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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This is the first action on the merits for application 18/994763. Claims 1-12 are currently pending in this application.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 9-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by DI MECO (WO 2021130694 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, DI MECO teaches A power transmission belt comprising: a body (Fig. 1), a plurality of cords (3) embedded in the body, a back (Fig. 1), and a plurality of teeth (6) or ribs, wherein said back or said teeth is covered with a covering material (8), wherein the body comprises, for at least 60% by weight with respect to the total weight of the body, an elastomeric material formed of a mixture of one or more copolymers, wherein each copolymer is obtained from a diene monomer, and a monomer containing nitrile groups modified with a sale of an unsaturated carboxylic acid (pg. 7, line 15-27 and further specification of the main elastomer on pg. 9, lines 12-21).
Regarding Claim 2, DI MECO teaches wherein said covering material comprises a treatment comprising an elastomeric material formed of a mixture of the one or more copolymers (pg. 7, line 15-27 and further specification of the main elastomer on pg. 9, lines 12-21).
Regarding Claim 3, DI MECO teaches wherein said covering material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of woven fabrics, knitted fabrics and non-woven fabrics (pg. 10, line 30-34).
Regarding Claim 4, DI MECO teaches wherein said body comprises, for at least 70% by weight with respect to the total weight of the body, an elastomeric material formed of a mixture of the one or more copolymers (pg. 7, line 15-27 and further specification of the main elastomer on pg. 9, lines 12-21).
Regarding Claim 5, DI MECO teaches wherein said body comprises, for at least 80% by weight with respect to the total weight of the body, an elastomeric material formed of a mixture of the one or more copolymers (pg. 7, line 15-27 and further specification of the main elastomer on pg. 9, lines 12-21).
Regarding Claim 9, DI MECO teaches wherein said plurality of cords (3) comprise at least one substance selected from the group consisting of polyamide, aromatic polyamide, polyester, glass, PBO, carbon fibres (pg. 10, lines 17-23).
Regarding Claim 10, DI MECO teaches wherein said plurality of cords comprise a first fibrous material and a second fibrous material (pg. 10, lines 17-23).
Regarding Claim 11, DI MECO teaches wherein said plurality of cords comprise carbon fibres or PBO fibres (pg. 10, lines 17-23).
Regarding Claim 12, DI MECO teaches a power transmission system comprising a belt according to claim 1 (pg. 1, lines 15-27).
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) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DI MECO (WO 2021130694 A1).
Regarding Claim 6, DI MECO does not teach wherein the body has a tensile strength of more than 40 MPa.
DI MECO has some tensile strength and thus it is a result effective variable.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to recognize the parameter as a result effective variable and optimize it to create a durable belt capable of transferring a minimum amount of torque.
Claim(s) 7, 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DI MECO (WO 2021130694 A1) in view of SAKAMOTO (2014/0080647).
Regarding Claim 7, DI MECO does not teach wherein said body comprises fibres in a percentage by weight ranging from 1 to 20% with respect to the total weight of the body.
SAKAMOTO teaches wherein said body comprises fibres in a percentage by weight ranging from 1 to 20% with respect to the total weight of the body [0127].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date change the belt in DI MECO so it has the fibers in SAKAMOTO to increase the hardness of the belt body.
Regarding Claim 8, DI MECO does not teach wherein said fibres comprise a material selected from the group consisting of glass fibres, aramid fibres, polyester fibres, carbon fibres, PBO fibres, polyamide fibres, polyketone (POK) fibres, PEEK fibres, polyvinyl acetate (PVA) fibres, liquid crystal (LPC) fibres,and PEN fibres, and combinations thereof.
SAKAMOTO teaches aramid fibres [0127].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date change the belt in DI MECO so it has the fibers in SAKAMOTO to increase the hardness of the belt body.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HENRY Y LIU whose telephone number is (571)270-7018. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5:30 ET.
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HENRY Y. LIU
Examiner
Art Unit 3654
/HENRY Y LIU/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3654