DETAILED ACTION
The present application has been made of the record and currently claims 1-4 are pending.
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 .
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 2, “measure” should be “measured”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goto (U.S. Patent No. 11,391,400) in view of Fry (NPL, 1988) and in further view of Kimoto (NPL, 2008).
In regards to claim 1, Goto discloses:
An oil-well metal pipe (ex., see 1 and 2 in fig. 1, where 2 is a coupling attached to the pipe forming a box end of the metal pipe), comprising:
a pipe main body including a first end portion (13, fig. 4; ex., 3 in fig. 1) and a second end portion (ex., 2 in fig. 1; for illustrative purposes, see 14 in fig. 3 where 14 is a box end of threaded pipe 11; ex., it is shown that the main pipe 1 comprises a box end 2 and a threaded end 3, where the box end is defined by a coupling of the pipe),
the pipe main body including:
a pin (3) formed in the first end portion (see fig. 1); and
a box (ex., see 14 in fig. 4 which shows the box end of the coupling) formed in the second end portion (2), wherein:
the pin includes a pin contact surface (130) including an external thread part (15); and
the box includes a box contact surface (140) including an internal thread part (see near 20),
the oil-well metal pipe further comprising a resin coating (23, fig. 5) formed as an uppermost layer on the pin contact surface and/or on the box contact surface (ex., see 130, 140 in fig. 5), wherein:
the resin coating contains an epoxy resin(14:15-26, where an epoxy resin is used on top of plating layer 22),
but does not disclose:
when the resin coating is measured by a H pulse NMR method, and
an obtained free induction decay signal is separated into three components of a high mobility component, a medium mobility component, and a low mobility component in the order from a component having a longer spin-spin relaxation time T2,
a weighted average value of the spin-spin relaxation time T2 of the three components is 110.0 microseconds or less.
In regards to using a H-pulse NMR method, Fry explicitly discloses:
“The macroscopic properties of a thermoset polymer, such as hardness, impact strength, brittleness, and elasticity, are intrinsically related to the molecular motions occurring within the cured thermoset; therefore, it is important to quantify the dependence of these motions on the cross-link density” (see lines 1-6 in Introduction of the NPL provided herein),
“The results of a preliminary H-NMR study of highly cross-linked epoxy polymers suggested the validity of a theory that relates the spin-spin relaxation time to the cross-link density” (see lines 10-13 of introduction),
“As a result, the measured T2 increases within increasing temperature to a plateau whose value, T2P, is a function of the cross-link density. The smaller the cross-link density, pc, the greater is the allowed number of orientations for an average chain. Thus, reducing pc increases T2P” (see lines 36-41 of the introduction),
“T2 was found by computer fitting each H NMR decay signal … FCDA allows the user to define up to five component decays to be included in the fit … where … T2j … are the spin-spin relaxation time … for the jth component decay” (see directly above equation (2) in the introduction),
wherein table 1 (see page 1293) shows that T2 is a known parameter to be below 40 microseconds or 200 microseconds using FID with Gaussian and Lorentzian line-shape assumptions.
In other words, Fry explicitly discloses that hardness, impact strength, brittleness, and elasticity is related to cross-link density (ex., via molecular motions) such that reducing the cross-link density increases spin-spin relaxation time, T2, and wherein T2 is to known to be below 40 microseconds and can be formed of up to 5 decay signals,
but does not explicitly disclose that there are exactly three components of H spin-spin relaxation times.
In regards to the 3-component spin-spin relaxation times, Kimoto explicitly discloses that Fry (ex., the same NPL used above) referenced as “1. C. G. Fry and A. C. Lind, Macromolecules, 1988, 21, 1292” is used throughout,
wherein Kimoto further explicitly discloses:
“Epoxy resin is widely used as an engineering polymer for such purposes as an adhesive, a surface coating, or a fuller, because of its excellent electrical properties, low shrinkage, good adhesion onto many metals, mechanical hardness and resistance to moisture (1–3)” (see lines 1-5 of the introduction on page 915 in the NPL provided herein; ex., referencing Fry by 1),
“Pulsed NMR can generally be used to elucidate certain aspects of polymer structure, and those properties that are affected by the molecular mobility” (see lines 20-22 of the introduction on page 915),
“we adapted a pulsed NMR method. Three kinds of 1H spin-spin relaxation times (T2L (long), T2S (short) and T2M (intermediate)) were estimated from observed solid echo train signals as the curing process proceeded” (see lines 1-3 of the abstract on page 915),
wherein T2 is a known parameter for epoxy resin which consists of three components (see “Reaction Time Dependence of T2” on page 916).
