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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because it should recite at 5 kg. From the specification, it is clear that applicant intended to list the load (5 kg) along with the temperature (372 oC), which are standard conditions for melt flow rate.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2019/0382544 (herein Yokotani) optionally in view of US 2016/0194491 (herein Taguchi) and US 6,066,707 (herein Colainna).
As to claim 1, Yokotani teaches that similar copolymers comprising tetafluoroethylene units and perfluoro(propyl vinyl ether) units (PPVE). See paragraph 9, 36, 145, 149 and examples.
The PPVE is present in 1 to 10 %mass, which correlates to about 0.29 to 3.78 mol% PPVE (deduced from the molecular weights of TFE is100 g/mol, PPVE is 266.03 and HFP, if present, is 150 g/mol). Thus, it is clear that the PPVE substantially overlaps the claimed range.
As to the melt flow rate (at 372 oC and 5 kg) is taught as 2 to 20 g/10min. See paragraph 15 and 128.
The contains 20 or less per 106 main chain carbon atoms of -CF=CF2, -CF2H, -COF, -COOH, COOCH3, -CONH2 and -CH2OH. See paragraph 172.
It is well settled that where the prior art describes the components of a claimed compound or compositions in concentrations within or overlapping the claimed concentrations a prima facie case of obviousness is established. See In re Harris, 409 F.3d 1339, 1343, 74 USPQ2d 1951, 1953 (Fed. Cir 2005); In re Peterson, 315 F.3d 1325, 1329, 65 USPQ 2d 1379, 1382 (Fed. Cir. 1997); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 1578 16 USPQ2d 1934, 1936-37 (CCPA 1990); In re Malagari, 499 F.2d 1297, 1303, 182 USPQ 549, 553 (CCPA 1974). Also see MPEP 2144.05 stating that when there is overlap with the claimed ranges and the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to select any amount within the disclosed ranges, including amounts within the scope of the instant claims.
Moreover, Taguchi teaches similar copolymers. See abstract and examples. Paragraph 120 of Taguchi teaches that the melt flow rate should be within the range in order to balance moldability and mechanical properties. Indeed, it would stand to reason that one would want the melt flow rate to be high enough so that it is flows in a melt at the appropriate temperature to be processable, however not being too fluid as to be too difficult to handle.
Further, Colainna at col. 1, lines 29-35 discloses that an optimal amount of PPVE in TFE polymers is between 2 and 3 mol% in order to strike a balance between mechanical properties and processability.
In light of the discussion above, it would have been obvious at the time of the invention to have modified the PPVE unit amount and the melt flow rate of Yokotani in order to balance mechanical properties and processability as suggested by Taguchi and Colainna.
As to claim 4, Yokotani discloses films comprising the copolymer. See abstract and examples.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2020/004083 optionally in view of US 2016/0194491 (herein Taguchi) and US 6,066,707 (herein Colainna).
In setting forth the instant rejection, the English equivalent, EP 3816214 (herein Hitoshi), is relied upon for the English translation of the WO document.
As to claim 1, Hitoshi teaches that similar copolymers comprising tetafluoroethylene units and perfluoro(propyl vinyl ether) units (PPVE). See paragraph 11, 29 and examples.
The PPVE is present in 1 to 10 mol%. See paragraph 37, 40-42 and examples.
As to the melt flow rate (at 372 oC and 5 kg) is taught as 1 to 30 g/10min. See paragraph 47 and examples.
The contains 0 to 700 per 106 main chain carbon atoms of -CF=CF2, -CF2H, -COF, -COOH, COOCH3, -CONH2 and -CH2OH. See paragraph 48 and examples, which are exemplified at e.g. 5.
Specific attention is drawn to example 4, which has a PPVE of 4mass%, MFR of 13.0 g/10min and 4 per 106 carbon atoms functional groups. Since the molecular weight of TFE is 100 and PPVE is 266, the mol% is deduced to be about 1.5, which is just outside the claimed range. Note that the mass% would be between 6.2 mass% and 7 mass% to achieve the claimed 2.42 mol% to 2.75 mol%.
