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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: The current disclosure does not follow US formats for heading and subheadings. There is no heading or subheading for the drawings or a detailed description of the drawings. In addition to these some examples of the headings and subheadings can be:
Content of Specification
(a) TITLE OF THE INVENTION: See 37 CFR 1.72(a) and MPEP § 606. The title of the invention should be placed at the top of the first page of the specification unless the title is provided in an application data sheet. The title of the invention should be brief but technically accurate and descriptive, preferably from two to seven words. It may not contain more than 500 characters.
(b) CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS: See 37 CFR 1.78 and MPEP § 211 et seq.
(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT: See MPEP § 310.
(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT. See 37 CFR 1.71(g).
(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A READ-ONLY OPTICAL DISC, AS A TEXT FILE OR AN XML FILE VIA THE PATENT ELECTRONIC SYSTEM: The specification is required to include an incorporation-by-reference of electronic documents that are to become part of the permanent United States Patent and Trademark Office records in the file of a patent application. See 37 CFR 1.77(b)(5) and MPEP § 608.05. See also the Legal Framework for Patent Electronic System posted on the USPTO website (https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2019LegalFrameworkPES.pdf) and MPEP § 502.05
(f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR. See 35 U.S.C. 102(b) and 37 CFR 1.77.
(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION: See MPEP § 608.01(c). The specification should set forth the Background of the Invention in two parts:
(1) Field of the Invention: A statement of the field of art to which the invention pertains. This statement may include a paraphrasing of the applicable U.S. patent classification definitions of the subject matter of the claimed invention. This item may also be titled “Technical Field.”
(2) Description of the Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98: A description of the related art known to the applicant and including, if applicable, references to specific related art and problems involved in the prior art which are solved by the applicant’s invention. This item may also be titled “Background Art.”
(h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION: See MPEP § 608.01(d). A brief summary or general statement of the invention as set forth in 37 CFR 1.73. The summary is separate and distinct from the abstract and is directed toward the invention rather than the disclosure as a whole. The summary may point out the advantages of the invention or how it solves problems previously existent in the prior art (and preferably indicated in the Background of the Invention). In chemical cases it should point out in general terms the utility of the invention. If possible, the nature and gist of the invention or the inventive concept should be set forth. Objects of the invention should be treated briefly and only to the extent that they contribute to an understanding of the invention.
(i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S): See MPEP § 608.01(f). A reference to and brief description of the drawing(s) as set forth in 37 CFR 1.74.
(j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION: See MPEP § 608.01(g). A description of the preferred embodiment(s) of the invention as required in 37 CFR 1.71. The description should be as short and specific as is necessary to describe the invention adequately and accurately. Where elements or groups of elements, compounds, and processes, which are conventional and generally widely known in the field of the invention described, and their exact nature or type is not necessary for an understanding and use of the invention by a person skilled in the art, they should not be described in detail. However, where particularly complicated subject matter is involved or where the elements, compounds, or processes may not be commonly or widely known in the field, the specification should refer to another patent or readily available publication which adequately describes the subject matter.
(k) CLAIM OR CLAIMS: See 37 CFR 1.75 and MPEP § 608.01(m). The claim or claims must commence on a separate sheet or electronic page (37 CFR 1.52(b)(3)). Where a claim sets forth a plurality of elements or steps, each element or step of the claim should be separated by a line indentation. There may be plural indentations to further segregate subcombinations or related steps. See 37 CFR 1.75 and MPEP 608.01(i) - (p).
(l) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE: See 37 CFR 1.72 (b) and MPEP § 608.01(b). The abstract is a brief narrative of the disclosure as a whole, as concise as the disclosure permits, in a single paragraph preferably not exceeding 150 words, commencing on a separate sheet following the claims. In an international application which has entered the national stage (37 CFR 1.491(b)), the applicant need not submit an abstract commencing on a separate sheet if an abstract was published with the international application under PCT Article 21. The abstract that appears on the cover page of the pamphlet published by the International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the abstract that will be used by the USPTO. See MPEP § 1893.03(e).
(m) SEQUENCE LISTING: See 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825 and MPEP §§ 2421 - 2431. The requirement for a sequence listing applies to all sequences disclosed in a given application, whether the sequences are claimed or not. See MPEP § 2422.01.
