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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12 January 2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 4-6, 9-15, 18 and 21-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 recites “an amount of the semi-aromatic polyamide (A1-2) relative to 100.0 parts by mass of a total amount of the polyamide-based resin (A1) is 70 parts by mass or less” which is considered new matter because this limitation does not have support in the original disclosure. The applicant noted support for this portion of the claim was based on paragraph [0035] of the original disclosure. However, upon review of paragraph [0035] of the original disclosure, support for “the amount of the semi-aromatic polyamide (A1-2) relative to 100.0 parts by mass of a total amount of the aliphatic polyamide (A1-1) and semi-aromatic polyamide (A1-2) (analogous to the claimed polyamide-based resin (A1))” includes: 5-100 parts by mass (hereinafter “pbm”); 5-95 pbm; 10-80 pbm; and 15-70 pbm. This portion of the disclosure fails to provide sufficient support for the amount of the semi-aromatic polyamide (A1-2) relative to 100.0 pbm of a total amount of the polyamide-based resin (A1) of less than 5 pbm, which is within the scope of the claimed feature requiring a range of “70 pbm or less.” The examiner recommends amending this portion of the claim as follows “an amount of the semi-aromatic polyamide (A1-2) relative to 100.0 parts by mass of a total amount of the polyamide-based resin (A1) is 5 to 70 parts by mass
Claims 4-6, 9-15, 18 and 21-27 are included based on their ultimate dependency from claim 1.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 28-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 28 recites the limitation "an amount of the filler (B)" in line 8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The examiner recommends amending lines 1-2 from claim 28 as follows “…obtained by molding a resin composition comprising a thermoplastic resin (A) and a filler (B), the molded article…” which is similar to the subject matter of claim 1, and would overcome this rejection.
Claims 29 and 30 are included in this rejection based on their dependency from claim 28.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 4-6, 9-15, 18 and 21-30 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and 112(b) set forth in this Office action.
Assuming the applicant takes the examiner’s suggestions and amends the claims as noted above, the following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter.
The closest prior art of record Kawakami (US 2004/0132892), Fuji (USPN 6,265,472), Atsuta (JP 2020-131591 A), and Hewel (US 2008/0274355) while broadly teaching the limitations of the presently claimed invention, do not teach or suggest the combination of limitations as presently claimed in either claim 1 or 28.
Regarding claim 1, none of Kawakami, Fuji, Atsuta, and/or Hewel, when considered alone or in combination, teach or reasonably suggest the molded article from claim 1. Specifically, claim 1 requires “an amount of the semi-aromatic polyamide (A1-2) relative to 100.0 parts by mass of a total amount of the polyamide-based resin (A1) is 5 to 70 parts by mass” (which converts to 5-70 wt%) which is not taught or suggested by the prior art of record because Fuji teaches a content of the semi-aromatic polyamide ranges from 85-100 wt%, which does not overlap, encompass, fall within, or is even close to the claimed range.
Regarding claim 28, none of Kawakami, Fuji, Atsuta, and/or Hewel, when considered alone or in combination, teach or reasonably suggest the molded article from claim 28. Specifically, claim 28 requires “an amount of the filler (B) is 90-150 pbm relative to 100 pbm of the thermoplastic resin (A)” which is not taught or suggested by the prior art because Kawakami actually teaches away from using a filler in a larger amount, such as the amount as defined in the claimed range. See paragraph [0073].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN HANDVILLE whose telephone number is (571)272-5074. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday, from 9 am to 4 pm.
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, Veronica Ewald can be reached at (571) 272-8519. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRIAN HANDVILLE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1783
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