It is well settled that where the prior art describes the components of a claimed compound or compositions in concentrations within or overlapping the claimed concentrations a prima facie case of obviousness is established. See In re Harris, 409 F.3d 1339, 1343, 74 USPQ2d 1951, 1953 (Fed. Cir 2005); In re Peterson, 315 F.3d 1325, 1329, 65 USPQ 2d 1379, 1382 (Fed. Cir. 1997); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 1578 16 USPQ2d 1934, 1936-37 (CCPA 1990); In re Malagari, 499 F.2d 1297, 1303, 182 USPQ 549, 553 (CCPA 1974). Also see MPEP 2144.05 stating that when there is overlap with the claimed ranges and the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to select any amount within the disclosed ranges, including amounts within the scope of the instant claims.
Moreover, Taguchi teaches similar copolymers. See abstract and examples. Paragraph 120 of Taguchi teaches that the melt flow rate should be within the range in order to balance moldability and mechanical properties. Indeed, it would stand to reason that one would want the melt flow rate to be high enough so that it is flows in a melt at the appropriate temperature to be processable, however not being too fluid as to be too difficult to handle.
Further, Colainna at col. 1, lines 29-35 discloses that an optimal amount of PPVE in TFE polymers is between 2 and 3 mol% in order to strike a balance between mechanical properties and processability.
In light of the discussion above, it would have been obvious at the time of the invention to have modified the PPVE unit amount and the melt flow rate of Hitoshi in order to balance mechanical properties and processability as suggested by Taguchi and Colainna.
As to claims 3-4, Hitoshi discloses that the copolymer is used in injection molding (paragraph 94) to produce coating layers for electric wires (paragraph 106), joint (paragraph 109), films (paragraph 94), etc.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2013/0046058 (herein Pham) in view of US 2019/0382544 (herein Yokotani) and US 2005/0245626 (herein Hoaglund) optionally in view of US 2016/0194491 (herein Taguchi) and US 6,066,707 (herein Colainna).
As to claims 1-4, Pham teaches a copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and perfluoro propyl vinyl ether (PPVE). See paragraph 35 and examples. The PPVE is present in 1 to 10 wt%. See paragraph 35. The melt flow rate (same conditions) is taught as 0.5 to 50 g/10min depending on the type of melt molding (i.e. is adjusted on the type such as injection molding). See paragraph 50.
It is well settled that where the prior art describes the components of a claimed compound or compositions in concentrations within or overlapping the claimed concentrations a prima facie case of obviousness is established. See In re Harris, 409 F.3d 1339, 1343, 74 USPQ2d 1951, 1953 (Fed. Cir 2005); In re Peterson, 315 F.3d 1325, 1329, 65 USPQ 2d 1379, 1382 (Fed. Cir. 1997); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 1578 16 USPQ2d 1934, 1936-37 (CCPA 1990); In re Malagari, 499 F.2d 1297, 1303, 182 USPQ 549, 553 (CCPA 1974). Also see MPEP 2144.05 stating that when there is overlap with the claimed ranges and the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to select any amount within the disclosed ranges, including amounts within the scope of the instant claims.
Moreover, Taguchi teaches similar copolymers. See abstract and examples. Paragraph 120 of Taguchi teaches that the melt flow rate should be within the range in order to balance moldability and mechanical properties. Indeed, it would stand to reason that one would want the melt flow rate to be high enough so that it is flows in a melt at the appropriate temperature to be processable, however not being too fluid as to be too difficult to handle.
Further, Colainna at col. 1, lines 29-35 discloses that an optimal amount of PPVE in TFE polymers is between 2 and 3 mol% in order to strike a balance between mechanical properties and processability.
In light of the discussion above, it would have been obvious at the time of the invention to have modified the PPVE unit amount and the melt flow rate of Pham in order to balance mechanical properties and processability as suggested by Taguchi and Colainna.
