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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claim 17 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 17 recites “manufactured using” but should instead recite --comprising--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 13-16 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The term “about” in claims 13-16 is a relative term which renders the claims indefinite. The term “about” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. The maximum absorption wavelength, the amount of the dispersion aid, the weight ratio of the dispersion aid to the pigment, and the amounts of the colorant, photopolymerizable compound, photopolymerization initiator, and binder resin are all rendered indefinite by the term “about”.
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.
Claims 1-6 and 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsuchiya et al. (JP2021169601). Translation attached.
Tsuchiya teaches a colored curable resin composition comprising a colorant, a dispersant, a resin, a polymerizable compound, a polymerization initiator, and a solvent [0007] (claim 1) wherein the colorant contains a squarylium dye [0008] preferably the following Formula (AI):
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[0010] wherein R1 to R4 can be hydrogen, R5 to R8 can be hydrogen atoms, Ar1 and Ar2 are represented by Formula (I) [0011], preferably represented by formula (ii) [0024]:
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[0011] wherein R15 represents a monovalent saturated hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms having a hydroxy group or a carboxy group, p represents an integer of 0 to 5. The methylene group constituting the monovalent saturated hydrocarbon group may be substituted with -O- or -S-. R16 represents an optionally substituted monovalent saturated hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms or an optionally substituted monovalent unsaturated hydrocarbon group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms, and q represents an integer of 0 to 5. Here, p + q represents an integer of 0 to 5. The methylene group constituting the monovalent saturated hydrocarbon group may be substituted with -O- or -S- [0026], and R9 and R10 each independently represent an optionally substituted monovalent saturated hydrocarbyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms or a group represented by formula (I). A methylene group constituting the monovalent saturated hydrocarbon group may be substituted with -O- or -S- [0011], examples of R9 and R10 include cyclohexyl [0013], and a specific example of the group in which at least one of the methylene groups constituting the monovalent saturated hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms represented by R15 is substituted with -O- include a group represented by the following [0030]:
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[0030] which is equivalent to a dispersion aid represented by Chemical Formula 1 of instant claims 1 and 3-5, specifically Chemical Formula 1-1 of instant claim 2, more specifically a homologue of Chemical Formula 1-1-2 of instant claim 6. Tsuchiya also teaches the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited by the following examples, and can of course be implemented by appropriately changing the scope of the present invention within a range that may conform to the gist of the present invention, and all of them are included in the technical scope of the present invention [0163]. Tsuchiya et al. further teaches it is possible to provide a colored curable resin composition capable of preventing discoloration of a cured product. In addition, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is also possible to provide a colored curable resin composition in which one or both of the absorbance retention rate and contrast of a cured product are improved in addition to discoloration prevention [0006].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the specific teachings of Tsuchiya to include additional compound such as that defined above and arrive at the instant claims through routine experimentation of substituting equally suitable groups for the sought invention.
Tsuchiya teaches the content of the squarylium dye in the colorant (A) is preferably 50% by mass or more, more preferably 70% by mass or more, still more preferably 80% by mass or more, particularly preferably 90% by mass or more, may be 95% by mass or more, or may be 100% by mass. The colorant (A) may contain a colorant different from the squarylium dye in addition to the squarylium dye, and the colorant different from the squarylium dye may be referred to as a dye (hereinafter referred to as a dye (A1)). The pigment (hereinafter referred to as "pigment (A2)" may be referred to as "pigment (A2)"). Any of these may be used [0055-0056] and as necessary, the pigment may be subjected to a surface treatment using a rosin treatment, a pigment derivative into which an acidic group or a basic group is introduced, a graft treatment to a pigment surface by a polymer compound or the like, an atomization treatment by a sulfuric acid atomization method or the like, a washing treatment by an organic solvent or water for removing impurities, a removal treatment by an ion exchange method of an ionic impurity, or the like. The pigment preferably has a uniform particle diameter. By containing the pigment dispersant and performing the dispersion treatment, it is possible to obtain a pigment dispersion liquid in which the pigment is uniformly dispersed in the solution [0060] and the content of the colorant (A) in the colored curable resin composition is preferably 0.1% by mass or more and 70% by mass or less, more preferably 0.5% by mass or more and 60% by mass or less, and still more preferably 1% by mass or more and 50% by mass or less with respect to the total amount of the solid content [0062]; the content of the resin (B) is preferably 7 to 65% by mass, more preferably 13 to 60% by mass, and still more preferably 17 to 55% by mass with respect to the total amount of the solid content [0121]; the content of the polymerization initiator (D) is preferably 0.1 to 30 parts by mass, more preferably 1 to 20 parts by mass, with respect to 100 parts by mass of the total amount of the resin (B) and the polymerizable compound (C) [0134]; and The content of the solvent (E) relative to the total amount of the colored curable resin composition of the present invention is preferably 70 to 95 mass %, and more preferably 75 to 92 mass % (claims 1 and 14-16).
