer (B)”, claim 4 does not further limit claim 1. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1-6, 8-19, and 24-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sekiguchi (US2012/0118886A1) as evidenced by Öhman (US2017/0151765A1), and in view of Yoshinaga (JP2015131658A, please refer to the machine translation for the below cited section).
As discussed in prior office actions, Sekiguchi teaches a multilayer body comprising at least one thermoplastic layer, as well as a packaging material such as a lid, pouch, and container formed from the multilayer body, particularly for foods such as yogurt and milk products (Entire document, particularly Abstract, Paragraphs 0002-0005, 0044, 0054, 0056, 0061, 0123, 0145, 0147, 0153, 0177-0178, 0184, and Examples), wherein each of the multilayer body, packaging material, and container, provided in four different embodiments of the invention, comprises hydrophobic oxide fine particles having an average primary particle diameter of 3-100 nm coated on and adhered to at least a part of an outermost layer thereof (reading upon the claimed “inorganic coating layer (C) comprising hydrophobic oxide nanoparticles”), and can maintain excellent water repellent properties and non-adhesive properties (Abstract), with pure water contact angles for examples of all four embodiments of the invention being 150° or more (as in instant claim 14) thereby reading upon the instantly claimed “super-hydrophobic coated thermoplastic multilayer packaging film” limitation of instant claims 1, 15 and 19 (Abstract, Paragraphs 0232-0234, 0242-0243, 0246, 0267-0270, 0291-0294, Examples). Sekiguchi teaches that the four embodiments of the invention include: i) a first embodiment directed to a multilayer body and packaging material comprising the hydrophobic oxide fine particles (3) attached to the surface of a thermoplastic resin layer (2) containing particulate filler (6) that is provided on a base layer (1) wherein the particulate filler (6) included in the thermoplastic layer provide bumps and indentations on the surface of the thermoplastic resin layer (2) to which the hydrophobic oxide fine particles (3) are attached such that non-adhesive properties are maintained for a relatively long period of time (Paragraphs 0078-0080); ii) a second embodiment directed to a non-adhesive container for holding contents, such as a bag or wrapper, wherein the hydrophobic oxide fine particles are provided to part or all of at least a surface of the container that comes into contact with the contents, and the container may be formed from the multilayer body of the first invention including the thermoplastic resin layer containing particulate filler which may form 1) only a region of the container onto which the hydrophobic oxide fine particles will attach, or 2) a region including parts to which the hydrophobic oxide fine particles will not attach, or 3) the entire inner surface of the container or the like (thereby clearly teaching and/or suggesting that the thermoplastic resin layer containing particulate filler may form an interior layer given that it may form parts of the container to which the fine particles will not attach as noted in 2) above; Paragraphs 0119-0125); iii) a third embodiment directed to a packaging material consisting of a multilayer body having at least a base layer and a thermal adhesive layer as an outermost layer on one surface of the packaging material to which the hydrophobic oxide fine particles are attached wherein the base layer may be any known material such as a resin layer, and the thermal adhesive layer may be formed by coating a lacquer type thermoplastic adhesive on the base layer (Paragraphs 0145-0146 and 0148-0153); and iv) a fourth embodiment directed to a packaging material consisting of a multilayer body having at least a base layer and a thermal adhesive layer as an outermost layer on one side of the packaging material to which the hydrophobic oxide fine particles are attached, wherein an oxygen absorbent in the form of particles is contained in at least one of the base layer and the thermal adhesive layer (Paragraphs 0168 and 0186).
In looking at each of the four embodiments taught by Sekiguchi from the standpoint of the instantly claimed invention, it is noted that in the first embodiment comprising the multilayer body and packaging material having a layer structure of base layer (1)/thermoplastic resin layer (2)/hydrophobic oxide fine particles (3) as shown in Fig. 1 (copied below, left image), the particulate filler (6) present in the thermoplastic resin layer (2) to provide surface roughness (e.g. bumps and indentations as noted above) can include organic and/or inorganic particles, such as acrylic, silica, and calcium stearate particles (as in instant claim 8), having an average particle diameter of preferably 0.5 to 100 µm (e.g. “microparticles” with an average particle diameter as recited in instant claims 1, 15, and 19) and present in a content of preferably 1 to 80 wt% based on the solid weight of the thermoplastic resin layer (2) (e.g. at least 1% as in instant claims 1, 15, and 19; Paragraph 0092-0099), with the thermoplastic resin layer (2) having a thickness that is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 0.01 µm to 5 mm, more preferably about 0.01 µm to 2 mm, and when functioning as a thermal adhesive layer, preferably 1 to 150 µm (Paragraph 0084), such that given the above ranges, Sekiguchi provides a clear teaching and/or suggestion that the particulate filler can have an average particle diameter that is greater than the thickness of the thermoplastic resin layer, e.g. a thickness of 10 µm in combination with an average particle diameter of 12 µm given that one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to select from any thickness and/or any average particle diameter within the ranges taught by Sekiguchi, e.g. reading upon the claimed “average particle diameter of at least 20% greater than the thickness of a layer in which the microparticles are incorporated” as recited in instant claims 1, 15, and 19, particularly in light of the working examples disclosed by Sekiguchi for the first embodiment/invention (Paragraphs 0076-0116).
