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 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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-11 are 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.
In claim 1, line 7, the phrase “a curing catalyst of component c” is indefinite because it is unclear whether the curing catalyst is for curing component c or part of component c. For the purpose of examination, the Office interprets this feature to mean that the curing catalyst is a component for curing component 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.
Claim(s) 1-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2014017218.
Regarding claims 1-6, and 8-9, WO ‘218 discloses a two-part curable composition, specifically as shown in Example 1: Dose A and Dose B were prepared by mixing the respective compounding substances in the compounding ratio shown in Table 2 and by degassing and stirring at 25 C. Agent A: bisphenol A type epoxy resin 100 parts, tin based cure catalyst B1 7 parts, KBM-403 (3- glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane). 1 part; Agent B: SAT200 (polymer with backbone of polyoxypropylene and dimethoxysilyl group at molecular end) 90 parts, EH30 (2, 4, 6-tris (dimethylamino) methylphenol) 8 parts, KBM-603 (N-2-(aminoethyl)-3- aminopropyltrimethoxysilane) 2 parts. (See Example 1).
WO ‘218 does not expressly state in an example that the expoxy resin comprise component contains both (a-1) hydrogenated epoxy resin and (a-2) bisphenol type epoxy resin.
However, WO ‘218 teaches that previously known epoxy resins can be widely used, without being particularly limited, one may cite, for example, bisphenol A type epoxy resins, a bisphenol F type epoxy resin, a bisphenol AD type epoxy resin, bisphenol S type epoxy resins, epoxy resins obtained by hydrogenating them, glycidyl ester type epoxy resins, glycidyl amine type epoxy resins, alicyclic epoxy resins, aliphatic epoxy resins, novolac type epoxy resins, urethane-modified epoxy resins having urethane linkages, fluorinated epoxy resins, rubber-modified epoxy resins (e.g., a flame retardant epoxy resin such as a glycidyl ether of tetrabromobisphenol A and the like. These epoxy resins can be used alone or in combination with two or more kinds (see paragraph 17 of the specification). Thus, based on the disclosure of WO ’218, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art to choose a hydrogenated epoxy resin for co-use with a bisphenol type epoxy resin as an obvious combination of known prior art elements that would provide predictable results (See MPEP 2143).
Regarding claim 7, WO ‘218 does not expressly state that a ratio of a-1 and a-2. However, it would have been obvious to the person having ordinary skill in the art to form a combination of expoxy resins having at least equal proportion with predictable results.
Regarding claim 10-11, WO ‘218 discloses the mixture was coated and thinly stretched on the surface of the adherend, attached at a temperature of 23 C and a relative humidity of 50%, and pressed with a clamp having a width of 30 mm in such a manner that the thickness of the adhesive layer became 0.1 mm in 2. The attachment area was 12.5 mm X 25 mm. The attached adherend was left under conditions of temperature 23 C and relative humidity 50% for 24 hours as a test body of a tensile shear test. A curable composition having fast curability with excellent storage stability and fast curing speed is obtained. In addition, the curable composition exhibits excellent adhesive properties (see paragraphs 113, 136 of the specification). As such, WO ‘218 also discloses a cured article as well as a composite.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES A FIORITO whose telephone number is (571)272-9921. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM.
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/JAMES A FIORITO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1731
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