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 .
Examiner’s Comments
Applicants’ response filed on 6/23/2025 has been fully considered. Claims 1-7 and 9-21 are pending.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 2/26/2026 has been entered.
Duplicate Claim
Claim 19 is objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate of claim 1. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(a)
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 22-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 22, there is no support for the peak melting point of the SCC material being 50 degrees C or less. The Examiners in Applicant’s specification use SCC materials with specific melting points. However, this does not disclose the peak melting point of the SCC material being 50 degrees C or less.
Regarding claim 23, there is no support for the peak melting point of the SCC material being less than 66.6 degrees C. The Examiners in Applicant’s specification use SCC materials with specific melting points. However, this does not disclose the peak melting point of the SCC material being less than 66.6 degrees C.
Regarding claim 24, there is no support for the peak melting point of the SCC material being less than 60 degrees C. The Examiners in Applicant’s specification use SCC materials with specific melting points. However, this does not disclose the peak melting point of the SCC material being less than 60 degrees C.
Regarding claim 25, there is no support for the peak melting point of the SCC material being 50 degrees C or less. The Examiners in Applicant’s specification use SCC materials with specific melting points. However, this does not disclose the peak melting point of the SCC material being 50 degrees C or less.
Regarding claim 26, there is no support for the peak melting point of the SCC material being 40-50 degrees C. The Examiners in Applicant’s specification use SCC materials with specific melting points. However, this does not disclose the peak melting point of the SCC material being 40-50 degrees C.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 4-7, 9-16 and 19-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mori et al (US 6,060,427 A) in view of Tsugawa (JP H10-193794 A) in further view of Takaoka (JP H07-304260 A), as evidenced by the data sheet titled Stearyl Acrylate by Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd.
Machine translations are being used as the English translation for Tsugawa (JP H10-193794 A) and Takaoka (JP H07-304260 A).
Regarding claim 1, Mori discloses a thermal printable media (thermosensitive recording material; col. 2, lines 44-45) comprising:
a substrate (col. 2, lines 44-60) and
a thermochromic composite coupled to the substrate (a thermosensitive coloring layer formed on the substrate; col. 2, lines 44-60), comprising:
a color former (a coloring agent of a leuco dye; col. 7, lines 26-30);
a color developer (a coloring developer; col. 7, lines 26-30); and
a melting agent forming a solid-phase matrix in which the color former and color developer are contained (a binder resin of polyacrylate and methacrylates; col. 9, line 63-col. 10, line 21)
Mori does not disclose the thermal printable media comprising a melting agent further comprising a side chain crystalline acrylate polymer material and the SCC having a peak melt temperature lower than the balance of the thermochromic composite.
However, Tsugawa discloses a heat-sensitive recording material comprising a side chain crystalline acrylate polymer material and the SCC having a peak melt temperature lower than the balance of the thermochroic composite (a heat-sensitive color forming layer comprising a long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester and wherein the long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester comprises stearyl (meth)acrylate; paragraphs [0006]-[0007]).
A homopolymer of stearyl acrylate is an example of a side chain crystalline polymer as evidenced by the data sheet titled Stearyl Acrylate by Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the thermal printable media of Mori to include the stearyl acrylate of Tsugawa for the polyacrylate of Mori because having the required stearyl acrylate provides a layer that does not have large shrinkage and is not too hard (paragraph [0004) of Tsugawa).
Paragraph [0004] of Tsugawa discloses that using a long-chain methacrylate such as stearyl methacrylate which is not a ultraviolet curing resin prevents a large shrinkage during fixing and is not hard.
