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 Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-10 and 14-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kanda (US 20160333219 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 3, 8-10, 14-15, Kanda teaches an aqueous coating composition including acrylic urethane copolymer particles with graft acrylic resin having weight average molecular weight of 5,000 or more, plus a reactive-group containing resin, and optional crosslinking agent (Abstract). The crosslinking agent may be adipic acid dihydrazide (p. 16, [0225]). The particles may be dispersed in water (p. 11, [0145]). The acrylic urethane copolymer may contain carboxy-containing unsaturated monomers and carbonyl-containing unsaturated monomers (p. 3-4, [0037]). The urethane portion may be contributed by a carboxy-containing compound and an amine neutralizer, which may be dimethylaminoethanol (p. 6, [0085]-[0086]). The second polymer (graft acrylic resin) may contain unsaturated monomers having carboxy groups and carbonyl groups (p. 9, [0119]; claim 4). Kanda further teaches that the acid number of the final resin may be in the range of 10-100 mg KOH/g (p. 11, [0143]). The weight average molecular weight of the particles may be 5,000-50,000 (p. 10, [0141]). These prior art ranges overlap all claimed ranges with sufficient specificity to anticipate them. See MPEP 2131.03.
Regarding claim 2, Kanda remains as applied to claim 1 above. Kanda further teaches that the final resin may be composed of a hydrophilic chain and a hydrophobic chain, each made from unsaturated monomers (p. 7, [0102]-[0103]).
Regarding claim 4, Kanda remains as applied to claim 1 above. Kanda's hydrophobic component corresponds to the claimed P1, and may contain methyl (meth)acrylate and (meth)acrylamide (p. 8, [0115]). Methyl (meth)acrylate is a C1-C2 alkyl methacrylate monomer, and (meth)acrylamide is a carbonyl-functionalized ethylenically unsaturated monomer.
Regarding claim 5, Kanda remains as applied to claim 1 above. Kanda's hydrophilic component corresponds to the claimed P2, and may contain methyl methacrylate, lauryl methacrylate, vinyltriacetoxysilane, and maleic anhydride (p. 9, [0121]). Methyl methacrylate is a C1-C2 alkyl methacrylate monomer, lauryl methacrylate is a C10-C14 alkyl (meth)acrylate monomer, vinyltriacetoxysilane is a carbonyl-functionalized ethylenically unsaturated monomer, and maleic anhydride is a carboxy-functionalized ethylenically unsaturated monomer.
Regarding claim 6, Kanda remains as applied to claim 1 above. Kanda further teaches that the two polymers may be present in mass ratios ranging from 50/50 to 95/5 (hydrophobic/hydrophilic) (p. 10, [0132]). Kanda's hydrophilic polymer corresponds with the claimed carboxyl-functional P2. This translates to mass ratios of P1/P2 ranging from 50/50 to 95/5. This prior art range overlaps the claimed range with sufficient specificity to anticipate the claimed range. See MPEP 2131.03.
Regarding claim 7, Kanda remains as applied to claim 1 above. Kanda further teaches that the acrylic component has a glass transition temperature of -60 to 60 *C (p. 5, [0068]). This prior art range overlaps the claimed range with sufficient specificity to anticipate the claimed range. See MPEP 2131.03.
Regarding claims 16-18, Kanda remains as applied to claims 1, 8, and 14 above. Kanda further teaches a method of forming a coating film by applying the aqueous coating dispersion, which already contains the crosslinking agent (claims 1 and 6). The coating may be applied to a variety of substrates including metal, concrete, wood, and plastic (p. 17, [0248]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH K AMATO whose telephone number is (571)270-0341. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 am - 4:30 pm M-F.
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ELIZABETH K. AMATO
Examiner
Art Unit 1762
/ROBERT S JONES JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1762