DETAILED ACTION
This is in response to communication received on 6/16/26.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The text of those sections of AIA 35 U.S.C. code not present in this action can be found in previous office actions dated 2/8/24, 3/7/24, 11/26/25, 6/2/25 and 12/28/25.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 6/16/26 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 10 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 10 contains the subject matter of Method for producing a container, which method comprises the method according to claim 1, followed by a stretching step and claim 1 from which claim 10 depends has been amended to include wherein the coating layer on the container formed from heating and stretching the preform. Claim 1 contains the subject matter of claim 10, specifically the stretching of a preform into a container. As such, claim 10 is no longer further limiting the independent claim. 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
The claim rejection(s) under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Hutchinson et al. US PGPub 2008/0258353 hereinafter HUTCHINSON in view of Koulik et al. US PGPub 2003/0165636 hereinafter KOULIK and Watson et al. US Patent Number 9,570,273 hereinafter WATSON as evidenced by Nation Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Air Pressure hereinafter NOAA on claims 1, 4-6, 9-10 are withdrawn.
The claim rejection(s) under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Hutchinson et al. US PGPub 2008/0258353 hereinafter HUTCHINSON in view of Koulik et al. US PGPub 2003/0165636 hereinafter KOULIK and Watson et al. US Patent Number 9,570,273 hereinafter WATSON as evidenced by Nation Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Air Pressure hereinafter NOAA as applied to claim 1 above further evidenced by On the Potential of Silicon as a Building Block for Life by Pelkowski et al. hereinafter PETKOWSKI on claim 2 is withdrawn.
The claim rejection(s) under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Hutchinson et al. US PGPub 2008/0258353 hereinafter HUTCHINSON in view of Koulik et al. US PGPub 2003/0165636 hereinafter KOULIK and Watson et al. US Patent Number 9,570,273 hereinafter WATSON as evidenced by Nation Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Air Pressure hereinafter NOAA as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Tom et al. US PGPub 2013/0193164 hereinafter TOM on claim 3 is withdrawn.
The claim rejection(s) under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Hutchinson et al. US PGPub 2008/0258353 hereinafter HUTCHINSON in view of Koulik et al. US PGPub 2003/0165636 hereinafter KOULIK and Watson et al. US Patent Number 9,570,273 hereinafter WATSON as evidenced by Nation Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Air Pressure hereinafter NOAA as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Becker et al. EP 3446793A 1 hereinafter BECKER on claim 7 are withdrawn.
Claim(s) 1, 5-6 and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hutchinson et al. US PGPub 2007/0087131 hereinafter HUTCHINSON2 in view of Koulik et al. US PGPub 2003/0165636 hereinafter KOULIK and Watson et al. US Patent Number 9,570,273 hereinafter WATSON as evidenced by Nation Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Air Pressure hereinafter NOAA.
As for claim 1, HUTCHINSON2 teaches “A method comprises applying such coating layers by treating the article substrate by one or more methods selected from flame treatment, corona treatment, ionized air treatment, plasma air treatment and plasma arc treatment and dip, spray or flow coating” (abstract, lines 2-6) and “After a coated preform, such as that depicted in FIG. 3, is prepared by a method and apparatus such as those discussed in detail below, it is subjected to a stretch blow molding process. Referring to FIG. 6, in this process a coated preform 20 is placed in a mold 28 having a cavity corresponding to the desired container shape” (paragraph 87, lines 1-6), i.e. Method for applying a coating layer on a preform for a container.
HUTCHINSON2 further teaches “Prior to one or all forming or coating steps and/or following a coating, drying, curing, and/or cooling step, the preform substrate may be subjected to a surface treatment, such as flame, corona or plasma treatment… including, but not limited to… deposit material” (paragraph 103, lines 1-11) and “In some embodiments, a surface treatment is performed on the inside of the article substrate prior to a coating on the inside surface of the preform” (paragraph 103, lines 13-15), i.e. wherein a) providing a plasma… c) depositing a coating layer on at least part of the preform.
HUTCHINSON2 is silent on wherein the coating layer on the preform has a thickness between 5 and 600 nm and, wherein the coating layer on the container… has a thickness of 100 nm or less and is intact.
