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
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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, 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 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2021/039474 to Kobayashi, with US Pub. No. 2022/0282402 cited as the English equivalent, in view of USPN 7,687,141 to Yabuki.
Regarding claims 1-10, Kobayashi teaches an infrared-absorbing fiber, knit fabric, or non-woven fabric containing an infrared-absorbing pigment (Kobayashi, Abstract). Kobayashi teaches that the fiber may be a synthetic fiber, semi-synthetic fiber, natural fiber, produced fiber, inorganic fiber, and a blended yarn, wherein the synthetic fiber includes polyester, polyolefin, and acrylic among others (Id., paragraphs 0094-0100). Kobayashi teaches that the infrared absorbing pigment is directly blended with a starting polymer of a synthetic fiber or attached to at least one of a surface and an inner portion of a fiber (Id., paragraphs 0129-0136). Kobayashi teaches that the infrared absorbing pigment comprises a composite tungsten oxide represented by the general formula MxWyOz, wherein M is one or more elements selected from the group consisting of H, He, alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, and rare earth elements, and wherein x, y, and z are each a positive number, 0 < x/y ≤ 1, and 2.2 ≤ z/y ≤ 3.0 (Id., paragraphs 0024-0029, 0103-0120). Kobayashi teaches that the content of the infrared absorbing pigment per area may be 0.10 g/m2 or greater (Id., paragraphs 0152-0155), such as 0.21 or 0.44 g/m2 (Id., Tables 1-10).
Kobayashi does not appear to specifically teach the claimed particle size. However, Yabuki teaches a similar near-infrared absorbing fiber comprising tungsten oxide, having heat retaining properties, satisfactory weather resistance, heat absorption efficiency, and transparency (Yabuki, Abstract). Yabuki teaches preparing microparticles of a heat absorbing component by pulverizing tungsten oxide and/or composite tungsten oxide to a grain size of 1 nm to 800 nm (Id., column 3 lines 23-39). Yabuki teaches that fibers formed by dispersing the microparticles in an appropriate solvent and adding the dispersion to the surface or interior of fibers transmit light in the visible region while simultaneously absorbing sunlight rays, particularly light in the infrared region (Id.). Yabuki teaches that the content of the microparticles is 0.001 wt% to 80 wt% with respect to a solid portion of the fiber (Id., column 3 lines 40-45). Yabuki teaches that the composite tungsten oxide microparticles comprise a substantially similar general formula as disclosed in Kobayashi (Id., column 3 lines 50-67). Yabuki teaches that the fiber can be applied in winter clothing, sports apparel, and other fiber articles (Id., column 4 lines 45-60).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the infrared-absorbing fiber of Kobayashi, wherein the infrared absorbing pigment comprises a particle size, such as within the claimed range, as taught by Yabuki, motivated by the desire of forming a conventional infrared-absorbing fiber comprising a composite tungsten oxide particle size known in the art to be predictably suitable for substantially similar fibers and uses, where properties including heat retaining properties, satisfactory weather resistance, heat absorption efficiency, and transparency are desired.
Regarding claim 2, although the prior art combination does not appear to teach the specifically claimed average reflectance, the prior art combination teaches a substantially similar fiber comprising the claimed composite tungsten oxide particles with the claimed general formula, including the claimed particle size and particle amount. Therefore, it is reasonable for one of ordinary skill to expect that the claimed property naturally flows from the teachings of the prior art combination. Products of identical structure cannot have mutually exclusive properties. The burden is on Applicant to prove otherwise.
Regarding claims 3 and 4, the prior art combination teaches substantially similar and overlapping particles, including the claimed element M (Kobayashi, paragraphs 0103-0120; Yabuki, column 5 line 6 to column 6 line 56).
Regarding claims 5-10, the prior art combination teaches that the fiber may be a synthetic fiber, semi-synthetic fiber, natural fiber, produced fiber, inorganic fiber, and a blended yarn, wherein the synthetic fiber includes polyester, polyolefin, and acrylic among others, for use in forming clothing (Kobayashi, paragraph 0038). Additionally, Yabuki teaches similar fibers including a synthetic fiber, a semisynthetic fiber, a natural fiber, a reclaimed fiber, and an inorganic fiber; or a textile blend, doubled yarn, or mixed yarn formed by combining filaments of the same, wherein synthetic fibers include acrylic, polyester, and polyolefins among others, a semisynthetic fiber is selected from cellulose fiber, protein fiber, chlorinated rubber, and hydrochlorinated rubber, a natural fiber is selected from vegetable fiber, animal fiber, and mineral fiber, and a reclaimed fiber is selected from cellulose fiber, protein fiber, algin fiber, rubber fiber, chitin fiber, and mannan fiber (Yabuki, column 4 lines 8-29). Therefore, although the prior art combination teaches the claimed synthetic fiber, it would have been additionally obvious to make the infrared-absorbing fiber of the prior art combination, wherein the fiber comprises the claimed fibers, as taught by Kobayashi and Yabuki, motivated by the desire of forming a conventional infrared-absorbing fiber comprising fiber compositions known in the art as being predictably suitable for similar infrared absorbing applications.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER Y CHOI whose telephone number is (571)272-6730. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM.
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/PETER Y CHOI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786
