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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 4 and 5 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.
Claim 4 recites the limitation “a melt flow rate (in accordance with JIS K7210: 230°C)” in lines 2-3, which is indefinite because it is unclear if “in accordance with JIS K7210: 230°C” is a limitation or a reference character or an abbreviation for “a melt flow rate” because it is enclosed in parentheses. For further examination of the claims, this limitation is interpreted as ““a melt flow rate in accordance with JIS K7210: 230°C”.
Claim 5 recites the limitation “The thermoplastic polyester resin composition according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic polyester resin composition is used for extrusion molding” in lines 1-3, which is indefinite because it is unclear how it limits the structure and/or composition of “The thermoplastic polyester resin composition according to claim 1”. It is also unclear if the applicant is claiming a method of extrusion molding of the thermoplastic polyester resin composition according to claim 1, and if the applicant is claiming a method, the steps of extrusion molding of the thermoplastic polyester resin composition according to claim 1 are unclear. For further examination of the claims, this limitation is interpreted as “The thermoplastic polyester resin composition according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic polyester resin composition is capable of being extrusion molded”.
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takahashi et al. (JP 2003-313308 A, machine translation in English used for citation) in view of Griebel et al. (WO 2021/021273 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Takahashi teaches a polyester elastomer composition that is obtained by blending and melt-kneading a polyester elastomer [0004], where in the polyester elastomer composition, in examples, the Z-average molecular weight (Mz) [0006] is 2.61 × 105, 1.09 × 106, or 1.52 × 106 ([0029], [Table 1], Examples 2, 3, 4), and the JIS-D hardness [0024] that is hardness (durometer type D) in accordance with JIS K6253 [0028] is 32, 32, or 33 ([0029], [Table 1], Examples 2, 3, 4), which reads on a thermoplastic polyester resin composition containing a polyester resin component containing a polyester elastomer (a), wherein the thermoplastic polyester resin composition has a z-average molecular weight Mz of 261000, 1090000, or 1520000 and a Shore D hardness of 32 or 33. Takahashi teaches that the hardness (durometer type D) according to JIS K6253 of the polyester elastomer composition is preferably 10 or more [0007], that when the hardness is less than 10, heat resistance and oil resistance are lowered [0007], that the upper limit of the hardness is preferably 80 or less [0007], and that if it exceeds 80, the rubber elasticity is lowered [0007], which suggests modifying the hardness (durometer type D) according to JIS K6253 of Takahashi’s polyester elastomer composition in Takahashi’s examples to be 10 to 80, which would read on wherein the thermoplastic polyester resin composition has a Shore D hardness of 10 to 80. Takahashi teaches that the polyester elastomer composition is obtained by further blending and melt-kneading a crosslinking aid [0004], that the blending ratio of the respective components at the time of melt-kneading is usually 0.01 to 10 parts by weight of the crosslinking aid per 100 parts by weight of the polyester elastomer [0016], that the crosslinking aid is optionally glycidyl methacrylate [0015], and that in examples, the amount of the crosslinking aid [0025] is 0.2, 0.6, or 0.2 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the polyester elastomer ([0029], [Table 1], Examples 2, 3, 4), which optionally reads on the thermoplastic polyester resin composition containing, relative to 100 parts by mass of the polyester resin component containing a polyester elastomer (a), 0.01 to 10 parts by mass of a compound (b) having one epoxy group.