Sekiguchi teaches that the base layer (1) can be laminated as necessary on the thermoplastic resin layer (2) with the aim of reinforcing the thermoplastic resin layer (2) or conferring other properties, such as moisture permeation resistance, oxygen permeation resistance, light shielding, heat insulation, shock resistance, etc. (Paragraph 0086); and may be formed from a known material as recited in Paragraphs 0087-0088, such as a resin film, a resin film with a vapor deposited layer, an aluminum foil, and laminates thereof. Sekiguchi teaches that various layers used in known packaging materials can also be laminated at any location on the base layer (Paragraph 0088), and that the method of laminating the base layer and the method of laminating the base layer and the thermoplastic resin layer are not particularly limited and may be by known methods such as dry lamination, extrusion lamination, wet lamination, heat lamination, and the like (Paragraph 0089), thereby clearly teaching and/or suggesting that the base layer (1) may be a laminated or multilayer structure as in the instantly claimed invention. Sekiguchi teaches working examples specifically utilizing a multilayer structure comprising an aluminum deposited polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film as an innner layer of the laminate (Examples 1-1 to 1-9) such that the deposited aluminum layer functions as “an inner gas barrier layer” as in the instantly claimed invention; and although Sekiguchi does not specifically teach that the base layer comprises an inner gas barrier layer comprising a (barrier) polymer selected from among the polymers as recited in instant claims 1, 15, and 19 (e.g., known gas barrier polymers in the art), given that Sekiguchi clearly teaches that various layers used in known packaging materials can be laminated at any location on the base layer, and that the base layer can provide moisture and/or oxygen permeation resistance, i.e., barrier properties, wherein known barrier layers in the packaging art can be inorganic barrier layers such as a vapor deposited layer, aluminum foil, or aluminum deposited layer, e.g., as in Sekiguchi, or organic barrier layers formed from known barrier polymers such as ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) and polyamides as recited in instant claims 1, 15, and 19, and evidenced by Öhman (Paragraphs 0004, 0062, 0068), which specifically teaches that EVOH and polyamides are organic alternative barrier materials having gas barrier properties to inorganic barrier materials such as aluminum foil or an aluminum deposited polymer film as in Sekiguchi in laminated packaging materials (Öhman, Entire document, particularly Paragraphs 0004, 0062, and 0068), the Examiner takes the position that it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize an inner organic barrier layer such as a layer of EVOH or polyamide or similar barrier polymer, as in the instantly claimed invention, in place of the inner inorganic barrier layer in the Examples taught by Sekiguchi given that it is prima facie obviousness to simply substitute one known element for another to obtain predictable results and/or prima facie obviousness to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Sekiguchi also teaches that the thermoplastic resin layer (2), when functioning as a thermal adhesive layer or heat seal layer, can be formed from a known lacquer type adhesive that is applied or coated on the base layer (1) to a desired thickness in the above preferred range, followed by application of the hydrophobic oxide fine particles (3) to the surface of the thermal adhesive/heat seal layer opposite the base layer (1) by applying a dispersion containing the hydrophobic oxide fine particles dispersed in a solvent such as water or an organic solvent like an alcohol (as in instant claims 15 and 18), and drying to provide a dried weight of the hydrophobic oxide fine particles (3) attached to the thermoplastic resin layer (2) of preferably 0.01 to 10 g/m2 (e.g. as in instant claims 1, 15, and 19; Paragraphs 0090, 0107-0108, and 0112-0115). Sekiguchi teaches that in forming the thermoplastic resin layer (2) from a lacquer type adhesive or heat seal lacquer, the particulate filler (6) can be added to the heat seal lacquer and then coated onto the base layer (1) to provide a desired dried weight (or thickness; Paragraph 0100), with working examples specifically utilizing acrylic resin beads having an average particle diameter of 30 µm in Examples 1-2 to 1-6, an average particle diameter of 15 µm in Examples 1-7 to 1-8, and an average particle diameter of 8 µm in Example 1-9, added to a heat seal lacquer containing a polyester resin and an acrylic resin to form a thermoplastic resin layer (2) on the PET film as the base layer (1), having a dried weight of 3 g/m2 for Examples 1-2 to 1-9, and given that the heat seal lacquer provides a dried weight of about 3 g/m2 when no beads are added as demonstrated by Comparative Example 1-1, Sekiguchi provides a clear teaching and/or suggestion that the thickness of the 3 g/m2 heat seal lacquer as the thermoplastic layer (2) of Examples 1-1 to 1-9 is about 3 µm (given the density of the components thereof), such that the acrylic beads utilized in each of the inventive examples have an average particle diameter of at least 20% greater than the thickness of the heat seal lacquer as the thermoplastic resin layer (2), providing bumps and indentations on the outer surface thereof to which the hydrophobic oxide fine particles (3) are coated and adhered (Examples). Hence, the difference between the teachings and/or suggestions of the first embodiment/invention of Sekiguchi and the claimed invention is that Sekiguchi does not teach that the thermoplastic resin layer (2) comprises two layers, e.g. a first layer adjacent the base layer (1), which as noted above may be formed from various layers including a barrier layer as discussed in detail above (reading upon the instantly claimed thermoplastic multilayer base layer (B) including an inner gas barrier layer (F) as in instant claims 1, 15, and 19), and may be laminated to the thermoplastic resin layer (2) by known methods such as dry lamination, extrusion lamination, wet lamination, heat lamination, and the like; and a second layer that would read upon the instantly claimed “thermoplastic heat-sealable layer (A)” with the first layer being part of the claimed base layer (B) and comprising a major portion of said particulate filler as the claimed microparticles as compared to the total amount of particulate filler or microparticles in the film.
