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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I, claims 1-2 and 4-18 in the reply filed on 06/01/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that Groups I, III and IV share a clear and direct technical relationship based on the epoxy resin composition defined by claim 1. Upon further reconsideration, restriction is withdrawn in part and Groups I, III and IV have been reinstated and therefore claims 1-2, 4-18 and 23-27 are currently under examination.
However, per the requirement of Restriction/Election as mailed on 05/08/2026 it was determined that combination of Ohashi et al, JP2009062447A and Ogawa et al. JP2001031738A teach the technical feature of “an epoxy resin with two hardeners and one accelerator”. The limitations set forth in claims fail to define a contribution over Ohashi and Ogawa (as was discussed in the restriction requirement and also over the reference combination of Furukawa and Ota as detailed below), and fail to constitute a special technical feature and hence there is a lack of unity between the Group I and II
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Group II: claims 3 and 19-22 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to nonelected-claims, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-2, 4-18 and 23-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Furukawa et al. US 2017/0362427 A1 (present on IDS), and further in view of Ota et al. JP2014-159531A.
Regarding claims 1, 6-13 and 15-16, Furukawa teaches an epoxy resin composition comprising an epoxy resin, aromatic amine compound, organic acid hydrazide which can be 2,6-naphthalenedicarbodihydrazide and a thermoplastic resin (reference claims 1 and 6). Furukawa discloses epoxy resin composition Example 25 (page 11, Table 3) which comprises ELM434 (tetraglycidyldiaminodiphenyl methane), SEIKACURE S (4,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone) and 2,6-naphthalenedicarbodihydrazide, corresponding to applicant’s epoxy resin [A], first hardener [B-1] and second hardener [B-2] respectively, and meets instant claims 6-13.
Furukawa makes a cursory mention of phosphorus based curing accelerator (para [0006]) but fails to mention a specific permutation of a phosphorus based curing accelerator, and one of ordinary skill would take guidance from related disclosures to ascertain what might be used in that capacity. Analogous reference Ota also discloses epoxy resin compositions and highlights the use of cure accelerators with organic phosphine such as triphenylphosphine as the most preferable (paras [0068]-[0069]), which corresponds to applicant’s [C] (instant claims 15-16). Advantageously, Ota provides the motivation to utilize triphenylphosphine as the curing accelerator to shorten curing time, lower curing temperature and achieve the desired final cure product (para [0066]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have added the triphenylphosphine as taught by Ota in Furukawa’s composition for the same application of creating an epoxy resin with lowered curing temperature.
Since a chemical composition and its properties are inseparable, the obvious composition derived from the combined teaching of Furukawa and Ota would satisfy the condition of formula (I) since they teach the same epoxy monomer: tetraglycidyldiaminodiphenyl methane, hardener [B-1]: 4,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone and the cure accelerator [C]: triphenylphosphine, as the instant working example B18 (instant specification Table B5, page 60).
Regarding claims 2, 4-5 and 17-18, Furukawa in view of Ota, recommend the optimum amount of (Ota para [0070]) the cure accelerator such as triphenylphosphine present in 0.1 to 10 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of epoxy resin, meeting the claimed requirement. Furukawa notes (reference claim 4) that the total of active hydrogen groups of the constituent elements corresponding to the required [B-1] and the constituent element [B-2] is 0.7 to 1.3 equivalent with respect to 1 equivalent of the epoxy group of the constituent element [A] (note that reference Furukawa’s [B] and [C] correspond to applicant’s [B-1] and [B-2]). Furukawa’s Example 25 incorporates 5 parts of 2,6-naphthalenedicarbodihydrazide (page 11, Table 3), corresponding to [B-2]. The claimed relationship (II) (instant claim 2) and the viscosity ratio V2/V1 (instant claims 4-5) would be satisfied by the obvious composition of Furukawa and Ota since the composition meets all the applicant’s components and their required amounts. Applicant’s attention is brought to: Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977). See MPEP 2112.01 I.
Regarding claim 14, Furukawa’s epoxy composition as discussed when addressing claim 1, teach incorporation of 45 parts by mass SEIKACURE S (4,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone, with molecular weight 248.3 g/mol and 4 active hydrogens), corresponding to [B-1] and 5 parts by mass of 2,6-naphthalenedicarbodihydrazide (with molecular weight of 244.25 g/mol with 6 active hydrogens), corresponding to [B-2]. The equivalent ratio of active hydrogens of the component [B-1] to [B-2] = (4 x (45/248.3))/(6 x (5/244.25)) ≈ 6, which meets the claimed requirement.
Regarding claims 23-27, Furukawa’s Example 25 (page 11, Table 3) incorporates 15 parts of thermoplastic resin with respect to 100 parts of epoxy component [A], and additionally creates a fiber-reinforced composite material by curing a prepreg impregnated into reinforced fibers, which is further utilized to create composite with reinforced fibers (Furukawa claims 7-10).
Conclusion
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/S.M.D./
Examiner
Art Unit 1765
/JOHN M COONEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765
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