DETAILED ACTION
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
This is in response to Application filed on December 13, 2024 in which claims 1-10 are presented for examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2 and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Marin (2010/0292664).
Regarding claim 1, Marin teaches, A preparation method of an anti-static flash spinning composite non-woven fabric ([0008-0028]), comprising the following steps: S1: taking anti-static functional masterbatch and a first polymer as spunbond raw materials, obtaining spunbonded fibre with the spunbond raw materials by a spunbond process, and forming a spunbonded fibre web by aggregating the spunbonded fibre (“a composite fabric comprising a porous fluid drainage layer and a fibrous fluid barrier layer of a flash spun polyolefin plexifilamentary film-fibril sheet wherein the fibrous fluid barrier layer faces the interior of the garment.”, [0014], “The fluid drainage layer can be selected from the group consisting of nonwoven fabrics, woven fabrics, knit fabrics, three-dimensional meshes, and combinations thereof. The nonwoven fabrics can be selected from the group consisting of spunbonded nonwovens, carded nonwovens, needlepunched nonwovens, air-laid nonwovens, wet-laid nonwovens, spunlaced and flash spun nonwovens. A particularly useful type of nonwoven fabric of the invention is a spunbonded nonwoven. As used herein, the term "spunbonded nonwoven" refers to a nonwoven web formed of filaments which have been extruded, drawn, and deposited on a continuous collection surface. Bonding can be accomplished by any of several methods including point or pattern bonding, calendering or passing the spunbonded nonwoven through a saturated-steam chamber at an elevated pressure.”, [0015], “The fluid drainage layer can be made from polymeric materials that are not particularly limited and include melt spinnable thermoplastic polymers such as polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, and combinations thereof. Preferred polyolefins include polyethylene and polypropylene. A preferred polyester includes polyethylene terephthalate. Preferred polyamides include nylon 6 and nylon 6,6.”, [0016], “The fluid drainage layer can further comprise antistatic agents, antimicrobial agents, processing additives, colorants and the like.”, [0017], “The garment of claim 1 wherein the fluid drainage layer comprises fibers of a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, and combinations thereof.”, claim 4, therefore, comprising the following steps: S1: taking anti-static functional masterbatch and a first polymer as spunbond raw materials (the fluid discharge layer), obtaining spunbonded fibre with the spunbond raw materials by a spunbond process, and forming a spunbonded fibre web by aggregating the spunbonded fibre (the fluid discharge layer is disclosed in [0016] as including melt-spinnable thermoplastic polymers such as polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides and combinations thereof. Preferred polyolefins includepolyethylene and polypropylene. Preferred polyesters include polyethylene terephthalate, and is disclosed in [0015] as being selected from the group consisting of spunbonded nonwovens, carded nonwovens, needlepunched nonwovens, air-laid nonwovens, wet-laid nonwovens, spunlaced and flash spun nonwovens. A particularly useful type of nonwoven fabric of the invention is a spunbonded nonwoven. As used herein, the term "spunbonded nonwoven" refers to a nonwoven web formed of filaments which have been extruded, drawn, and deposited on a continuous collection surface. therefore, obtaining spunbonded fibre with the spunbond raw materials by a spunbond process, and forming a spunbonded fibre web by aggregating the spunbonded fibre is disclosed); S2: taking a second polymer as a raw material, obtaining a flash spinning fiber web sheet by a flash spinning process; forming a flash spinning fiber layer by laying the flash spinning fiber web sheet on the spunbonded fibre web to obtain a composite fiber web (“a fibrous fluid barrier layer of a flash spun polyolefin plexifilamentary film-fibril sheet wherein the fibrous fluid barrier layer faces the interior of the garment.”, [0014], “The fluid barrier layer is a flash spun polyolefin plexifilamentary film-fibril sheet. A preferred polyolefin is polyethylene.”, [0022], therefore, S2: taking a second polymer as a raw material, obtaining a flash spinning fiber web sheet by a flash spinning process; forming a flash spinning fiber layer by laying the flash spinning fiber web sheet on the spunbonded fibre web to obtain a composite fiber web); S3: performing a cold pressing treatment and a hot rolling treatment on the composite fiber web sequentially, causing the spunbonded fibre web to form a spunbond layer and causing the flash spinning fiber layer to form a flash spinning layer (“The fluid drainage layer and fluid barrier layer can be optionally bonded to each other. Examples of suitable bonding techniques include adhesive bonding, thermal bonding such as point bonding, and ultrasonic bonding, although any means for bonding known to one skilled in the art can be employed.”, [0025], “The fluid drainage layer is optionally textured, creped, embossed or calendered to direct and facilitate the passage of fluid throughout the plane of the fluid drainage layer and away from the compressed region.”, [0019], “The fluid barrier layer can be textured, creped, embossed or calendered.”, [0023], “. In a preferred embodiment, the fluid drainage layer and the fluid barrier layer are bonded using a suitable lamination technique, such as passing the materials through a nip at a temperature sufficient to melt the adhesive. One of the nip rolls can have a raised pattern on its surface in order to produce a point bonding pattern in the laminate”, [0027], therefore, S3: performing a cold pressing treatment and a hot rolling treatment on the composite fiber web sequentially, causing the spunbonded fibre web to form a spunbond layer and causing the flash spinning fiber layer to form a flash spinning layer).