However, given that Sekiguchi teaches that the thermoplastic resin layer (2) may be applied from a heat seal lacquer in a coating weight to obtain a heat seal layer, or thermoplastic layer (2) having a thickness of preferably 1 to 150 µm when functioning as a thermal adhesive layer, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply any number of coating applications or passes of the heat seal lacquer taught by Sekiguchi to provide the desired final layer thickness for the thermal adhesive or heat seal layer of Sekiguchi such that a first pass or coat (e.g. 2A) may be attributed to a layer of the “thermoplastic multilayer base layer (B)” that is adjacent and directly adhered to the “thermoplastic heat-sealable layer (A)” and a second pass or final coat (e.g. 2B) may read upon the claimed “thermoplastic heat-sealable layer (A)” resulting in a final layer structure as instantly claimed, similar to the modified Fig. 1 of Sekiguchi (right image), particularly given that the thermoplastic resin of the layer of the claimed thermoplastic multilayer base layer (B) adjacent the heat-sealable layer (A) may be the same thermoplastic resin present in the claimed heat-sealable layer (A), and as discussed in detail above, the base layer (1) of Sekiguchi may be multilayered and may include various layers including an inner barrier layer as discussed above.
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Further, Yoshinaga teaches a similar multilayer body as taught by Sekiguchi that can be utilized as a lid material for packaging foods, e.g. as in Sekiguchi, and that has sufficient adhesion prevention effect, even for contents with a high milk fat or oil content, as well as good heat seal properties, wherein the multilayer material includes a base material or substrate (1), such as a PET sheet or PET film having an inner vapor-deposited barrier layer (Paragraphs 0018-0019; e.g. similar to the base layer (1) of Sekiguchi); an anchor coat layer (2) that may be formed from a polyester-based, acrylic-based, or modified polyolefin-based anchor coating agent (Paragraph 0021; e.g. a thermoplastic resin and similar to the lacquer coating agent of Sekiguchi for forming the thermoplastic resin layer (2) that may be a thermal adhesive layer or heat seal layer as noted above); a heat seal layer (3) comprising a thermoplastic resin that may be selected from various polyolefins, olefin copolymers, and olefin-(meth)acrylic copolymers depending upon the material of a container to be sealed by the multilayer lid material, and that can be applied to the anchor coat layer (2) by a coating method (e.g. similar to the heat seal lacquer taught by Sekiguchi; Paragraphs 0026-0030); and an anti-adhesion layer (4) containing hydrophobic inorganic oxide particles (4a) having a diameter of 5 to 1000 nm (e.g. similar to the hydrophobic oxide particles of Sekiguchi) that provide a “minute uneven surface” that prevents adhesion of the contents (Paragraphs 0032-0034); with the anchor coat layer (2) containing “large” particles (2a), such as inorganic particles or resin particles like acrylic resin particles (e.g. as in the examples of Sekiguchi), having an average particle size of 10 to 100 µm (e.g. similar to the filler particulate taught by Sekiguchi) that provide a “larger unevenness than the fine unevenness caused by the hydrophobic fine particles 4a of the adhesion preventing layer 4” (e.g. similar to the filler particulate taught by Sekiguchi; Paragraph 0022) resulting in two types of unevenness formed in a superimposed manner on the surface of the adhesion prevention layer (e.g. nano-roughness and micro-roughness as in the instant invention) thereby enhancing the adhesion prevention property (Paragraphs 0015-0016), particularly in comparison to a similar multilayer laminate that does not include the “large particles” in the anchor coat layer as evidenced by the working examples of Yoshinaga (Entire document, particularly as noted above as well as Paragraphs 0003-0004, 0006-0007, 0014-0016, 0021-0023, 0026-0030, 0033, and Examples). Yoshinaga teaches that the compounding ratio of the anchor coating agent (2b) to the large particles (2a) should be determined so that unevenness due to the large particles (2a) is formed on the surface of the resulting anchor coat layer (2) and the large particles are securely fixed such that they do not fall off, desirably to provide a ten-point average roughness Rz of the anchor coat layer (2) of 5 µm or more (Paragraph 0024), with examples utilizing spherical acrylic particles having a particle diameter of 20 µm in an anchor coating provided in a coating weight of only 1.0 g/m2 (thus the large particles 2a in the examples of Yoshinaga have a particle diameter of at least 20% greater than the thickness of the anchor coat layer (2) as in the claimed invention with respect to the thickness of the thermoplastic mono or multilayer base layer (B) of instant claims 1, 15, and 19); and similarly the heat seal layer (3) can be provided in a small coating amount, e.g. 3 g/m2 or 6 g/m2 as in the examples, such that the formed heat seal layer (3) has surface irregularities and/or reflects the unevenness of the surface of the anchor coat layer (2) due to the large particles (2a) added to the anchor coating agent (2b), unevenness that in turn is reflected in the anti-adhesion layer (4), and upon heat sealing the multilayer material, the adhesion preventing layer (4) comprising the hydrophobic fine particles (4a) is embedded in the heat seal layer (3) (e.g. similar to the teachings of Sekiguchi; Entire document, particularly Paragraphs 0014-0015, 0032, 0041, 0046-0047, 0051-0052, and Examples).
