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 1-4, 7-13, and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by United States Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0262188 A1 to Tsuboi et al. (Tsuboi).
With regard to claim 1, Tsuboi discloses a hollow structure for fuel (Tsuboi, title, abstract, paragraph 0003), comprising a polyamide resin layer (A), a polyamide resin layer (B), a polyamide resin layer (C), and a conductive layer (D) in this order from an outside (examples 58, 60 and 66, Table 3, paragraphs 0643, 0645 and 0651, in the embodiment where the polyamide resin layer (c) contains a polyamide (A-2 in the embodiment where C1 may be the same as A-2 and A-3 where C-3 may be the same as A-3) and an elastomer polymer (A-3 in the embodiment where C-2 may be the same as A-3) and conductive layer (d) contains a fluorine containing a polymer and an electroconductive filler)
wherein the polyamide resin layer (A) comprises a polyamide resin (a) (A-1/A-2/A-3, Table 3, examples 58, 60 and 66), 90 mol% or more of all structural units of the polyamide resin (a) being one or more of: a structural unit derived from a lactam having from 10 to 12 carbon atoms; a structural unit derived from an aminocarboxylic acid having from 10 to 12 carbon atoms; a structural unit derived from an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid having from 6 to 12 carbon atoms; and a structural unit derived from an aliphatic diamine having from 6 to 12 carbon atoms (paragraph 0137-0141, 0443, and as layer (a) is described in claim 1),
wherein the polyamide resin layer (B) (B-10, Table 3, examples 58, 60 and 66, paragraphs 0507, 05) comprises a polyolefin (paragraph 0168), a polyamide resin (b1),and a polyamide resin (b2); a content of the polyolefin is from 5 to 40 mass% of the polyamide resin layer (B); a mass ratio (b1/b2) between a content of the polyamide resin (b1) and a content of the polyamide resin (b2) is from 55/45 to 95/5, the polyamide resin (b1) comprising: a diamine-derived structural unit containing 70 mol% or more of a structural unit derived from metaxylylene diamine; and a dicarboxylic acid-derived structural unit containing 70 mol% or more of a structural unit derived from an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid having from 4 to 8 carbon atoms, the polyamide resin (b2) comprising: a diamine-derived structural unit containing 70 mol% or more of a structural unit derived from xylylene diamine; and a dicarboxylic acid-derived structural unit containing 70 mol% or more of a structural unit derived from an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid having from 9 to 12 carbon atoms (the semi-aromatic polyamide composition (B) including a semi-aromatic polyamide (B2) including 60-100 mass% of a semi-aromatic polyamide (B21) and 0-40 mass% of a semi-aromatic polyamide (B22), the semi-aromatic polyamide B21 including 50 mol% or more of xylylene diamine units with respect to all diamine units in the semi-aromatic polyamide B21, and including 50 mol% or more of aliphatic dicarboxylic acid units having 4-8 carbon atoms with respect to all dicarboxylic acid units in B21, and the semi-aromatic polyamide B22 including 50 mol% or more of xylylene diamine units with respect to all diamine units in the semi-aromatic polyamide B22, and including 50 mol% or more of aliphatic dicarboxylic acid units having 9-12 carbon atoms with respect to all dicarboxylic acid units in the semi-aromatic polyamide B22, as (b) is set forth in examples 58, 60 and 66, and is described in claim 1),
wherein the polyamide resin layer (C) comprises a polyamide resin (c), 90 mol% or more of all structural units of the polyamide resin (c) being one or more of: a structural unit derived from a lactam having from 10 to 12 carbon atoms; a structural unit derived from an aminocarboxylic acid having from 10 to 12 carbon atoms; a structural unit derived from an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid having from 6 to 12 carbon atoms; and a structural unit derived from an aliphatic diamine having from 6 to 12 carbon atoms (a poly amide composition C containing a polyamide C1 and an elastomer polymer C2, wherein C1 may be the same as A2 and C2 may be the same as A3 and the content of C2 is 5-30 mass% of C2 and C1, paragraphs 0137-0140, as (c) is set forth in examples 58, 60 and 66, and is described in claim 7), and
wherein the conductive layer (D) comprises a fluororesin and a conductive substance (a fluorine containing polymer D having a functional group that is reactive to amino groups, and discloses a copolymer of TFE units, E units, HFP units and units derived from monomers that are co-polymerizable with the materials of the inner layer, and further discloses the use of carbon black in amounts to make the layer electrically conductive, examples 58, 60 and 66 and as described in claim 11).
