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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: reference characters 10, 20 and 30 in Fig. 3 and 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 in Fig. 4.
Further, the Y-axis in Figs. 5 and 6 are not labeled. It is not clear what the values 0.0 – 7.0 correspond with.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tee et al. (US PG Pub 2016/0049217 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Tee et al. teach composites comprising an electrode including a polymer and conductive additives dispersed in the polymer (Abstract, claims 1 and 5), wherein the composite formed has high stretchability [0085] thereby reading on “A stretching electrode” as required by the instant claim, wherein the additives dispersed in the polymer are selected from silver nanowires, silver microparticles and silver nanoparticles [0076], and wherein the polymer is selected from polyester, polyurethane or polysiloxane (Claim 18, [0068]) thereby reading on the heat-resistance thermosetting resin.
Tee et al. do not teach the silver nanowires, silver microparticles and silver nanoparticles with the thermosetting resin together in a preferred embodiment.
However, Tee et al. teaches silver nanowires, silver microparticles and silver nanoparticles and thermosetting polymers with “sufficient specificity” that one of ordinary skill in the art would arrive at the claimed combination. Moreover, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the claimed invention would have found it “obvious to try” silver nanowires, silver microparticles and silver nanoparticles in thermosetting resin as the teaching represents a finite number of identified, predictable combinations. KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007).
Regarding claim 2, Tee et al. do not particularly teach the silver nanowires having a positive charge and the silver nanoparticles having a negative charge.
However, Tee et al. teach the neighboring conductive additives in the composite can be electrically connected with one another to form a charge transport pathway through the composite [0080]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply a negative charge to the silver nanoparticles and a positive charge to the silver nanowires in order to achieve the charge transport pathway, thereby arriving at the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 3, Tee et al. teach polyurethane (Claim 18, [0068]).
Regarding claims 4-6, Tee et al. teach a mixing process that preserves the nanofeatures of the particles while dispersing particles into the polymer network, wherein the particles provide an adequate surface for wetting and will adhere without adhesives to substrates to form a laminated composite [0138] thereby reading on the stretching module as required by the instant claims.
Regarding claim 7, Tee et al. teach the particles provide a corrugated surface [0138] thereby reading on the uneven structure as required by the instant claim.
Regarding claim 8, Tee et al. teach the laminated composite having a rear surface of a stretching film (Fig. 29, [0138]).
Regarding claim 9, Tee et al. teach conductive bonds [0137].
Regarding claims 10-11, Tee et al. teach the composite comprising the electrode having four edges applied to an electronic component (Fig. 28, [0038]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LANEE REUTHER whose telephone number is (571)270-7026. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-3:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Patricia Mallari can be reached at 571-272-4729. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ARRIE L REUTHER/ Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1764
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