Hence, given that Sekiguchi and Yoshinaga are of the same field of endeavor, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to provide the thermoplastic resin layer (2) of the first embodiment/invention taught by Sekiguchi as a two-coat or two-layer structure with the particulate filler (6) having an average particle diameter as taught by Sekiguchi in a first coat or first (sub)layer (e.g. 2A) of the lacquer for the thermoplastic resin layer (2) that is applied to a base material (1) or substrate, such as a metallized PET resin film or laminate as in the examples of both Sekiguchi and Yoshinaga, or a similar laminate comprising an inner organic barrier layer in place of the metallized inorganic barrier layer as discussed in detail above (and evidenced by Öhman as being known functionally equivalent barrier materials in the art), in a thickness or coating weight as taught by Sekiguchi thereby reading upon and/or rendering obvious the claimed “base layer comprises a major proportion of said microparticles” and “the microparticles have an average diameter of at least 20% greater than the thickness of a layer in which the microparticles are incorporated” as in the examples taught by both Sekiguchi and Yoshinaga; with a second coat or heat seal coat (e.g. 2B) applied on the first coat or thermoplastic resin layer similar to the teachings of Yoshinaga, in such a manner that the surface of the multilayer body and packaging material having the hydrophobic oxide fine particles adhered thereto as taught by Sekiguchi, which contacts the contents thereof, has a dual surface roughness in order to further improve the non-adhesive or adhesion-preventing properties of the invention taught by Sekiguchi while maintaining good heat seal properties as taught by Yoshinaga. Thus, absent any clear showing of criticality and/or unexpected results, the claimed invention as recited in instant claims 1, 15, and 19 would have been obvious over the teachings of the first embodiment/invention of Sekiguchi, as evidenced by Öhman, and in view of Yoshinaga given that it is prima facie obviousness to use a known technique to improve similar devices in the same way and/or prima facie obviousness to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art that would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference.
In terms of the second embodiment/invention of Sekiguchi as discussed in detail in Paragraphs 0118-0142, Sekiguchi teaches that the container, such as a bag or wrapper, may be formed from the multilayer body of the first invention, discussed in detail above, with the hydrophobic fine particles applied in the same manner and to the same dry weight as in the first embodiment, and comprising the thermoplastic resin layer containing the particulate filler which in this embodiment, may form a region including parts to which the hydrophobic fine particles will not attach, and can be applied by coating, spraying, or the like (Paragraph 0123-0125), thereby clearly teaching and/or suggesting that the thermoplastic resin layer containing the particulate filler may form an interior layer of the multilayer body as discussed above; and given that Sekiguchi also teaches that the container body may be made of thermoplastic resin such that it can be welded together with a lid of the same kind of plastic (Paragraph 0127), it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to similarly combine the teachings of Yoshinaga with the teachings of the second embodiment/invention of Sekiguchi (as evidenced by Öhman) for essentially the same reasons as discussed above with respect to the first embodiment/invention, and hence, absent any clear showing of criticality and/or unexpected results, the claimed invention as recited in instant claims 1, 15, and 19 would have been obvious over the second embodiment/invention of Sekiguchi, as evidenced by Öhman, and in view of Yoshinaga.