With regard to claim 2, Tsuboi discloses the hollow structure for fuel according to claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the polyamide resin layer (A) comprises a polyolefin (paragraphs 0167-0168).
With regard to claim 3, Tsuboi discloses the hollow structure for fuel according to claim 2 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the polyolefin contained in the polyamide resin layer (A) and the polyolefin contained in the polyamide resin layer (B) are each an acid-modified polyolefin (paragraph 0168).
With regard to claim 4, Tsuboi discloses the hollow structure for fuel according to claim 1, wherein a content of the polyolefin contained in the polyamide resin layer (C) is from 0 to 7 mass% (paragraph 0168).
With regard to claim 7, Tsuboi discloses the hollow structure for fuel according to claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein, in the polyamide resin layer (B), a total of the polyolefin, the polyamide resin (b1), and the polyamide resin (b2) accounts for more than 95 mass% of the polyamide resin layer (B) (as set forth in the rejection of claim 1, specifically as applied to polyamide resin layer B).
With regard to claims 8 and 9, Tsuboi discloses the hollow structure for fuel according to claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the fluororesin comprises a fluoroethylene (co)polymer or and ethylene/fluoroethylene propylene copolymer (paragraph 0270).
With regard to claim 10, Tsuboi discloses the hollow structure for fuel according to claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the conductive substance comprises a conductive carbon compound (paragraph 0345).
With regard to claim 11, Tsuboi discloses the hollow structure for fuel according to claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the polyamide resin layer (A) comprises a plasticizer in a proportion of from 1 to 20 mass% in the polyamide resin layer (A) (paragraph 0459).
With regard to claim 12, Tsuboi discloses the hollow structure for fuel according to claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the polyamide resin layer (C) comprises a plasticizer in a proportion of from 1 to 20 mass% in the polyamide resin layer (C) (paragraph 0548).
With regard to claim 13, Tsuboi discloses the hollow structure for fuel according to claim 2 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein a content of the polyolefin contained in the polyamide resin layer (C) is from 0 to 7 mass% (paragraph 0548).
With regard to claim 16, Tsuboi discloses the hollow structure for fuel according to claim 2 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein, in the polyamide resin layer (B), a total of the polyolefin, the polyamide resin (b1), and the polyamide resin (b2) accounts for more than 95 mass% of the polyamide resin layer (B) (as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above).
With regard to claims 17 and 18, Tsuboi disclose the hollow structure for fuel according to claim 2 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the fluororesin comprises a fluoroethylene (co)polymer and wherein the fluororesin comprises an ethylene/fluoroethylene propylene copolymer (paragraph 0270).
With regard to claim 19, Tsuboi discloses the hollow structure for fuel according to claim 2 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the conductive substance comprises a conductive carbon compound (paragraph 0345).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6, 15-15 and 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record fails to teach or suggest a hollow structure for fuel having the specific configuration set forth in claims 5, 15 and 20, namely wherein a thickness of the layer (A)/a thickness of the layer (C), which is a ratio of the thickness of the polyamide resin layer (A) to the thickness of the polyamide resin layer (C), is from 3.0 to 9.0 times, and a thickness of the layer (B)/a thickness of the layer (C), which is a ratio of the thickness of the polyamide resin layer (B) to the thickness of the polyamide resin layer (C), is from 1.0 to 3.0 times, together in combination with the other elements.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. USPNs 2009/0269533, 2008/0269533; 2008/0011277; 2024/0198574; 2024/0218946, 6555243; 10449747; and 2008/0014397 disclose multilayer hoses adapted for transferring fuel.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID R DEAL whose telephone number is (469)295-9216. The examiner can normally be reached M-F generally 8-4 pm CST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisors can be reached at: Craig M Schneider (571) 272-3607 and Ken Rinehart (571( 272-4881. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAVID R DEAL/ Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3753