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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-17 and 19-21 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
During an interference search for a proposed allowance of the claims as currently amended and indicated in the Examiner Interview Summary of 26 March 2026. Unfortunately, the new reference necessitates the withdrawal of the previous indication of allowable subject matter and the claims are now rejected in light of USPN 2007/0044906 to Park as set forth below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-6, 8-9, 11-15, 17 and 19-21 are are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0044906 to Park (Park).
With regard to claim 1, Park discloses a multilayer hose (Park, title, abstract, fig. 5A)comprising: a liner layer (502, fig. 5A, paragraph 0123) having an inner circumferential surface defining a tubular flowthrough passage extending in an axial direction through the multilayer hose (shown in fig. 5A), the liner layer comprising ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene (paragraph 0008), the inner circumferential surface of the liner layer being electrically conductive and having a surface resistivity of less than or equal to about 1 x 106 Ohms per square at 20 degrees Celsius (claim 13 disclosing less than or equal to about 1 x 103, a range that overlaps the claimed range);
an outer sleeve (504, fig. 5A, paragraph 0123) circumferentially surrounding the liner layer (shown in fig. 5A) and defining an outer circumferential surface of the multilayer hose, the outer sleeve comprising a reinforcing material (paragraph 0109 disclosing mineral fibers, wood cellulose fibers, carbon fiber, boron, fiber, and aramid fiber as filler material); and
an adhesive layer (paragraph 0113, disclosing alternative embodiments that use an adhesive layer to bond the liner layer to the outer sleeve) disposed between the liner layer and the outer sleeve, the adhesive layer comprising a thermoplastic polymer (paragraph 0113).
Park fails to disclose a single embodiment that encompasses all of the claim elements but instead discloses different options for each of the elements of the hose. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to try different configurations of a hose including one having an inner liner layer of ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene having a static electricity dissipation configuration such as in the hose of claim 13, an adhesive layer as described in paragraph 0123 adhered to the liner and to a fiber reinforced outer protective sleeve in order to test the suitability of various configurations of the hose for its intended use as a fuel hose.
With regard to claim 2, Park discloses the multilayer hose of claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene constitutes, by weight, greater than or equal to about 80% to less than or equal to about 99.8% of the liner layer (paragraph 0007 disclosing the fluoroelastomer is from about 30 to 85 weight percent of the inner layer, a range that overlaps the claimed range).
With regard to claim 3, Park discloses the multilayer hose of claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the liner layer comprises: a continuous matrix phase; and a dispersed phase distributed throughout the continuous matrix phase, wherein the continuous matrix phase comprises the ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene (as described in paragraph 0007) and the dispersed phase comprises an electrically conductive agent (paragraph 0110).
With regard to claims 4-5, Park discloses the multilayer hose of claim 3 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the electrically conductive agent comprises carbon (paragraph 0109), and wherein the continuous matrix phase constitutes, by weight, greater than or equal to about 80% to less than or equal to about 99.8% of the liner layer (paragraph 0007 where the matrix is 30 to 95 weight percent), and wherein the electrically conductive agent constitutes, by weight, greater than or equal to about 0.2% to less than or equal to about 20% of the liner layer (claim 5) (paragraph 0109 noting that carbon black may make up to about 40% by weight of the inner layer).
With regard to claim 6, Park discloses the multilayer hose of claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the liner layer has a bilayer structure (fig. 5A) comprising: an electrically conductive inner layer defining the inner circumferential surface of the liner layer and comprising a continuous matrix phase comprising ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene and a dispersed phase comprising an electrically conductive agent (paragraph 0109); and an electrically insulating outer layer (504, fig. 5A, not disclosed as electrically conductive and not disclosed as carrying electrically conductive elements within the material making the material electrically insulating when compared to the inner layer) circumferentially surrounding the inner layer, the electrically insulating outer layer comprising ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene (paragraph 0061) and having a surface resistivity of greater than 1 x 106 Ohms per square at 20 degrees Celsius (not disclosed).
The hose of park does not disclose the surface resistivity of the outer layer being greater than the claimed range. The hose of Park is composed of the same material in the outer layer as set forth in paragraph 0109 and despite the lack of disclosure of a surface resistivity value the hose of Park is capable of performing the same function of surface resistivity as that claimed because Park discloses the same material.
With regard to claim 8, Park discloses the multilayer hose of claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the reinforcing material comprises metal, glass, ceramic, plastic, a carbon-based material, or a combination thereof (paragraph 0109).
With regard to claim 9, Park discloses the multilayer hose of claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the reinforcing material comprises stainless steel or fiberglass (paragraph 0109).
With regard to claim 11, Park discloses the multilayer hose of claim 1 as set forth above, but does not further disclose wherein the multilayer hose is substantially free of perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonate, polytetrafluoroethylene, and combinations thereof.