In terms of the third embodiment/invention of Sekiguchi, which is described in more detail at Paragraphs 0145-0165, Sekiguchi teaches that the packaging material, such as a lid material, consists of a multilayer body having a base layer (1) and a thermal adhesive (or heat seal) layer (2) laminated as the outermost layer on one surface of the packaging material or multilayer body, with the hydrophobic oxide fine particles attached to the outermost surface of the thermal adhesive layer as discussed above by the same method and in the same dry weight as in the first and second embodiments; and given that the base layer (1) can be formed from a known material or laminate material, such as a resin film with a vapor deposited layer, wherein various layers used in known packaging materials, such as an anchor coat layer (e.g. as in Yoshinaga), can also be laminated at any location on these materials as in the first embodiment wherein an inner organic barrier layer such as a layer of EVOH or polyamide would have been obvious over the inner inorganic barrier layer taught by Sekiguchi or Yoshinaga as discussed in detail above, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the base material (e.g. metallized PET film or similar organic-barrier-containing composite film as discussed above) and anchor coat layer taught by Yoshinaga comprising the “large” particles in a similar content, average particle diameter, and similar coating weight/thickness as in the examples taught by Yoshinaga, as the base material and anchor coat layer in the invention taught by Sekiguchi, providing dual surface roughness to further improve the non-adhesive or adhesion-preventing properties of the invention taught by Sekiguchi, thereby rendering the claimed invention as recited in instant claims 1, 15, and 19 obvious over the third embodiment/invention of Sekiguchi, as evidenced by Öhman, and in view of Yoshinaga given that it is prima facie obviousness to simply substitute one known element for another to obtain predictable results and/or prima facie obviousness to use a known technique to improve similar devices in the same way.
In terms of the fourth embodiment/invention of Sekiguchi, as briefly discussed above, the packaging material consists of a multilayer body having at least a base layer and a thermal adhesive layer as an outermost layer on one side of the packaging material to which the hydrophobic oxide fine particles are attached, by the same method and to a dry weight as in the other embodiments, and an oxygen absorbent in the form of particles is contained in at least one of the base layer and the thermal adhesive layer as described in further detail in Paragraphs 0167-0215; and given that the oxygen absorbent particles may have an average particle diameter of preferably 1 to 100 µm and can be present in only the base layer in a content of preferably 0.3 to 30 wt% or more preferably 1 to 20 wt% (Paragraphs 0188 and 0192), wherein the base layer can have a thickness that is not particularly limited but may be set appropriately within the range of normally 15 to 500 µm (Paragraph 0175), the oxygen absorbent particles may have an average particle diameter that is at least 20% greater than the thickness of the base layer as instantly claimed given that one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to utilize any average particle diameter for the oxygen absorbent particles and any thickness for the base layer within the above ranges taught by Sekiguchi, given that it is prima facie obviousness to choose from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success. Further, given the teachings of Yoshinaga as discussed in detail above (and incorporated herein by reference) wherein “large” particles having a similar average particle diameter to the average particle diameter of the oxygen absorbent particles taught by Sekiguchi can be incorporated into a relatively thin resin layer adjacent to a thermal adhesive or heat seal layer to which hydrophobic oxide fine particles are coated to form an adhesion prevention layer thereon, in order to provide two types of unevenness formed in a superimposed manner on the surface of the adhesion prevention layer (e.g. dual surface roughness) to further improve the adhesion-preventing properties while maintaining good heat seal properties, such that it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to similarly provide the oxygen absorbent particles in the base layer of the invention taught by Sekiguchi in a similar manner, e.g. larger particle size to layer thickness, to provide similar dual surface roughness properties as taught by Yoshinaga, and that Sekiguchi clearly teaches and/or suggests that the base may have a multilayer structure and may include an inner barrier layer as discussed in detail above wherein one skilled in the art would have been motivated to substitute an inner organic barrier layer such as a layer of EVOH or polyamide for the inner inorganic deposited barrier layer of Sekiguchi or Yoshinaga, obvious functionally equivalent barriers as evidenced by Öhman, the claimed invention as recited in instant claims 1, 15, and 19 would have been obvious over the fourth embodiment/invention of Sekiguchi, as evidenced by Öhman, and in view of Yoshinaga given that it is prima facie obviousness to use a known technique to improve similar devices in the same way and/or prima facie obviousness to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art that would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference.
Hence, absent any clear showing of criticality and/or unexpected results, the claimed invention as recited in instant claims 1, 15, and 19 would have been obvious over any of the embodiments or teachings of Sekiguchi, as evidenced by Öhman, and in view of Yoshinaga given that it is prima facie obviousness to use a known technique to improve similar devices in the same way and/or prima facie obviousness to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
With respect to instant claim 2, Sekiguchi (as evidenced by Öhman) and in view of Yoshinaga provides a clear teaching and/or suggestion of providing the particulate filler, oxygen absorbent particles, and/or “large” particles in the thermoplastic resin layer or base layer adjacent the thermal adhesive or heat seal layer such that the thermal adhesive or heat seal layer does not contain any “large” particulate filler or particles as discussed above. Hence, the claimed invention as recited in instant claim 2 would have been obvious over any of the four embodiments taught by Sekiguchi (as evidenced by Öhman) and in view of Yoshinaga for the same reasons as discussed in detail above with respect to instant claim 1.