Appropriate correction is required.
There is a reference listed at ¶ 0005 USPN 5,532,035. This reference is not listed on the IDS that was submitted on 05/15/2025. Appropriate correction is required.
At ¶ 0005 USPN 5532035 should include comma’s and be written as USPN 5,532,035. Appropriate correction is required.
Information Disclosure Statement
The reference listed in the specification at paragraph 0005, (US 5532035) is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the Examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 1-6. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 12 are objected to because of the following informalities: the unit for viscosity is written as Pa.s and not PA.s. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 4-7, 9, 14, 16, 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claims 4, 6, 14, 16, 18 and 19, the term “based” in these claims is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “based” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. It is unclear what is intended to be encompassed by “based,” leaving the facially subjective language without and objective boundary. For the purposes of examination, the term will be used to recognize any material by means of broadest reasonable interpretation.
In Claim 4, the scope of the claim is unclear and thus indefinite as to whether “preferably” is a limitation to the claims or is merely suggestive of a preferred embodiment.
Claims 5 and 9 are rendered indefinite because of the phrase "highly filled thermoplastic elastomeric layer" is unclear. What is meant by this phrase?
Regarding Claim 7, what method is used for determining the molecular weight of the recycled polyethylene terephthalate and what method was used to determine the intrinsic viscosity?
Regarding Claim 11, dtex is a linear density unit, not a direct diameter measurement. It indirectly reflects fiber thickness, but to get an actual diameter. Since the fiber is multilobal do you mean tip diameter? For the purposes of examination, the diameter will be understood as tip diameter.
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.
Claim(s) 1-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over USPUB 20190009701 A1 issued to De Smet et al. in view of CA 3164425 issued to Reynolds et al.
De Smet et al. teach making carpeting used in automotives [abstract, ¶¶ 0001, 0080]. The carpet can be used on the floor as carpet or mats, for interior side trims, in the trunk or boot of a vehicle [¶ 0001]. Structurally, the carpet comprises of a pile (tufted) layer, a primary backing layer which is made from a nonwoven material, a back coating which is an adhesive, and a substrate [¶¶ 0001, 0079, 0080]. At ¶ 0116, they teach that a combination of these layers can be assembled, e.g. by needle punching, by lamination, or adhering layer together.
The fibers used in such carpet can be polyamide, polyester or polyolefin such as polypropylene. They can be BCF (Bulked Continuous Filament), e.g. comprising a number of single filaments. A common BCF that is used for automotive carpet is polyamide (PA) but also polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP) fibers can be used [¶ 0002, 0065]. Additional layers can be found to the needled nonwoven mat, which is coated with latex and optionally an additional backing layer which may be a felt [¶ 0007]. Further, at ¶ 0091, they teach that the backing may comprise one or more layers such as for instance a latex layer, thermoplastic film layer, a thermoplastic extrusion layer, a foam layer or felt layer such as a needle felt layer, thereby meeting the limitations as sought in claims 5 and 9.
At ¶ 0019, 0024,0046 and 0066, the instant reference teaches that the fibers of the backing layer may also contain a latex compound, a binder fiber or a binder powder.
At ¶¶ 0020, 0022, 0086-0087 and 0119, the instant reference teaches that the cross section of the fibers are substantially trilobal or quadrilobed. The trilobal fibers can be polypropylene fibers or polyester (PET) fibers.
At ¶¶ 0025, 0085, 0091, 0123, 0126-0127 and claim 40, the instant reference teaches that the modification ratio of 1.5 to 6, which overlaps with Applicant’s range sought in claims 1, 7 and 12.
At ¶¶ 0026 and 0124, the instant reference teaches that the basis weight of the nonwoven layer is 100-300 grams per meter squared and the fiber has a linear mass density of preferably between 3.3 until 17 dtex. Yarn, filament, fiber and BCF are defined at ¶¶ 0059-0060.
At ¶ 0089, the instant reference teaches that the tip diameter of the fiber is 2-10, which overlaps with Applicant’s sought range of 1-20 decitex.