As to the total number of functional groups listed in claim 1, Pham is silent. However, Yokotani teaches similar compositions and teaches that the copolymer should contains 20 or less per 106 main chain carbon atoms of -CF=CF2, -CF2H, -COF, -COOH, COOCH3, -CONH2 and -CH2OH in order to achieve a low dissipation factor within a high frequency region. See paragraph 172. It is known that a low dissipation factor is advantageous for the coating layers of coated electrical wires. See paragraph 7 of Hoagland.
Turning back to Pham, Pham is directed towards utilizing the copolymer as coating layers in coated (film) electrical wires via injection molding. See abstract, paragraph 18, 21 and examples.
Therefore, it would have been obvious at the time of the invention to have modified the copolymer and coated electrical wire of Pham to have the total functional groups of Yokotani within the claimed range because one would want to have achieve low dissipation factor to be suitable for electrical wires.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2007/0292685 (herein Brothers) in view of US 2019/0382544 (herein Yokotani) optionally in view of US 2016/0194491 (herein Taguchi) and US 6,066,707 (herein Colainna).
As to claims 1-4, Brothers teaches a copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and perfluoro propyl vinyl ether (PPVE). See paragraph 35 and examples. The PPVE is present in 0.2 and 3 wt%. See paragraph 13. The melt flow rate (MFR, same conditions) is taught as at least 10 g/10min. See paragraph 13.
It is well settled that where the prior art describes the components of a claimed compound or compositions in concentrations within or overlapping the claimed concentrations a prima facie case of obviousness is established. See In re Harris, 409 F.3d 1339, 1343, 74 USPQ2d 1951, 1953 (Fed. Cir 2005); In re Peterson, 315 F.3d 1325, 1329, 65 USPQ 2d 1379, 1382 (Fed. Cir. 1997); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 1578 16 USPQ2d 1934, 1936-37 (CCPA 1990); In re Malagari, 499 F.2d 1297, 1303, 182 USPQ 549, 553 (CCPA 1974). Also see MPEP 2144.05 stating that when there is overlap with the claimed ranges and the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to select any amount within the disclosed ranges, including amounts within the scope of the instant claims.
Moreover, Taguchi teaches similar copolymers. See abstract and examples. Paragraph 120 of Taguchi teaches that the melt flow rate should be within the range in order to balance moldability and mechanical properties. Indeed, it would stand to reason that one would want the melt flow rate to be high enough so that it is flows in a melt at the appropriate temperature to be processable, however not being too fluid as to be too difficult to handle.
Further, Colainna at col. 1, lines 29-35 discloses that an optimal amount of PPVE in TFE polymers is between 2 and 3 mol% in order to strike a balance between mechanical properties and processability.
In light of the discussion above, it would have been obvious at the time of the invention to have modified the PPVE unit amount and the melt flow rate of Brothers in order to balance mechanical properties and processability as suggested by Taguchi and Colainna.
As to the total number of functional groups listed in claim 1, Brothers teaches that the end group is -CF3 and that the -CONH2, -COOH, -COF, and CF=CF2 and hydrogen containing (e.g. CH2OH, COOCH3, CF2H) are absent (0 ppm). See paragraph 17 and examples. Moreover, Yokotani teaches similar compositions and teaches that the copolymer should contains 20 or less per 106 main chain carbon atoms of -CF=CF2, -CF2H, -COF, -COOH, COOCH3, -CONH2 and -CH2OH in order to achieve a low dissipation factor within a high frequency region. See paragraph 172.
Turning back to Brothers, Brothers is directed towards utilizing the copolymer as coating layers in coated (film) electrical wires via injection molding. See abstract, paragraph 18, 21 and examples. Brothers teaches that the dissipation factor is preferably low. See paragraph 11-12, 17, 41-47 and examples.
Therefore, it would have been obvious at the time of the invention to have modified the copolymer and coated electrical wire of Brothers to have the total functional groups of Yokotani within the claimed range because one would want to have achieve low dissipation factor to be suitable for electrical wires.
Conclusion
Copending applications such as 12/453,690 teach similar copolymers, however there is no overlap of the ranges.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARK S KAUCHER whose telephone number is (571)270-7340. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-6 PM EST.
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/MARK S KAUCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1764