DETAILED ACTION
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamada et al., US 2020/0131325 A1, in view of Matsuda et al., US 2013/0316169 A1.
Regarding claims 1 and 2, Yamada teaches a fiber-reinforced resin sheet comprising a plurality of unidirectional fibers and a thermoplastic resin spread through the plurality of fibers (Abstract, [0019]). The teachings of Yamada differ from the present invention in that Yamada does not teach any specific coefficient of variation of standard deviations of orientation angles of the fibers. Matsuda, however, teaches that fibers in unidirectional prepregs should be aligned in one direction without significant variation in direction in order to produce a product with high strength ([0035]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to make the variation in the angle of the fibers of Yamada be as small as possible (including as low as 17%), in accordance with the teachings of Matsuda, because doing so would result in improved strength. Note that a high alignment with a low variation in direction would necessarily result in a low coefficient of variation of standard deviation of orientation angles and a low average value of standard deviation of orientation angles. Matsuda’s teachings thus constitute an implicit teaching to make the coefficient of variation and average value of standard deviation of orientation angles as low as possible.
Regarding claim 3, Yamada teaches that the variation in fiber dispersity is to be as low as possible to achieve a high strength ([0017], [0039], [0042]). As a low variation in dispersity would necessarily result in a low coefficient of variation of fiber volume fraction, Yamada implicitly teaches that the coefficient of variation of fiber volume fraction should be as low as possible. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to make the coefficient of variation of fiber volume fraction as low as possible, including as low as 5.0% or less, because doing so would result in a product with a high strength.
Regarding claim 4, Yamada teaches a fiber volume fraction of 30%-70% ([0063]).
Regarding claim 5, Yamada teaches a thickness of 0.2 – 1.5 mm (Abstract).
Regarding claim 6, Yamada teaches various polyolefins such as polypropylene ([0057]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ian A Rummel whose telephone number is (571)270-5692. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday and alternating Fridays, 8:30-5:00.
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/IAN A RUMMEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785
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