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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on May 1, 2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-8, 10, and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Passante Spaccapietra (US 2022/0063352, of record) and further in view of Minowa (JP 2015-44582, of record) and/or JP 2016-537257 (of record).
As best depicted in Figure 2, Passante Spaccapietra is directed to a tire construction comprising a first working belt layer 54 formed with cords inclined between 10 and 50 degrees, a second working belt layer 56 formed with cords inclined between 10 and 50 degrees, and an intermediate layer 58 (circumferential belt layer) formed with circumferentially oriented cords sandwiched therebetween (Paragraphs 38, 39, and 42). The tire of Passante Spaccapietra further includes a top protector belt 62 formed with high impact cords having energy absorption greater than 7.5 J/mm2 (Paragraph 47). In such an instance, though, the circumferential belt layer of Passante Spaccapietra is defined by a single layer, as opposed to a first layer and one or more further layers.
It is well known, though, in similar tire constructions including a circumferential belt layer to provide folded ends in order to, among other things, improve wear resistance and tire durability, as shown for example by Minowa (Paragraph 13 and Figures 1 and 4) and/or JP ‘257 (Figure 3b). In such an instance, the folded portions correspond with the claimed one or more further layers (2 further layers depicted in the references). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to include folded ends in the circumferential belt layer of Passante Spaccapietra for the benefits detailed above.
Also, regarding claim 1, Figure 2 clearly depicts an intermediate layer (circumferential belt layer 58) having an axial extension at least equal to 0.70 times a width of working belt layer 54. Additionally, it is evident that an axially outer end of said intermediate layer is slightly beyond a shoulder groove- when following the teachings of Minowa and JP ‘257, folded portions (correspond with further layers as claimed) would be arranged below said shoulder groove and significantly less than 0.50 times a width of working belt layer 54.
Additionally, regarding claim 1 (and claims 3-6 and 12), the working belt layers and the intermediate belt layer (circumferential belt layer) are formed with extensible steel materials having an elongation at the 10% of breaking load is greater than 0.2% (Paragraphs 38 and 42). A fair reading of Passante Spaccapietra suggests that the same cord materials can be used in the working belt layers and the intermediate belt and such includes the claimed cord constructions (Paragraph 38). As such, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use the claimed cord construction in the intermediate belt of Passante Spaccapietra (a=4, b=3, and d=0.35 mm). It is further emphasized that the expressly disclosed cord constructions in Paragraph 42 for the intermediate belt layer are exemplary.
Lastly, regarding claim 1, the claimed rubber penetration appears to be a direct result of using a specific cord construction (see Paragraph 63 in Applicant’s original specification) and as such, it reasons that the modified intermediate belt of Passante Spaccapietra (which includes a cord construction consistent with that required by the claimed invention) would demonstrate a rubber penetration between 90% and 100%.
With respect to claim 2, the first layer and further layers are formed by winding a single ply strip and said further layers are arranged below shoulder grooves on respective sides of the tire.
With respect to claims 6 and 10, Passante Spaccapietra teaches the use of steel cords for the working belt layers and the intermediate layer (Paragraphs 34, 38, 39, and 42). Additionally, a percent elongation at 10% of breaking load is greater than 0.2% (Paragraphs 38 and 42).
As to claim 7, the protector belt of Passante Spaccapietra can be formed with a cord construction of 5x, such as 5x0.35 and 5x0.38. (Paragraph 47).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed May 1, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN R FISCHER whose telephone number is (571)272-1215. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 5:30-2:00.
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Justin Fischer
/JUSTIN R FISCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1749 May 9, 2026
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