DETAILED ACTION
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 travers of Group I, claims 1-18 and species of graphene in the reply filed on 12/2/2025 is acknowledged. Claims 8-15, 19-20 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention and species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made with traverse in the reply filed on 12/2/2025.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shafiei et al (Positive Temperature Coefficient and Electrical Conductivity Investigation of Hybrid Nanocomposites Based on High-Density Polyethylene/Graphene Nanoplatelets/Carbon Black, Phys. Status Solidi A Volume 218, Issue 20, Oct 2021).
Shafiei teaches a PTC composition comprising HDPE, carbon black and graphene (abstract, table 1). Graphene has a thickness of 2-18nm (experimental section).
Claim(s) 1-4, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang (TW201120922).
In setting forth this rejection a machine translation of TW201120922 has been relied upon and all citations to paragraph numbers in the discussion below are with respect to the machine translation.
Wang teaches a PTC composition comprising HDPE, carbon black and graphene [0011]. The content of carbon black is 50-60wt% and graphene is less than or equal to 10 wt%.
Claim(s) 1-5, 16-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang (CN110791005).
In setting forth this rejection a machine translation of CN110791005 has been relied upon and all citations to paragraph numbers in the discussion below are with respect to the machine translation.
Wang teaches a PTC composition comprising 50-75 parts of polyethylene, 1-8 parts of graphene, 2-15 parts of compatibilizer of a grafted olefin based polymer and 20-40 parts of carbon black [0009, 0015]. The thickness of the graphene is 1-20nm [0023].
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shafiei et al (Positive Temperature Coefficient and Electrical Conductivity Investigation of Hybrid Nanocomposites Based on High-Density Polyethylene/Graphene Nanoplatelets/Carbon Black, Phys. Status Solidi A Volume 218, Issue 20, Oct 2021).
Shafiei teaches the amount of graphene is 1 wt%.
Shafiei does not teach the amount of graphene is greater than 1 wt%.
However, case law holds that a prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges and prior art ranges do not overlap but are close enough that one skilled in the art would have expected them to have the same properties. Titanium Metals Corp. of America v. Banner, 778 F.2d 775, 227 USPQ 773 (Fed. Cir. 1985).
Claim(s) 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang (TW201120922).
Wang teaches a PTC composition comprising HDPE, carbon black and graphene [0011]. The content of carbon black is 50-60wt% and graphene is less than or equal to 10 wt%, which results in equal to or more than 30-40 wt% of resin. Case law holds that in the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang (CN110791005).
Wang teaches a PTC composition comprising 50-75 parts of polyethylene, 1-8 parts of graphene, 2-15 parts of compatibilizer and 20-40 parts of carbon black [0009]. Case law holds that in the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
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/WENWEN CAI/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763