With respect to instant claim 3, Sekiguchi teaches resins for the thermoplastic resin layer that may function as a thermal adhesive layer in the first and second embodiments, provided in a content of normally 20 to 100wt% of the layer; and for the thermal adhesive layer of the third and fourth embodiments, as the claimed “heat-sealable layer” that read upon the claimed polymers as recited in instant claim 2, particularly as evidenced by the working examples of Sekiguchi, and hence, the claimed invention as recited in instant claim 2 would have been obvious over the teachings of Sekiguchi (as evidenced by Öhman) and in view of Yoshinaga for the same reasons discussed above with respect to instant claim 1 (Paragraphs 0083, 0085, 0152, 0176, Examples).
With respect to instant claim 4, given that the claimed film as recited in instant claim 4 does not exclude the addition of further layers on the opposite side of the thermoplastic base “monolayer” due to the open transitional language of “comprising” as recited in instant claim 1, from which claim 4 depends, and that both Sekiguchi and Yoshinaga teach thermoplastic resins as instantly claimed for the layer into which the particulate filler, oxygen absorbent particles and/or “large” particles are incorporated (e.g. thermoplastic resin layer of the first and second embodiments, anchor coat layer of the third embodiment, and/or base layer of the fourth embodiment) as evidenced by the working examples, the claimed invention as recited in instant claim 4 would have been obvious over the teachings of Sekiguchi (as evidenced by Öhman) and in view of Yoshinaga for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to instant claim 1.
With respect to instant claims 5-6, Sekiguchi provides a clear teaching and/or suggestion of additional layers provided on a major surface of the multilayer body, packaging film, and container opposite to the surface having the hydrophobic oxide fine particles such that these layers in combination with the thermoplastic resin layer containing the “large” particles as discussed above would read upon the claimed “thermoplastic base layer (B) is multilayer and wherein only the layer directly adhered to the heat-sealable layer (A) comprises the microparticles” or “large” particles as taught and/or suggested by Yoshinaga, and given that Sekiguchi and Yoshinaga clearly teach polyolefin and/or modified polyolefin resins as instantly claimed for said layer containing the “large” particles, the claimed invention as recited in instant claims 5-6 would have been obvious over the teachings of Sekiguchi (as evidenced by Öhman) and in view of Yoshinaga for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to instant claim 1 (Sekiguchi: Paragraphs 0083, 0088, 0129, 0148-0149, and 0172-0173; Yoshinaga: Paragraphs 0018-0019 with respect to known base layer or substrate materials that include polyethylene, and Paragraph 0021 for modified polyolefin resin for the anchor coat layer).
With respect to instant claim 8, Sekiguchi teaches that the particulate filler, reading upon the claimed “microparticles” given the average particle diameter thereof, for the first and second embodiments may be selected from (micro)particles as instantly claimed (Paragraphs 0092-0097) with examples utilizing acrylic particles; while Yoshinaga similarly teaching “large” particles (2a), reading upon the claimed “microparticles” given the average particle diameter thereof, made of materials as instantly claimed (Paragraph 0023) for the anchor coat layer that can be incorporated into the third embodiment of Sekiguchi as discussed in detail above, such that the claimed invention as recited in instant claim 8 would have been obvious over the teachings of Sekiguchi, at least with respect to the first through third inventions/embodiments (as evidenced by Öhman) and in view of Yoshinaga for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to instant claim 1.
With respect to instant claim 9, as discussed above, Sekiguchi teaches weight contents for the particulate filler (first and second embodiments, reading upon the claimed “microparticles” given the average particle diameter thereof) and the oxygen absorbent particles (fourth embodiment, reading upon the claimed “microparticles” given the average particle diameter thereof), with respect to the total weight of the layer into which they are incorporated, that read fall within the claimed range, and given that as noted above, Yoshinaga teaches that the compounding ratio of the anchor coating agent (2b) to the large particles (2a), as the claimed “microparticles” given the average particle diameter thereof, should be determined so that unevenness due to the large particles (2a) is formed on the surface of the resulting anchor coat layer (2) and the large particles are securely fixed such that they do not fall off, wherein it is further noted that Yoshinaga specifically teaches examples containing the “large” particles in a weight percentage falling within the claimed range (Examples), the claimed invention as recited in instant claim 9 would have been obvious over the teachings of Sekiguchi (as evidenced by Öhman) and in view of Yoshinaga for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to instant claim 1.
With respect to instant claim 10, given that Sekiguchi clearly teaches that the base layer in each of the embodiments may comprise a resin film with a vapor deposited layer thereon or may be a laminate of a resin film with aluminum foil, with the working examples comprising an inner aluminum deposition layer or an aluminum foil (Paragraphs 0087, 0128, 0148, 0172, Examples), and Yoshinaga similarly teaching that the substrate may include a vapor-deposited film of metal or metal oxide (Paragraph 0019), the claimed invention as recited in instant claim 10 would have been obvious over the teachings of Sekiguchi (as evidenced by Öhman) and in view of Yoshinaga for the reasons discussed above with respect to instant claim 1.
