DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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
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.
2. Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 2016/053138 A1).
Lee et al. disclose a window film (equivalent to the laminate of the claimed invention) includes a base layer and a coating layer formed on the base layer. Referring to FIG. 1, a window film 100 may include a base layer 110 and a coating layer 120 formed on the base layer 110. The base layer 110 may improve the mechanical strength of the window film 100 by supporting the coating layer 120, and may be attached to a display device (for example, an organic light emitting device) via an adhesive layer (not shown in FIG. 1). The base layer 110 may be formed of an optically transparent and flexible resin such as a polyester resin (such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polybutylene naphthalate resins or the like), polycarbonate resins, poly(meth)acrylate resins (such as polymethylmethacrylate resins or the like), polystyrene resins, and/or polyimide resins. The coating layer 120 may be formed of a composition for coating layers that includes the dye and a silicone resin, and thus can provide high hardness and flexibility. The silicone resin may be cured to form a matrix of the coating layer and impart flexibility to the coating layer 120 while also improving the hardness of the coating layer 120. The silicone resin may include a siloxane resin containing a UV curable group. In some embodiments, the UV curable group may be an epoxy group, a (meth)acrylate group, a (meth)acrylamide group or a vinyl group, for example, an epoxy group. The siloxane resin containing the UV curable group may be prepared by transforming an alkoxysilane group (in part or in total) into a silanol group through hydrolysis of an organosilane containing a UV curable group and an alkoxysilane group, followed by condensation. The composition for the coating layer may further include a suitable additive. The additive may include at least one of an antistatic agent, leveling agent, antioxidant, stabilizer, and/or colorant (meeting the limitation of an ink step). Although not shown in FIG. 1, the coating layer 120 may also be formed on a lower side of the base layer 110, or on both the upper and lower sides of the base layer 110. In addition, although not shown in FIG. 1, a surface treatment layer (such as an antireflective layer, anti-glare layer, hard coating layer, and/or the like) may be further formed on the other side of the coating layer 120 to provide additional functions to the window film 100. Also, an adhesive layer may be further formed on the other side of the base layer 110 to adhere the window film to a display device (for example, an organic light emitting device). In some embodiments, the adhesive layer may be formed of a composition for adhesive layers, which includes a (meth)acrylic resin, a crosslinking agent, a photoinitiator and a silane coupling agent. The window films 300 and 400 depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4 are substantially the same as the window film 100 described above in connection with FIG. 1 except that the adhesive layer 130 is further formed on the window film 300, and the dye is included in the adhesive layer 130 instead of the coating layer 120′. The adhesive layer 130 may be formed of a composition for adhesive layers, which includes an adhesive resin and a dye having a maximum absorption wavelength of about 500 nm to about 650 nm, for example, about 550 nm to about 620 nm. For example, the adhesive layer may be formed of a composition for preparing an optically clear adhesive (OCA). The adhesive resin may include any suitable adhesive resin. For example, the adhesive resin may include a (meth)acrylic resin, epoxy resin, urethane resin, and/or silicone resin, but the adhesive resin is not limited thereto. The adhesive layer 130 may be formed of a composition for adhesive layers, which includes a (meth)acrylic resin, a crosslinking agent, a photoinitiator, a silane coupling agent, and a dye having a maximum absorption wavelength of about 500 nm to about 650 nm, for example, about 550 nm to about 620 nm. The (meth)acrylic resin may be a (meth)acrylic copolymer having an alkyl, hydroxyl, aromatic, carboxylic acid, alicyclic, or heteroalicyclic group, and may include any suitable (meth)acrylic copolymer. The crosslinking agent may be a polyfunctional (meth)acrylate, and may include: bifunctional (meth)acrylates (such as hexanediol diacrylate, or the like). The method for manufacturing a window film may include coating a composition for a coating layer onto one surface of a base layer, and then curing the composition. The base layer may be formed of an optically transparent and flexible resin, and in some embodiments, the base layer is the same as that described above in connection with the window film 100 of FIG. 1. The coating composition for an adhesive layer can be added onto the other surface of the base layer. The composition for the adhesive layer may include any suitable adhesive resin. For example, the adhesive resin may include a (meth)acrylic, epoxy, urethane, or silicone resin, or the like. The composition for the adhesive layer may include the adhesive resin and a dye. The composition for the adhesive layer described above in connection with the window film 300 of FIG. 3. The composition for the adhesive layer is coated onto the other surface of the base layer, followed by curing, thereby forming an adhesive layer. In addition, the curing may include at least one of photocuring and/or thermal curing. Similarly, in some embodiments, the composition for the adhesive layer may be coated onto one surface of the base layer, and the composition for the coating layer may be coated onto the surface of the adhesive layer, followed by curing, thereby simultaneously forming the coating layer and the adhesive layer. The examples show that 100 g of a (meth)acrylic resin (prepared by polymerization of a mixture of 50 wt % of ethylhexyl acrylate, 30 wt % of isobornyl acrylate, 10 wt % of hydroxyethyl acrylate and 10 wt % of acrylic acid), and 0.1 g of 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate as a crosslinking agent, were mixed, thereby preparing a composition for an adhesive layer (this layer is equivalent to the substrate of the claimed invention and the composition is identical to the substrate layer as disclosed in the Specification of the claimed invention and both compositions use hexanediol diacrylate as a crosslinking agent and thus this layer meets the limitation that the substate is acrylate-based and it must have the recited glass transition temperature of claim 1, 4, and 5) . The composition for the coating layer was coated onto one surface of a transparent polyimide film using a bar coating applicator, and the composition for the adhesive layer was coated onto the other surface of the polyimide film. (See Abstract and paragraphs 0018, 0024-0027, 0033, 0034, 0050-0067, 0072-0075, 0089-0090)
Lee et al. do not specifically recite a post-UV curable adhesive layer and a UV absorbing adhesive layer on either side of the substate however Lee et al. teach that various adhesive layers with various additives can be placed around the base layer and the coating layer and hence it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to optimize the location of the layers obtain the desired properties.
Furthermore, with regards to the property limitations, such as the tangent delta difference of the laminate, the thickness of the ink step, the concentration of the crosslinker, the Youngs modulus, the Examiner would like to point out that workable physical properties and concentrations are deemed to be obvious routine optimizations to one of ordinary skill in the art, motivated by the desire to obtain the required properties.
Conclusion
3. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHEEBA AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-1504. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7am-6pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, CALLIE SHOSHO can be reached at 571-272-1123. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SHEEBA AHMED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1787
Prosecution Insights