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 § 102/103
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1 – 6, 10 – 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by Ieda (CN 110506079A) or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Ieda (CN 110506079A)
In regard to claims 1 – 5, Ieda teaches polyamide resin composition having a first polyamide which is an aliphatic polyamide (i.e., PA66) present at 50 to less than 100% of the polyamide composition and having a molecular weight of from 10,000 to 50,000 daltons, and a second polyamide which is a semi-aromatic polyamide present at amounts of from about 0 to 90% or from 5 to less than 50% in the polyamide composition and having a molecular weight of from about 10,000 to 25,000 daltons (specification).
The composition can comprise the inorganic filler such as one or more of glass fiber, titanium oxide etc., silicon oxide etc., at 250 parts or less per 100 parts of polyamide and copper salt such as preferably cuprous iodide (i.e., having about 33.3% copper) or copper acetate (i.e., having about 0.35% of copper) at amounts of 0.01 to 0.6% per 100% of polyamide composition, thus providing copper in amounts within the claimed range (specification). The amount of copper may also be increased to from 10 to 2000 parts per 100 parts of the polyamide to improve the properties of thermal agent for the polyamide which would be outside of the claimed range. Thus, the claimed amounts are anticipated or overlapped. Ieda does not recite the presence of boron in the composition.
In regard to claim 6, Ieda teaches the composition wherein the composition comprises alkali or alkaline earth metal halide and the mol ratio of the halide to the copper (i.e., halogen to copper) is from 2/1 to 40/1 (specification).
In regard to claims 10 – 12, Ieda teaches the composition which can comprise other optional additives such as dyes (colorants), pigments etc., which can be present at 1% or less by mass of the polyamide (specification). Also, the presence of titanium oxide as filler may also provide the claimed limitations. Alternatively, in view of Yang et al. (KR 10-2019-0054515 A) which similarly recites polyamide compositions for molded articles and comprising organic dyes such as orange dye which is present at 0.1 to 10%, the use of organic dyes such as orange dyes at amounts of from 0.1 to 10% in the composition of Ieda would have been obvious.
In regard to claims 13 – 19, Ieda teaches the composition useful for providing molded articles for automobile parts having the claimed ingredients. The molded piece would be expected to have the properties recited in claim 18.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7 – 9 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Ieda fails teach the ratio of Mg/Si in the glass fiber or the amounts of iron or sodium in the glass fiber.
Conclusion
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/TAIWO OLADAPO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1771
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