Mori and Tsugawa do not disclose the thermal printable media comprising the proportion of the SCC acrylate polymer material being within a range of 25% to 75% by weight.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adjust the proportion of the binder resin of polyacrylate in the thermosensitive coloring layer to be within a range of 25% to 75% by weight because doing so would provide the desired adhesion for securely fixing the coloring agent and the coloring developer on a substrate (col. 9, lines 60-62) while reducing manufacturing cost due to not using excess material as more than 75% by weight of binder resin would result in a layer that is costly to manufacture due to using more binder resin material than required and less than 25% by weight of binder resin would not provide enough binder resin material to securely fix the coloring agent and the coloring developer on a substrate. Col. 9, lines 60-62 of Mori states that the binder resin of the thermosensitive coloring layer securely fixes the coloring agent and the coloring developer on a substrate.
Mori does not disclose the thermal printable media comprising a melting agent further comprising a wax.
However, Takaoka discloses a thermal recording material (pg. 1 of translation) comprising a heat-sensitive recording layer and a binder which may be acrylates [23], wherein the heat-sensitive recording layer comprises an additive for controlling the color developing sensitivity and decoloring temperature of the heat-sensitive recording material (pg. 5 of translation), wherein the additive is a heat-fusible substance (pg. 5 of translation) and wherein the heat-fusible substance comprises wax (pg. 5 of translation).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the thermal printable media of Mori to include the wax of Takaoka in the thermosensitive recording layer of Mori because having the required heat-fusible substance, such as wax, allows for the color developing sensitivity and decoloring temperature of the heat-sensitive recording material to be controlled (pg. 5 of translation).
The limitation that the melting agent is configured to liquefy at a temperature of 90 degrees C or less responsive to an exposure to an applied heat from a thermal printer such that it releases the color former and color developer and facilitates a color state change from reaction of the color former and color developer is an intended use limitation.
Since the structure of the melting agent of Mori in view of Tsugawa in further view of Takaoka of wax and stearyl acrylate is the same as the structure of Applicant’s melting agent of a primary melting agent and a secondary melting agent, the wax and stearyl acrylate would inherently be configured to liquefy responsive to an exposure to an applied heat from a thermal printer such that it releases the color former and color developer and facilitates a color state change from reaction of the color former and color developer.
Regarding claim 4, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above.
Mori does not disclose the thermal printable media comprising the SCC acrylate polymer material further comprising polyalkyl acrylate.
However, Tsugawa discloses a heat-sensitive recording material comprising the SCC acrylate polymer material further comprising polyalkyl acrylate (a heat-sensitive color forming layer comprising a long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester and wherein the long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester comprises stearyl (meth)acrylate; paragraphs [0006]-[0007]).
A homopolymer of stearyl acrylate is an example of a side chain crystalline polymer as evidenced by the data sheet titled Stearyl Acrylate by Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the thermal printable media of Mori to include the stearyl acrylate of Tsugawa for the polyacrylate of Mori because having the required stearyl acrylate provides a layer that does not have large shrinkage and is not too hard (paragraph [0004) of Tsugawa).
Regarding claim 5, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above and Mori discloses the thermosensitive recording material further comprising a leuco dye (thermosensitive coloring layer comprises a coloring agent of a leuco dye and a coloring developer; col. 7, lines 26-30).
Regarding claim 6, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above.
Since the structure of the thermal printable media of Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka comprising a leuco dye, a color developer, wax and stearyl acrylate is the same as the structure of the thermochromic composite and stearyl acrylate is the same as Applicant’s preferred material of a polyalkyl acrylate having a length of 18 carbon atoms as claimed in claimed in claims 4 and 13-14; the thermochromic composite of Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka would inherently have a score on the Thermochromic Melt Index of 1.1 to 3.2.
Regarding claim 7, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above.
Since the structure of the thermal printable media of Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka comprising a leuco dye, a color developer, wax and stearyl acrylate is the same as the structure of the thermochromic composite and stearyl acrylate is the same as Applicant’s preferred material of a polyalkyl acrylate having a length of 18 carbon atoms as claimed in claimed in claims 4 and 13-14; the thermochromic composite of Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka would inherently have a score on the Thermochromic Melt Index of 1.3 to 1.7.
Regarding claim 9, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above.
Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka do not disclose the thermal printable media comprising a proportion of the SCC material in the thermochromic composite being within a range of 40% to 60% by weight.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adjust the proportion of the binder resin of polyacrylate in the thermosensitive coloring layer to be within a range of 40% to 60% by weight because doing so would provide the desired adhesion for securely fixing the coloring agent and the coloring developer on a substrate (col. 9, lines 60-62) while reducing manufacturing cost due to not using excess material as more than 60% by weight of binder resin would result in a layer that is costly to manufacture due to using more binder resin material than required and less than 40% by weight of binder resin would not provide enough binder resin material to securely fix the coloring agent and the coloring developer on a substrate. Col. 9, lines 60-62 of Mori states that the binder resin of the thermosensitive coloring layer securely fixes the coloring agent and the coloring developer on a substrate.
Regarding claim 10, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above.
Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka do not disclose the thermal printable media comprising a proportion of the SCC material in the thermochromic composite being within a range of 45% to 55% by weight.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adjust the proportion of the binder resin of polyacrylate in the thermosensitive coloring layer to be within a range of 45% to 55% by weight because doing so would provide the desired adhesion for securely fixing the coloring agent and the coloring developer on a substrate (col. 9, lines 60-62) while reducing manufacturing cost due to not using excess material as more than 55% by weight of binder resin would result in a layer that is costly to manufacture due to using more binder resin material than required and less than 45% by weight of binder resin would not provide enough binder resin material to securely fix the coloring agent and the coloring developer on a substrate. Col. 9, lines 60-62 of Mori states that the binder resin of the thermosensitive coloring layer securely fixes the coloring agent and the coloring developer on a substrate.
Regarding claim 11, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above and Mori discloses the thermal printable media comprising the substrate comprising paper (col. 11, lines 60-62).
Regarding claim 12, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above and Mori discloses the thermal printable media comprising the substrate comprising paper (col. 11, lines 60-62).
Regarding claim 13, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above.
Mori does not discloses the thermal printable media comprising an average monomer length of the binder resin being in a range of 2 to 30.
However, Tsugawa discloses a heat-sensitive recording material comprising an average monomer length of the binder resin being in a range of 2 to 30 (a heat-sensitive color forming layer comprising a long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester and wherein the long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester comprises stearyl (meth)acrylate; paragraphs [0006]-[0007]).
A homopolymer of stearyl acrylate is an example of a side chain crystalline polymer as evidenced by the data sheet titled Stearyl Acrylate by Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the thermal printable media of Mori to include the stearyl acrylate of Tsugawa for the polyacrylate of Mori because having the required stearyl acrylate provides a layer that does not have large shrinkage and is not too hard (paragraph [0004) of Tsugawa).
Regarding claim 14, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above.
Mori does not discloses the thermal printable media comprising an average monomer length of the binder resin being in a range of 16 to 18.
However, Tsugawa discloses a heat-sensitive recording material comprising an average monomer length of the binder resin being in a range of 16 to 18 (a heat-sensitive color forming layer comprising a long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester and wherein the long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester comprises stearyl (meth)acrylate; paragraphs [0006]-[0007]).
A homopolymer of stearyl acrylate is an example of a side chain crystalline polymer as evidenced by the data sheet titled Stearyl Acrylate by Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the thermal printable media of Mori to include the stearyl acrylate of Tsugawa for the polyacrylate of Mori because having the required stearyl acrylate provides a layer that does not have large shrinkage and is not too hard (paragraph [0004) of Tsugawa).
Regarding claim 15, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above.
Since the structure of the thermal printable media of Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka comprising a leuco dye, a color developer, wax and stearyl acrylate is the same as the structure of the thermochromic composite and stearyl acrylate is the same as Applicant’s preferred material of a polyalkyl acrylate having a length of 18 carbon atoms as claimed in claimed in claims 4 and 13-14; the thermosensitive coloring layer of Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka would inherently have a peak melt temperature in a range of about 60 °C to about 90 °C.
