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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on April 6, 2026, has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicants’ submissions of April 6, 2026, are noted and entered. Note that current claim 4 recites the transitional phrase “comprising” in the preamble without any corresponding markup, which was clearly not previously recited in the claims set forth previously, as the absence of the transitional phrase was the basis for the 35 U.S.C. 112 rejection. It is presumed that this is the only amendment overlooked by Applicants. Applicants are reminded of the manner of making amendments under MPEP 714.
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 4, 6, 7, 9, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Pub. No. 2008/0227887 to Klier in view of US Pub. No. 2004/0106723 to Yang.
Regarding claims 4, 6, 7, 9, and 21, Klier teaches polypropylene-based wire comprising at least one electric-insulating member comprising a polymer blend, the polymer blend comprising at least about 50 weight percent of a polypropylene and at least about 10 weight percent of an elastomer (Klier, Abstract). Klier teaches that the polypropylene can be a homopolymer, and that the elastomer comprises at least one copolymer of ethylene and an α-olefin, such as propylene or octene (Id., paragraphs 0009-0013, 0020-0042). Klier teaches that the polymer blend comprises at least about 50 and typically at least about 60 wt% of the polypropylene component, and at least about 20 weight percent of the elastomer component (Id., paragraph 0037). Klier teaches Examples having a melt temperature of 215ºC, wherein propylene homopolymer and polyolefin elastomer are melt blended at 180ºC, and provided as pellets (Id., Examples 1-4). Therefore, the materials appear to be solid at 25ºC.
Klier teaches that the composition is a blended, relatively homogeneous mass, which can be compression molded and used as polypropylene-based insulation and jackets for wire and cable (Klier, paragraphs 0001, 0040, 0060). Klier does not appear to teach the claimed properties of the resins. However, Yang teaches similar polyolefin compositions comprising a polyolefin and a non-functionalized hydrocarbon plasticizer (Yang, Abstract), having improved properties such as processability, softness, and impact resistance (Id., paragraph 0002). Yang teaches that the polyolefins are present in the composition at from 50 wt% to 99 wt%, and the non-functionalized hydrocarbon plasticizer is present at 0.01 to 50 weight % (Id., paragraphs 0042-0046), wherein the polyolefin is a polypropylene homopolymer, including an isotactic polypropylene or random copolymer, having a Mw of 30,000 to 2,000,000 g/mol and a Mw/Mn of more preferably 1.8 to 10 (Id., paragraphs 0113-0150). Yang teaches that the polyolefin may be an impact copolymer comprising 40% to 95% by weight Component A and from 5% to 60% by weight Component B, wherein Component A comprises propylene homopolymer and Component B comprises ethylene-propylene copolymers (Id., paragraphs 0151-0154). Yang teaches that Component B preferably has a narrow molecular weight distribution Mw/Mn lower than 5.0 and a weight average molecular weight most preferably at least 200,000 (Id., paragraph 0157). Yang teaches that Component B has a Tg of about 50 to 100ºC (Id., paragraph 0154). Yang teaches that the components are typically blended to obtain a homogeneous, single phase mixture (Id., paragraph 0192). Yang teaches that the enhanced properties of the compositions are useful in a variety of applications including molding and wire and cable jacketing (Id., paragraphs 0193-0211, 0242).
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 composition of Klier, and adjusting and varying the molecular weights and molecular weight distributions, such as within the claimed ranges, motivated by the desire of forming a conventional homogeneous molded composition having suitable polypropylene and ethylene copolymer properties known in the art as being predictably suitable for similar molded wire insulation purposes.
Regarding the claimed first, second, and third requirements, the prior art combination establishes a similar composition for a similar molding purpose, wherein the polypropylene may comprise similar and overlapping Mw and Mw/Mn, combined with a similar ethylene-propylene copolymer having a similar and overlapping Mw and Mw/Mn as set forth in Applicants’ specification. Therefore, the claimed properties, including the elastic modulus, first, second, and third requirements, storage modulus, and ratio of storage modulus would appear to naturally flow from the teachings of the prior art combination. Products of identical structure cannot have mutually exclusive properties. The burden is on Applicants to prove otherwise.
Regarding claim 21, the prior art combination does not appear to require voids or crystals. Although the prior art combination does not measure the absence of voids or crystals by the claimed test, it is reasonable for one of ordinary skill to expect that the invention of the prior art combination, once tested as claimed, would appear to comprise the claimed structure. Support for the presumption is based on the prior art combination teaching a substantially similar structure and composition as claimed, and within the scope of the specification. The burden is on Applicants to prove otherwise.
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ have been considered but are moot based on the new ground of rejection.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jennifer Boyd can be reached at 571-272-7783. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PETER Y CHOI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786
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