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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 September 26, 2025 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.
4. Claim(s) 11-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fritsch (US 6,601,378, of record) and further in view of Lee (WO 2014/104680, of record) and Oyama (US 2017/0087938, newly cited).
Fritsch is directed to a tire construction including a cap ply, wherein said ply is formed with hybrid cords (Column 6, Lines 11+). More particularly, said hybrid cords are “duplex cords” formed by twisting two yarns having different moduli (Column 5, Lines 54+). Fritsch also includes the following language (Column 5, Lines 54+):
Generally, any combination of yarns having different properties is possible with the instant invention.
Among the disclosed yarn materials are nylon (e.g. nylon-6,6) and polybenzoxazole (Column 5, Lines 30-45). Oyama is further cited to specifically evidence the known use of polyoxazole in cap plies (Paragraph 23). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use such a combination of yarn materials given the general disclosure of Fritsch identified above. Also, Applicant has not provided a conclusive showing of unexpected results for the claimed duplex cord (the lone inventive example does not even include polyoxazole and the lone comparative example includes three yarns).
In terms of the claimed mechanical properties (Y value and Z value), it appears that the claimed properties are a function of the material used for respective yarns. The polyamide yarn of Fritsch can be nylon- 6,6 and such is identical to the inventive materials identified by Applicant (Paragraphs 41 and 42). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to select such a combination of materials for respective yarns given the general disclosure detailed above. It is emphasized that the claimed mechanical properties appear to necessarily result from selecting nylon 6,6 as a second yarn material and polyoxazole as a first yarn material.
Lastly, while Fritsch is broadly directed to a hybrid or composite cord and is silent with respect to a ratio between linear densities, the claimed ratios are consistent with those that are commonly used in hybrid or composite cords, as shown for example by Lee (Paragraph 45). This disclosure is seen to encompass the claimed relationship in which a ratio between a linear density of a first yarn and a second yarn is between 1.05 and 1.3, more preferably between 1.13 and 1.25. It is further noted that the disclosure of a weight ratio by Lee (Paragraph 29) appears to correspond with the claimed ratio between linear densities (Paragraphs 70 and 74). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to form a single “duplex cord” of Fritsch with the claimed combination of features absent a conclusive showing of unexpected results. It is emphasized that Table 1 simply includes a single non-inventive example and such does not constitute the closest prior art of record since it includes a triplex cord (and the single inventive cord is not commensurate in scope with the claimed cord assembly).
Regarding claims 12 and 21, the weight percentages disclosed in the previous paragraph encompass the claimed quantitative relationship and Applicant has not provided a conclusive showing of unexpected results.
With respect to claims 13, 14, and 21, the claimed property appears to correspond with polybenzoxazole. Also, the specific formula listed in claims 14 and 21 is consistent with conventional cord materials used in tires (commonly referred to as Zylon®). Oyama evidences the specific use of the claimed polyoxazole in tire cap plies (Paragraph 23). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to form the hybrid cord of Fritsch with the claimed polyoxazole absent a conclusive showing of unexpected results (none of the examples presented by Applicant include the claimed polyoxazole).
As to claims 15, 16, and 21, Fritsch teaches the use of yarns having a linear density between about 500 and about 5000 deniers (Column 5, Lines 64+).
Regarding claims 17-20, tire plies, such as the cap ply of Fritsch, are well recognized as including a plurality of reinforcing cords and a topping or coating rubber and a final tire article is cured or vulcanized.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed September 4, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant’s arguments have been addressed in the Advisory Action mailed on September 12, 2025.
Conclusion
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 October 3, 2025