With respect to instant claims 11-13, Sekiguchi teaches that the hydrophobic oxide fine particles (e.g. nanoparticles) coated on and attached to the thermoplastic resin layer or thermal adhesive layer in each of the four embodiments (reading upon the claimed “inorganic coating layer (C) comprising hydrophobic oxide nanoparticles”) have an average primary particle diameter of 3 to 100 nm, or preferably 5 to 50 nm or more preferably 5 to 20 nm (Paragraphs 0102, 0131, 0154, and 0178) as in instant claim 12; may be silica, alumina, titania, or the like, but preferably silica (Paragraphs 0105-0106, 0134-0135, 0157-0158, and 0181-0182) as in instant claim 13; and provide a porous layer having a thickness of preferably about 0.1 to 5 µm as in instant claim 11 (Paragraphs 0107, 0136, 0159, and 0183) as in instant claim 11. Hence, the claimed invention as recited in instant claims 11-13 would have been obvious over the teachings of Sekiguchi (as evidenced by Öhman) and in view of Yoshinaga for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to claim 1.
With respect to instant claim 14, as noted above, Sekiguchi teaches that an outermost surface of the multilayer body, packaging material, and container formed from the hydrophobic oxide fine particles, e.g. the porous layer, can maintain excellent water repellent properties and non-adhesive properties (Abstract), with pure water contact angles for examples of all four embodiments of the invention being 150° or more (Abstract, Examples). Hence, the claimed invention as recited in instant claim 14 would have been obvious over the teachings of Sekiguchi (as evidenced by Öhman) and in view of Yoshinaga for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to claim 1.
With respect to instant claims 16-18, in addition to the discussion above with respect to instant claim 15, Sekiguchi teaches that for each of the four embodiments/inventions, the dispersed amount of the hydrophobic oxide fine particles in the solvent, such as water or an alcohol as in instant claim 18, can normally be about 10 to 100 g/L as in instant claim 16 (Paragraphs 0114, 0139, 0164, and 0214), wherein after coating and drying the dispersion, the hydrophobic oxide fine particles provide a dry grammage of 0.01 to 10 g/m2 (as in instant claim 15), and although Sekiguchi does not specifically teach a wet grammage as instantly claimed, given the above dispersed amount and dry grammage taught by Sekiguchi, the claimed wet grammage would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Hence, the claimed invention as recited in instant claims 16-18 would have been obvious over the teachings of Sekiguchi (as evidenced by Öhman) and in view of Yoshinaga for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to instant claim 15.
With respect to instant claim 24, it is again noted that Sekiguchi generally teaches that the packaging material may be utilized to package various food products, and although Sekiguchi clearly teaches that the food product may be sealed within the packaging material (Entire document, particularly Paragraphs 0002-0005, 0045, 0056, 0061, 0064, 0120, Examples), and also teaches that the hydrophobic oxide fine particles (nanoparticles) may be applied to the inner surface of a heat-shrink film that may be utilized as a food container lid (Paragraph 0130), Sekiguchi does not specifically teach that the packaging is vacuumized and shrunk to package fresh meat. However, given that one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to utilize the food packaging material taught by Sekiguchi (as evidenced by Öhman) and in view of Yoshinaga to package any type of food product typically packaged or sealed within a thermoplastic packaging material including fresh meat as is typical in the art, and more particularly, including in the form of a vacuumized and shrunk package to reduce exposure to air/oxygen, a conventional packaging form for sealing fresh foods in the art, the claimed invention as recited in instant claim 24 would have been obvious over the teachings of Sekiguchi (as evidenced by Öhman) and in view of Yoshinaga for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to instant claim 19.
