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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 June 8, 2026 has been entered.
Claims 1-17 are pending as amended on June 8, 2026. Support for amended claim 9 is found specification [0026]. Support for new claim 17 is found in original claim 9. Claims 1-8 and 12-16 stand withdrawn from consideration.
Any objections and/or rejections made in the previous Office action and not repeated below are hereby withdrawn. The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in the action can be found in a prior Office action.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, filed June 8, 2026, have been fully considered.
Applicant’s arguments, see page 5-7, filed June 8, 2026, with respect to the rejection of claim 9 over Balijepalli (WO 2020167467 A1 and US 2022/0017685 A1 with references made to US 2022/0017685 A1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. While Balijepalli’s resin composition may contain a mixture of solid and liquid epoxy resins ([0019]), Balijepalli does not provide guidance on the relative amounts of solid and liquid resins other than the examples in Table II. Balijepalli’s example compositions (Table II) have epoxy resin (a1) contents above the amended range of 20-40% by mass. The rejection of claim 9 over Balijepalli has been withdrawn.
With respect to the rejection over Angus (US 2008/0200084 A1), Applicant argues (page 8) that example 9A-9D comprise more than 40 wt% of the epoxy resin (a1) in the resin component A. This argument is not persuasive because another example disclosed by Angus, example 11A, has about 35 wt% of epoxy resin (a1) in the resin component A.
Applicant further argues (page 8) that Angus does not disclose or suggest reducing the epoxy resin (a1) content to 20-40 wt%, identify any advantage associated with such reduction, or indicate that epoxy-rich systems are unsuitable or suboptimal. The fact that the inventor has recognized another advantage which would flow naturally from following the suggestion of the prior art cannot be the basis for patentability when the differences would otherwise be obvious. See Ex parte Obiaya, 227 USPQ 58, 60 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1985). In this case, Angus teaches a composition with an epoxy resin (a1) content within the claimed range.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Claims 9 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Seok (KR-20100092608-A) and evidenced by Kukdo (Epoxy Resin YD-128 Technical Data Sheet, Kukdo, 2019).
Seok discloses applying an adhesive composition to a heat-resistant film, followed by curing ([0021]). The composition is coated on a polyimide base film ([0011], [0021], and [0041]). Prior to curing, Seok’s polyimide film coated with the composition reads on a resin film member comprising a carrier film (polyimide base film) and a resin layer (adhesive composition coating) stacked on the carrier film and containing an uncured product of a resin composition (claim 17).
The adhesive composition used in Seok’s example 2 contains 30 parts EOCN-103 (epoxy resin B, [0027]), 10 parts YD-128m (epoxy resin C, [0028]), 4 parts total curing agent (referred to as hardener and curing agent, [0029-0031]), 0.05 parts curing accelerator, and 15 parts OP-935 (flame retardant A, [0035]) in addition to nitrile butadiene rubber, inorganic particle, and solvent components ([0039] and [0041]). EOCN-103 is a solid epoxy resin ([0027]), reading on instant epoxy resin (a2). YD-128m is a liquid epoxy resin ([0028]). Seok therefore teaches a resin composition containing a resin component (A) (epoxy resins, curing agent, and curing accelerator) and a flame retardant (B) (OP-935) as well as nitrile butadiene rubber, inorganic particles, and a solvent.
Seok teaches that YD-128m is a liquid epoxy resin, but does not specify the viscosity of the resin. However, YD-128 has a viscosity of 11,500-13,500 cps at 25 °C, as evidenced by Kukdo (Kukdo, table on page 1). A viscosity of 11,500-13,500 cps is equivalent to 11,500-13,500 mPa-s. YD-128m reads on the instant epoxy resin (a1).
Seok’s resin layer contains a resin component (A) containing the epoxy resin (a1) (YD-128m), the epoxy resin (a2) (EOCN-103), a curing agent (referred to by Seok as a hardener or a curing agent), and a curing accelerator. YD-128m is present in an amount of about 22.7% by mass of the resin component (A) (10/(30+10+1+3+0.05)=0.227).
