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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, in the reply filed on November 11, 2025, is acknowledged. Claims 1-12 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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 13-20 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.
Regarding claims 13-20, claims 13 and 20 recite a first, a second, and a third polymer ply bonded together to form a composite, wherein initial material from the first polymer ply is provided at a first side of the composite. It is unclear if the claimed “initial material from the first polymer ply” is the first polymer ply, or was previously a portion of the first polymer ply but is separate from the first polymer ply in the final composite panel. Additionally, the verbiage of the claim is unclear, as the claim recites initial material from the fiber polymer ply provided at a first side of the composite. However, the first polymer ply is bonded together with the second polymer ply and the third polymer ply to form the composite. Therefore, it is unclear what “initial material” is referenced in the claim, as the composite is already formed and “initial material” does not appear to be present once the composite is formed. For purposes of examination, the claim will be interpreted as referencing the first polymer ply.
Regarding claims 18 and 19, claim 18 recites a first scrim layer bonded to an outer surface of the first polymer layer, and a second scrim layer bonded to an outer surface of the third polymer layer. The claims are dependent from claim 13, which does not recite “a first polymer layer” or “a third polymer layer.” Therefore, the recitations of “the first polymer layer” and “the third polymer layer” lack proper antecedent basis in the claims.
Additionally, the claims are dependent from claim 13, which recites a first, a second, and a third polymer ply bonded together to form a composite, wherein initial material from the first polymer ply is provided at a first side of the composite, and wherein the composite is bonded to the core by positioning the first side of the composite adjacent to the core and heating the composite. The claim appears to recite the first polymer ply is bonded to the core and abuts the second polymer ply. It is unclear how the first scrim layer can bond to an outer surface of a polymer ply or layer as each of the surfaces appear to be bonded to either the second polymer ply or the core.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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 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 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Pub. No. 2016/0185395 to Osten in view of US Pub. No. 2016/0067949 to Peltola and USPN 6,287,678 to Spengler.
Regarding claims 13-20, Osten teaches a composite wall panel for use in vehicles having a floor structure and a front wall, the composite wall panel including a first polymer resin layer having a plurality of unidirectional fibers embedded therein that are substantially parallel to a first axis, and a second polymer resin layer having a plurality of unidirectional fibers embedded therein that are substantially parallel to a second axis, the second polymer resin layer being bonded to the first polymer resin layer so that the second axis is substantially perpendicular to the first axis, and a third polymer resin layer including a plurality of unidirectional fibers embedded therein, the third polymer resin layer being bonded to the second polymer resin layer opposite the first polymer resin layer so that the plurality of unidirectional fibers of the third polymer layer is substantially parallel to the first fiber axis of the composite wall panel (Osten, Abstract, paragraph 0005, claims 1-13). Osten teaches that in the multiple fiber reinforced polymer layers, each of the layers include a plurality of unidirectional fibers embedded in a co-polymer material, such as a polypropylene copolymer (Id., paragraph 0015). Osten teaches a composite panel comprising a first scrim layer, a first polymer resin layer, a second polymer resin layer, a third polymer resin layer, and second scrim layer (Id., paragraph 0023), wherein a fiberglass sheet may be adhered to a first scrim layer to provide an aesthetically pleasing outer surface (Id., paragraph 0019).
Osten does not appear to teach the claimed core and the melting temperatures of the materials in the plies. However, Peltola teaches a composite material comprising a first layer and a second layer, wherein the first and second layer comprise a thermoplastic polymer (Peltola, Abstract), and wherein the composite product is used for purposes including door frames (Id., paragraph 0002). Peltola teaches that the thermoplastic polymer may be a thermoplastic polyolefin including polypropylenes derived from copolymers (Id., paragraphs 0040, 0042). Peltola teaches that the melting temperature of the thermoplastic polymer may be about 160ºC, or in the range of 120-180ºC for polyolefins (Id., paragraphs 0057-0063).
