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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/5/2024 is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2017060461 (Marissen et al.) hereinafter WO ‘761 (using US 2024/0125018 as the US equivalent) in view of Tam et al. (US 2016/0122918) and Arvidson et al. (US 2008/0118639).
WO ‘761 disclose a composite lengthy body comprising high performance polyethylene fibers and a polymeric resin wherein the polymeric resin is a homopolymer or copolymer of ethylene and/or propylene and wherein said polymeric resin has a peak melting temperature in the range from 40 to 140° C (0007). A yarn is an elongated body containing many individual fibers (0010). In a preferred embodiment, high performance polyethylene fibres are polyethylene fibres with a tensile strength of at least 1.0 N/tex, more preferably at least 1.5 N/tex, more preferably at least 1.8 N/tex, even more preferably at least 2.5 N/tex and most preferably at least 3.5 N/tex. Preferred polyethylene is high molecular weight (HMWPE) or ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) (0011). The suspension may further comprise additives such as ionic or non-ionic surfactants, tackyfying resins, stabilizers, anti-oxidants, colorants or other additives modifying the properties of the suspension, the resin and or the prepared lengthy body (0020). By lengthy body is herein understood an elongated body, especially an elongated body comprising HPPE fibres with the length dimension of the lengthy body being much greater than the transverse dimensions of width and thickness. Accordingly, the term lengthy body includes but is not limited to strands, cables, cords, ropes, ribbons, hoses, tubes and the like (0032). Lengthy bodies such as ropes and ribbons are amongst others especially adapted to be used as load-bearing element in many applications such as mooring lines, lifting ropes, sutures, pressure vessels and fishing lines (0002). Typical applications of ropes and ribbons involve repeated bending, amongst which bend-over-sheave applications (0003). In particular the lengthy bodies can be used in the manufacture of a net, such as a fishing net, a roundsling, a belt, a splice or a synthetic chain link. It has been shown that the lengthy body according to the invention has a better knot strength to other lengthy bodies which makes the use of the present invention especially suitable. Accordingly, an embodiment of the present invention is an article comprising the lengthy body, preferably a net, sling, a splice or a synthetic chain link (0040). A method for manufacturing the article comprises the steps of: a) providing the high performance polyethylene (HPPE) fibres; b) assembling the HPPE fibres to form the lengthy body; c) applying an aqueous suspension of the polymeric resin to the HPPE fibres before, during or after step b); d) at least partially drying the aqueous suspension of the polymeric resin applied in step b); to obtain a lengthy body comprising the high performance polyethylene fibres and the polymeric resin throughout the lengthy body upon completion of steps a), b), c) and d); and e) forming the lengthy body into the net, round sling or splice, wherein the polymeric resin is a homopolymer or copolymer of ethylene has a peak melting temperature in the range from 40 to 140° C (claim 39). Partially drying the suspension will at least partially melt the polymeric resin (0007). A ribbon in the context of the present invention is a lengthy body having a thickness and a width, wherein thickness is much smaller than width. Preferably the ribbon has a width to thickness ratio of at least 5:1, more preferably at least 10:1, the width to thickness ratio preferably being at most 200:1, and even more preferably at most 50:1. Sometimes a ribbon may as well be called a narrow weave, a strip, a strap, a band or a flat band. Preferably a ribbon of the invention has a width from 2 mm to 200 mm, more preferably from 4 mm to 100 mm and most preferably from 5 mm to 50 mm and a thickness form 20 micrometer to 5 mm, preferably from 30 micrometer to 4 mm and most preferably from 40 micrometer to 2 mm. In its simplest form, the ribbon may be formed by a parallel arrangement of at least 2, preferably at least 10 most preferably at least 100 fibres forming the ribbon while the array of parallel fibres are interconnected through the polymeric resin present in the lengthy body of the invention, forming a unitary ribbon. Alternatively, the ribbon is an interlaced structure of fibres for example by weaving, plaiting or knitting yarns by constructions known in the art, e.g. a plain and/or twill weave construction. The ribbon preferably has an n-ply textile webbing construction where n is preferably at most 4, more preferably 3 and most preferably 2. In the case of a woven ribbon, often referred to as narrow weave, the substantially parallel (warp) yarns of the ribbon comprise the HPPE fibres of the lengthy body and are woven together with transverse threads (weft). Said threads may be same or different from said HPPE fibres (0039). Tubular or circular braids are the most common braids for rope applications and generally consist of two sets of strands that are intertwined, with different patterns possible (0036). Marissen et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the teaching that the polymer composition also contains a lubricant.
Tam et al. (US 2016/0122918) disclose a high strength fishing line comprising high tenacity comprising ultra high molecular weight polyethylene filaments and yarns (0045). The most preferred polyolefin fibers are polyethylene fibers, most preferably gel spun (solution spun) ultra high molecular weight polyethylene fibers having a tenacity of at least 39 g/denier. More preferably, the polyethylene fibers have a tenacity of from about 43 g/denier to about 70 g/denier, still more preferably have a tenacity of 43 g/denier or more, or at least 43.5 g/denier, still more preferably from about 45 g/denier to about 70 g/denier, still more preferably have a tenacity of at least 45 g/denier, at least about 48 g/denier, at least about 50 g/denier, at least about 55 g/denier or at least about 60 g/denier (0044). It should be noted that 70 g/denier = .62 N/tex. Fusion may also be accomplished by bonding, for example, by at least partially coating the fibers of the sheath and/or core with a thermoplastic resin or other polymeric binder material having adhesive properties. Suitable thermoplastic resins non-exclusively include polyolefin resins such as polyolefin wax or ethylene copolymers. In addition, the fibers may be pre-coated with an oil prior to fusing, such as mineral oil, paraffin oil, or vegetable oil. mineral oil acts as a plasticizer that enhances the efficiency of the fusion process permitting the fusion process to be performed at lower temperatures. Any conventional method may be used to coat the fibers with the oil or thermoplastic resin, such as dipping, spraying or otherwise passing the fibers through bath of the coating material (0036).
Arvidson et al. (US 2008/0118639) disclose a process for forming unidirectionally oriented fiber structures formed of high tenacity fibers (abstract). Such structures have found significant usage in ballistic, structural, and other applications (0004). The oriented fiber structures are typically coated or impregnated with a matrix resin, which may be a thermoplastic, thermosetting, or elastomeric material (0005). A wide variety of materials may be utilized as the coating composition (which is preferably the resin matrix for the composite). For example, any of the following elastomeric materials may be employed: polyurethane elastomers, thermoplastic polyurethanes, and copolymers of ethylene (0063). The coating composition can also be a wax (0066).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have used the coating compositions comprising wax or polyurethane or oil disclosed by Tam et al. and Arvidson et al. as additives in the lengthy body of Marissen et al., motivated by the desire to create a composite lengthy body that has increased tenacity.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: WO 2019/121663) disclose high performance polyethylene fibers composite fabric for use in radome walls, architectural structures, and protective structures. The composite fabric comprises HPPE fibers and at least one polymeric material consisting of ethylene copolymers. Conventional additives may be added such as surfactants, tackifying resins, stabilizers, and colorants.
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/ULA C RUDDOCK/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1729
/ULA C RUDDOCK/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1729