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 without traverse of claims 1-11 in the reply filed on 06/11/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 12-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected claims, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 § 102
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C.102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Carsaro US 2018/0215968 A1 (present on IDS).
Regarding claims 1-6, Carsaro discloses an adhesion promoter composition comprising an aminosilane, an acid and an amine hardener (reference claim 1). The presence of an acid along with aminosilane, assures the presence of an ammonium salt of the aminosilane. Carsaro notes that the amine hardener is preferably a polyamidoamine, particularly a condensation product of a fatty acid or a polycarboxylic acid with a polyalkyleneamine (paragraph [0064]). Carsaro highlights N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane as one of preferred aminosilanes (end of paragraph [0052]), with structure as shown below, which meets Formula (I), with R1 having an -NH2, and R3, R4 and R5 as methoxy.
PNG
media_image1.png
140
276
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Therefore, the invention as claimed is fully anticipated by Carsaro as disclosing each limitation of the rejected claims as per discussion above.
Claims 1, 3-6 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C.102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Melzer et al. US 2004/0020565 A1.
Regarding claims 1, 3-6 and 11, Melzer teaches a latex composition comprising a polyamidoamine/epichlorohydrin, a fluoacid and a phosphoric acid (reference claims 1-3, and 15-16). The composition further comprises an aminosilane. In the presence of an acid, the aminosilane will inherently form an ammonium salt. Melzer discloses gamma-aminopropylsilane as the preferred silane, the formula of which is recognized to be H2N(CH2)3Si(OC2H5)3 (paragraph [0021]).
Melzer cites (para [0013]) reference US 2,926,116 to teach the required polyamidoamine/epichlorohydrin, which is derived from triethylenetetramine, adipic acid and epichlorohydrin (US 2,926,116, Example 2, col 4), which meets the requirements of instant claims 4-6. Melzer further notes that the latex composition comprises a vinyl chloride, which corresponds to applicant’s organic chloride.
Therefore, the invention as claimed is fully anticipated by Melzer as disclosing each limitation of the rejected claims as per discussion above.
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.
Claim(s) 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Carsaro as applied to claim 1-6 above, and further in view of Van De Berg et al. US 6,040,385 (present on IDS).
Regarding claims 7-10, Carsaro is silent on the utilization of copolymer of an alpha-olefin and an unsaturated carboxylic anhydride for the creation of polyamidoamine amine hardener. Analogous reference Van De Berg who also teaches adhesion promoters discloses polyamidoamines derived from copolymers of monounsaturated carboxylic acids and alpha-olefins, and polyamines (abstract). Van De Berg discloses Example 1 (Col 4) polymeric imidoamine (corresponding to applicant’s amidoamine) synthesized by reacting N-aminoethylpiperazine with C14/C16 alpha-olefin-maleic acid copolymer, meeting the requirements of instant claims 7-10. Advantageously, Van De Berg provides the motivation to create the desired polyamidoamines, since they offer good adhesion even when used in small quantities, can be produced reproducibly and they can be tailored as adhesion promoters for wide variety of applications (col 5, lines 13-21).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified Carsaro’s amine hardener with polyamidoamine as taught by Van De Berg for the same application of creating adhesion promoters which offer good adhesion even when used in small quantities.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Surbhi M Du whose telephone number is (571)272-9960. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 am to 5:00pm.
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, Heidi (Riviere) Kelley can be reached at 571-270-1831. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/S.M.D./
Examiner
Art Unit 1765
/JOHN M COONEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765
Prosecution Insights