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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/9/26 has been entered.
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.
Claim(s) 1-7, 9-26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hawkins et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0086567 in view of Zhang et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0106564.
Hawkins discloses an aqueous binder composition which comprises a polymeric crosslinking agent comprising at least two carboxylic acid groups such as polycarboxylic acids or polyacrylic acids in amounts of 10-30% by weight. See paragraph 0035. The binder can include a polyol having at least two hydroxyl groups as claimed in amounts of 10-25% by weight. See paragraphs 0055, 0061. The composition can further comprise silane coupling agents in amount of 0.1-5 percent by weight. See paragraph 0037-0038. The composition can further comprise glycerol, polydimethylsiloxane, paraffin, vegetable oils, hydrophobized silica as process additives in amounts of 0-25 percent by weight. See paragraph 0054-0055. The binder does not include formaldehyde or require the presence of a polyol having a number average molecular weight of 2,000 Daltons or above. The composition can have a pH of about 1-6. See paragraph 0062.
With regard to the claims as amended 1/9/26, Hawkins discloses that the carbohydrate can be starch, which is not a reducing sugar.
Hawkins differs from the claimed invention because it does not disclose employing the particularly claimed polyols.
However, Zhang teaches including polyols having a molecular weight below 2,000 Daltons such as sugar alcohols including glycerol, erythritol, arabitol, xylitol, sorbitol, maltitol, mannitol, iditol, and other as set forth in paragraph 0043 as a secondary crosslinking agent.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to have incorporated the low molecular sugar alcohols as taught by Zhang into the composition of Hawkins in order to improve binder and product performance.
While Hawkins does not identically disclose the claimed proportions, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to formulate compositions wherein the amounts of components are within ranges disclosed by the prior art. Further, with regard to the peak tack force, it would have been obvious to have selected the relative proportions of the binder which produced a binder having the desired degree of tack, since the binder is used as adhesives for nonwovens, the degree of tack would have been an important feature, to produce either a high tack or low tack binder, depending on how the nonwovens were to be used.
Applicant's arguments filed 1/9/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Hawkins requires the presence of a carbohydrate. However, the carbohydrate can be starch which is not a reducing sugar.
With regard to the polyols claimed, Zhang teaches adding such polyols as secondary crosslinking agents. While Zhang also employs polyols having a higher molecular weight, it is not necessary that all of Zhang be incorporated into Hawkins in order for the teachings of Zhang to be relevant to Hawkins.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH M IMANI whose telephone number is (571)272-1475. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Wednesday 7AM-7:30; Thursday 10AM -2 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, Marla McConnell can be reached at 571-270-7692. 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.
/ELIZABETH M IMANI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1789
Prosecution Insights