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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-11, 14-22, 31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tallury et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0049389 in view of Autran et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0165173.
Tallury teaches a bicomponent fiber comprising a first component comprising a first polypropylene homopolymer and a second component comprising a blend of a propylene based elastomer and a polypropylene homopolymer. See paragraph 0004. The blend has a melt flow rate that it at least as least 20% greater or 20% less than the melt flow rate of the first polypropylene homopolymer. See paragraph 0004, 0005. The first and second polypropylene homopolymers can be the same or different. See paragraph 0024. The polypropylene can have a heat of fusion of greater than 60 J/g and at least 80 J/g. The MFR can be 1-500 g/10 min. See paragraph 0027. The polypropylenes can have a melting point of 110-170 degrees Celsius. See paragraph 0025. The bicomponent fiber can comprise a first component including the first polypropylene homopolymer and a second component comprising a blend of a propylene based elastomer and a second polypropylene homopolymer. See paragraph 0031. The amount of polypropylene homopolymer or blend of propylene homopolymers in the first component can be 80-100 wt% and the amount of polypropylene homopolymer or blend of propylene homopolymers in the second component can be 10-90-wt %. See paragraph 0032-0033. The propylene based elastomer can have a heat of fusion of less than 80 J/g, a melting point of 105 degrees C or less and an MFR of 2-50 g/min. The propylene based elastomer can have a triad tacity of at least 75%. See paragraph 0038. The propylene based elastomer can have a density of 0.850-0.900 g/cc. See paragraph 0042. The propylene based elastomer has 1-35 wt % of alpha olefin. See paragraph 0035. The alpha olefin can be ethylene. See paragraph 0035. The bicomponent fibers can have a side by side configuration. See paragraph 0061. With regard to the tacity, Tallury does not teach the claimed value measured in the same way, however, since the same polymer is present, it is reasonable to expect that either the tacity is necessarily present, or else it would have been obvious to select the particular composition of the elastomer in order to provide the desired properties. The fibers are formed by forming the blend, extruding and collecting the formed fibers into a nonwoven. The nonwoven can be a hygiene product. See paragraphs 0060-0062, 0084. With regard to the particular thickness, it would have been obvious to have deposited a suitable thickness of fibers to form the desired thickness in the final product.
Tallury differs from the claimed invention because it does not disclose that the first polypropylene should be a blend of two polypropylenes and does not clearly disclose the claimed Tm for first and second polypropylenes in a blend, since Tallury only employs a single polypropylene as the first component.
However, Autran discloses fiber comprising polymeric blends and polymeric mixtures that incorporate blends of first and second polypropylenes. See paragraph 0002. Autran teaches a first polypropylene which can have a Tm of 110-135 and an MFR of 10-40 and second polypropylene having a Tm of 135-165 and an MFR of 10-40. See paragraphs 0051 and 0052 and 0058-0059. Further, Tallury teaches that the polypropylenes employed in Tallury can have a MFR of 1-500 g/10 min, (see paragraph 0027), and that the polypropylenes can have a melting point of 110-170 degrees Celsius, (see paragraph 0025). Autran teaches that the lower melt temperature, lower MFR component provides strength to the fibers with resulting abrasion resistance and improved stability, while the higher melt temperature, higher MFR provides improved extrusion line throughput, fiber drawdown and cold extensibility. See paragraph 0038. The blend preferably has a melt temperature of 125-150C and a MFR of 10-40 g/10 minutes. See paragraph 0043. The fibers of Autran can be formed as side by side fibers. See paragraph 0081. See paragraph 0081. Therefore, it would have been obvious to have provided a second polypropylene having as taught by Autran in order to provide particular properties to the fibers.
With regard to the claims as amended, Autran teaches a first polypropylene which can have a Tm of 110-135 and an MFR of 10-40 and second polypropylene having a Tm of 135-165 and an MFR of 10-40. See paragraphs 0051 and 0052 and 0058-0059. Further, Tallury teaches Tallury teaches that the MFR of the polypropylene component should be either 20% greater or 20% less than the MFR of the blend of the elastomer and the polypropylene. See paragraph 0015 of Tallury. Therefore, it would have been obvious to have selected the optimum or workable first and second Tm and MFR of the blend of polypropylenes from within the broad ranges disclosed by Autran through routine experimentation in order to provide a bicomponent fiber having the desired properties including Tm and MFR, especially recognizing that lower melt temperatures and lower MFR provides strength, abrasion resistance and improved stability while higher melt and higher MFR provide improved extrusion throughput.
Claim(s) 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tallury in view of Autran as applied to claims above, and further in view of Abubakar et al, WO 2016/192097A1.
Tallury in view of Autran do not teach the claimed crystallinity of the elastomer.
However, Abubaker discloses a propylene based elastomer. See abstract. Abubaker teaches that it was known to blend high and low MFR polymer and/or high and low crystallinity polymers. See page 2, paragraph 5. Abubakar teaches forming fibers from a propylene elastomer having a MFR of 30-80 g/10min with a thermoplastic polymer. The elastomer can have a crystallinity of about 5-15%. See paragraph 23, page 6. The elastomer can have a density of 0.850-0.920 g/cc, see paragraph 32. The elastomer can have a weight average molecular weight of 100,000 to 130,000 g/mole. The elastomer can be blended with a propylene based thermoplastic polymer having a crystallinity of at least 40%. See paragraph 42. The propylene polymer can have a density of 0.85-0.91 g/cc. see paragraph 45. The fibers can be formed by forming the polymer mixture, extruding and forming onto a forming belt. See paragraph 58.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to have employed a propylene elastomer having a crystallinity as taught by Abubakar in view of its art recognized suitability for this purpose.
Applicant's arguments filed 8/11/25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Autran does not teach that Tm2 is greater than Tm1. However, as set forth above, Tallury teaches that the MFR of the blend (polypropylene plus elastomer), should differ by plus or minus 20% of the MFR of the polypropylene and that MFR of the polypropylene or polypropylenes can be 1-500 g/10 min. See paragraph 0027. The polypropylenes can have a melting point of 110-170 degrees Celsius. See paragraph 0025. Further, Autran teaches employing blends of polypropylenes to further control the properties of the fibers. Autran teaches a first polypropylene which can have a Tm of 110-135 and an MFR of 10-40 and second polypropylene having a Tm of 135-165 and an MFR of 10-40. See paragraphs 0051 and 0052 and 0058-0059. Tallury teaches that the MFR of the polypropylene component should be either 20% greater or 20% less than the MFR of the blend of the elastomer and the polypropylene. See paragraph 0015 of Tallury. Therefore, it would have been obvious to have selected the optimum or workable first and second Tm and MFR of a blend of polypropylenes from within the broad ranges disclosed by Tallury through routine experimentation in order to provide a bicomponent fiber having the desired properties including Tm and MFR, especially recognizing that lower melt temperatures and lower MFR provides strength, abrasion resistance and improved stability while higher melt and higher MFR provide improved extrusion throughput.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/ELIZABETH M IMANI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1789