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) 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuwajima et al. (US 2019/0210339) in view of Ainsworth (US 2004/0253403), Ikai (EP 3940027) and Kubota et al. (US 2018/0223116).
Regarding claim 1, Kuwajima discloses a laminate in which a fluororesin layer and a rubber layer are firmly bonded to each other and the fluororesin layer has low fuel permeability and is less likely to suffer solvent cracking. The laminate includes a rubber layer (A) and a fluororesin layer (B). The fluororesin layer (B) contains a copolymer containing a chlorotrifluoroethylene unit, a tetrafluoroethylene unit, and a perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether unit (abstract). The rubber layer (A) is preferably one formed from a vulcanizable rubber composition containing an uncrosslinked rubber (b1) of the rubber and Examples of the vulcanizable rubber composition include vulcanizable rubber compositions disclosed in JP 2012-126015 A, WO 2011/001756, JP 2010-89479 A, JP 2012-61644 A, JP 2012-81682 A, WO 2012/063893, JP 2013-176961 A, JP 2013-099935 A, and WO 2013/089200 (para 0075-0076). In the invention, any common additives usually added to vulcanizable rubber compositions may be added in accordance with the purpose or the necessity and Example of filler includes carbon black (para 0104-105), where the layer would intrinsically have conductivity as the layer comprises rubber and carbon black.
However, Kuwajima fails to disclose that the carbon black in the rubber composition is 1 to 100 parts by mass based on 100 parts by mass of the rubber and nitrogen adsorption specific area of the carbon black is 140 m2/g or less and the fluororesin layer is formed of a melt-fabricable fluororesin.
Whereas Ainsworth discloses hose construction containing a thermoplastic fluoropolymer barrier and an epichlorohydrin rubber layer. The hose comprises (A) a rubber layer comprising (1) 100 parts by weight of elastomer comprising epichlorohydrin rubber; and (2) from about 10 to about 100 parts by weight, per 100 parts by elastomer, of silica, (B) a barrier layer adjacent to the rubber layer, the barrier layer comprised of at least one thermoplastic fluoropolymer (abstract). The rubber layer further comprises from about 10 to about 100 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of elastomer, of carbon black (claim 16).
Whereas, Ikai discloses rubber composition comprising rubber (para 0021, 0026-0028). The carbon black (CB) contained in the composition according to an embodiment of the present invention is not particularly limited. Examples of the carbon black include various grades of carbon black such as High Abrasion Furnace (HAF) grade carbon black, General Purpose Furnace (GPF) grade carbon black, and Fast Extruding Furnace (FEF) grade carbon black. A nitrogen adsorption specific surface area (N.sub.2SA) of the carbon black is preferably from 25 to 100 m.sup.2/g, and more preferably from 65 to 95 m.sup.2/g, from the viewpoint of being superior in the effects of the present invention, and being excellent in physical properties, adhesiveness to other rubber layers, processability of the composition (para 0037-0038, 0040).
Whereas, Kubota discloses coating material contains fluororesin primary particles having an average particle size of 0.2 to 200 nm, a curable silicone resin in an amount of 0.1 to 250 mass % relative to the fluororesin primary particles, and water (abstract). The fluororesin primary particles are particles formed from a fluororesin. The fluororesin is preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and melt-fabricable fluororesin other than polytetrafluoroethylene (para 0034).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to include carbon black of Kuwajima in an amount of 10 to 100 parts by weight having nitrogen adsorption specific surface area of 25-100 m2/g as taught by Ainsworth and Kubota respectively motivated by the desire to have high tensile strength, abrasion resistance and processability and to form fluororesin of Kuwajima as a melt-fabricable resin as taught by Kubota motivated by the desire to have improved thermal and mechanical properties.
Conclusion
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/RONAK C PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1788
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