With regard to claim 13, Tsuchiya teaches a maximum absorption at 380 nm or more (preferably 400 nm or more) and less than 700 nm (preferably 650 nm or less) [0008].
With regard to claims 17-20, Tsuchiya teaches examples of a method for producing a colored pattern from the colored curable resin composition of the present invention include a photolithography method, an inkjet method, and a printing method. Among them, photolithography is preferable. The photolithography method is a method in which the colored curable resin composition is applied to a substrate and dried to form a colored composition layer, and the colored composition layer is exposed and developed via a photomask. In the photolithography method, a colored coating film that is a cured product of the colored composition layer can be formed by not using or developing a photomask during exposure. The colored pattern and the colored coating film thus formed are color filters of the present invention [0156] and the color filter produced from the colored curable resin composition is useful as a color filter used for a display device (for example, a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL display device, an electronic paper, or the like) and a solid-state imaging element [0162].
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seo et al. (U.S. 2019/0382587) in view of Tsuchiya et al. (JP2021169601).
Seo et al. teaches photosensitive resin composition includes (A) a core-shell dye, (B) a binder resin, (C) a photopolymerizable monomer, (D) a photopolymerization initiator, and (E) a solvent [0066] (claim 1) wherein the core-shell dye may be mixed with a pigment [0057] and the pigment may be included in the photosensitive resin composition for a color filter in a pigment dispersion liquid state. The pigment dispersion liquid may consist of the pigment and a solvent, a dispersing agent, a disperse resin, and the like [0060] (i.e. colorant of claim 1) such that the core of the core-shell dye is represented by the following Chemical Formula 1:
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[0035] wherein R1 to R4 are independently a substituted or unsubstituted C1 to C20 alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted C3 to C20 cycloalkyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted C6 to C20 aryl group [0037]; and the shell surrounding the core include compounds represented by Chemical Formula 2 or Chemical formula 3 [0046] specifically the following Chemical Formula 2-1 or Chemical Formula 3-1 [0051]:
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[0051] in which the shell is equivalent to the shell represented by Chemical Formula 2 of instant claim 7, specifically Chemical Formula 2-2 and Chemical Formula 2-1 respectively of instant claims 8-10, more specifically Chemical Formula 2-2-1 and Chemical Formula 2-1-1 respectively of instant claim 11. Seo et al. does not teach a specific example of the core when R2 and R4 are substituted aryl in which the substituent is a substituted alkoxy group, i.e. Chemical Formula 1 when L11 and L12 are C6 aryl groups, L13 and L14 are (un)substituted alkylene groups, and R13 and R14 are *-SO3-, *-COOH, *-N(Ra)2, *-N+(Rb)3, or a N-phthalimidyl group.
