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 .
The 103 rejection over Shibano in view of KR-‘919 and JP-‘891 has been withdrawn in view of applicants’ amendments.
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) 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shibano et al-JP-2001058622 in view of KR-20170090919, JP-2017052891 and in further view of Shin et al US PGPub 20190330442.
SHIBANO discloses a process for recycling polyester container comprising a label of heat-shrunk polyester film ([0008], [0009], [0011]-[0012], [0015], [0028], [0029]-[0030], [0088], fig 1) [as claimed].
The container and film are crushed together to obtain mixed flakes of bottles and labels ([0072]) [as claimed, and reading on the claimed first and second flakes, of container and film, respectively]. SHIBANO's polyester film comprises a resin made of diol and dicarboxylic acid components ([0032]) [reading on the claimed first layer of the film comprising diol and dicarboxylic acid components]. SHIBANO also discloses an intermediate layer of the film which can be made of a resin different than the film ([0044]-[0045]) [reading on the claimed second layer comprising a second resin different from the first resin]. SHIBANO discloses that the flakes can be thermally heated in an extruder and cut into recycled chips ([0072]), and discloses an example of thermally heating the shredded container and film at 140°C to dry them ([0085]).
Claim 2: SHIBANO discloses shredding the container and film into flakes of 0.1 mm square to 10 cm square or less, using a shredder, with an example of 1 cm square ([0043], [0085]). Claim 3: SHIBANO's container is made of polyethylene terephthalate ([0002], [0048]).
The Shibano reference fails to disclose 1) the second resin coating/film as being polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) resin, having the claimed MWTw and 2) is silent regarding heating to 200-220°C for 60-120 minutes, having a clumping fraction of 8% or less.
It is noted that the PEN resin is a polyester similar in structure to polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Also, note that in Shibano 0044 and 0045 it is suggested that the second film/coating can be selected to be a polyester resin, and that the second resin have hydrophilic groups present.
The KR-'919 reference discloses a polyester film made from PEN which is used to coat a polyester base film, similar to Shibano and the claimed invention. The KR reference teaches that the specific use of PEN gives their product high refractive index, generates less rainbow coloring, heat and water resistance, prevents blocking and allows film recycling. With respect to the weight average molecular weight (MWTw) of claim 1, neither Shibano or KR disclose this property, but since the claim range is either less than 10k or greater than 12k (so an extremely broad range), one skilled in the art would expect this limitation to be met by both references. In the event that the MWT limitation is not met, JP-'891 discloses that in the field of regenerated polyester films, specifically PEN, use of these polyesters in the same/similar processes generally have a MWTw of 200-1000 to function as a film for/on PET containers. Hence, the MWT limitation is prima facie obvious.
Shin et al-‘442 (from similar inventors as the present application) discloses an almost identical process of recycling PET containers (minus the secondary film, made from PEN), wherein Shin specifically teaches thermally treating the formed polyester chips from 200-220 degrees C for 60-120 minutes for the purpose of achieving a clumping fraction of 5% or less. When this achieved, recyclability, yield and productivity are improved, see 0007.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to use the Shibano process of recycling polyesters, and 1) to have selected the second polyester to be PEN, since use of PEN would give a product/film with high refractive index, generates less rainbow coloring, heat and water resistance, prevents blocking and allows film recycling as taught by KR-'919. Additionally, the MWTw of the claims would be expected to be met by either Shibano and/or KR, as evidenced by/in view of JP-'891 which teaches that the MWT is well known and routine to skilled artisan for the purposes of producing a polyester recycled film, and 2) to have added a heating step of the polyester chips of 200-220 degrees C for 60-120 min, to obtain a clumping fraction of 5% or less for the purpose of achieving improved recyclability, yield and productivity as taught by Shin.
NOTE: the Shin reference qualifies as a 102(a)(2) exception, and was filed March 15, 2019, before the priority date of the present application.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RANDY P GULAKOWSKI whose telephone number is (571)272-1302. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4pm.
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, Randy P Gulakowski can be reached at 571-272-1302. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/RANDY P GULAKOWSKI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1766