DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in regards to a continuing application filed September 9, 2022 claiming priority to PCT/JP2021/008754 filed March 5, 2021 and foreign application JP2020-040962 filed March 10, 2020. Claims 1-10 are pending and currently being examined.
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 .
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 6 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. The limitations of the melt-fabricable fluororesin of claim 1 is that it comprises at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of a carbonyl group-containing group and a hydroxy group of which the fluororesin as defined in claim 6 of a tetrafluoroethylene / perfluoro(alkyl vinyl ether) copolymer or a tetrafluoroethylene / hexafluoropropylene copolymer comprises neither a carbonyl group (-C(O)-) nor a hydroxy group (-OH), therefore broadening the range of the fluororesin as defined in claim 1, therefore not further limiting as required in a dependent 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
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) 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yue et al. (CN 110511533 A -machine translation) in view of Nam et al. ((US 2018/0051158 A1).
Yue et al. disclose polyether ether ketone / tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkoxy vinyl ether copolymer (PFA) / chopped quartz fiber composite material wherein the composition comprises 5-15 mass% of boron nitride [Claims 1-5; Examples 1-5; 0011] and the polyether ether ketone acts as the fluorine-free resin and the tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoralkoxy vinyl ether acts as the fluororesin. Yue et al. disclose the polyether ether ketone
Yue et al. do not disclose the boron nitride in the amount of 30 to 65% by volume.
Nam et al. disclose a polymer composition comprising 30 to 60 volume% of a melt processible fluoropolymer and 40 to 70 volume% wherein the polymer compositions have excellent moldability, insulation properties, heat conductivity, and heat resistance [Abstract]. Nam et al. disclose the fluoropolymers such as tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoralkyl vinyl ether (PFA) and tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene (FEP) [0027]. Nam et al. disclose in Examples 1-15 an improvement of the heat conductivity of the polymer compositions compared to compositions without the boron nitride (BN). One of ordinary skill in the art would find obvious to use the volume% of the boron nitride of Nam et al. with the composite material of Yue et al. of polyether ether ketone / tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkoxy vinyl ether copolymer (PFA) / chopped quartz fiber to improve the heat conductivity of the composite material.
In regards to claim 2, Yue et al. disclose 10 to 20% of a tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkoxy vinyl ether copolymer (PFA) as a fluororesin [Claims 1-5; Examples 1-5; 0011] and Nam et al. disclose the fluoropolymer in the amount of 30-60 volume % [Abstract].
In regards to claim 3, Yue et al. disclose in Examples 1-5, 5-15 wt.% of a polyether ether ketone type polymer.
In regards to claim 4, Nam et al. disclose two types of boron nitride particles, (A) spherical aggregates with an average particle diameter of 55 µm to 100 µm and (B) particles with an average particle diameter of 8 µm to less than 55 µm, therefore the distribution of particles sizes is skewed to a smaller particles and flattening the overall distribution of particle sizes and leading to a negative (less than 0) kurtosis value [0035-0044].
In regards to claim 5, Yue et al. disclose PFA as the fluororesin [Claims 1-5; Examples 1-5] and Nam et al. disclose PFA as the fluororesin with a melting point of 300-307°C as does the instant application disclose PFA with a melting point of 311°C [0125], therefore meeting the range of 100°C to 325°C.
In regards to claim 6, Yue et al. disclose tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoralkoxy vinyl ether acts as the fluororesin [Claims 1-5; Examples 1-5; 0011].
In regards to claim 7, Nam et al. disclose in Examples 1-15 a heat conductivity of 8.1 to 16.0 W/m•K [Table 2].
In regards to claim 8, since Yue et al. in view of Nam et al. teach substantially identical polyether ether ketone / tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkoxy vinyl ether copolymer / boron nitride compositions as the recited claimed, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention was made, would have expected that the compound properties of Yue et al. in view of Nam et al. will be the same as claimed (i.e., relative permittivity of 3.6 or lower). If there is any difference between the product of Yue et al. in view of Nam et al. and the product of the instant claims the difference would have been minor and obvious. “Products of identical chemical composition cannot have mutually exclusive properties.” A chemical composition and its properties are inseparable. Therefore, if the prior art teaches the identical chemical structure, the properties applicant discloses and/or claims are necessarily present. See MPEP 2112.01(I).
In regards to claims 9-10, Yue et al. disclose forming molded composite articles by extrusion [Examples 1-5] and Nam et al. disclose forming molded products by sheet (compression) molding [Claim 9; Examples 1-18].
Conclusion
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/RONALD GRINSTED/Examiner, Art Unit 1763