Regarding claim 16, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above.
Since the structure of the thermal printable media of Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka comprising a leuco dye, a color developer, wax and stearyl acrylate is the same as the structure of the thermochromic composite and stearyl acrylate is the same as Applicant’s preferred material of a polyalkyl acrylate having a length of 18 carbon atoms as claimed in claimed in claims 4 and 13-14; the thermosensitive coloring layer of Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka would inherently have a peak melt temperature for in a range of about 74 °C to about 82 °C.
Regarding claim 19, Mori discloses a thermal printable media (thermosensitive recording material; col. 2, lines 44-45) comprising:
a substrate (col. 2, lines 44-60) and
a thermochromic composite coupled to the substrate (a thermosensitive coloring layer formed on the substrate; col. 2, lines 44-60), comprising:
a color former (a coloring agent of a leuco dye; col. 7, lines 26-30);
a color developer (a coloring developer; col. 7, lines 26-30); and
a melting agent forming a solid-phase matrix in which the color former and color developer are contained (a binder resin of polyacrylate and methacrylates; col. 9, line 63-col. 10, line 21)
Mori does not disclose the thermal printable media comprising a melting agent further comprising a side chain crystalline acrylate polymer material and the SCC having a peak melt temperature lower than the balance of the thermochromic composite.
However, Tsugawa discloses a heat-sensitive recording material comprising a side chain crystalline acrylate polymer material and the SCC having a peak melt temperature lower than the balance of the thermochroic composite (a heat-sensitive color forming layer comprising a long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester and wherein the long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester comprises stearyl (meth)acrylate; paragraphs [0006]-[0007]).
A homopolymer of stearyl acrylate is an example of a side chain crystalline polymer as evidenced by the data sheet titled Stearyl Acrylate by Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the thermal printable media of Mori to include the stearyl acrylate of Tsugawa for the polyacrylate of Mori because having the required stearyl acrylate provides a layer that does not have large shrinkage and is not too hard (paragraph [0004) of Tsugawa).
Paragraph [0004] of Tsugawa discloses that using a long-chain methacrylate such as stearyl methacrylate which is not a ultraviolet curing resin prevents a large shrinkage during fixing and is not hard.
Mori and Tsugawa do not disclose the thermal printable media comprising the proportion of the SCC acrylate polymer material being within a range of 25% to 75% by weight.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to adjust the proportion of the binder resin of polyacrylate in the thermosensitive coloring layer to be within a range of 25% to 75% by weight because doing so would provide the desired adhesion for securely fixing the coloring agent and the coloring developer on a substrate (col. 9, lines 60-62) while reducing manufacturing cost due to not using excess material as more than 75% by weight of binder resin would result in a layer that is costly to manufacture due to using more binder resin material than required and less than 25% by weight of binder resin would not provide enough binder resin material to securely fix the coloring agent and the coloring developer on a substrate. Col. 9, lines 60-62 of Mori states that the binder resin of the thermosensitive coloring layer securely fixes the coloring agent and the coloring developer on a substrate.
Mori does not disclose the thermal printable media comprising a melting agent further comprising a wax.
However, Takaoka discloses a thermal recording material (pg. 1 of translation) comprising a heat-sensitive recording layer and a binder which may be acrylates [23], wherein the heat-sensitive recording layer comprises an additive for controlling the color developing sensitivity and decoloring temperature of the heat-sensitive recording material (pg. 5 of translation), wherein the additive is a heat-fusible substance (pg. 5 of translation) and wherein the heat-fusible substance comprises wax (pg. 5 of translation).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the thermal printable media of Mori to include the wax of Takaoka in the thermosensitive recording layer of Mori because having the required heat-fusible substance, such as wax, allows for the color developing sensitivity and decoloring temperature of the heat-sensitive recording material to be controlled (pg. 5 of translation).
The limitation that the melting agent is configured to liquefy at a temperature of 90 degrees C or less responsive to an exposure to an applied heat from a thermal printer such that it releases the color former and color developer and facilitates a color state change from reaction of the color former and color developer is an intended use limitation.