Therefore, while Goto does not expressly disclose “a weighted average value of the spin-spin relaxation time T2 of the three components is 110.0 microseconds or less” using an “H NMR” method, the “weighted average value of the spin-spin relaxation time T2 of the three components” may be determined through the use of routine experimentation during the engineering design process to optimize the functionality of the device, suited to the intended use and desired parameters because the combination of Fry and Kimoto discloses that pulse NMR method is known (both Kimoto/Fry), an FID signal constituted into three components is known (ex., Kimoto), an FID signal can be made of up to five component decay signals (ex., Fry), using an FID to obtain T2 value of less than either 40 or 200 is known (ex., Fry), and material properties such as hardness, impact strength, brittleness, and elasticity is known to be related to cross-link density (ex., Fry) where cross-link density is related to spin-spin T2 (ex., Fry).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the epoxy resin of Goto such that a weighted average value of the spin-spin relaxation time T2 of the three components is 110.0 microseconds or less as required by claim 1 as the “spin-spin relaxation time T2” via the “cross-linking density” may be optimized to the desired operational parameters (ex., desired hardness, impact strength, brittleness, and elasticity) through the use of routine experimentation. A person of ordinary skill in the art undertaking such experimentation would have had a reasonable expectation of success and the results would have been predictable because Fry explicitly discloses that it is known to use an HNMR method to obtain spin-spin relaxation time for epoxy resins, Fry discloses that the hardness, impact strength, brittleness, and elasticity is related to cross-link density, Fry discloses that reducing the cross-link density increases spin-spin relaxation time T2 (ex., and vice-versa), Fry discloses that the spin-spin relaxation time can be formed of up to 5 decay signals, Kimoto explicitly discloses that exactly three decay signals are known, and modifying the cross-linking density to achieve a specific T2 parameter for a desired hardness, impact strength, brittleness, and elasticity of the epoxy resin would not have produced any new or unexpected results. See MPEP 2144.05(II)(A).
In regards to claim 2, Goto in view of Fry and Kimoto further discloses:
The oil-well metal pipe according to claim 1, wherein when the resin coating is measure by the 4H pulse NMR method, a ratio of the medium mobility component to a total of the high mobility component, the medium mobility component, and the low mobility component is higher than the ratio of the low mobility component to the total (it is inherent that the lowest component is lower than the medium component and would therefore meet the limitation of the claim; ex., if the lowest is 1, the medium is 2, high is 3, and the total is 6, 2/6 is greater than 1/6).
In regards to claims 3-4, Goto in view of Fry and Kimoto further discloses:
The oil-well metal pipe according to claims 1-2, further comprising:
one or more kinds selected from a group consisting of a phosphate coating, a plating layer, a chromate coating, and a zirconium coating between the pin contact surface and the resin coating, and/or between the box contact surface and the resin coating (ex., see 21, 22 in fig. 5 which is a plated layer).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ishiguro et al. (U.S. Patent No. 12,553,005) discloses a similar device (see fig. 1) comprising an epoxy resin layer (10A, fig. 7b) and a platted layer (10B, fig. 7b), where increasing the cross-linking density of the epoxy resin allows the resin to form a strong coating film (22:19-22).
Yoshida (U.S. PGPub No. 2012/0135231) discloses that epoxy coatings are known to be measured using a pulse NMR measurement such that the T2 relaxation times are indicators of cross-link density and that T2 maximum spin is known to be within a range of 300 to 800 microseconds (see paragraph 0042).
Goto (JP-2020029946) discloses a similar device to the present invention.
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/A.T.R./Examiner, Art Unit 3679
/Matthew Troutman/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3679
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