However, HUTCHINSON2 teaches “The overall thickness 26 of the preform is equal to the thickness of the initial preform plus the thickness 24 of the coating layer or layers, and is dependent upon the overall size and desired coating thickness of the resulting container” (paragraph 80, lines 13-17), “During this process, defects such as delamination of the layers, cracking or crazing of the coating, uneven coating thickness, and discontinuous coating or voids can result. These difficulties can be overcome by using suitable coating materials and coating the preforms in a manner that allows for good adhesion between the layers” (paragraph 74, lines 4-9), “The coated preforms and containers can have layers which have a wide variety of relative thicknesses. In view of the present disclosure, the thickness of a given layer and of the overall preform or container, whether at a given point or over the entire container, can be chosen to fit a coating process or a particular end use for the container” (paragraph 86, lines 1-6), “The relative thickness of the layers shown in FIG. 9 may be varied to suit a particular combination of layer materials or to allow for the making of different sized bottles. As will be understood by one skilled in the art, a procedure analogous to that disclosed above would be followed, except that the initial preform would be one which had already been coated, as by one of the methods for making coated preforms described herein, including overmolding” (paragraph 356, lines 5-13), i.e. wherein the thickness of the deposited layer on the preform effects the final thickness and the final performance of the properties of those layers.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to design the thickness of the layer on the preform and after the formation of the container such that the desired properties are achieved and delamination is avoided. Discovery of optimum value of result effective variable in known process is ordinarily within the skill of the art. In re Boesch, CCPA 1980, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ215.
HUTCHINSON2 teaches “The coated preform is then heated and expanded by stretching and by air forced into the interior of the preform 20 to fill the cavity within the mold 28, creating a coated container 30” (paragraph 87, lines 6-9), i.e. the container formed from heating and stretching the preform.
HUTCHINSON2 is silent on a) providing a low-energy, cold, atmospheric plasma created using a dielectric barrier discharge and discharged at a pressure of between 400 hPa and 1600 hPa; b) exposing coating precursors and the preform to said plasma, thereby chemically activating the precursors, the preform, or both; c) depositing a coating layer on at least part of the preform by reaction of the activated precursors with each other and/or with the activated preform.
KOULIK teaches "The present invention concerns a process for plasma surface treatment and a device for realization of the process. The treatment can be deposition of a barrier film or plurality of thin films" (paragraph 1, lines 1-4) and "It would be advantageous to be able to simultaneously treat the inner and outer surfaces of hollow objects (bottles, tubes, tanks). It is advantageous to be able to treat the surf ace of a complex object" (paragraph 19, lines 5-9), i.e. wherein method for applying a coating layer on ... a container.
KOULIK further teaches "A process for plasma treatment of an object's surface to be treated comprising the creation of a plasma, the application of the plasma to the surface to be treated, and the excitation of the surface to be treated" (abstract, lines 1 - 4), "The process according to the invention is very advantageous, since it permits utilization of a cold plasma while intensifying the interaction of the plasma with the surface to be treated, and hence to optimize the plasma surface treatments for a large range of applications" (paragraph 36, lines 1 -5) "The current pulse duration t2 is selected such that the plasma remains cold and develops along the surface to be treated, and that the temperature of the object to be treated will not rise above its temperature of destruction" (paragraph 91, lines 3-7), and "It would also be advantageous in many applications, moreover, to realize a process of plasma surface treatment at atmospheric pressure as well as a device for realizing the process" (paragraph 28; wherein as shown in NOAA, on page 3, line 8 is 1013.2 millibars or, converted to other units, 1013.2 hPa), i.e. i.e. a) providing a low-energy, cold atmospheric plasma ... at a pressure that falls within between 400 hPa and 1600 hPa wherein low-energy plasma is defined in paragraph 37 of the specification as a plasma of which the power density is high enough to activate the precursors and/or preform, allowing a chemical reaction to take place, but low enough to prevent the destruction the precursors, the preform and/or the container.
KOULIK describes a treatment in which a deposition takes place in paragraphs 82-87 wherein "during their departure create a situation that favors their chemical union with the particles of the medium that is ionized and activated by the plasma, for instance with silicon and oxygen atoms during deposition of a SiOx film" (paragraph 87, lines 12- 16), i.e. b) exposing coating precursors and the preform to said plasma, thereby chemically activating the precursors, the preform, or both and c) depositing a coating layer on at least part of the preform by reaction of the activated precursors with each other and/or with the activated preform.
KOULIK is silent on the plasma being created using a dielectric barrier discharge.
