DETAILED ACTION
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 .
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) 29-32, 34-40, and 42-47 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lopitaux (FR 2943065) and further in view of Shoda (JP 2015-189971).
Lopitaux is directed to a tread composition comprising 20-90 phr of SBR, 5-60 phr of polybutadiene rubber having a cis 1,4 content of greater than 95%, 50-120 phr of silica, 0-10 phr of carbon black, a solid hydrocarbon resin having a Tg greater than 20°C, a liquid plasticizer, and a crosslinking system based on sulfur (claimed cure package). Lopitaux further states that the preferred total plasticizer loading (combination of solid hydrocarbon resin and liquid plasticizer) is between 5 phr and 50 phr. In such an instance, though, Lopitaux fails to describe said polybutadiene as a “linear” configuration.
Shoda is similarly directed to a tire application including polybutadiene rubber. More particularly, Shoda teaches the specific use of linear polybutadienes having a preferred LCB index of at least 6.4 and T80 values between 3 and 15 since they provide excellent properties, such as wear properties, heat resistance, and impact resilience. In such an instance, the polybutadiene rubber is devoid of a filler reactive functional group or a coupling agent and thus constitutes a non-functionalized polybutadiene rubber. One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use a linear polybutadiene rubber in the tread composition of Lopitaux for the benefits detailed above.
Lastly, regarding claim 29, the claimed glass transition temperatures are consistent with those are conventionally associated with polybutadienes in general. It is further emphasized that the polybutadiene taught by Shoda is extremely similar to that of the claimed invention in regards to the linear arrangement, the cis 1,4 content, the LCB index, and the T80 value and as such, it reasons that the Tg in Shoda would mimic that required by the claimed invention.
With respect to claim 32, Shoda teaches a preferred LCB index of 6.40 or more and such suggests values less than 6.40 (non-preferred values are within t he scope of Shida) that can be viewed as being “about” 5.
Regarding claim 34, the claimed T80 values and LCB index values are outside that taught by Shoda.
As to claim 35, Lopitaux teaches hydrocarbon resins having Tg of at least 20°C and such fully encompasses the claimed range.
With respect to claim 36, Shoda states that it is not preferable to form a gel and such is seen to correspond with a gel content on the order of 0.
Regarding claim 37, the claimed g ratio and g’ ratio appear to be consistent with linear polybutadienes having a cis 1,4 content, LCB index, and T80 value in accordance to the claimed invention and Shoda.
As to claim 38, the linear polybutadiene of Shoda (a) has a Mooney viscosity at 100°C between 20 and 80, (b) has a weight average molecular weight between 490,000 and 800,000, (c) has a number average molecular weight between 170,000 and 300,000, and (d) a ratio between the weight average molecular weight and the number average molecular weight is at least approximately 1.6 and such fully encompasses the broad range of the claimed invention.
With respect to claim 39, Lopitaux teaches the use of non-functionalized SBR.
Regarding claim 40, Lopitaux teaches SBR components having a vinyl content between 15% and 70% and Tg values between -10°C and -55°C.
As to claims 42-45, the claimed properties would be expected to be present in the modified rubber composition of Lopitaux as it is substantially the same as that required by the claimed invention.
With respect to claim 47, the modified tread rubber composition of Lopitaux would be expected to provide improvements in wear resistance that mimic those required by the claimed invention since said compositions is substantially the same as that required by the claimed invention. Also, Shoda specifically states that the inclusion of linear polybutadienes provides improved wear resistance.
Claim(s) 29-39 and 41-47 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zanzig (EP 1125766) and further in view of Shoda and Lopitaux ‘065.
Zanzig is directed to a tire tread composition comprising 45-85 phr of cis 1,4 polybutadiene having a Tg between -95°C and -105°C, 15-55 phr of SBR, 60-110 phr of silica, an extremely small amount of carbon black given that a ratio can be as high as 20/1 between said silica and said carbon black, 1-5 phr of hydrocarbon resins, and 0.5-5 phr of sulfur (corresponds with claimed cure package) (Paragraphs 12-50). In such an instance, though, Zanzig fails to describe said polybutadiene as a “linear” configuration.