Seok’s resin layer further contains OP-935, reading on a phosphorous containing flame retardant (B). Paragraph [0066] of the instant specification specifies that OP-935 is a metal salt of phosphinic acid with a thermal decomposition temperature equal to or higher than 300 °C. In addition, paragraph [0028-0028] of the instant specification lists OP-935 as a suitable flame retardant after specifying that the flame retardant does not melt lower than 150 °C (claim 9).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 9-10 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Angus (US 2008/0200084 A1, cited with 3/09/2026 Office action) and evidenced by Olin (Epoxy Resins Product Stewardship Manual, Olin Corporation, 2019, cited with 3/09/2026 Office action) and Wigdorski (US 20140158296 A1).
Regarding claims 9 and 17, Angus teaches that combinations of aromatic polymers and epoxy compounds can be made into homogeneous solutions, coated onto substrates, and dried to form tack-free, homogeneous films ([0025]). Substrates taught by Angus include thin dielectric films such as polyimide and polyesters ([0048]), reading on carrier films. Angus teaches that the film-forming solution is cast or coated onto a substrate to form a layer ([0047]) and then heated to remove the solvent, but not substantially cure the film ([0053]). The resulting films can be partially cured B-stage ([0053]). Angus therefore teaches a resin film member comprising a carrier film (substrate) and a resin layer (uncured or B-stage film) stacked on the carrier film. Prior to heating and partially curing, the resin film contains an uncured product of the resin composition (claims 9 and 17). After heating and partially curing, the resin film reads on a semi-cured product of the resin composition (claim 9).
Angus teaches that the curable composition contains an epoxy compound, an aromatic polymer, and, optionally, a catalyst, a flame retardant, and/or a filler ([0015]).
As flame retardants, Angus teaches aluminum phosphinate flame retardants under the tradenames EXOLIT OP930 and OP935 from Clariant Corporation ([0044]). These compounds read on a phosphorus-containing flame retardant (B1) that neither melts nor thermally decomposes at a temperature lower than 150°C (see instant specification [0029]).
Angus exemplifies a composition consisting of DER332, EPON164, ET 001 RJ, Dicy, and 2-MI in Example 11A (Table 3). EPON-164 is 50% in MEK, ET 001 RJ is 35% in toluene/ethanol, Dicy is 25% in dimethyl formamide (DMF) and 2-MI is 15% in DMF (Table 1). DER332 and EPON164 are epoxy resins. This composition corresponds to a solvent component and a resin component (A) containing an epoxy resin (DER332 and EPON164), ET 001 RJ, a curing agent (Dicy), and curing accelerator (2-MI). After heating, the solvent is removed (species with partially cured film).
Angus teaches that DER332 is a liquid epoxy resin (Table A), but is silent as to the viscosity of the resin. However, DER332 has a viscosity of 5,000 mPa-s at 25 °C, as evidenced by Olin (Olin, page 7, Table 1). DER332 therefore reads on the epoxy resin (a1) because a viscosity 5,000 mPa-s at 25°C is less than 50000 mPa-s. Adjusting the weights in Table 3 to determine the epoxy resin (a1) (DER332) content in resin component (A) leads to an epoxy resin (a1) content of about 35 wt.% (18/(18+0.5*4+0.35*85.7+0.25*3.33+0.15*1.38=0.3527) relative to the total amount of the resin component (A).
Angus does not explicitly teach that EPON164 is a solid epoxy resin. However, EPON164 is a solid resin, as evidenced by Wigdorski (Wigdorski, [0036]). EPON164 therefore reads on an epoxy resin (a2) which is solid at 25 °C.
