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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-14 are pending. Claims 1-11 are the subject of this NON-FINAL Office Action. This is the first action on the merits.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I (claims 1-11) and species of polybutylene terephthalate, terephthalic acid and a glycol component mixture of diethylene glycol and neopentyl glycol in the reply filed on 02/04/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 12-14 are withdrawn.
Claim Interpretations
Claim 1 recites numerous characteristics of a film, which are inherent in any film with the same composition as the claims, or specification examples. See MPEP § 2112.01 (“Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established”). Thus, the following characteristics flow from the same film as claimed and in the specification: “when a specimen of the heat-shrinkable film having a width of 15 mm, a length of 110 mm, and a thickness of 45 μm is immersed in hot water at 70°C for 60 seconds to measure shrinkage stress, the development time of the initial shrinkage stress is 20 seconds or shorter.” The same rationale applies to claims 2-6.
To this end, the claims and specification state that films of the following compositions yield that claimed characteristics: 10-50% diol (e.g. ethylene glycol such as combination of neopentyl glycol plus diethylene glycol); up to 10% dicarboxylic acid (e.g. terephthalic acid); and 0.5-50% polybutylene terephthalate.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112- Indefiniteness
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(B) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 3-4, 6 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
In claims 3-4 and 6 numerous antecedent basis issues exists. Claim 3, “the difference,” “the crystallization temperature” and “the glass transition temperature” all lack antecedent basis. Claim 4, “the clumping ratio” lacks antecedent basis. Claim 6, “the thickness deviation” lacks antecedent basis.
In claim 8, it is not clear whether each of neopentyl glycol and diethylene glycol are 10% mole or more, or both combined.
Furtherer in claim 8, it is unclear what “it” references.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(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; or
(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2001200074A.
As to claim 1, JP 2001200074 teaches 1. A heat-shrinkable film, which comprises a mixed resin, wherein the mixed resin comprises a copolymerized polyester-based resin in which a diol and a dicarboxylic acid are copolymerized; and a polybutylene terephthalate-based resin (“an amorphous copolyester in which the dicarboxylic acid component is terephthalic acid, the glycol component is ethylene glycol (50 to 90 mol%), and cyclohexane dimethanol (50 to 10 mol%) Resin 25-55 parts by weight Dicarboxylic acid component is terephthalic acid, glycol component is ethylene Glycol (50 to 94 mol%), the polyester resin 55-25 neopentyl glycol (30-5 mol%) and diethylene glycol (20 to 1 mol%) Parts by weight polybutylene terephthalate 40 to 10 parts by weight”; “Polyester resin having 40 parts by weight of dicarboxylic acid component as terephthalic acid, glycol component as ethylene glycol (80 mol%), neopentyl glycol (15 mol%) and diethylene glycol (5 mol%) (glass transition temperature 63 ° C., 40 parts by weight of intrinsic viscosity 0.78 g / dl and polybutylene terephthalate”), and when a specimen of the heat-shrinkable film having a width of 15 mm, a length of 110 mm, and a thickness of 45 μm is immersed in hot water at 70° C. for 60 seconds to measure shrinkage stress, the development time of the initial shrinkage stress is 20 seconds or shorter.
As explained above, claims 2-6 are met by the inherent characteristics of the same heat-shrink film composition in JP as is found in the claims and specification here.
As to claim 7, JP 2001200074 teaches the polybutylene terephthalate-based resin is employed in an amount of 0.5% by weight to 50% by weight based on the total weight of the mixed resin (“40 parts by weight of intrinsic viscosity 0.78 g / dl and polybutylene terephthalate”).
As to claim 8, JP 2001200074 teaches the diol comprises ethylene glycol, and it comprises at least one comonomer selected from the group consisting of neopentyl glycol and diethylene glycol in an amount of 10% by mole or more based on the total moles of the diol (“glycol component as ethylene glycol (80 mol%), neopentyl glycol (15 mol%) and diethylene glycol (5 mol%)”).
As to claim 9, JP 2001200074 teaches the diol comprises diethylene glycol in an amount of 2.5% by mole to 10.0% by mole based on the total number of moles of the diol (“glycol component as ethylene glycol (80 mol%), neopentyl glycol (15 mol%) and diethylene glycol (5 mol%)”).
As to claim 10, JP 2001200074 teaches the comonomer comprises neopentyl glycol and diethylene glycol, and the molar ratio of neopentyl glycol and diethylene glycol is 1:0.10 to 0.40 (15:5=3:1= 1:0.33).
As to claim 11, JP 2001200074 teaches the copolymerized polyester-based resin is at least one selected from the group consisting of a virgin copolymerized polyester-based resin and a recycled copolymerized polyester-based resin (para. 0003). Moreover, the source can only be one of these two; thus, when 2001200074 teaches to use copolymerized polyester-based resin, it inherently teaches one of these.
Prior Art
The following prior art also teaches heat-shrink films with polybutylene terephthalate, terephthalic acid and a glycol component mixture of ethylene glycol or diethylene glycol and neopentyl glycol: US20230303785 (“Non-crystalline polyester composed of dicarboxylic acid: 100 mol % of terephthalic acid, and diol: 72 mol % of ethylene glycol, 25 mol % of neopentyl glycol, and 3 mol % of diethylene glycol”); US20210206147; US20050095379; US20250297096; US20020150780.
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/YUNG-SHENG M TSUI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1684
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