DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claims 1, 5-9 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Li (US Publication 20200325689).
Li discloses a decorative panel for flooring comprising a core 300 (substrate), a decorative print layer 301 provided on the upper side of the core and a substantially transparent 3d embossing structure 305, wherein the embossing structure comprises base layers 306 A, 306B (transparent component) has indentations (recesses) (paragraph 39). As seen in figure 3, an elevated pattern layer 307 (enhancement component) is provided in the indentations and the amount of the elevated pattern layer varies in each indentation as shown in figure 3 (paragraph 39). The core layer can be made of EVA, PP, PE or PVC which are thermoplastic materials (paragraph 26).
As to claims 5 and 6, as seen in figure 3, the depths of said indentations vary along the cross section of the panel as well as the shortest distance between the elevated pattern layer and the decorative layer.
As to claims 7-8, the elevated pattern layer 307 at least partially to completely fills at least two indentations of the base layers 306 as seen in figure 3.
As to claim 9, a finishing layer 309 (topcoat) is provided over the elevated pattern layer (paragraph 39).
As to claim 11, As seen in figures 4a and b, the flooring comprises a coupling part that allows coupling of said panels
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 2-4, 8, 10, and 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li (US Publication 20200325689).
As to claim 2-3 and 10, Li anticipated claim 1 for the reasons noted above, however is silent to the elevated pattern layer being a lacquer or paint and semi-transparent or opaque. It should be noted that the elevated pattern layer is printed or sprayed onto the base layer (paragraph 18) and therefore will read on a lacquer or paint layer. It should also be noted that it is imaginable that a colored coating is provided in the indentations and onto the base layer (paragraph 12) and further that the layer 305 can be translucent. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Li and formed the elevated pattern layer to be semi-transparent with different opacities at the different indentations such as in one indentation to have a density number of less than 1 and in another recess have the density number greater than 1 as it would allow for more aesthetically pleasing images. See MPEP 2144.04.
As to claim 4, as seen in figure 3, the elevated pattern layer is formed as a discontinuous layer.
As to claim 12, Li anticipated claim 1 for the reasons noted above, however is silent to the depth of the base layer being between 150 and 600 micrometers. Li discloses that the total depth of the embossment can be increased by adjusting the base and elevated pattern layers and that that deep embossing a more realistic light effect and allow colors of the decora image to be better perceptible (paragraphs 6-10). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Li and formed the depth to be between 150 and 600 as Li allows for the total depth of the layer to be increased by adjusting the base layer and elevated pattern layers and therefore it would be an aesthetic design choice to modify the depth of the base layer as it can lead to a more realistic light effect and better perception of colors of the décor.
As to claim 13, Li discloses a decorative panel for flooring comprising a core 300 (substrate), a decorative print layer 301 provided on the upper side of the core and a substantially transparent 3d embossing structure 305, wherein the embossing structure comprises base layers 306 A, 306B (transparent component) has indentations (recesses) (paragraph 39). As seen in figure 3, an elevated pattern layer 307 (enhancement component) is provided in the indentations and the amount of the elevated pattern layer varies in each indentation as shown in figure 3 (paragraph 39). The core layer can be made of EVA, PP, PE or PVC which are thermoplastic materials (paragraph 26). However, is silent to the depth of the base layer being between 150 and 600 micrometers. Li discloses that the total depth of the embossment can be increased by adjusting the base and elevated pattern layers and that that deep embossing a more realistic light effect and allow colors of the decora image to be better perceptible (paragraphs 6-10). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Li and formed the depth to be between 150 and 600 as Li allows for the total depth of the layer to be increased by adjusting the base layer and elevated pattern layers and therefore it would be an aesthetic design choice to modify the depth of the base layer as it can lead to a more realistic light effect and better perception of colors of the décor.
As to claims 14, the elevated pattern layer 307 (enhancement component) is provided in the indentations and the amount of the elevated pattern layer varies in each indentation as shown in figure 3 (paragraph 39).
As to claim 15, as seen in figure 3, the indentations have a micro structed surface however is silent to the depths of the indentations. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have formed these indentations to be between 15 and 30 micrometers as it would allow for a more aesthetically pleasing image as this will affect how the light is reflected on the pattern layers.
As to claims 8 in an alternative view, and 16, the elevated pattern layer 307 at least partially to completely fills at least two indentations of the base layers 306 as seen in figure 3, but silent to completely filling all of them. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the elevated pattern layer to fill all the indentations as this would allow for more images to be provided allowing for a more aesthetically pleasing décor. See MPEP 2144.04.
As to claim 17, a finishing layer 309 (topcoat) is provided over the elevated pattern layer (paragraph 39).
As to claim 18, the base layer can be an acrylic resin (claim 16) which are thermoplastic materials however is silent to the thickness of the panel. As seen in figure 3 the core layer 300 thickness is the majority of the thickness of the panel. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Li and formed the panel to have a thickness of between 3 and 12 millimeters as one would know a thinner panel would provide less protection and be cheaper while a thicker panel would be more expensive more rigid and provide more protection. See MPEP 2144.06.
As to claim 19, The core layer can be made of a rigid PVC which is a thermoplastic material (paragraph 26).
As to claim 20, As seen in figures 4a and b, the flooring comprises a coupling part that allows coupling of said panels
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER M POLLEY whose telephone number is (571)270-5734. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 8am till 4:30 pm.
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/CHRISTOPHER M POLLEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785
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