US006555628B2  (12)  United States Patent  Gan et al.  (10)  Patent No.:  US 6,555,628 B2  (45)  Date of Patent:  Apr. 29, 2003  (54)  EPOXY RESINS AND PROCESS FOR  MAKING THE SAME  (75)  Inventors:  Joseph Gan,  Strasbourg (FR);  Emile C.  Trottier,  Renchen (DE)  (73)  Assignee:  Dow Global Technologies Inc.,  Midland, MI (US)  ( *)  Notice:  Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this  patent is extended or adjusted under 35  U.S.C. 154(b) by  O  days.  (21)  Appl. No.:  10/007,518  (22)  Filed:  Dec. 5, 2001  (65)  Prior Publication Data  US 2002/0128428 Al Sep. 12, 2002  Related U.S. Application Data  (60)  Provisional application No. 60/255,649, filed on Dec. 14,  2000.  (51)  Int. Cl.7  ..........................  C0SG 59/15;  C08L 63/02  (52)  U.S. Cl.  .........................  525/523;  525/533; 528/89;  528/93; 528/112; 528/119  (58)  Field of Search  ................................. 525/523, 533;  528/89, 93, 112, 119  (56)  References Cited  U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS  3,395,118 A  4,438,254 A  4,480,082 A  7/1968 Reinking et al.  3/1984 Doorakian et al.  10/1984 McLean et al.  4,722,981 A  2/1988 Koenig et al.  4,981,926 A  1/1991 Pham et al.  5,089,588 A  2/1992 White et al.  5,109,099 A  4/1992 Pham et al.  5,115,075 A  5/1992 Brennan et al.  5,171,820 A  12/1992 Mang et al.  5,208,317 A  5/1993 Pham et al.  5,246,751 A  9/1993 White et al.  FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS  EP  0 193 809  11/1990  U.S. application Ser. No. 60/255,649, filed Dec. 14, 2000;  "Epoxy Resins and Process for Making the Same".  U.S. application Ser. No. 08/875,969, filed Feb. 10, 1995;  "Epoxy Resin Composition Capable of Cure at Low Tem› perature".  U.S. application Ser. No. 60/213,965, filed Jun. 23, 2000;  "Epoxy Resins and Process for Making the Same".  Primary Examiner-Margaret  G. Moore  Assistant Examiner-D.  Aylward  (74)  Attorney, Agent, or Firm---Nemia  C. Damocles  A  controlled conversion resin having an epoxy functionality  of greater than 2 and comprising moieties derived from  epoxy resin, dihydric phenol, acid anhydride, or amine. The  resin is prepared by reacting an epoxy resin with a dihydric  phenol, an acid anhydride, or amine or other branching agent  in the presence of a catalyst and terminating the reaction at  a point such that the reaction product contains both epoxy  and terminal hydroxyl groups.  (57)  ABSTRACT  32 Claims, No Drawings  OTHER PUBLICATIONS 