De Smet et al. the textile feature of the carpet, for example the tuft, the bcf, the structural arrangement (nonwoven as the primary backing plus the binder component (Applicant’s claims 8) , plurality of tufts made from the bcf fibers (Applicant’s claim 1) , the composition of the fibers are polyester based terephthalate fibers (Applicant’s claims 6 and 16-18), the additional layers (Applicant’s claims 5 and 9); the diameter of the filaments (Applicant’s claim 11); that the adhesive is coated (Applicant’s claim 13), that the tufted carpet is used in trim parts (Applicant’s claim 15).
De Smet et al., while teaching the adhesive, do not get into the specifics of the adhesive.
This is remedied by the teachings of Reynolds et al., who are from the same art of endeavor as they to make tufted carpets.
Reynolds et al., make tufted carpets which can use recycled fiber material for the pile/tuft. The listed composition of the fibers includes polyethylene terephthalate. The fabric backing (woven or nonwoven) comprises polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT). Reynolds is only being relied upon for the adhesive and its properties.
Reynolds et al., also teach that using an adhesive which is applied to the fabric backing anchors and coast the side of the fabric backing opposite the pile side in order to lock the tufts in the fabric backing. The adhesive they use is a liquid polyester hot melt adhesive, preferably comprising a copolymer of polyethylene terephthalate (CoPET) [see claim 8 of Reynolds et al.] The liquid adhesive has a melting temperature from about 130 ° C to about 200 ° C.
Therefore, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have found it obvious to have used the adhesive of Reynolds as the adhesive of choice in De Smet et al. product and process of making the tufted carpet. One would have been motivated to do so to be environmentally friendly as the tufted fabric and adhesive would be recyclable as taught by Reynolds.
Neither reference teaches the density of the adhesive (Applicant’s claim 2) or the area weight (Applicant’s claim 3); the number of filaments of the bcf yarn(Applicant’s claim 10); all of these are optimizable parameters and it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have constructed the carpet with the density, area weight and number of filaments as sought in claims 2, 3 and 10, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges that would be discovered through routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). It is a settled principle of law that a mere carrying forward of an original patented conception involving only change of form, proportions, or degree, weight, number of filaments or the substitution of equivalents doing the same thing as the original invention, by substantially the same means, would be deemed through routine experimentation and as such is not such an invention as will sustain a patent, even though the changes of the kind may produce better results than prior inventions. See also KSR Int'l Co. V. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 416 (2007).
Since the instant specification is silent to unexpected results on the density and area weight of the adhesive used and number of bcf filaments as sought in claims 2, 3 and 10, these are all variables that can be modified, by adjusting the amount of adhesive used or bcf yarns and would have been considered result effective variables by one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made. As such, without showing unexpected results, the claimed amounts cannot be considered critical.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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US 5,622,765 issued to Clementini et al. who discloses a polypropylene yarn suitable for making a tufted carpet (abstract). The yarn comprises bulk continuous filaments or staple fibers made of a polypropylene-based material optionally blended with polypropylene homopolymer (col. 3, lines 7-17). The yarn is preferably textured (col. 9, line 60-col. 10, line 12). Each yarn comprises about 50-250 filaments, preferably 90-120 filaments (col. 11, lines 39-43). Said filaments may have a circular or multilobal (e.g., bilobal, trilobal) cross-sectional shape, preferably trilobal (col. 12, lines 24-35). The yarn has a denier of about 500-10,000, preferably 1,000-4,200 (col. 12, lines 40-43). In one working embodiment, a polypropylene yarn comprising 99 filaments and having a denier of 1650 (i.e., about 16.7 denier per filament or 18.5 dpf) has a tenacity of 2.6-2.9 g/den (about 2.3-2.6 cN/dtex) and an elongation of 70% (col. 13, lines 47-54). In another embodiment, the elongation is 60-70% (col. 15, lines 46-47). The polypropylene polymer may include additive such a coloring agents prior to extruding into filaments (i.e., masterbatch or solution dyed filaments) (col. 12, lines 19-23 and col. 14, line57). The BCF yarns are tufted into a carpet backing and coated with a latex backcoat and a secondary backing (col. 13, lines 10-21).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Arti Singh-Pandey whose telephone number is (571)272-1483. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:30-5:00 and 8:00-10:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Melvin Mayes can be reached at 571-272-1234. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Arti Singh-Pandey/
Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 1759
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