Takahashi does not teach that thermoplastic resin composition contains, relative to 100 parts by mass of the polyester resin component containing a polyester elastomer (a), 0.2 to 1.0 part by mass of a compound (b) having two epoxy groups. However, Griebel teaches a delayed crosslinking agent that is a poly-epoxide compound that is selected from glycidyl epoxy resins that are glycidyl ether of bisphenol A [0034], wherein the delayed crosslinking agent is present in a polymeric blend further comprising a thermoplastic polyester elastomer [0004], wherein the crosslinking agent is used in an amount of about 0.5 to about 5% by weight, based upon the total weight of the thermoplastic polyester elastomer and a high temperature thermoplastic polymer [0014], wherein the thermoplastic polyester elastomer has a Shore D hardness of 20-70 [0021]. Takahashi and Griebel are analogous art because both references are in the same field of endeavor of a thermoplastic polyester resin composition comprising a polyester resin component containing a polyester elastomer. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use Griebel’s delayed crosslinking agent that is glycidyl ether of bisphenol A that is a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A to substitute for a fraction of Takahashi’s crosslinking aid, and to optimize the amount of Griebel’s delayed crosslinking agent to be from 0.2 to 1.0 part by weight per 100 part by weight of Takahashi’s polyester elastomer. The proposed modification would read on the thermoplastic resin composition containing, relative to 100 parts by mass of the polyester resin component containing a polyester elastomer (a), 0.2 to 1.0 part by mass of a compound (b) having two epoxy groups as claimed. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because Griebel teaches that the delayed crosslinking agent that is glycidyl ether of bisphenol A is beneficial for being useful as a delayed crosslinking agent [0034] in a polymeric blend further comprising a thermoplastic polyester elastomer [0004], that use of the delayed crosslinking agent provides the benefit of delaying crosslinking of the blend until after the blend has been molded thereby creating an article having performance advantages over a thermoplastic article [0031], and that the crosslinking agent is useful in an amount of about 0.5 to about 5% by weight, based upon the total weight of the thermoplastic polyester elastomer and a high temperature thermoplastic polymer [0014], which would have been desirable for Takahashi’s polyester elastomer composition because Takahashi teaches that the polyester elastomer composition is obtained by blending and melt-kneading a polyester elastomer and a crosslinking aid [0004], that the blending ratio of the respective components at the time of melt-kneading is usually 0.01 to 10 parts by weight of the crosslinking aid per 100 parts by weight of the polyester elastomer [0016], that when the blending amount of the crosslinking aid is less than 0.01 parts by weight, the mechanical strength tends to decrease [0017], that if the amount exceeds 10 parts by weight, the effect of improving the mechanical strength reaches a plateau, and in addition, problems such as deterioration of the appearance of a molded article made of the composition occur [0017], that the polyester elastomer composition can be subjected to various thermoplastic resin methods such as a (co) extrusion method [0021], that the crosslinking aid is optionally glycidyl methacrylate [0015], and that in examples, the amount of the crosslinking aid [0025] is 0.2, 0.6, or 0.2 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the polyester elastomer ([0029], [Table 1], Examples 2, 3, 4), which means that the amount of Griebel’s delayed crosslinking agent in part by weight per 100 part by weight of Takahashi’s polyester elastomer would have affected the mechanical strength of Takahashi’s polyester elastomer composition and the appearance of a molded article made of Takahashi’s polyester elastomer composition, which means that optimizing the amount of Griebel’s delayed crosslinking agent in part by weight per 100 part by weight of Takahashi’s polyester elastomer would have been beneficial for optimizing the mechanical strength of Takahashi’s polyester elastomer composition and the appearance of a molded article made of Takahashi’s polyester elastomer composition.
Takahashi does not teach a specific embodiment wherein the thermoplastic polyester resin composition has a Shore D hardness of 60 to 85. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to optimize the hardness (durometer type D) according to JIS K6253 of Takahashi’s polyester elastomer composition to be 60 to 80. The proposed modification would read on wherein the thermoplastic polyester resin composition has a Shore D hardness of 60 to 80 as claimed. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it would have been beneficial for optimizing heat resistance, oil resistance, and rubber elasticity of Takahashi’s polyester elastomer composition because Takahashi teaches that in the polyester elastomer composition, in examples, the JIS-D hardness [0024] that is hardness (durometer type D) in accordance with JIS K6253 [0028] is 32, 32, or 33 ([0029], [Table 1], Examples 2, 3, 4), that the hardness (durometer type D) according to JIS K6253 of the polyester elastomer composition is preferably 10 or more [0007], that when the hardness is less than 10, heat resistance and oil resistance are lowered [0007], that the upper limit of the hardness is preferably 80 or less [0007], and that if it exceeds 80, the rubber elasticity is lowered [0007].