Regarding claim 2, Marin teaches, wherein before S3, performing a pre-heat rolling treatment on the spunbonded fibre web prepared in S1 (“The fluid drainage layer is optionally textured, creped, embossed or calendered to direct and facilitate the passage of fluid throughout the plane of the fluid drainage layer and away from the compressed region.”, [0019], therefore, wherein before S3, performing a pre-heat rolling treatment on the spunbonded fibre web prepared in S1, here, the preheat rolling
treatment is a conventional process step for the fiber web when preparing non-woven fabrics in this field).
Regarding claim 5, Marin teaches, wherein the first polymer comprises one or more from a group of high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and linear low-density polyethylene; the second polymer comprises one or more from a group of high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and linear low-density polyethylene (“The fluid drainage layer can be made from polymeric materials that are not particularly limited and include melt spinnable thermoplastic polymers such as polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, and combinations thereof. Preferred polyolefins include polyethylene and polypropylene. A preferred polyester includes polyethylene terephthalate. Preferred polyamides include nylon 6 and nylon 6,6.”, [0016], “The fluid barrier layer is a flash spun polyolefin plexifilamentary film-fibril sheet. A preferred polyolefin is polyethylene.”, [0022], therefore, wherein the first polymer (the fluid discharge layer) comprises one or more from a group of high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and linear low-density polyethylene; the second polymer (the fluid barrier layer) comprises one or more from a group of high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and linear low-density polyethylene, regarding high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and linear low-density polyethylene, Marin discloses both the first polymer (the fluid discharge layer) and the second polymer (the fluid barrier layer) as comprising polyethylene and would therefore meet the limitations as being one or more from a group of high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and linear low-density polyethylene).
Regarding claim 6, Marin teaches, wherein a raw material component of the anti-static functional masterbatch comprises anti-static agent, matrix resin, and filler; wherein the anti-static agent comprises organic amine salt based anti-static agent, and the anti-static functional masterbatch is made of linear low-density polyethylene as a matrix resin and nano calcium carbonate as a filler (“The fluid drainage layer can be made from polymeric materials that are not particularly limited and include melt spinnable thermoplastic polymers such as polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, and combinations thereof. Preferred polyolefins include polyethylene and polypropylene. A preferred polyester includes polyethylene terephthalate. Preferred polyamides include nylon 6 and nylon 6,6.”, [0016], “The fluid drainage layer can further comprise antistatic agents, antimicrobial agents, processing additives, colorants and the like.”, [0017], “The fluid drainage layer can be treated with a fluorine-containing compound to help resist the penetration of certain solvents.”, [0020], “The fluid barrier layer is a flash spun polyolefin plexifilamentary film-fibril sheet. A preferred polyolefin is polyethylene.”, [0022], therefore, wherein a raw material component of the anti-static functional masterbatch comprises anti-static agent, matrix resin, and filler; wherein the anti-static agent comprises organic amine salt based anti-static agent, and the anti-static functional masterbatch is made of linear low-density polyethylene as a matrix resin and nano calcium carbonate as a filler, further, the filler is a conventional additive material for the functional masterbatch, and the functional additive and the base resin are also conventional compositions of the functional masterbatch. The organic amine salt antistatic agent is a commonly used antistatic agent, and nano calcium carbonate is a commonly used filler).