Since the structure of the melting agent of Mori in view of Tsugawa in further view of Takaoka of wax and stearyl acrylate is the same as the structure of Applicant’s melting agent of a primary melting agent and a secondary melting agent, the wax and stearyl acrylate would inherently be configured to liquefy responsive to an exposure to an applied heat from a thermal printer such that it releases the color former and color developer and facilitates a color state change from reaction of the color former and color developer.
Regarding claim 20, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above.
Mori does not disclose the thermal printable media comprising the SCC acrylate polymer material further comprising polyalkyl acrylate.
However, Tsugawa discloses a heat-sensitive recording material comprising the SCC acrylate polymer material further comprising polyalkyl acrylate (a heat-sensitive color forming layer comprising a long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester and wherein the long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester comprises stearyl (meth)acrylate; paragraphs [0006]-[0007]).
A homopolymer of stearyl acrylate is an example of a side chain crystalline polymer as evidenced by the data sheet titled Stearyl Acrylate by Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the thermal printable media of Mori to include the stearyl acrylate of Tsugawa for the polyacrylate of Mori because having the required stearyl acrylate provides a layer that does not have large shrinkage and is not too hard (paragraph [0004) of Tsugawa).
Regarding claim 21, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 19 as noted above and Mori discloses the thermosensitive recording material further comprising a leuco dye (thermosensitive coloring layer comprises a coloring agent of a leuco dye and a coloring developer; col. 7, lines 26-30).
Regarding claim 22, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above.
Mori does not disclose the thermal printable media comprising the peak melting point of the SCC acrylate polymer material being 50 degrees C or less.
However, Tsugawa discloses a heat-sensitive recording material comprising the SCC acrylate polymer material further comprising polyalkyl acrylate (a heat-sensitive color forming layer comprising a long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester and wherein the long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester comprises stearyl (meth)acrylate; paragraphs [0006]-[0007]).
Stearyl acrylate has a monomer melting point of 30 degrees C as evidenced by the data sheet titled Stearyl Acrylate by Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the thermal printable media of Mori to include the stearyl acrylate of Tsugawa for the polyacrylate of Mori because having the required stearyl acrylate provides a layer that does not have large shrinkage and is not too hard (paragraph [0004) of Tsugawa).
Regarding claim 23, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above.
Mori does not disclose the thermal printable media comprising the peak melting point of the SCC acrylate polymer material being less than 66.6 degrees C.
However, Tsugawa discloses a heat-sensitive recording material comprising the SCC acrylate polymer material further comprising polyalkyl acrylate (a heat-sensitive color forming layer comprising a long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester and wherein the long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester comprises stearyl (meth)acrylate; paragraphs [0006]-[0007]).
Stearyl acrylate has a monomer melting point of 30 degrees C as evidenced by the data sheet titled Stearyl Acrylate by Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the thermal printable media of Mori to include the stearyl acrylate of Tsugawa for the polyacrylate of Mori because having the required stearyl acrylate provides a layer that does not have large shrinkage and is not too hard (paragraph [0004) of Tsugawa).
Regarding claim 24, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above.
Mori does not disclose the thermal printable media comprising the peak melting point of the SCC acrylate polymer material being less than 60 degrees C.
However, Tsugawa discloses a heat-sensitive recording material comprising the SCC acrylate polymer material further comprising polyalkyl acrylate (a heat-sensitive color forming layer comprising a long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester and wherein the long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester comprises stearyl (meth)acrylate; paragraphs [0006]-[0007]).
Stearyl acrylate has a monomer melting point of 30 degrees C as evidenced by the data sheet titled Stearyl Acrylate by Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the thermal printable media of Mori to include the stearyl acrylate of Tsugawa for the polyacrylate of Mori because having the required stearyl acrylate provides a layer that does not have large shrinkage and is not too hard (paragraph [0004) of Tsugawa).