However, Tsuchiya teaches a colored curable resin composition comprising a colorant, a dispersant, a resin, a polymerizable compound, a polymerization initiator, and a solvent [0007] wherein the colorant contains a squarylium dye [0008] preferably the following Formula (AI):
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[0010] wherein R1 to R4 can be hydrogen, R5 to R8 can be hydrogen atoms, Ar1 and Ar2 are represented by Formula (I) [0011], preferably represented by formula (ii) [0024]:
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[0011] wherein R15 represents a monovalent saturated hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms having a hydroxy group or a carboxy group, p represents an integer of 0 to 5. The methylene group constituting the monovalent saturated hydrocarbon group may be substituted with -O- or -S-. R16 represents an optionally substituted monovalent saturated hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms or an optionally substituted monovalent unsaturated hydrocarbon group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms, and q represents an integer of 0 to 5. Here, p + q represents an integer of 0 to 5. The methylene group constituting the monovalent saturated hydrocarbon group may be substituted with -O- or -S- [0026], and R9 and R10 each independently represent an optionally substituted monovalent saturated hydrocarbyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms or a group represented by formula (I). A methylene group constituting the monovalent saturated hydrocarbon group may be substituted with -O- or -S- [0011], examples of R9 and R10 include cyclohexyl [0013], and a specific example of the group in which at least one of the methylene groups constituting the monovalent saturated hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms represented by R15 is substituted with -O- include a group represented by the following [0030]:
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[0030] which is equivalent to a dispersion aid represented by Chemical Formula 1 of instant claims 1 and 3-5, specifically Chemical Formula 1-1 of instant claim 2, more specifically a homologue of Chemical Formula 1-1-2 of instant claim 6, even more specifically a homologue of Chemical Formulae 3-2-1A and 3-2-1B of instant claim 12. Tsuchiya also teaches the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited by the following examples, and can of course be implemented by appropriately changing the scope of the present invention within a range that may conform to the gist of the present invention, and all of them are included in the technical scope of the present invention [0163]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the specific teachings of Tsuchiya to include additional compound such as that defined above and arrive at the instant claims through routine experimentation of substituting equally suitable groups for the sought invention. Tsuchiya et al. further teaches it is possible to provide a colored curable resin composition capable of preventing discoloration of a cured product. In addition, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is also possible to provide a colored curable resin composition in which one or both of the absorbance retention rate and contrast of a cured product are improved in addition to discoloration prevention [0006].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Seo et al. to include the modified squarylium core of Tsuchiya and arrive at the instant claims through routine experimentation of substituting equally suitable components for the sought invention in order to prevent discoloration and achieve optimum absorbance retention and contrast.
With regard to claim 13, Seo et al. teaches the compound represented by Chemical Formula 1 may have a maximum absorption peak in a wavelength of 530 nm to 680 nm [0043].
With regard to claims 14 and 16, Seo et al. teaches the core-shell dye may be included in an amount of 0.5 wt % to 10 wt %, for example 0.5 wt % to 5 wt % based on a total amount of the photosensitive resin composition for a color filter [0070], the binder resin may be included in an amount of 0.1 wt % to 30 wt %, for example 5 wt % to 20 wt % based on a total amount the photosensitive resin composition [0079], the photopolymerizable monomer may be included in an amount of 0.1 wt % to 30 wt %, for example 5 wt % to 20 wt % based on a total amount of the photosensitive resin composition [0086], the photopolymerization initiator may be included in an amount of 0.1 wt % to 5 wt %, for example 1 wt % to 3 wt % based on a total amount of the photosensitive resin composition [0096], and the solvent is used in a balance amount, and specifically 20 wt % to 90 wt % based on a total amount of the photosensitive resin composition [0100].
With regard to claim 15, Seo et al. teaches the core-shell dye and the pigment may be mixed in a weight ratio of 1:9 to 9:1 and specifically in a weight ratio of 3:7 to 7:3 [0064].
With regard to claims 17-20, Seo et al. teaches a color filter manufactured using the photosensitive resin composition is provided. A method of manufacturing the color filter is as follows. The photosensitive resin composition is coated on a bare glass substrate, or on a glass substrate on which SiNx is coated in a thickness of 500 Å to 1500 Å as a protective layer using an appropriate method of spin-coating, slit-coating, and the like to have a thickness of 3.1 μm to 3.4 μm. After the coating, light is irradiated to form a pattern required for a color filter. After irradiation, the coated layer is treated with an alkali developing solution, and a non-radiated region of the coated layer may be dissolved, forming a pattern for an image color filter. This process is repeated depending on the necessary number of R, G, and B colors, fabricating a color filter having a desired pattern [0106-0107] and display devices comprising said color filter [0002].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. U.S. 2010/0266507.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANNA E MALLOY whose telephone number is (571)270-5849. The examiner can normally be reached 6:30-3:00 EST M-F.
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/Anna Malloy/Examiner, Art Unit 1737
/KEITH WALKER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1735
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