KOULIK does teach "For most applications the plasma is preferably created with an electrical or electro-magnetic energy source operated continuously, by unipolar or alternating pulses, or at high frequency. This may for instance be a discharge of the capacitive or inductive type, or high-frequency waves. However, the plasma can also be created by adiabatic compression or by shock waves, furnished for instance by an adiabatic-compression or shock-wave generator" (paragraph 34).
WATSON teaches "A compact cold plasma device for generating cold plasma having temperatures in the range 65 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit" (abstract, lines 1-3), "Cold temperature atmospheric pressure plasmas have attracted a great deal of enthusiasm and interest by virtue of their provision of plasmas at relatively low gas temperatures" (column 3, lines 36-39), and "For example, cold plasma can also be generated by a dielectric barrier device, which relies on a different process to generate the cold plasma. DBD plasmas are generally created in a non-equilibrium mode by passing electrical discharges over a small distance through ambient air ... By virtue of the dielectric layer, the discharge is separated from the metal electrode and electrode etching is reduced. The pulsed electrical voltage can be varied in amplitude and frequency to achieve varying regimes of operation" (column 6, lines 23-41 ), i.e. a low energy, cold atmospheric plasma created using a dielectric barrier discharge.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the coating layer on the preform being formed by the method of KOULIK and WATSON in the process of HUTCHINSON2 such that it includes a) providing a low-energy, cold, atmospheric plasma created using a dielectric barrier discharge and discharged at a pressure of between 400 hPa and 1600 hPa; b) exposing coating precursors and the preform to said plasma, thereby chemically activating the precursors, the preform, or both; c) depositing a coating layer on at least part of the preform by reaction of the activated precursors with each other and/or with the activated preform because KOULIK teaches that "The process according to the invention is very advantageous, since it permits utilization of a cold plasma while intensifying the interaction of the plasma with the surface to be treated, and hence to optimize the plasma surface treatments for a large range of applications, including treatments of objects consisting of materials withstanding only a very slight temperature increase, such as PET and semiconductors" (paragraph 36, see all) and WATSON teaches that dielectric barrier discharge can produce a low energy, cold atmospheric plasma.
As for claim 3, HUTCHINSON2 teaches “The degree of crosslinking can be adjusted to provide desired or appropriate physical properties, such as the degree of chemical or mechanical abuse resistance for the particular circumstances” (paragraph 135, lines 47-51), wherein stretching is a form of mechanical abuse, i.e. wherein the coating layer is crosslinked, such that the layer stays intact when the preform is stretched.
As for claim 4, HUTCHINSON2 teaches “The articles disclosed herein may be made from any of a wide variety of materials as discussed herein. In some embodiments, the article substrate is made of one or more materials selected from glass, plastic, or metal. Polymers, such as thermoplastic materials are preferred” (paragraph 127, lines 1-5), i.e. wherein the preform comprises a thermoplastic material.
As for claim 5, HUTCHINSON2 teaches “Examples of suitable thermoplastics include, but are not limited to, polyesters (e.g. PET, PEN)” (paragraph 127, lines 6-7), i.e. wherein the thermoplastic material comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of PET.
As for claim 6, HUTCHINSON2 teaches “A polymeric material used in a layer composition may, itself, provide functional properties such as barrier, water resistance, and the like” (paragraph 134, lines 13-15), i.e. wherein the coating layer provides the preform with hydrophobic properties.
As for claim 9, HUTCHINSON2 teaches “The coated preforms and containers can have layers which have a wide variety of relative thicknesses. In view of the present disclosure, the thickness of a given layer and of the overall preform or container, whether at a given point or over the entire container, can be chosen to fit a coating process or a particular end use for the container. Furthermore, as discussed above in regard to the coating layer in FIG. 3, the coating layer in the preform and container embodiments disclosed herein may comprise a single material, a layer of several materials combined, or several layers of at least two or more materials” (paragraph 86), i.e. the coating layer is applied on the entire surface of said preform.
As for claim 10, HUTCHINSON2 teaches “The coated preform is then heated and expanded by stretching and by air forced into the interior of the preform 20 to fill the cavity within the mold 28, creating a coated container 30” (paragraph 87, lines 6-9), i.e. which method comprises the method according to claim 1, followed by a stretching step.
Claim(s) 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hutchinson et al. US PGPub 2007/0087131 hereinafter HUTCHINSON2 in view of Koulik et al. US PGPub 2003/0165636 hereinafter KOULIK and Watson et al. US Patent Number 9,570,273 hereinafter WATSON as evidenced by Nation Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Air Pressure hereinafter NOAA as applied to claim 1 above, and further evidenced by On the Potential of Silicon as a Building Block for Life by Pelkowski et al. hereinafter PETKOWSKI.
