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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 6-17 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected groups, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 07/16/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by “Flame-retardant thermoplastic polyurethane based on reactive phosphonate polyol” to Cai et al. (type in title using google chrome to access full article, unable to print and save at this time).
As to claims 1-5, Cai discloses a polyol intermediate comprising the reaction product of 2-carboxyethylphenylphosphinic acid (CEPPA) and ethylene glycol represented by the following:
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The molar ratio of CEPPA to ethylene glycol is 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, and 1.5 (Table 1).
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP-09170178 to Horie et al. (Cited on IDS).
As to claims 1-4, Horie discloses a polyol intermediate comprising the reaction product of ethylene glycol and 2-carboxyethyl(phenyl)phosphinic acid or 2-carboxyethyl(methyl)phosphinic acid (Production examples 1 and 3)represented by the following:
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Wherein R2 is a linear or branched alkyl group or phenyl group, R6 and R7 are a hydrogen atom or R5OH and m is a number of 1 to 300 (0007). The molar ratio of DEG to CEPPA is 1.5:10 (0013) and the molecular weight of the intermediate ranges from 1,000 to 50,000 (0015).
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 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP-09170178 to Horie et al. (Cited on IDS).
As to claim 5, Horie discloses a polyol intermediate comprising the reaction product of ethylene glycol and 2-carboxyethyl(phenyl)phosphinic acid or 2-carboxyethyl(methyl)phosphinic acid (Production examples 1 and 3 )represented by the following:
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Wherein R2 is a linear or branched alkyl group or phenyl group, R6 and R7 are a hydrogen atom or R5OH and m is a number of 1 to 300 (0007). The molar ratio of DEG to CEPPA is 1.5:10 (0013) and the molecular weight of the intermediate ranges from 1,000 to 50,000 (0015). The molecular weight overlaps the claimed range. Horie discloses molecular weights below 1,000 results in insufficient washability and durability and higher than 50,000 results in a decrease in emulsification and dispersibility and poor adhesion to synthetic fibers (0015). Accordingly, at the time of filing it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to maintain the molecular weight within the claimed range to prepare an intermediate with the desired properties based on the teachings of Horie.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL L LEONARD whose telephone number is (571)270-7450. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 7:00-4:00.
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/MICHAEL L LEONARD/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763
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