Additionally, Spengler teaches a composite structural panel with a thermoplastic foam core including a composite outer layer including fibers embedded in a thermoplastic matrix, wherein the thermoplastic material of all layers is preferably polypropylene and the core consists of an expanded cellular polypropylene rigid foam (Spengler, Abstract). Spengler teaches that the outer layer is preheated to provide enough heat to thermally fuse the outer layer onto the foam core without overheating the foam core to the point of softening or melting the foam core (Id.). Spengler teaches that the foam core provides a spacing distance between outer layers, and therefore the finished composite structural panel has a high strength and rigidity, such that the panel can be molded (Id.). Spengler teaches that by not simultaneously laminating the outer layers onto the core, overheating and melting of the foam core is avoided, while sufficient heat is still provided to achieve the desired thermal fusion bonding (Id., column 5 line 66 to column 6 line 23). Spengler teaches that the key advantage is to achieve a sufficient temperature (e.g. 140 to 170ºC) at the interface between the foam core and outer layer without heating the entirety of the foam core to its softening and melting temperatures in the range of 120 to 170ºC (Id.). Spengler teaches that the composite structural panels are suitable for motor vehicles or the like (Id., column 5 lines 25-41).
Osten teaches a composite wall panel comprising a plurality of polypropylene resin layers suitable for use in vehicles. Peltola establishes that polypropylene composites suitable for use as door frames, include polypropylene polymers and copolymers wherein suitable melt temperatures may be about 160ºC, or in the range of 120-180ºC. Additionally, Spengler teaches a composite structural panel including outer layers comprising fibers and a polypropylene matrix material, wherein the outer layers are thermally fused to a polypropylene foam core to provide high strength and rigidity when used in motor vehicles. Spengler teaches that the foam core has melting temperatures in the range of 120 to 170ºC wherein the interface has a temperature of 140 to 170ºC.
The polypropylene resin in each of the layers either have the same or different melting temperatures based on the finite number of predictable solutions. It is reasonable for one of ordinary skill to expect that polypropylene ordinarily comprises a melt temperature of about 160ºC. However, one of ordinary skill would recognize that when thermally bonding a polypropylene foam having a softening or melt temperature in the range of 120 to 170ºC to a polypropylene resin layer, it would be beneficial for the polypropylene resin to have a lower melting point to avoid softening or melting the foam.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the composite wall panel of Osten, wherein the polypropylenes comprise melt temperatures of about 160ºC, or in the range of 120-180ºC, such as within the claimed ranges, and wherein the first polymer resin layer is thermally bonded to a similar polypropylene foam having similar melting points, such as within the claimed ranges, as taught by Peltola and Spengler, motivated by the desire of forming a conventional composite wall panel having polypropylene melting points known in the art as being predictably suitable for similar uses, and comprising an additional polypropylene foam layer thermally bonded to a polypropylene resin layer having melting points that predictably allow for laminating the foam core without softening or melting the foam core.
Note that the method of forming the composite panel, such as the limitations directed to heating, is interpreted as a product by process limitation. Absent a showing to the contrary, it is Examiner’s position that the article of the applied prior art is identical to or only slightly different than the claimed article. Even though product-by-process claims are limited by and defined by the process, determination of patentability is based on the product itself. The patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. If the product in the product-by-process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior product was made by a different process. In re Thorpe, 227 USPQ 964, 966 (Fed. Cir. 1985). The burden has been shifted to Applicant to show unobvious differences between the claimed product and the prior art product. In re Marosi, 218 USPQ 289 (Fed. Cir. 1983). The applied prior art either anticipated or strongly suggested the claimed subject matter. It is noted that if Applicant intends to rely on Examples in the specification or in a submitted declaration to show unobviousness, Applicant should clearly state how the Examples of the present invention are commensurate in scope with the claims and how the Comparative Examples are commensurate in scope with the applied prior art.
Regarding claim 17, the prior art combination does not require an adhesive layer.
Regarding claims 18 and 19, as set forth above, it is unclear exactly what structure is claimed. However, the prior art combination teaches a first scrim layer, a first polymer resin layer, a second polymer resin layer, a third polymer resin layer, and second scrim layer, wherein a fiberglass sheet may be adhered to a first scrim layer to provide an aesthetically pleasing outer surface.
Regarding claim 20, the prior art combination teaches a vehicle including a body supported by a chassis, the body including a floor structure, a roof panel, a pair of parallel, opposing side walls, a front wall and a rear wall, and the front wall including at least a curved portion, wherein the curved portion is formed by at least one composite wall panel (Osten, paragraph 0014, claim 8).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER Y CHOI whose telephone number is (571)272-6730. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM.
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/PETER Y CHOI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786