Regarding claim 7, Marin teaches, An anti-static flash spinning composite non-woven fabric, wherein the non-woven fabric is a multi-layer composite structure, which sequentially comprises a spunbond layer and a flash spinning layer that is on the spunbond layer (“a composite fabric comprising a porous fluid drainage layer and a fibrous fluid barrier layer of a flash spun polyolefin plexifilamentary film-fibril sheet wherein the fibrous fluid barrier layer faces the interior of the garment.”, [0014], “The fluid drainage layer can be selected from the group consisting of nonwoven fabrics, woven fabrics, knit fabrics, three-dimensional meshes, and combinations thereof. The nonwoven fabrics can be selected from the group consisting of spunbonded nonwovens, carded nonwovens, needlepunched nonwovens, air-laid nonwovens, wet-laid nonwovens, spunlaced and flash spun nonwovens. A particularly useful type of nonwoven fabric of the invention is a spunbonded nonwoven. As used herein, the term "spunbonded nonwoven" refers to a nonwoven web formed of filaments which have been extruded, drawn, and deposited on a continuous collection surface. Bonding can be accomplished by any of several methods including point or pattern bonding, calendering or passing the spunbonded nonwoven through a saturated-steam chamber at an elevated pressure.”, [0015], “The fluid drainage layer can be made from polymeric materials that are not particularly limited and include melt spinnable thermoplastic polymers such as polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, and combinations thereof. Preferred polyolefins include polyethylene and polypropylene. A preferred polyester includes polyethylene terephthalate. Preferred polyamides include nylon 6 and nylon 6,6.”, [0016], “The fluid drainage layer can further comprise antistatic agents, antimicrobial agents, processing additives, colorants and the like.”, [0017], “The fluid barrier layer is a flash spun polyolefin plexifilamentary film-fibril sheet. A preferred polyolefin is polyethylene.”, [0022], “The fluid drainage layer and fluid barrier layer can be optionally bonded to each other. Examples of suitable bonding techniques include adhesive bonding, thermal bonding such as point bonding, and ultrasonic bonding, although any means for bonding known to one skilled in the art can be employed.”, [0025], “The fluid drainage layer is optionally textured, creped, embossed or calendered to direct and facilitate the passage of fluid throughout the plane of the fluid drainage layer and away from the compressed region.”, [0019], “The fluid barrier layer can be textured, creped, embossed or calendered.”, [0023], “. In a preferred embodiment, the fluid drainage layer and the fluid barrier layer are bonded using a suitable lamination technique, such as passing the materials through a nip at a temperature sufficient to melt the adhesive. One of the nip rolls can have a raised pattern on its surface in order to produce a point bonding pattern in the laminate”, [0027], “The garment of claim 1 wherein the fluid drainage layer comprises fibers of a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, and combinations thereof.”, claim 4, therefore, An anti-static flash spinning composite non-woven fabric, wherein the non-woven fabric is a multi-layer composite structure, which sequentially comprises a spunbond layer and a flash spinning layer that is on the spunbond layer).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 of this title, 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 3-4 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Marin (2010/0292664).
Regarding claim 3, Marin teaches, the preparation method of an anti-static flash spinning composite non-woven fabric according to claim 1 (see above).
Regarding “wherein a gram weight of the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric is greater than or equal to 40g/m2 and less than or equal to 120g/m2; a gram weight ratio of the spunbond layer to the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric is greater than or equal to 10% and less than or equal to 50%; a gram weight ratio of the flash spinning layer to the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric is greater than or equal to 50% and less than or equal to 90%.”, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to experiment with different ranges of ratio for the gram weight of the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric in order to achieve an optimal configuration, since discovering the optimum or workable ranges of a composite non-woven fabric involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 4, Marin teaches, the preparation method of an anti-static flash spinning composite non-woven fabric according to claim 1 (see above).
Regarding “wherein a weight ratio of the anti-static functional masterbatch to the first polymer is greater than or equal to 0.5% and less than or equal to 10%.”, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to experiment with different ranges of weight ratios of the anti-static functional masterbatch to the first polymer in order to achieve an optimal configuration, since discovering the optimum or workable ranges of a composite non-woven fabric involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 8, Marin teaches, wherein a static water pressure resistance of the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric is greater than 9.5 kPa, and its surface resistance is less than 2×108 Ω (“In order for the fluid barrier layer to resist fluid flow through the fluid barrier layer, it is desirable for the fluid barrier layer to have a high hydrostatic head. Conversely, in order for the fluid drainage layer to be able to transport fluid away from the fluid barrier layer, the fluid drainage layer preferably has a lower hydrostatic head than the fluid barrier layer. The hydrostatic head of the fluid drainage layer is preferably about 3 to about 300 cm of water and the hydrostatic head of the fluid barrier layer is preferably about 3 to about 400 cm of water.”, [0033], therefore, wherein a static water pressure resistance of the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric has a static water pressure resistance, and has a surface resistance.
Regarding “wherein a static water pressure resistance of the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric is greater than 9.5 kPa, and its surface resistance is less than 2×108 Ω”, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to experiment with different ranges of static water pressure resistance, and a surface resistance in order to achieve an optimal configuration, since discovering the optimum or workable ranges of a composite non-woven fabric involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 9, Marin teaches, the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric has a gram weight; the spunbond layer to the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric a gram weight ratio; the flash spinning layer to the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric has a gram weight ratio (“In order for the fluid barrier layer to resist fluid flow through the fluid barrier layer, it is desirable for the fluid barrier layer to have a high hydrostatic head. Conversely, in order for the fluid drainage layer to be able to transport fluid away from the fluid barrier layer, the fluid drainage layer preferably has a lower hydrostatic head than the fluid barrier layer. The hydrostatic head of the fluid drainage layer is preferably about 3 to about 300 cm of water and the hydrostatic head of the fluid barrier layer is preferably about 3 to about 400 cm of water.”, [0033], therefore, the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric has a gram weight; the spunbond layer to the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric a gram weight ratio; the flash spinning layer to the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric has a gram weight ratio).
