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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 1-2 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 states “[Chem. 1]” and “[Chem. 2]” before formulas (1) and (2). Claim 2 recites “[Chem. 3]” before structural formula (4). As the structural formulas are labeled consistent with the claim, these “[Chem. 1]”, “[Chem. 2]”, and “[Chem. 3]” are seen as clear typographical errors and should be deleted. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 1-7, 10-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshitake (US 2015/0284525) in view of Arita (WO 2019/123941). As the WO document is not in English, citations are made to the US equivalent, US 2020/0331832.
Yoshitake teaches thermally expandable resin compositions comprising an epoxy resin which includes a brominated epoxy resin and a second bisphenol and/or aliphatic epoxy resin (abstract). Yoshitake teaches thermally expandable graphite (¶ 129) can be added which correspond to claimed thermally expandable particles (C). Yoshitake teaches examples of the aromatic epoxy resin have an epoxy equivalent of 168 g/eq (¶166) which correspond to claimed epoxy resin (B). Yoshitake teaches a curing agent is present (¶ 41, 97-98) which meets claim 7.
Yoshitake teaches the thermally expandable graphite has a mesh size of 20-200 mesh (¶ 134) corresponding to a particle size of 74-841 microns and are thus particles. Yoshitake teaches the amount of thermally expandable graphite is 20-350 pbw based on 100 pbw of epoxy resin (¶148) which overlaps the range in claim 10. Yoshitake teaches the composition is an adhesive agent (¶8) and used as a coating (¶ 1, 48) and therefore is capable of being a bonding agent. Yoshitake teaches cured products (¶ 172-173).
Yoshitake fails to teach an epoxy resin according to the claimed general formula (1).
Arita teaches a composition and laminate including
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(¶10) where Ar includes phenyl, naphthyl and diphenyldimethylmethane (¶17), R3 and R4 are glycidyl ethyl groups and n is 11-16 (¶ 15). The rest of the variables of formula 1 of Arita meet the limitations of claimed formula 1 when m2 is 0. Also see ¶26 of Arita which show examples where claimed variables R3 and R4 are hydroxy groups and R5 and R6 are hydrogen atoms which meets claim 3.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the epoxy compound of Arita because it improves the adhesive force and the deformation mode of the cured product is elastic deformation, has a high elongation (¶ 8, 22), and is capable of withstanding a difference in thermal expansion of the substrate (¶13).
To the extent that claim 4 further limits optional components (when m2 is 0), Arita meets claim 4.
Arita teaches the epoxy compound has an epoxy equivalent of 150-900 g/eq (¶ 16) which overlaps the range in claims 1 and 5.
Arita teaches the epoxy compound A is used in 30 mass% or more (¶60) and Yoshitake teaches the amount of additional epoxy compound is 1-99 mass% (abstract) which gives a ratio that overlaps the ratio in claim 6.
Arita teaches the cured product used in a laminate which can have a metal or plastic substrate (¶93) where a first substrate is metal and the second substrate is plastic (claim 12) which meets claims 13-15.
Claim(s) 1-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barriau (US 2015/0064380) in view of Arita (WO 2019/123941). As the WO document is not in English, citations are made to the US equivalent, US 2020/0331832.
Barriau teaches a composition comprising (a) a first epoxy resin having an epoxy equivalent weight of at most 280 g/eq, (b) a second epoxy resin having an epoxy equivalent weight of at least 300 g/eq, (c) a thermally activated hardener, and (d) a thermally activated propellant (abstract). Barriau teaches the propellant includes hollow plastic microspheres such as acrylonitrile (meth)acrylate copolymers (¶ 52, 72) which have a nitrile and carboxyl group and meets claims 8-9. Barriau teaches the first epoxy resin is present in a n amount of 10-55 wt% (¶ 23) and the second is used in an amount of 5-35 wt% (¶ 33) which gives a ratio of 10:35 to 55:5 and overlaps the range in claim 6. The thermally activated hardener of Barriau corresponds to the claimed curing agent. The thermally activated propellant (blowing agent) is used in ana mount of 05-6 wt% (¶ 49) which overlaps the range in claim 10. Barriau teaches the compositions form cured products (¶ 72).
The epoxy equivalent weights of Barriau overlap the claimed ranges.
Barriau does not explicitly recite an epoxy resin according to the claimed formula (1).
Arita teaches a composition and laminate including
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(¶10) where Ar includes phenyl, naphthyl and diphenyldimethylmethane (¶17), R3 and R4 are glycidyl ethyl groups and n is 11-16 (¶ 15). The rest of the variables of formula 1 of Arita meet the limitations of claimed formula 1 when m2 is 0. Also see ¶26 of Arita which show examples where claimed variables R3 and R4 are hydroxy groups and R5 and R6 are hydrogen atoms which meets claim 3.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the epoxy compound of Arita because it improves the adhesive force and the deformation mode of the cured product is elastic deformation, has a high elongation (¶ 8, 22), and is capable of withstanding a difference in thermal expansion of the substrate (¶13).
Arita teaches adhesiveness and that the cured product used in a laminate which can have a metal or plastic substrate (¶93) where a first substrate is metal and the second substrate is plastic (claim 12) which meets claims 11, 13-15.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT C BOYLE whose telephone number is (571)270-7347. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday, 10am-4pm.
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/ROBERT C BOYLE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1764