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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 16-26, in the reply filed on April 10, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 27-31 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 16-18 and 20-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Matmour et al (WO 2019/020948 A1, using US 2020/0157269 A1 as the English equivalent for the citations below).
Regarding Claims 16 and 21: Matmour teaches a resin-extended elastomer comprising a plasticizing resin and a diene elastomer (abstract), wherein the diene elastomer has a number average molecular weight of greater than 200,000 (para. 0127) and is functionalized with a coupling/star-branching agent (para. 0117) comprising a tin compound, an alkoxysilane, or a silanol, preferably a silanol or alkoxysilane (para. 0120-0121). The coupling/star-branching agent may be a central function with more than two diene elastomer chains bonded to it in a star-branching configuration (para. 0124). One of ordinary skill in the art could easily envision using an alkoxysilane as a star-branching agent, resulting in a structure containing a central silicon atom, more than two diene elastomer chains, and one alkoxy group, which reads on general formula (I) of the instant invention. In such a case, q=0.
Matmour does not explicitly teach the ratio of the number-average molecular weight after modification (Mn2) to the number-average molecular weight before modification (Mn1). However, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that coupling multiple elastomer chains together will naturally cause an increase in molecular weight, causing the Mn2/Mn1 ratio to be greater than 1.00.
Regarding Claims 17-18: Matmour teaches a number-average molecular weight of 250,000-450,000 before or after the modification step (para. 0179).
Regarding Claim 20: The limitations of this claim are considered optional when q=0 or Y=H. Regardless, Matmour teaches carboxylic and epoxide groups as being capable of interacting with a reinforcing filler (para. 0118).
Regarding Claim 22: Matmour teaches that the diene elastomer is selected from polybutadiene, synthetic polyisoprene, butadiene copolymers, and isoprene copolymers (para. 0111).
Regarding Claim 23: Matmour teaches that the plasticizer is chosen from aliphatic and/or aromatic resins (para. 0021).
Regarding Claim 24: Matmour teaches that the plasticizing resin has a number-average molecular weight of 400-2,000 g/mol (para. 0020).
Regarding Claim 25: Matmour teaches the plasticizing resin is present at 5-100 phr (para. 0023).
Regarding Claim 26: Matmour teaches a composition comprising the resin-extended elastomer (para. 0200), a reinforcing filler (para. 0220), and a crosslinking system (para. 0236).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Matmour et al (WO 2019/020948 A1, using US 2020/0157269 A1 as the English equivalent for the citations below) as evidenced by Chaboche et al (WO 2009/133068 A1, using the machine translation for the citations below).
Matmour teaches the limitations of claim 16, as set forth above. However, Matmour is silent to Mn2/Mn1 being greater than or equal to 1.10.
Matmour cites the process taught by Chaboche for the modification step (para. 0176). Chaboche teaches a coupling reaction of diene elastomers (para. 0030), including several examples illustrating the increase in molecular weight during the modification step. For example, “polymer C” has an initial Mn of 91,300 and a final Mn of 153,000 (para. 0088-0090), leading to a Mn2/Mn1 ratio of 1.68. One of ordinary skill in the art would expect the coupled/star-branched diene polymers of Matmour to have a similar Mn2/Mn1 ratio when using a substantially similar process.
Additional Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Dessendier (US 2018/0194866 A1) teaches a modified diene elastomer composition.
Karato (EP 2003146 A2) teaches a modified diene elastomer having a high initial molecular weight.
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CAITLIN N ILLING whose telephone number is (571)270-1940. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8AM-4PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Eashoo can be reached at (571)272-1197. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/C.N.I./Examiner, Art Unit 1767
/MARK EASHOO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1767
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