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 .
STATUS OF CLAIMS
Claims 1-8 are pending in the application.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in this application on 9 August 2024.
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 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nishiyama (CN 102555359 A) in view of Leonard et al. (WO 95/16754 A1).
Regarding Claim 1: Nishiyama discloses a three-layer structure comprising a warp-knitted interlining laminated to both sides of a film by adhesive resin, wherein the warp-knitted interlining is bonded [fully] on one side of the film, and wherein the warp-knitted interlining is spot bonded on another side of the film, the spot bonding covering 10% to 90% of the surface of the film ([0013], [0027], [0041], [0054], [0058], and [0060]-[0063] of Nishiyama). Specifically, Nishiyama provides for --a bonded article comprising: at least a first adherend, a second adherend, and an adhesive material interposed between the first adherend and the second adherend, wherein the adhesive material includes at least a first adhesive resin layer, a second adhesive resin layer, and a base material layer interposed between the first adhesive resin layer and the second adhesive resin layer, the first adhesive resin layer is in contact with the first adherend, the second adhesive resin layer is in contact with the second adherend, a peel strength of the first adherend measured on the basis of JIS L1086 (2020) 7.10 is lower than a peel strength of the second adherend, and a surface area of the second adhesive resin layer is smaller than a surface area of the first adhesive resin layer--.
Nishiyama fails to disclose --a peel strength of the first adherend measured on the basis of JIS L1086 (2020) 7.10 is lower than a peel strength of the second adherend--.
Leonard discloses a tape (ref. #10) comprising a backing (ref. #12) with first adhesive layer (ref. #140 on surface (ref. #11) and a second adhesive layer (ref. #16) on major surface (ref. #13), wherein the second adhesive layer has longitudinal channels (ref. #17) and is non-coextensive with the first adhesive layer and the backing (figure 1 and [Pg. 7: li. 20-25] of Leonard). Leonard also discloses that each adhesive utilized may be the same as, or different than, the others, wherein the tape can have different tack and/or adhesion if desired by employing different adhesive materials ([Pg. 8: li. 12-19] of Leonard).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have combined the double-sided tape of Leonard with the adhesive material disclosed by Nishiyama in order to have --a peel strength of the first adherend measured on the basis of JIS L1086 (2020) 7.10 is lower than a peel strength of the second adherend--. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have combined the double-sided tape of Leonard with the adhesive material disclosed by Nishiyama, from the stand-point of having a tape with different adhesion on its opposing surfaces ([Pg. 8: li. 12-19] of Leonard). (In the instant case, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have selected an adhesive resin composition for the second adhesive resin layer such that the second adherend has a greater peel strength than the first adherend from the first adhesive resin layer adhesive, wherein the first adherend and the second adherend are the same. It being well-known to those of ordinary skill in the art to compensate for the smaller area of the dot bonding of the second adhesive resin layer with an adhesive resin having a higher peel strength (compared to the first adhesive resin) to prevent delamination.)
Regarding Claim 2: Nishiyama in view of Leonard discloses that a ratio of the surface area of the second adhesive resin layer to the surface area of the first adhesive resin layer is 10% to 90% ([0060]-[0062] of Nishiyama); which anticipates the claimed range of --10% or more and 70% or less--. See MPEP §2131.03(I).
Regarding Claims 3 and 6: Nishiyama in view of Leonard discloses the claimed invention, but does not explicitly recite --a ratio of the peel strength of the first adherend to the peel strength of the second adherend measured on the basis of JIS L1086 (2020) 7.10 is 5% or more and 90% or less--. However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have chosen the first adhesive resin having a [first] peel strength having a ratio to the [second] peel strength of the second adherend of 5% or more and 90% or less, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP §2144.05(II)(A).
(In the instant case, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have the ratio of the first peel strength to the second peel strength be relatively proportional to the percent coverage loss with respect to the surface area coverage of the base material layer (i.e., if the bonding area of the second adhesive layer to the entire surface of the base material layer is from 10% to 90%, then the ratio of the first peel strength to the second peel strength should be at least 10% to 90%, to offset the bonding area difference and prevent delamination.)
Regarding Claims 4 and 7: Nishiyama in view of Leonard discloses that the first adherend and the second adherend are selected from at least a fiber knitted fabric ([0027] and [0031] of Nishiyama).
Regarding Claims 5 and 8: Nishiyama in view of Leonard discloses that a ratio of a dimension of the base material layer to a dimension of the first adhesive resin layer in a short side direction of the adhesive material is 100% ([0014], [0058], and [0061] of Nishiyama).
Conclusion
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/DONALD M FLORES JR/
Donald M. Flores, Jr.Examiner, Art Unit 1781
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