Regarding “a gram weight of the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric is greater than or equal to 40g/m2 and less than or equal to 120g/m2; a gram weight ratio of the spunbond layer to the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric is greater than or equal to 10% and less than or equal to 50%; a gram weight ratio of the flash spinning layer to the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric is greater than or equal to 50% and less than or equal to 90%.”, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to experiment with the gram weights and gram weight ratios of the spunbond layer to the flash spinning composite non-woven fabric in order to achieve an optimal configuration, since discovering the optimum or workable ranges of a composite non-woven fabric involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 10, Marin teaches, wherein the spunbond layer is composed of spunbond fiber, and a raw material component of the spunbond fiber comprises anti-static functional masterbatch and a first polymer (“a composite fabric comprising a porous fluid drainage layer and a fibrous fluid barrier layer of a flash spun polyolefin plexifilamentary film-fibril sheet wherein the fibrous fluid barrier layer faces the interior of the garment.”, [0014], “The fluid drainage layer can be selected from the group consisting of nonwoven fabrics, woven fabrics, knit fabrics, three-dimensional meshes, and combinations thereof. The nonwoven fabrics can be selected from the group consisting of spunbonded nonwovens, carded nonwovens, needlepunched nonwovens, air-laid nonwovens, wet-laid nonwovens, spunlaced and flash spun nonwovens. A particularly useful type of nonwoven fabric of the invention is a spunbonded nonwoven. As used herein, the term "spunbonded nonwoven" refers to a nonwoven web formed of filaments which have been extruded, drawn, and deposited on a continuous collection surface. Bonding can be accomplished by any of several methods including point or pattern bonding, calendering or passing the spunbonded nonwoven through a saturated-steam chamber at an elevated pressure.”, [0015], “The fluid drainage layer can be made from polymeric materials that are not particularly limited and include melt spinnable thermoplastic polymers such as polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, and combinations thereof. Preferred polyolefins include polyethylene and polypropylene. A preferred polyester includes polyethylene terephthalate. Preferred polyamides include nylon 6 and nylon 6,6.”, [0016], “The fluid drainage layer can further comprise antistatic agents, antimicrobial agents, processing additives, colorants and the like.”, [0017], “The garment of claim 1 wherein the fluid drainage layer comprises fibers of a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, and combinations thereof.”, claim 4, therefore, wherein the spunbond layer is composed of spunbond fiber, and a raw material component of the spunbond fiber comprises anti-static functional masterbatch and a first polymer); the flash spinning layer is composed of flash spinning fiber, and the flash spinning fiber is made of a second polymer (“a fibrous fluid barrier layer of a flash spun polyolefin plexifilamentary film-fibril sheet wherein the fibrous fluid barrier layer faces the interior of the garment.”, [0014], “The fluid barrier layer is a flash spun polyolefin plexifilamentary film-fibril sheet. A preferred polyolefin is polyethylene.”, [0022], therefore, the flash spinning layer is composed of flash spinning fiber, and the flash spinning fiber is made of a second polymer); the first polymer comprises one or more form a group of high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and linear low-density polyethylene; the second polymer comprises one or more of a group of high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and linear low-density polyethylene (wherein the first polymer (the fluid discharge layer) comprises one or more from a group of high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and linear low-density polyethylene ([0014], [0015] [0016] [0017] and claim 4); the second polymer (the fluid barrier layer) comprises one or more from a group of high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and linear low-density polyethylene ([0014], [0022]), regarding high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and linear low-density polyethylene, Marin discloses both the first polymer (the fluid discharge layer) and the second polymer (the fluid barrier layer) as comprising polyethylene and would therefore meet the limitations as being one or more from a group of high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and linear low-density polyethylene);
Regarding “a weight ratio of the anti-static functional masterbatch to the first polymer is greater than or equal to 0.5% and less than or equal to 10%.”, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to experiment with gram weight ratio of the anti-static functional masterbatch to the first polymer in order to achieve an optimal configuration, since discovering the optimum or workable ranges of a composite non-woven fabric involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
1. 5,290,628 by Lim discloses a process for hydoentangled flash spun non-woven webs.
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/Jillian K Pierorazio/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732
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