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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see the Response, filed 4/6/2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-8 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made below.
The rejection of claims 1-8 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) is withdrawn in view of the claim amendments.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chiba (US PGP 2017/0227868) in view of Yagyu (WO 2019/065868) and considered with Zeon Corporation, Thermoplastic Elastomer Product Page.
Chiba teaches a toner comprising a binder resin and a colorant (Abstract). The toner further comprises a charge control agent ([0050]), and a release agent ([0042]). The binder resin is preferably formed from monovinyl monomer units, including styrene and (meth)acrylic acid esters ([0032]). A crosslink-able polymerizable monomer is used together with the monovinyl monomer ([0033]) in an amount of 0.3 to 2 parts with respect to 100 parts of the monovinyl monomer ([0034]). The exemplary toners contain styrene and n-butyl acrylate as the monovinyl monomers, wherein the styrene accounts for 75% of the total monovinyl monomer units ([0152], [0159]). The crosslinking agent in the exemplary toners is divinylbenzene, used in an amount of 0.6 parts to 100 parts of the monovinyl monomers ([0153] line 7-8). The toners further contain a fatty acid ester wax as a release agent ([0153] line 4), but the specific compound is not disclosed. Chiba is silent regarding the dynamic viscoelastic properties of the toner.
Yagyu teaches a toner with a styrene-based binder resin ([0075]), that uses an elastomer in conjunction with relatively low molecular weight release agents to solve the issue of release agent bleed out, while providing a toner that has an excellent balance between high-temperature storage stability and low-temperature fixability ([0007-8]). The release agent is a fatty acid ester compound having a number average molecular weight of 500 to 2,000 ([0015]). The elastomer is a styrene-based thermoplastic elastomer block copolymer, comprising an aromatic vinyl monomer block and a conjugated diene polymer block ([0031]). Yagyu presents the option that the conjugated diene polymer block may have a hydrogenation reaction performed on part of the unsaturated bonds ([0034]). If this optional step is not taken, the elastomer would be an unhydrogenated conjugated diene-aromatic vinyl thermoplastic elastomer.
Example 1 of Yagyu contains the elastomer Quintac 3270 ([0086] line 85-87), which is a styrene-isoprene copolymer with a similar amount of styrene and molecular weight to the styrene-isoprene diblock copolymer B of the instant application (Zeon Corporation, Yagyu [0089] line 86). Since the Quintac 3270 is very similar to the copolymer B, it would be expected to have a solubility in styrene at 40°C of 3 to 40g / 100g. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the toner of Chiba to have included the thermoplastic elastomer and fatty acid ester release agent of Yagyu in order to produce a toner that prevents release agent bleed out and has an excellent balance of high-temperature storage stability and low-temperature fixability.
The combined toner of Chiba and Yagyu would be expected to have viscoelastic properties that satisfy the limitations of claims 1 and 7, as well as a melt temperature (T1/2) that satisfies claim 2. The instant specification states that the storage modulus values G’(60), G’(100), and G’(150) are controlled within the claimed ranges by methods such as controlling the proportion of monomer units derived from the styrene-based monomer units in the binder resin, controlling the amount of crosslinking agent used in the binder resin, controlling the amount of the release agent used, controlling the amount of the polymerization initiator and that of the molecular weight modifier, and adding the additive having a polydiene structure, and controlling the amount thereof added ([0119]). As disclosed above, the proportion of monomer units derived from styrene and the amount of the crosslinking agent are within the preferred ranges of the instant application. Yagyu teaches that the amount of fatty acid ester release agent is 2 to 20 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts of the binder resin ([0009]). The instant specification teaches that the amount of the release agent is 1 to 30 parts by mass relative to 100 parts of the binder resin ([0048]). Yagyu teaches the amount of the thermoplastic elastomer is preferably 3 to 7 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts of the binder resin ([0100]). The instant specification teaches the that amount of the additive having a polydiene structure is preferably 2 to 7 parts by mass relative to 100 parts of the binder resin ([0076]). Chiba teaches that the amount of polymerization initiator is 1 to 10 parts by mass relative to 100 parts of the monovinyl monomer ([0062]), and the exemplary toners use 4.4 parts ([0155]). The instant specification teaches the amount of polymerization initiator is preferably 3 to 5 parts relative to 100 parts of the binder resin ([0092]). Chiba teaches that the molecular weight modifier is used in an amount of 0.1 to 5 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts of the monovinyl monomer ([0057]), and the exemplary toners use 1.5 parts ([0153]). The instant specification teaches that the molecular weight modifier is used in an amount of 0.5 to 3 parts with respect to 100 parts of the binder resin ([0088]). As all of these values are within the desired ranges, the storage modulus values would be expected to be similar and satisfy the limitations of claims 1 and 7. Similarly, the melting temperature (T1/2) of the resin particles would be expected to fall in the range of 150 to 200°C, as the makeup of the toners are very similar.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jenna Kuipers whose telephone number is (571)272-0161. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 - 5:30 PT.
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, Jonathan Johnson can be reached at 571-272-1177. 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.
/J.K./ Examiner, Art Unit 1734
/PETER L VAJDA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1737 05/18/2026
Prosecution Insights