Regarding claim 2, Takahashi teaches that the polyester elastomer is a polyether ester block copolymer containing, as main constituent components, a hard segment mainly composed of an aromatic polyester and a soft segment mainly composed of an aliphatic polyether [0007], that the polyether ester block copolymer can be obtained by using an aliphatic or alicyclic diol having 2 to 12 carbon atoms, an aromatic dicarboxylic acid, and an aliphatic polyether as raw materials, forming an oligomer by an esterification reaction or a transesterification reaction, and then polycondensing the oligomer [0008], that as the aliphatic polyether, a poly (alkylene ether) glycol can be used [0010], and that the content of the aliphatic polyether component in the polyester elastomer is usually from 10 to 80% by weight [0012], which reads on wherein the polyester elastomer (a) is a block copolymer containing a hard segment and a soft segment bonded to each other, wherein the hard segment contains polyester that contains as constituent components an aromatic dicarboxylic acid component and aliphatic and/or alicyclic diol component, wherein the soft segment contains as a constituent component a polyalkylene glycol component, and wherein a content of the polyalkylene glycol component in the polyester resin component is 10 to 80 mass%.
Takahashi does not teach with sufficient specificity that a content of the polyalkylene glycol component in the polyester resin component is 1 to 24 mass%. Before the effective filing of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to optimize the content of Takahashi’s aliphatic polyether component to be from 10 to 24% by weight. The proposed modification would read on wherein a content of the polyalkylene glycol component in the polyester resin component is 10 to 24 mass% as claimed. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it would been beneficial for optimizing heat resistance and oil resistance of Takahashi’s polyester elastomer composition because Takahashi that the content of the aliphatic polyether component in the polyester elastomer is usually from 10 to 80% by weight [0012], that if the content of the aliphatic polyether component is less than 10% by weight, the resulting polyester elastomer composition tends to be inferior in heat resistance and oil resistance [0012], and that if it exceeds 80% by weight, it tends to be difficult to develop the desired physical properties even by melt-kneading [0012].
Regarding claim 3, Takahashi teaches that the polyester elastomer composition is obtained by further blending and melt-kneading a radical generator [0004], and that the blending ratio of the respective components at the time of melt-kneading is usually 0.01 to 10 parts by weight of the radical generator per 100 parts by weight of the polyester elastomer [0016], which reads on wherein the thermoplastic polyester resin composition further contains 0.01 to 10 parts by mass of a reaction promoter (c) relative to 100 parts by mass of the polyester resin component.
Takahashi does not teach with sufficient specificity that the thermoplastic polyester resin composition further contains 0.05 to 0.5 parts by mass of a reaction promoter (c) relative to 100 parts by mass of the polyester resin component. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to optimize the blending ratio of Takahashi’s radical generator to be from 0.05 to 0.5 part by weight per 100 parts by weight of Takahashi’s polyester elastomer. The proposed modification would read on wherein the thermoplastic polyester resin composition further contains 0.05 to 0.5 parts by mass of a reaction promoter (c) relative to 100 parts by mass of the polyester resin component as claimed. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do so because it would have been beneficial for optimizing fluidity and mechanical strength of Takahashi’s polyester elastomer composition because Takahashi teaches that the polyester elastomer composition is obtained by further blending and melt-kneading a radical generator [0004], that the blending ratio of the respective components at the time of melt-kneading is usually 0.01 to 10 parts by weight of the radical generator per 100 parts by weight of the polyester elastomer [0016], that when the blending ratio of the radical generator is less than 0.01 parts by weight, the effect of improving fluidity and other properties is insufficient [0017], and that when the amount is more than 10 parts by weight, a decrease in mechanical strength due to a decrease in molecular weight of the produced polyester elastomer composition may become large, which is not preferably [0017].
