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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1 – 4, 8 – 11 and 15 – 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20180221251 A1 to Takayuki et al. hereinafter “Takayuki”.
Takayuki is directed to polymerizable compositions for dental use (Abstract).
Regarding claims 1, 4, 16 and 18, Takayuki teaches a composition at Example 3 [0131] comprising Bis-GMA (bisphenol A diglycidyl methacrylate), NPG (neopentyl glycol dimethacrylate), 3G (triethylene glycol dimethacrylate) , AMA (methyl alpha allyloxymethacrylate) , filler (filler treated with 6% by mass of MPTS (methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane)) and BPO (photoinitiator). AMA is the monomer capable of cyclopolymerization [0124].
Example 3 of Takayuki is silent as to a (meth)acrylate compound having acid groups. However, Takayuki teaches that in one embodiment a (meth)acrylate compound other that the (meth)acrylate compound that is able to cyclopolymerize may be substituted with a (meth)acrylate compound having an acid group [0049]. Examples include 2-(meth)acryloyloxyethyldihydrogen phosphate [0051]. The sample is cured for physical property evaluation. Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill to add or substitute 2-(meth)acryloyloxyethyldihydrogen phosphate into Example 3 as this is directly taught by Takayuki.
As to claim 2, Takayuki teaches the use of cyclopolyerizable compounds (2a) at [0029] that comprise allyoxy groups and acrylic ester compound. Takayuki also uses the terminology (meth)acrylate monomer that is capable of cyclopolymerization at [0018] to teach that both methacrylate and acrylate versions of the monomer are included.
Regarding claim 3, AMA meets the structural requirements for formula (2a-1a) where R = CH3.
As to claims 8 – 9, Bis-GMA meets the requirement for claim 8 and UDMA [0123] for claim 9. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to include UDMA as it is directly taught by Takayuki for use in multiple examples.
Regarding claim 10, Bis-GMA is produced by the reaction of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DEGEBA) with methacrylic acid (MMA). MMA is a methacrylate compound which has a hydroxyl group.
As to claims 15, Takayuki show that the filler is surface treated with 6 % by mass of MPTS [0114].
With regard to applicant’s limitations regarding the concentrations of silane coupling agent, it is the position of the Examiner that one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the invention, would through routine and normal experimentation determine the optimization of these limitations to provide the best effective variable depending on the results desired. Because, Takayuki already teaches using MPTS as a treatment agent for the filler surface, the Examiner asserts that the concentrations of silane coupling agent is an art recognized result-effective variable. Thus it would be obvious in the optimization process to adjust the concentration of the silane coupling agent to achieve the desired degree of surface treatment needed. In addition, merely modifying the process conditions such as temperature and concentration is not a patentable modification absent a showing of criticality, since the applicant does not show any unusual and/or unexpected results for the limitation stated (In re Aller, 220 Fo2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). Note that the prior art provides the same effect desired by the applicant, the formation of a surface treated filler.
Regarding claim 17, the compositions of Takayuki are useful for dental fillers [0002] and fill a lost portion of a tooth, adhesive agent (dental bonding material), composite resin, surface bonding agent, temporary crown, resin block for denture bases [0084].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 – 7 and 11 – 14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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PAS 1/24/26
/PETER A SALAMON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759