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 .
Acknowledgment is made of provisional application 63/358,673 filed 7/6/2022.
Claims 1-35 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 1-27, 30, 32-33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki et al. (US 2025/0207005).
Regarding claim 1: Suzuki is directed to a curable composition for additive manufacturing (stereolithographic article), the curable composition comprising:
A polymerization initiator to initiate the reaction;
A monomer selected from the group consisting of (a-1), (a-2), or (a-3), wherein a combination of two or more may be used ([0105]).
A monomer (a-1) including a urethanized (meth)acrylic acid of urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA) is disclosed ([0083] Suzuki), which is defined by the present invention as a crosslinker comprising a second plurality of polymerizable groups and an alkylene or heteroalkylene group disposed between at least two polymerizable functional groups of the second plurality of polymerizable functional groups.
A monomer of aromatic (meth)acrylic acid ester (a-2) including 2,2-bis[ 4-(2-hydroxy-3-methacryloyloxypropoxy) phenyl]propane, otherwise known as bisphenol A glycerolate dimethacrylate ([0086] and working examples)
A monomer (a-3) including those having an arylene or heterarylene group disposed between two polymerizable functional groups of the first plurality of polymerizable functional group. Specifically,
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polymerizable monomers (a-3) are disclosed wherein Z includes optionally substituted aromatic groups ([0092] Suzuki).
Monomers (a-2) or (a-3) are equivalent to the claimed first crosslinker of the present invention. Monomer (a-1) is equivalent to the claimed second crosslinker.
While a specific curable composition simultaneously comprising (a-1) with either (a-2) or (a-3) is not specifically disclosed in a single curable composition, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to have selected such a composition since Suzuki specifically discloses a combination can be used ([0105] Suzuki). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time the invention was filed to have selected monomers of Suzuki to arrive at the claimed first and second crosslinkers.
Regarding claim 2: Each of monomer (a-1) urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA), monomer a-2, and a-3 comprise ethylenically unsaturated functional groups.
Regarding claim 3: Each of monomers (a-1) urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA), monomer a-2, and a-3 comprise two polymerizable functional groups.
Regarding claim 4: The second crosslinker of UDMA comprises carbamate groups.
Regarding claims 5-6: The first and second polymerizable functional groups are acrylate groups.
Regarding claim 7: Bisphenol A glycerolate dimethacrylate comprises at least 14 carbon atoms spaced between unsaturated polymerizable functional groups.
Regarding claim 8: Urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA) comprises at least 14 carbon atoms spaced between polymerizable functional groups.
Regarding claim 9: Monomer (a-3) of the
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has a molecular weight of about 182 and is equivalent to the claimed second crosslinker, while Bisphenol A glycerolate dimethacrylate has a molecular weight of 512.59.
Regarding claim 10: Urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA) comprises an alkyl group substituted with carbamate groups and alkyl groups.
Regarding claim 11: The alkylene backbone can be unsubstituted in monomer (a-2) formula (1) ([0093]).
Regarding claim 12: Selection of monomers (a-1) (a-2) and (a-3) results in a composition comprising a third crosslinker comprising an alkylene backbone connecting at least two polymerizable functional groups of the third plurality of polymerizable groups. Specifically, monomers (a-1) and (a-3) comprise alkylene backbones.
Regarding claim 13: The two functional groups in monomer (a-3) can be separated by an alkylene group of 1-8 carbon atoms ([0094] Suzuki).
Regarding claims 14-17: Monomer (a-3) comprises two polymerizable functional groups of ethylenically unsaturated groups of acrylate groups.
Regarding claim 18: The two functional groups in monomer (a-3) can be separated by an alkylene group of 1-8 carbon atoms ([0094] Suzuki).
Regarding claim 19: Monomer (a-3) of the
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has a molecular weight of about 182 Da and is equivalent to the claimed second crosslinker, while Bisphenol A glycerolate dimethacrylate has a molecular weight of 512.59 Da. Finally, monomer a-1 can have a molecular weight of 1500 or more ([0070]).
Regarding claim 20: Selection of monomers (a-1) (a-2) and (a-3) results in 100% of polymerizable functional groups of the curable composition are disposed within crosslinkers.
Regarding claims 21-22: The curable composition is photocurable ([0251]).
Regarding claims 23-24: A filler material is disclosed, including silica, glass ([0196]).
Regarding claims 25-26: A filler additive is disclosed ([0195]-[0196]), although an amount is not mentioned.
While Suzuki does not specify any specific amount of filler, it is the Examiner’s position an amount of filler is a result-effective variable (MPEP 2144.05). Specifically, Suzuki teaches the filler is added in an amount to adjust the shade or paste properties ([0200] Suzuki). Therefore, an amount of filler is a matter of routine experimentation and would have been well within the skill level of, and thus obvious to, one of ordinary skill in the art. (MPEP 2144.05) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have selected an amount of filler within the scope of claim 1.
Regarding claim 27: The amount of polyfunctional (meth)acrylic polymerizable monomer (A) is 5-95 mass % of the total composition ([0106]).
Regarding claim 30: The composition can comprise a pigment additive ([0200]).
Regarding claims 32-33: The composition comprises a photoinitiator ([0146]) including oligomers or a polymer [0146]-[0154].
Claims 28-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hara et al. (US 2024/0117081).
Regarding claims 28-29: Suzuki doesn’t mention a wetting agent.
Hara is directed to a polymerizable composition comprising (meth)acrylate polymers for use in dental applications ([0261] Hara). The composition can comprise a leveling agent of a polyether modified siloxane in an amount of 0.1 mass% or more ([0232] Hara), which is defined by the present invention as a wetting agent. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to have included a wetting / leveling agent in the composition of Suzuki to improve storage stability of the polymerizable composition and helps to prevent overtime sedimentation, and improves curability of the polymerizable composition ([0233] Hara). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time the invention was filed to have included at least 0.5 wt% or a wetting / leveling agent in the composition of Suzuki.
Claims 31, 34-35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Suzuki as applied to claims 1 and 30 above, and further in view of Hagenbuch et al. (US 2020/0054423).
Regarding claim 31: Suzuki mentions pigments, although does not elucidate any specific pigment.
Hagenbuch teaches the composition comprises an inorganic pigment, e.g. TiO2. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to have selected an inorganic pigment in Suzuki as the pigment of choice since it is a white pigment used in dental applications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time the invention was filed to have selected an inorganic pigment as the pigment of choice in Suzuki.
Regarding claims 34-35: Suzuki doesn’t mention a color defined by claims 34-35.
Hagenbuch is directed to a curable composition used for dental applications having specific fillers and colorants to adjust the L*a*b* properties, including values within the scope of claims as demonstrated in the working examples. One skilled in the art would have been motivated to have selected the fillers and colorants of Hagenbuch in the composition of Suzuki to achieve a color as natural as possible appearance of dental restorations ([0027] Hagenbuch). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time the invention was filed to have selected fillers and colorants of Hagenbuch in the composition of Suzuki resulting in a L*a*b* values within the scope of claims 25-26.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT T BUTCHER whose telephone number is (571)270-3514. The examiner can normally be reached Telework M-F 9-5 Pacific Time Zone.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lanee Reuther can be reached at (571) 270-7026. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ROBERT T BUTCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1764