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 § 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.
Claims 1-3, 5-8, 10-12, 14-16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takano et al (US 20200181368) as evidences by Yoshizawa (US 20200181369).
Takano teaches a rubber composition comprising the following ingredients:
30 parts styrene-butadiene copolymer rubber, 70 parts natural rubber, 5 parts of carbon black, 60 parts silica (meeting the limitations of claims 3 and 8) and 15 parts C9 resin (see Table 1 at 0115, Example 3).
Takano teaches that C9 resin #8 is Quintone G100B has SP value of 8.8 (cal/cm³)½ (see Table 1).
Yoshizawa evidences that SP value for natural rubber is 8.50 ( cal / cm³ ) ½ (see 0100).
Thus, SP difference between natural rubber and C9 resin is 0.3 ( cal / cm³ ) ½, meeting the limitations of claims 1 and 2.
Note that calculated value of Takano’s parameter P1 is within the claimed range and equal to 70*15=1050.
However, parameter P2 is lower than claimed difference value of 0.25 due to a small amount of resin C used in the composition. However, such value can be varied in a broad range. In particular, Takano teaches that a mass compounding ratio ( B / C ) of the compatible resin ( B ) and the incompatible resin ( C ) is 1/4 to 4/1 (see claim 2). For instance, in the Example above, amount of compatible resin (i.e., styrene-butadiene copolymer rubber) constitutes 30 parts, while amount of incompatible resin (i.e., C9 resin) is 15 parts and their ratio is 2:1. At 1:4 ratio amount of C9 resin can be increased up to 120 parts meeting the limitations of claims 5, 10, 14 and 17).
A genus does not always anticipate a claim to a species within the genus. However, when the species is clearly named, the species claim is anticipated no matter how many other species are additionally named. Ex parte A, 17 USPQ2d 1716 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1990) See also MPEP 2131.02
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use a composition with significantly increased amount of C9 resin, since it clearly disclosed in the Takano’s reference.
In reference to claims 6-7, 11-12, 15-16 and 18-20, Takano teaches a tire using the rubber composition above as a tread rubber (see claim 5).
Claims 4, 9, 13 and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takano as applied to claims 1-3, 5-8, 10-12, 14-18 and 20 above, and further in view of Miyazaki (US 10266008), cited in IDS.
Takano does not teach incompatible resin C with claimed softening point and molecular weight.
Miyazaki teaches a resin composition for tires comprising natural rubber (see 4:60), silica and terpene based hydrogenated oligomers as M115 and M125 (see Table 2 and 22:25).
The hydrogenated oligomers above have the following characteristics:
M125: (degree of hydrogenation: 11%, softening point: 123° C and SP value: 8.52) available from Yasuhara Chemical Co., Ltd.
M115: (degree of hydrogenation: 12%, softening point: 115° C and SP value: 8.52) available from Yasuhara Chemical Co., Ltd.
Miyazaki discloses that the weight average molecular weight (Mw) of the hydrogenated terpene aromatic resin is preferably 600 to 2,000. When the Mw is less than 300, the G′ value (hardness) of the adhesive layer tends to be low, leading to insufficient grip performance, while when the Mw is more than 3,000, rubber hardness tends to increase, resulting in insufficient grip performance or durability (see 13:45).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use hydrogenated oligomer in Takano’s composition with Mw within the range of 600-2000 and softening point higher than 110C in order to achieve high grip and durability of tires.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY LISTVOYB whose telephone number is (571)272-6105. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm EST M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Heidi Riviere Kelley can be reached at (571) 270-1831. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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GL
/GREGORY LISTVOYB/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765
