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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements filed 9/19/2024, 11/05/2024; and 5/22/2026, have been fully considered. Initialed copies of said IDSs are enclosed herein.
Drawings
The drawings filed 9/19/2024 are accepted.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
With regards to claim 1, said claim is held to be indefinite because of the phrase “wherein the hot melt adhesive comprises a crosslinked product of an adhesive composition including a crosslinking agent, and further comprises a polyurethane resin, an epoxy resin, an isocyanate-based crosslinking agent, and a crystalline polyester resin…” Specifically, it is unclear if the “crosslinked product of an adhesive composition including a crosslinking agent” means the adhesive requires components beyond the recited “a polyurethane resin, an epoxy resin, an isocyanate-based crosslinking agent, and a crystalline polyester resin”. Similarly, it is unclear if the crosslinking agent and the isocyanate based crosslinking agent are distinct from one another.
With regards to claim 6, said claim is further held to be indefinite because it is unclear what structure or features is associated with the term “configured to adhere to a solid electrolyte membrane of a solid polymer fuel cell for use.”
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.
Claim(s) s 1-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2016-121285 (herein referred to as Nittoshinko) in view of JP 2014-170632 (herein referred to as JP).
Nittoshinko teaches an adhesive sheet comprising a paper sheet (herein understood to read on the claimed “base material”) having at least one surface on which an adhesive layer is disposed, wherein
the adhesive comprises a crosslinked product of an adhesive composition including a crosslinking agent (“the adhesive contains an isocyanate crosslinking agent, so that the hydroxyl group of the epoxy and the isocyanate group of the isocyanate crosslinking agent react…), and further comprises a polyurethane resin, an epoxy resin, and an isocyanate-based crosslinking agent (see claims). The epoxy resin may comprise a combination of bisphenol type epoxy and rubber modified types epoxy ( “As an epoxy resin (B), in addition to a phenoxy resin (h) and a trifunctional or higher polyfunctional epoxy resin (i), an epoxy resin such as a bisphenol A type, a bisphenol F type, or a rubber-modified type may be used in combination.”). The isocyanate-based crosslinking agent is included in an amount of 14 mass parts or less based on 100 mass parts of a total of the other components (“it is preferable that the said adhesive agent contains 2-10 mass parts of isocyanate crosslinking agents with respect to 100 mass parts of total amounts of a polyurethane resin (A) and an epoxy resin (B).”). The adhesive is applied to a substrate, dried, and subsequently heated to cure. Furthermore, a solvent is taught to be optional in the adhesive composition. Thus, said adhesive is understood to be a “hot melt” adhesive as claimed.
Nittoshinko is relied upon as above. Specifically, said reference teaches the polyester polyol (a2) with a number average molecular weight of 500-6,000, but does not teach said component should comprise a crystalline polyester resin with a number average molecular weight Mn of 33,000 or less and a glass transition temperature Tg of -5 °C or less. However, JP teaches a hot melt adhesive comprising a polyester , an isocyanate crosslinking agent, and an epoxy resin. The polyester is preferably a crystalline polyester with a glass transition temperature of -70C to 10C. the number average molecular weight is below 50,00 to prevent the softening point of the adhesive from becoming too high and 10,000 or more to prevent the adhesive from becoming brittle and to impart excellent toughness. Such polyesters provide further rubber elasticity and improve the cohesive force of the adhesive. Said polyester is also taught to be less susceptible to attack by water. Said polyesters is taught to contain hydroxyl groups so that they can react with the isocyanate group of the crosslinking agent (see all). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to add the claimed crystalline polyester to the adhesive composition taught in Nittoshinko. The motivation for doing would have been to improve the water resistance, cohesion force, and elasticity of said adhesive.
With regards to claim 2, Nittoshinko teaches the polyurethane resin may be a polyester polyol derived from sebacic acid, herein understood to read on the claimed “have a constituent unit derived from a polyol having a skeleton with 8 or more carbon atoms.”
With regards to claim 3, Nittoshinko teaches the polyurethane resin comprises a hydroxyl group-containing polyurethane resin having a hydroxyl group, and the hydroxyl group-containing polyurethane resin has a hydroxyl value of 0.1 mgKOH/g or more and 20 mgKOH/g or less (“the polyurethane resin (A) has a carboxyl group, and the acid value of the polyurethane resin (A) is 5 to 30 mgKOH / g.”).
With regards to claim 4, Nittoshinko teaches the polyurethane resin may utilize an aromatic diisocyanate as a constituent unit (“ Of these polyisocyanate components (b), aromatic isocyanate is preferred from the viewpoint of obtaining an industrially stable, inexpensive and excellent heat-resistant adhesive”).
With regards to claim 5, Nittoshinko teaches the polyurethane resin may haves a mass average molecular weight Mw of 1,000 or more and 100,000 or less (“The weight average molecular weight (Mw) of the polyurethane resin (A) obtained as described above is 1,000 to 500,000”).
With regards to claim 6, the adhesive of Nittoshinko is understood to be “configured to adhere to a solid electrolyte membrane of a solid polymer fuel cell for use” as said adhesive is understood to be capably of performing said use.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN R KRUER whose telephone number is (571)272-1510. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm.
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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.
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/KEVIN R KRUER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1787
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