Shoda is similarly directed to a tire application including polybutadiene rubber. More particularly, Shoda teaches the specific use of linear polybutadienes having a preferred LCB index of at least 6.4 and T80 values between 3 and 15 since they provide excellent properties, such as wear properties, heat resistance, and impact resilience. In such an instance, the polybutadiene rubber is devoid of a filler reactive functional group or a coupling agent and thus constitutes a non-functionalized polybutadiene rubber. One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use a linear polybutadiene rubber in the tread composition of Zanzig for the benefits detailed above.
Lastly, regarding claim 29, Zanzig teaches the use of conventional compounding ingredients, such as hydrocarbon resins, in the tire industry (Paragraphs 48 and 50). While Zanzig fails to expressly teach the inclusion of a liquid plasticizer, such a material corresponds with conventional compounding ingredients, a shown for example by Lopitaux. In particular, Lopitaux teaches the combined use of said ingredients (liquid plasticizer and hydrocarbon resin) at a loading between 5 phr and 50 phr in a tire tread composition. One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to include the claimed components in the rubber composition of Zanzig as they are well recognized as providing improved processability in tire tread compositions.
With respect to claim 32, Shoda teaches a preferred LCB index of 6.40 or more and such suggests values less than 6.40 (non-preferred values are within the scope of Shida) that can be viewed as being “about” 5.
As to claim 33, the elastomer portion in Zanzig can be formed solely with SBR and polybutadiene rubber.
Regarding claim 34, the claimed T80 values and LCB index values are outside that taught by Shoda.
As to claim 35, Lopitaux teaches hydrocarbon resins having Tg of at least 20°C and such fully encompasses the claimed range.
With respect to claim 36, Shoda states that it is not preferable to form a gel and such is seen to correspond with a gel content on the order of 0.
Regarding claim 37, the claimed g ratio and g’ ratio appear to be consistent with linear polybutadienes having a cis 1,4 content, LCB index, and T80 value in accordance to the claimed invention and Shoda.
As to claim 38, the linear polybutadiene of Shoda (a) has a Mooney viscosity at 100°C between 20 and 80, (b) has a weight average molecular weight between 490,000 and 800,000, (c) has a number average molecular weight between 170,000 and 300,000, and (d) a ratio between the weight average molecular weight and the number average molecular weight is at least approximately 1.6 and such fully encompasses the broad range of the claimed invention.
With respect to claim 39, Zanzig teaches the use of non-functionalized SBR (Paragraph 12).
Regarding claim 41, Zanzig teaches the inclusion of extender oil as required by the claimed invention (see footnotes 2 and 3, for example, in Table 1).
As to claims 42-45, the claimed properties would be expected to be present in the modified rubber composition of Zanzig as it is substantially the same as that required by the claimed invention.
With respect to claim 47, the modified tread rubber composition of Zanzig would be expected to provide improvements in wear resistance that mimic those required by the claimed invention since said compositions is substantially the same as that required by the claimed invention. Also, Shoda specifically states that the inclusion of linear polybutadienes provides improved wear resistance.
Claim(s) 40 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zanzig, Shoda, and Lopitaux as applied in claim 29 above and further in view of Lopitaux (US 2010/0099796).
As detailed above, Zanzig teaches a tread rubber composition comprising 15-55 phr of SBR having a bound styrene content between 30% and 55% and a Tg as small as -55°C and as large as -15°C (Paragraph 12). In such an instance, though, Zanzig is silent with respect to the vinyl content.
In any event, the claimed vinyl contents are consistent with those that are associated with conventional SBR used in tire tread compositions, as shown for example by Lopitaux (Paragraph 65). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use an SBR having any conventional vinyl content absent a conclusive showing of unexpected results.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN R FISCHER whose telephone number is (571)272-1215. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 5:30-2:00.
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Justin Fischer
/JUSTIN R FISCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1749 December 8, 2025
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