With respect to instant claim 25, Sekiguchi teaches that the multilayer body may utilized as a food packaging film or container (as discussed above), such as in the form of standing pouches, three-way sealed pouches, four-way sealed pouches and other pouches (Paragraphs 0061 and 0064), wherein the product sealed within the pouch or container may be a wide variety of materials including jelly, pudding, yogurt, instant curry, and other foods, in various forms including as solids, liquids or viscous materials, with non-shrink example containers specifically directed to sealed yogurt packages (Paragraphs 0001-0006 and 0056, Examples). Hence, the claimed invention as recited in instant claim 25 would have been obvious over the teachings of Sekiguchi (as evidenced by Öhman) and in view of Yoshinaga for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to instant claim 19.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/21/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive and/or moot in view of the new grounds of rejection and additional remarks above with respect to the obviousness rejection over Sekiguchi, as evidenced by Öhman, and in view of Yoshinaga as applied to the amended claims. Specifically, with respect to the prior obviousness rejection over Sekiguchi in view of Yoshinaga as recited in the office action dated 8/21/2025, the Applicant argues that the “instant claims have been amended to clarify that super-hydrophobic coated thermoplastic multilayer packaging film includes a thermoplastic multilayer base layer comprising an inner gas barrier layer” with the “inner gas barrier layer having a major proportion of a polymer selected from polyvinyl alcohol copolymers (PV/A), ethylene/vinyl alcohol copolymers (EVOH), polyvinyl chlorides (PVC), polyvinylidene chloride copolymers (PVDC), polyvinylidene chloride/vinylchloride copolymers (PVDC-VC), polyvinylidene chloride/methyl acrylate copolymers (PVDC/MA), blends of polyvinylidene chloride/vinylchloride copolymers (PVDC/VC) and polyvinylidene chloride/methyl acrylate copolymers (PVDC/MA), blends of PVdC and polycaprolactone, polyamide homopolymers and copolymers and their blend”, wherein “[b]y contrast, Sekuguchi [sic] and Yoshinaga do not disclose the use of such polymers as a gas barrier layer” and “[i]nstead, Sekuguchi [sic] and Yoshinaga rely upon metal foils or coatings to create a barrier,” referring to Paragraph 0218 of Sekiguchi which lists a film having an aluminum deposited polyethylene terephthalate film wherein the Applicant notes that the aluminum deposition provides the barrier properties of the film, and referring to Paragraph 0044 of Yoshinaga which likewise describes producing a metal vapor deposition (see paragraph bridging pages 8-9 of the response). The Applicant then argues that as neither of the references (allegedly) teaches or suggests a barrier layer having a major proportion of a polymer as instantly claimed, “it is requested that this rejection be reconsidered and withdrawn” (see page 9, first full paragraph). However, the Examiner respectfully disagrees and notes, as discussed in detail above, that Sekiguchi clearly teaches that the base layer (1) can be laminated as necessary on the thermoplastic resin layer (2) with the aim of reinforcing the thermoplastic resin layer (2) “or conferring other properties (moisture permeation resistance, oxygen permeation resistance, light shielding, heat insulation, shock resistance, etc.)” (emphasis added, Paragraph 0086); and may be formed from a known material as recited in Paragraphs 0087-0088, such as a resin film, a resin film with a vapor deposited layer, an aluminum foil, and laminates thereof, wherein various layers used in known packaging materials can also be laminated at any location on the base layer (Paragraph 0088); and although Sekiguchi (and similarly Yoshinaga) teaches non-limiting working examples specifically utilizing a multilayer structure comprising an aluminum deposited polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film as an inner layer of the laminate (Examples 1-1 to 1-9) such that the deposited aluminum layer functions as “an inner gas barrier layer” as noted by the Applicant, Sekiguchi does not limit the base layer to the aluminum deposited PET film of the non-limiting examples, nor does Yoshinaga require the substrate (1) to have a vapor-deposited film of metal or metal oxide thereon as in the examples and discussed in Paragraph 0019, and more broadly teaches that the substrate (1) may have a multilayer structure, with suitable sheet/layer materials including “polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide, polycarbonate, polyvinyl chloride, cellulose acetate, cellophane, aluminum foil, etc.” (emphasis added, both of which are known barrier polymers and particularly recited in instant claims 1, 15, and 19), wherein the above cited materials “may be laminated” as taught by Yoshinaga (Paragraph 0018). In addition, given that it is well established in the art that a gas barrier layer of a laminated packaging material, e.g. as in Sekiguchi and/or Yoshinaga, may be an inorganic barrier layer such as an aluminum foil or vacuum-metallized aluminum layer as in the non-limiting examples of Sekiguchi and/or Yoshinaga, or may be an organic barrier layer of organic materials such as EVOH or various types of polyamides as evidenced by Öhman (see particularly Paragraphs 0004 and 0068) which specifically teaches that EVOH and polyamides are organic alternative barrier materials having gas barrier properties to inorganic barrier materials such as aluminum foil or an aluminum deposited polymer film (as in Sekiguchi and/or Yoshinaga) in laminated packaging materials (Öhman, Entire document, particularly Paragraphs 0004, 0062, and 0068), the Examiner takes the position that it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to simply substitute a known alternative organic barrier layer such as a layer of EVOH or polyamide as evidenced by Öhman for the inner inorganic barrier layer utilized in the examples of Sekiguchi (and Yoshinaga) given that it is prima facie obviousness to simply substitute one known element for another to obtain predictable results. The Examiner further notes that Sekiguchi teaches that with respect to the thermoplastic resin (layer) of the first invention, a known thermoplastic resin can be utilized with suitable thermoplastic resins including vinyl chloride resin and polyamide resin (Paragraph 0083), e.g., known barrier polymers that are included in the list of polymers for the inner gas barrier layer as recited in instant claims 1, 15, and 19, thus providing a reasonable expectation of success of utilizing any of said thermoplastic resins when incorporated as a layer with respect to the base layer given that Sekiguchi teaches that a “known material” can be used for the base layer and various layers used in known packaging applications can also be laminated on the base layer (Paragraphs 0086-0088). Thus, Applicant’s arguments are not persuasive with respect to the obviousness rejection over Sekiguchi, as evidenced by Öhman and in view of Yoshinaga as applied above to the amended claims.
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/MONIQUE R JACKSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1787