Regarding claim 4, the Office recognizes that all of the claimed physical properties are not positively taught by Takahashi, namely that the thermoplastic polyester resin composition has a melt flow rate (in accordance with JIS K7210: 230°C) of 2 to 8 g/10 min. However, Takahashi in view of Griebel renders obvious all of the claimed ingredients, amounts, process steps, and process conditions of the thermoplastic polyester resin composition according to claims 1-3 as explained above. Furthermore, the specification of the instant application recites that from the viewpoint of flowability related to extrusion stability, the thermoplastic polyester resin composition preferably has a melt flow rate of 2 g/10 min or more and 8 g/10 min or less [0035]. Also, Takahashi teaches that the polyester elastomer composition is obtained by blending and melt-kneading [0004], that the melt-kneading is carried out in a multi-screw kneading extruder [0019], and that the polyester elastomer composition can be subjected to various thermoplastic resin methods such as a (co) extrusion method [0021]. Therefore, the claimed physical properties would naturally arise from the thermoplastic polyester resin composition that is rendered obvious by Takahashi in view of Griebel. When the structure recited in the reference is substantially identical to that of the claims, claimed properties or functions are presumed to be inherent (MPEP 2112.01(I)). If the prior art teaches the identical chemical structure, the properties applicant discloses and/or claims are necessarily present (MPEP 2112.01(II)). If it is the applicant’s position that this would not be the case: (1) evidence would need to be presented to support the applicant’s position; and (2) it would be the Office’s position that the application contains inadequate disclosure that there is no teaching as to how to obtain the claimed properties with only the claimed ingredients, amounts, process steps, and process conditions.
Regarding claim 5, claim 5 is interpreted as “The thermoplastic polyester resin composition according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic polyester resin composition is capable of being extrusion molded”. The thermoplastic polyester resin composition that is rendered obvious by Takahashi in view of Griebel is capable of being extrusion molded because Takahashi in view of Griebel renders obvious all of the claimed ingredients, amounts, process steps, and process conditions of the thermoplastic polyester resin composition according to claim 1. Also, Takahashi teaches that the polyester elastomer composition is obtained by blending and melt-kneading [0004], that the melt-kneading is carried out in a multi-screw kneading extruder [0019], and that the polyester elastomer composition can be subjected to various thermoplastic resin methods such as a (co) extrusion method [0021].
Regarding claim 6, Takahashi teaches that the polyester elastomer composition is obtained by blending and melt-kneading [0004], that the melt-kneading is carried out in a multi-screw kneading extruder [0019], that the polyester elastomer composition can be subjected to various thermoplastic resin methods such as a (co) extrusion method [0021], that the polyester elastomer composition is extruded with a twin-screw extruder [0025], and that pellets are obtained [0026], which reads on an extrusion-molded article containing the thermoplastic polyester resin composition according to claim 5 as claimed.
that in the elastomer composition, the ratio of the Z-average molecular weight (Mz) to the weight-average molecular weight (Mw) preferably satisfies the formula Mz/Mw>1.7 [0006], that the Z-average molecular weight is generally larger than the weight-average molecular weight, but Mz / Mw> 1.7 means that the molecular weight distribution is broadened to the high molecular weight size [0006], that when Mz/Mw is 1.7 or less, the melt properties are generally not good, and it is difficult to satisfy both of the conflicting requirements of high fluidity at the time of melting and high mechanical strength of the molded article [0006], that the value of Mz/Mw is preferably less than 100 [0006], and that when this value is 100 or more, the desired physical properties are not generally exhibited as in the case of the value of 1.7 or less [0006],
Correspondence
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/DAVID T KARST/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1767