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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 09/03/2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims
Claims 1 & 21 are amended. Claims 8 & 17 are canceled. Claims 1-7, 9-16 & 18-21 are currently pending.
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.
Claims 1-5, 7, 9-10, 16 & 20-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hilton (US 2021/0108092 A1).
Regarding claims 1-5 & 20-21, Hilton teaches an teaches a coating composition comprising: a) a film-forming component comprising a film-forming resin consisting essentially of an epoxy resin; and a crosslinker consisting essentially of a polyamine, wherein the film-forming resin and the crosslinker, react upon cure, to form a continuous film ([0062], [0068]-[0073], [0085]-[0088]); b) a phosphate source such as an ammonium phosphate present in an amount of preferably 50 wt% (Table 3; [0104]-[0106]); c) an aluminum source such as aluminum hydroxide, as a char forming aid, present in an amount of 0.5 wt% to 5 wt% (Tables 2a & 3; [0114]); d) TiO-2, as a nucleating agent, present in an amount of preferably 10 wt% (Table 3; [0112]-[0113]); and e) a gas source such as melamine, as a blowing agent, present in an amount of 0 wt% to 25 wt% (Table 3; [0107]-[0108]); f) a silica source such as fumed silica, as a rheology modifier, present in an amount of 0.02 wt% to 1 wt% ([0119]); reinforcing fibers present in an amount of preferably 3 wt% (Table 3; [0115]-[0117]); one or more additives such as a catalyst present in a total amount of 0.02 wt% to 5 wt% ([0097]-[0099]); wherein the film-forming component is preferably present in an amount of 25 wt% to 60 wt% ([0095]).
Regarding claim 7, Hilton teaches a method of coating a substrate comprising applying to at least a portion of the substrate, the coating composition according to claim 1 ([0130]).
Regarding claim 9, Hilton teaches a substrate coated to the method of claim 7 ([0130]).
Regarding claims 10 & 16, Hilton teaches an article such as steel and/or construction units comprising the substrate of claim 9 ([0130]).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hilton (US 2021/0108092 A1), as applied to claims 1-5, 7, 9-10, 16 & 20-21 above, and further in view of in view of Jordan (US 2022/0220320 A1)
Regarding claim 6, Hilton teaches the coating composition of claim 1 but is silent as to a self-supported film or sheet comprising the coating composition of claim 1. Jordan teaches a self-supported sheet formed from an intumescent composition which can be applied as a coating to a substrate ([0037], [0048] & [0087]-[0089]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to provide Hilton’s a self-supported sheet formed from an intumescent composition on a substrate as suitable means for providing an intumescent coating on a substrate as taught by Jordan.
Claims 11-12, 14 & 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hilton (US 2021/0108092 A1), as applied to claims 1-5, 7, 9-10, 16 & 20-21 above, and further in view of in view of Wang (US 2020/0388810 A1).
Regarding claims 11-12, 14 & 18-19, Hilton teaches the article of claim 10 but is silent as to the article being one selected from the structures recited in claims 11-12, 14-15 & 18-19. Wang a battery pack comprising a plurality of lithium-ion battery cells comprising exterior wall elements made up of aluminum defining a housing, wherein the coating composition or film or sheet is at least partially applied to the external and/or internal side of any of the exterior wall elements (Figs. 1-4 & 6; [0020]-[0023]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to provide Hilton’s coating composition to a battery pack in order to prevent cascading thermal runaway event in a battery pack which would result in a fire as taught by Wang ([0020]-[0021]). “The selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use supported a prima facie obviousness determination in Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327, 65 USPQ 297 (1945)”. See MPEP 2144.07. Wang also renders obvious the use of an electric vehicle battery as the presently claimed article in view of the increasing demand for energy storage device such as lithium-ion batteries in applications such as electric vehicles as disclosed in Wang ([0003]).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Hilton (US 2021/0108092 A1) and Wang (US 2020/0388810 A1), as applied to claims 1-5, 7, 9-12, 14-16 & 18-21 above, and further in view of in view of Czech (US 2021/0143383 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Hilton as modified by Wang teaches the article of claim 12 but is silent as to the exterior wall and/or interior wall elements comprises composite steel, aluminum and/or polycarbonate. However, the use of aluminum as a material for forming exterior wall elements of battery cell housings is well-known as evidenced by Czech ([0009] & [0016]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 09/03/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In response to applicant’s arguments that the teachings of Hilton would not be pertinent to the presently claimed subject matter because Hilton requires acetoacetoxy polyacetoacetate (AcAc) functionality in the film forming component which is excluded from the functionality of the presently claimed film forming component, the examiner respectfully disagrees. As correctly noted by applicant, Hilton discloses that the film forming component can comprise an epoxy resin along with an AcAc functional polymer, wherein the AcAc functional polymer can have a functional epoxy endcap, a functional acetate endcap or both ([0077]-[0080]). Accordingly, when epoxy endcaps or both epoxy endcaps and acetate endcaps are provided for the AcAc functional polymer, the resulting AcAc functional polymer reads on the presently claimed film forming component comprising epoxy functional groups. With regards to applicant’s argument that the combination of Hilton with Wang and Czech would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of Hilton’s need for flexibility in the intumescent coatings that can withstand extremely low temperatures without cracking, the examiner respectfully disagrees. While Hilton discloses the benefits of providing flexibility to the intumescent coatings in view of withstanding cycling at low temperatures, it is noted that the primary function of the intumescent coating in Hilton is to provide fire protection such that when it is applied as a thin film, it swells many times its original thickness forming an insulation char which acts as a barrier between the fire and a substrate on which the intumescent composition is coated ([0004]). Moreover, one of ordinary skill in the art readily understands that batteries/battery packs are prone to cascading thermal runaway events which can result in a fire as taught by Wang ([0020]-[0021]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to provide Hilton’s intumescent coatings on batteries/battery packs to reduce the risk of fire and, as a result, improve the safety.
Thus, in view of the foregoing, claims 1-7, 9-16 & 18-21 stand rejected.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHANAEL T ZEMUI whose telephone number is (571)272-4894. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm (EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, BARBARA GILLIAM can be reached at (571)272-1330. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NATHANAEL T ZEMUI/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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