DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Any new grounds of rejection set forth below are necessitated by Applicant’s amendment filed on 2/26/2026. In particular, claim 1 has been amended to recite that the inorganic material comprises at least one mineral; that a weight ratio of the inorganic material to the polymeric binder in the composite material is at least 2.5:1; and the composite material further comprises at least one copolymer, wherein the at least one copolymer comprises at least one carboxyl functional group and/or is a linear polymer. Claim 9 has been amended to change the amount of inorganic material from “at least 40wt%” to “at least 75wt%.” New claim 21, not previously presented and therefore not previously considered, is added.
It is noted that the newly introduced limitations were not present at the time of the preceding action. For this reason, it is proper to make the present action FINAL.
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.
Claims 8 and 21 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.
Amended instant claim 1 recites that the at least one inorganic material comprises at least one mineral. Claim 8 recites that the at least one inorganic material comprises calcium carbonate, limestone, chalk, talc, dolomite, aluminum trihydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, molybdenum hydroxide, tin (II) hydroxide, zinc, borate, huntite, hydromagnesite, zinc hydroxystannate, ferrocene, or any combination thereof. It is unclear if these are intended to be the at least one mineral, or if they are present in addition to the at least one mineral, because several of the recited components are not minerals. The instant specification does not clarify if the specific components recited in claim 8 are intended to be the at least one mineral or an additional component present in the inorganic material. Therefore, claim 8 is indefinite.
Claim 21 recites “wherein the composite material comprises the at least one hyperbranched polymer and the at least one copolymer in a range of 3 to 5wt%.” The claim is indefinite because it is unclear if each of the hyperbranched polymer and the at least one copolymer are present in an amount of 3 to 5wt%, or if the total amount of the at least one hyperbranched polymer and the at least one copolymer is in a range of 3 to 5wt%. The instant specification does not clarify whether the amount is 3 to 5wt% of each of the t least one hyperbranched polymer and the at least one copolymer or if it is the total amount of the at least one hyperbranched polymer and the at least one copolymer. Therefore, claim 21 is indefinite.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5 and 9-15 are allowed. Claims 8 and 21 are indefinite for the reasons discussed above, but there are no prior art rejections over these claims as they depend from instant claim 1.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The primary reason for allowance of claims 1-5 and 9-15 is the recitation in claim 1 of a floor or wall panel comprising: at least one core layer comprising at least one composite material, said composite material comprising: at least one inorganic material comprising at least one mineral and at least one polymeric binder, and wherein the composite material further comprises at least one hyperbranched polymer and at least one copolymer, wherein the at least one copolymer comprises at least one carboxyl functional group and/or is a linear polymer.
The closest prior art is that discussed in the previous rejection, i.e. (1) Brockmüller et al. (US 2010/0324189); (2) Soane et al. (US 2002/0128352); (3) Zhou (CN 107446274); (4) Hluchan (WO 2019/097203). Because CN 107446274 is not in English, the machine-translated English equivalent is cited below.
Brockmüller et al. teaches a system, for wall panels (¶3, ¶238), comprising at least one extruded molding composed of a composition comprising a polymer material and at least one filler for reinforcement (abstract). The system is comprised of the composite and other layers which form a wall panel. The system comprises the wall panel, and the wall panel comprises the composite core as discussed below. The composite comprises the filler and the polymer, and the polymer is a binder. The filler is present in the composition in amounts ranging from 10 to 80% by weight, meaning the polymer is present in an amount of from 90 to 20% by weight (¶10). This gives a ratio of filler (corresponding to the instantly claimed inorganic material to polymer (corresponding to the instantly claimed polymeric binder) of from 0.1:1 to 4:1. Brockmüller teaches an embodiment where the composition is placed within a cavity of a hollow profile (¶211) which corresponds to the claimed core layer. Additionally, see Figure 4, which shows the hollow cavity of a hollow profiled filled with the disclosed extruded material. See ¶211, ¶250, and ¶252. This is a core layer, which is used to produce wall panels, as expressly disclosed in ¶4 of Brockmüller et al. The hollow profile is the core layer. Expressly named examples of filler are talc and chalk (¶61), which are both inorganic and minerals. The composition is extruded. An expressly named example of the polymer material is polyvinyl chloride (¶13). The composition also further comprises a hyperbranched polymer (¶62-63) which contains carboxyl groups (¶ 22, 120). The hyperbranched polymer has a preferable hydroxyl number which meets instant claim 3 (¶64) and a molecular weight (molar mass) which overlaps instant claim 4 (see ¶69). The reinforcing filler can be surface-pretreated with a silane compound. This meets instant claims 13-14. See ¶56.
Soane et al. teach compositions for producing wallboards (which are wall panels), wherein the composition is used to produce the core of the wallboard. The compositions of Soane et al. comprise a polymer binder and inorganic particles (abstract), wherein the compositions are foamed and comprise pores from a foaming agent. See ¶6.
Zhou teaches wallboard (¶ 2) derived from composites of thermoplastics and wood fibers (¶ 4, 35-36).
Hluchan teaches wall panels (abstract) which include a fire-retardant compound (pg. 4, ln. 9), which is preferably aluminum trihydroxide (pg. 4, ln. 27) in an amount of at least 0.1 wt% to up to 40 wt% (pg. 4, ln. 29-33), and preferably at least 2wt% to 20wt%.
Brockmüller fails to teach that the composite, in addition to the polymeric binder and the hyperbranched copolymer, an additional copolymer comprising at least one carboxyl functional group and/or which is a linear polymer. None of Soane et al.; Zhou; or Hluchan remedy the deficiencies of Brockmüller. Particularly, none of Soane et all, Zhou, or Hluchan teach a composite comprising a polymeric binder, a hyperbranched copolymer, and an additional copolymer comprising at least one carboxyl functional group and/or which is a linear polymer.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to K. B BOYLE whose telephone number is (571)270-7338. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 am to 5pm, Monday - Friday.
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, Randy Gulakowski can be reached at (571) 272-1302. 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.
/K. BOYLE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1766