Angus does not exemplify a resin film member where the resin layer has both the composition of Example 11A and an EXOLIT OP930 or OP935 flame retardant.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to have prepared a resin layer using the composition of Example 11A and an EXOLIT OP930 or OP935 flame retardant because Angus teaches both components and teaches that flame retardants can be included in the curable composition used to produce the resin film ([0015]). One would be motivated to include a flame retardant in order to pass the UL 94 vertical burn test with a V-0 or VTM-0 rating ([0044]).
Regarding claim 10, Angus teaches the resin film member of claim 9. Angus teaches that the thickness of the resin film is about 1 to about 100 µm ([0047]).
Angus does not exemplify a resin layer thickness within the claimed range.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to have prepared a resin film member with a resin layer thickness of about 1 to about 100 µm because Angus teaches this range. This range overlaps with the claimed range of equal to or greater than 50 µm and equal to or less than 400 µm. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have selected the overlapping portion of the ranges disclosed by the reference because selection of overlapping portion of ranges has been held to be a prima facie case of obviousness. See MPEP § 2144.05.I.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Angus (US 2008/0200084 A1, cited with 3/09/2026 Office action) and evidenced by Olin (Epoxy Resins Product Stewardship Manual, Olin Corporation, 2019, cited with 3/09/2026 Office action) and Wigdorski (US 20140158296 A1) as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Sato (US 2008/0205019 A1, cited with 9/11/2025 Office action) and Yoo (US 2014/0091296 A1, cited with 9/11/2025 Office action).
Angus teaches the resin film member of claim 9 comprising a resin layer that is a B-stage film. Angus teaches that after coating the composition, the layer is heated to remove the solvent, but not substantially cure the film ([0053]). The resulting films can be partially cured B-stage films that have enough mechanical strength for handling, but also have enough unreacted functional sites that they can be further cured to provide the full and final physical polymer properties ([0053]). One of ordinary skill would recognize that removing the solvent and partially curing the composition increases the viscosity of the resin layer.
Angus does not teach the melt viscosity of the resin layer at 150°C.
However, prior to the effective filing date, the viscosity of B-stage films was known in the art as a result effective variable in their application as adhesives, as evidenced by Sato and Yoo.
Sato teaches adhesive films (Sato, [0030]) used in circuit boards (Sato, abstract). Sato teaches that the adhesive film preferably has a B-stage viscosity of 100-20,000 Pa*s at 200 °C (Sato, [0030]). Sato further teaches that a viscosity of 100 Pa*s or more at 200 °C is desirable for maintaining connection stability, but that if the viscosity of the adhesive film is too high, the resin can hardly be pushed away from between connection parts even when a high pressure is applied (Sato, [0030]).
Yoo teaches adhesive films used in organic electronic devices (Yoo, [0011]). Yoo teaches that a viscosity of 100-100,000 Pa*s in the temperature range of 30- 130 °C is desirable in the B-stage to reduce failure and enhance reliability during assembly of panels (Yoo, [0025]). Yoo further teaches that when the viscosity is high enough, the adhesive layer can be leaked 1 mm or less from an original location (Yoo, [0027]), but with the viscosity is too high it is possible to generate unlaminated parts in the adhesive film (Yoo, [0026]).
Based on the disclosures of Sato and Yoo, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that increasing the viscosity improves the stability of the adhesive layer and that decreasing the viscosity improves the ability to avoid unlaminated areas. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have optimized the melt viscosity of the resin layer of Angus into the claimed range of 400 Pa*s or greater at 150 °C. One would have had a reasonable expectation of successfully producing an adhesive resin layer with a balance of stability and complete coverage because Sato and Yoo teach similar viscosities for B-stage adhesive resins in lower and higher temperature ranges, respectively. The discovery of an optimum value of a known result effective variable, without producing any new or unexpected results, is within the ambit of a person of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Boesch, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980) (see MPEP § 2144.05, II.).
Conclusion
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/AUDRA J DESTEFANO/Examiner, Art Unit 1766
/RANDY P GULAKOWSKI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1766
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