As for claim 2, HUTCHINSON, KOULIK and WATSON are silent on covalent bonds.
However, KOULIK does teach "These acoustic vibrations will subject the atoms of the object to be treated to oscillations which make them depart from and return to their positions of static equilibrium, and during their departure create a situation that favors their chemical union with the particles of the medium that is ionized and activated by the plasma, for instance with silicon and oxygen atoms during deposition of a SiOx film" (paragraph 87, lines 9-16), and "Polymerizable materials such as PET (polylethyleneterephthalate), PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene) and others are used in various industries for products such as containers for beverages and food" (paragraph 11, lines 1-4), wherein the object is made of carbon atoms that chemically bond with the silicon.
PETKOWSKI teaches "Both silicon and carbon are tetravalent atoms that form primarily covalent (nonionic compounds)" (page 6, section 3.1, paragraph 1, lines 1-2), i.e. wherein carbon and silicon form covalent bonds.
It is therefore inherent to KOULIK that the chemical union between the silicon atoms and the atoms of the object is a covalent bond such that when combined with HUTCHINSON2 and WATSON as in the rejection of claim 1, wherein the coating layer is covalently grafted onto the preform. A reference which is silent about a claimed invention's features is inherently anticipatory if the missing feature is necessarily present in that which is described in the reference. lnherency is not established by probabilities or possibilities. In re Robertson, 49 USPQ2d 1949 (1999).
Claim(s) 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hutchinson et al. US PGPub 2007/0087131 hereinafter HUTCHINSON2 in view of Koulik et al. US PGPub 2003/0165636 hereinafter KOULIK and Watson et al. US Patent Number 9,570,273 hereinafter WATSON as evidenced by Nation Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Air Pressure hereinafter NOAA as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Becker et al. EP 3446793A 1 hereinafter BECKER.
As for claim 7, HUTCHINSON2, KOULIK and WATSON are silent on the first precursor and second precursor of the claims 7.
KOULIK does teach "For instance, during deposition of a polymer film based on the plasma precipitation of a mixture of activated C, H, and CHY particles, the time interval t3 between the plasma pulses should be such that between the plasma pulses the polymerization process can be completed on the surface to be treated. This completion is advantageously accelerated by the presence of acoustic vibrations" (paragraph 94), wherein the coating is a polymer and polymerized.
HUTCHINSON also teaches "One or more layers may be coated or otherwise disposed on the substrate" (paragraph 58, lines 8-9) and "In some embodiments, such layers include PET layers, RPET layers ... water-resistant coating layers, foam layers and/or other layers as needed or desired for the particular application or use" (paragraph 58, lines 12-18), i.e. wherein the layers are hydrophobic/water resistant.
BECKER teaches "A method for depositing a coating on a substrate is disclosed" (abstract, lines 1-2) and "The invention pertains to the technical field of atmospheric pressure or reduced pressure plasma polymerization processes for the deposition of superhydrophobic coatings" (paragraph 1 ).
BECKER further teaches "The water contact angle of the coatings presented above is typically rather low. In addition to the hydrophobicity of the coating, the durability and mechanical resistance are of importance as well, and in particular the combination of a high resistance to abrasive constraints with a high elasticity of the coating" (paragraph 9, lines 1-6).
BECKER further teaches "A first precursor comprising fluoro-acrylate monomers, fluoro-alkyl acrylate monomers, fluoro-methacrylate monomers, fluoro-alkyl methacrylate monomers, fluoro-silane monomers, or a combination or derivates thereof is provided. A second precursor comprising ... cyclosiloxanes" (abstract, lines 2-7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include wherein said hydrophobic properties are imparted by a coating layer derived from a first precursor comprising fluoro-acrylate monomers, fluoroalkyl acrylate monomers, fluoro-methacrylate monomers, fluoro-alkyl methacrylate monomers, fluoro-silane monomers, or a combination or derivates thereof, and a second precursor comprising cyclosiloxanes in the process of HUTCHINSON2, KOULIK and WATSON as a barrier coating because BECKER teaches that such materials produce a hydrophobic coating that has high durability, mechanical resistance and elasticity.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-7 and 9-10 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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/KRISTEN A DAGENAIS/Examiner, Art Unit 1717
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