Regarding claim 25, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 19 as noted above.
Mori does not disclose the thermal printable media comprising the peak melting point of the SCC acrylate polymer material being 50 degrees C or less.
However, Tsugawa discloses a heat-sensitive recording material comprising the SCC acrylate polymer material further comprising polyalkyl acrylate (a heat-sensitive color forming layer comprising a long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester and wherein the long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester comprises stearyl (meth)acrylate; paragraphs [0006]-[0007]).
Stearyl acrylate has a monomer melting point of 30 degrees C as evidenced by the data sheet titled Stearyl Acrylate by Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the thermal printable media of Mori to include the stearyl acrylate of Tsugawa for the polyacrylate of Mori because having the required stearyl acrylate provides a layer that does not have large shrinkage and is not too hard (paragraph [0004) of Tsugawa).
Regarding claim 26, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 19 as noted above.
Mori does not disclose the thermal printable media comprising the peak melting point of the SCC acrylate polymer material being 40-50 degrees C or less.
However, Tsugawa discloses a heat-sensitive recording material comprising the SCC acrylate polymer material further comprising polyalkyl acrylate (a heat-sensitive color forming layer comprising a long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester and wherein the long-chain (meth)acrylic acid ester comprises stearyl (meth)acrylate; paragraphs [0006]-[0007]).
Stearyl acrylate can be safely melted at temperatures of up to 60 degrees C.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the thermal printable media of Mori to include the stearyl acrylate of Tsugawa for the polyacrylate of Mori because having the required stearyl acrylate provides a layer that does not have large shrinkage and is not too hard (paragraph [0004) of Tsugawa).
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mori et al (US 6,060,427 A) in view of Tsugawa (JP H10-193794 A) in further view of Takaoka (JP H07-304260 A) as evidenced by the data sheet titled Stearyl Acrylate by Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd in further view of Aihara (US 2009/0239746 A1).
Machine translations are being used as the English translation for Tsugawa (JP H10-193794 A) and Takaoka (JP H07-304260 A).
Regarding claim 17, Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka disclose the thermal printable media of claim 1 as noted above.
Mori, Tsugawa and Takaoka do not disclose the thermal printable media being disposed in a roll.
However, Aihara discloses a thermosensitive recording material being formed in a roll (paragraph [0015]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to gather and dispose the thermal print media of Mori in roll form as taught by Aihara in order to store and transport the media.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 2/26/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicants argue that the melting point of the SCC material is supported.
This argument is not persuasive as only materials with specific melting points are supported, not the claimed ranges for the melting points.
Applicants argue that the binding agent of Mori does not have a melting point below 90 degrees C.
This argument is not persuasive as the Examiner is relying on Tsugawa to teach the SCC material and acrylate is a common material used in Mori which have melting points less than 90 degrees C.
Applicants argue that stearyl acrylate in Tsugawa is in an intermediate layer.
This argument is not persuasive as the heat sensitive color developing layer in paragraphs [0006]-[0007] has the acrylate and that it can be stearyl methacrylate.
Applicants argue that Osaka does not disclose stearyl methacrylate having side chain crystallinity.
This argument is not persuasive as the article discloses stearyl methacrylate having side chain crystallinity.
Applicants argue that claims 6 and 7 are not met by the prior art.
This argument is not persuasive as since stearyl methacrylate is an SCC material has the same length of carbon atoms, the claimed Thermochromic Melt Index would be met. Applicants have not shown how this would not be inherently met.
Applicants argue that experimental data has been provided for claims 9 and 10.
This argument is not persuasive as the claims are not commensurate in scope with the data in Applicant’s Specification. The data uses specific SCC material, while the claims are open to any SCC material.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SATHAVARAM I REDDY whose telephone number is (571)270-7061. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 AM-6:00 PM EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Ruthkosky can be reached at (571)-272-1291. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SATHAVARAM I REDDY/Examiner, Art Unit 1785
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