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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 June 25, 2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hirokawa (JP 2011-148956).
Hirokawa is directed to a rubber composition comprising a modified natural rubber, polybutadiene rubber, and 5-100 phr of a filler, such as carbon black and silica. More particularly, said modified natural rubber includes a hydrazide compound having a pyridyl group as a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group (polar group). In regards to the specific group, Hirokawa teaches the use of picolinohydrazide (corresponds with claimed picolinic acid hydrazide).
Given the disclosure to include 5-100 phr of a filler (e.g. silica and carbon black), it reasons that one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to select a silica loading between 5 phr and 30 phr (consistent with the broad filler loading range and Applicant has not provided a conclusive showing of unexpected results for a silica loading as claimed- lack of comparative examples with non-inventive silica loadings).
Additionally, silane coupling agents are extensively used in tire rubber compositions including silica in order to improve dispersion of silica in the rubber composition. Furthermore, the claimed loadings are consistent with those that are conventionally used in silica-containing tire rubber compositions.
With further respect to claim 1, a plurality of exemplary compositions in Tables 1 and 2 include a modified natural rubber loading of 50% and in accordance to the claimed invention.
Lastly, regarding claim 1, Horikawa describes a hydrazide loading as high as 5% by mass in regards to the natural rubber loading. Thus, when looking at the rubber composition as a whole (claimed diene component), a hydrazide loading of 2.5% would be present when equal amounts of modified rubber and butadiene rubber are included.
As to claim 8, Hirokawa describes a tire tread component.
Response to Arguments
5. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 8 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
It is noted that while Hirokawa describes the use of picolinohydrazide (inventive) and isonicotinohydrazide (non-inventive), it is not required for a reference to solely disclose inventive embodiments. In such an instance, Hirokawa only describes 2 hydrazide compounds having pyridyl groups as a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic groups. Given the extremely limited number of hydrazide compounds having pyridyl groups, it reasons that each is expressly disclosed by Horikawa.
Conclusion
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN R FISCHER whose telephone number is (571)272-1215. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 5:30-2:00.
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Justin Fischer
/JUSTIN R FISCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1749 June 29, 2026
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