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 Amendment
This office action is in response to the RCE, Amendments to the Claims and Remarks filed February 9, 2026 wherein claims 19, 24 and 28 were amended. Claims 1-18 and 21-22 have been canceled. Claims 19-20 and 23-36 are pending and considered on the merits below.
In view of the claim amendments, the previous Section 112 rejections are withdrawn as moot. However, see the new Section 112 rejection of claim 30 below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claim 30 is 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.
Regarding claim 30, at line 3, "the substrates" lack antecedent basis.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102/103
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 30 and 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by, or in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103, as obvious over the teachings of TOA GOSEI CHEM IND, JPS5763371A (hereafter Toa).
Regarding claim 30, the preamble states: "An apparatus for applying the two-part adhesive product according to claim 19." Claim 30 is understood to be directed to a spraying device having structure for performing the function of simultaneously applying two compositions in the form of a spray to substrates being adhesively bonded. The particular material or article worked upon by an apparatus does not limit an apparatus claim. MPEP 2115. Thus, the particular composition now recited in claim 19, which is the material being worked upon by the apparatus, does not limit the recited apparatus. Also, the substrates being adhesively bonded do not further limit the apparatus claim.
Toa is directed to a two-part adhesive product comprising a first composition and a second composition (page 1, para [0001] describing a two-component adhesive; see also Toa claim 1 located at the beginning of the body of the text at page 549 that describes one component as being obtained by an emulsion-polymerizing monomer mixture and the other component being an aqueous solution of a polyvalent metal salt). Toa is also directed to an adhesive application method using a spray gun with jet nozzles (page 6, line 310-330). Specifically, Toa teaches application of an adhesive composition made up of an acrylic aqueous emulsion (first composition) and a polyvalent metal salt aqueous solution (second composition) by spraying the compositions separately from a spray gun having two or more nozzles (jet nozzles), the two compositions being brought into contact with each other in the air or on the adherend (page 6, lines 310-330). Thus Toa is understood to inherently disclose or render obvious the spraying device "for simultaneously applying" first and second compositions recited in claim 30.
Regarding claim 31, the Toa disclosure of spraying separately from two or more nozzles (page 6, lines 310-330) is understood to inherently teach the first nozzle being connected to a reservoir containing the first composition and the second nozzle being connected to a reservoir containing the second composition. As to the nozzles, being coaxial or substantially coaxial, the Toa disclosure of bringing the solutions in contact with each other in the air (page 6, lines 310-330) is understood to inherently disclose or render obvious the "substantially" coaxial arrangement recited in claim 31.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 19-20, 23-29 and 32-36 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art of record fails to either show or reasonably suggest the two-part adhesive product recited in claims 19-20 and 23-29, the methods of using the two-part adhesive product according to claim 19 recited in claims 32-35, or the adhesively bonded product recited in claim 36.
Regarding independent claim 19, Neither Toa nor BASF, either alone or in combination, teach or suggest all of the particular compositional components in the particular content ranges now recited in amended claim 19. Specifically, Toa in view of BASF does not teach or suggest the amended paragraph (iii) that requires "5 to 25 wt.%, based on the sum of monomers of styrene" in combination with the monomers and content ranges now recited in paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iv) of claim 19. The other art of record does not provide this deficiency.
Response to Arguments
Applicant has provided no arguments directed to claims 30 and 31. Please see the rejection of these claims set forth above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CYNTHIA L SCHALLER whose telephone number is (408)918-7619. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8 - 4:30.
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/CYNTHIA L SCHALLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1746