As Park only discloses polytetrafluorethylene as one option among many others (perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate are not disclosed), it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to provide the hose of Park and to not use polytetrafluoroethylene and instead use another material from the list of options while testing different configurations of the hose for different applications such as a fuel line.
With regard to claim 12, Park discloses the multilayer hose of claim 1 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the multilayer hose is configured to withstand temperatures of greater than or equal to about -40 degrees Celsius to less than or equal to about 180 degrees Celsius, and wherein the multilayer hose is configured to withstand internal pressures of up to about 21 megapascals (the hose of Park is capable of performing the function of “withstanding” the described conditions).
With regard to claim 13, Park discloses the multilayer hose of claim 1 as set forth above, but does not further discloses comprising: a fitting disposed in an open end of the multilayer hose; and a ferrule coupled to the fitting and crimped around the open end of the multilayer hose such that a fluid tight seal is formed between the fitting and the multilayer hose.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to couple the hose of Park as designed for use as fuel hose and to install the hose where needed using a fitting and ferule coupled to the fitting and crimped around the hose to form a fluid tight seal between the hose and fitting since a fitting and ferrule are known attachments elements used position hoses within fuel systems of automobiles.
With regard to claim 14, Park discloses a multilayer hose comprising: a liner layer having an inner circumferential surface defining a tubular flowthrough passage extending in an axial direction through the multilayer hose, the liner layer comprising ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene, the inner circumferential surface of the liner layer being electrically insulating and has a surface resistivity of greater than 1 x 106 Ohms per square at 20 degrees Celsius; [[and]] an outer sleeve circumferentially surrounding the liner layer and defining an outer circumferential surface of the multilayer hose, the outer sleeve comprising a reinforcing material; and an adhesive layer disposed between the liner layer and the outer sleeve, the adhesive layer comprising a thermoplastic polymer (as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above).
With regard to claim 15, Park discloses the multilayer hose of claim 14 as set forth above, wherein the ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene constitutes, by weight, greater than or equal to about 80% to less than or equal to about 99.8% of the liner layer (paragraph 0007 disclosing the fluoroelastomer is from about 30 to 85 weight percent of the inner layer, a range that overlaps the claimed range).
With regard to claim 17, Park discloses the multilayer hose of claim 14 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the reinforcing material comprises metal, glass, ceramic, plastic, a carbon-based material, or a combination thereof (paragraph 0109).
With regard to claim 19, Park discloses the multilayer hose of claim 14 as set forth above, and further discloses wherein the multilayer hose is substantially free of perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonate, polytetrafluoroethylene, and combinations thereof. As Park only discloses polytetrafluorethylene as one option among many others (perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate are not disclosed), it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to provide the hose of Park and to not use polytetrafluoroethylene and instead use another material from the list of options while testing different configurations of the hose for different applications such as a fuel line.
With regard to claim 20, Park discloses the multilayer hose of claim 14 as set forth above, but does not further disclose comprising: a fitting disposed in an open end of the multilayer hose; and a ferrule coupled to the fitting and crimped around the open end of the multilayer hose such that a fluid tight seal is formed between the fitting and the multilayer hose. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to couple the hose of Park as designed for use as fuel hose and to install the hose where needed using a fitting and ferule coupled to the fitting and crimped around the hose to form a fluid tight seal between the hose and fitting since a fitting and ferrule are known attachments elements used position hoses within fuel systems of automobiles.
With regard to claim 21, Park discloses a multilayer hose comprising: a liner layer having an inner circumferential surface defining a tubular flowthrough passage extending in an axial direction through the multilayer hose, the liner layer having a bilayer structure comprising: an electrically conductive inner layer defining the inner circumferential surface of the liner layer and comprising a continuous matrix phase comprising ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene and a dispersed phase comprising an electrically conductive agent, the inner circumferential surface of the liner layer being electrically conductive and having a surface resistivity of less than or equal to about 1 x 106 Ohms per square at 20 degrees Celsius, and an electrically insulating outer layer circumferentially surrounding the inner layer, the electrically insulating outer layer comprising ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene and having a surface resistivity of greater than 1 x 106 Ohms per square at 20 degrees Celsius; and an outer sleeve circumferentially surrounding the liner layer and defining an outer circumferential surface of the multilayer hose, the outer sleeve comprising a reinforcing material (as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above).
Claims 7 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0044906 to Park (Park) in view of United States Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0144742 to Martucci et al. (Martucci)
With regard to claims 7, 10 and 16, Park discloses the multilayer hoses of claims 1 and 14 as set forth above, but does not disclose wherein the outer sleeve reinforcing material comprises braided fiberglass.
Martucci discloses a braided fiberglass reinforcement layer as set forth in claim 3. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to provide the hose of Park with a braided fiberglass reinforcing material as taught by Martucci, in order to provide a hose with a braided layer that is resistant to chemical and heat degradation and protected by an outer jacket as taught by Martucci in paragraph 0008.
Conclusion
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
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