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 .
Response to Amendment
In response to the amendment received 03/04/2026, the following have been withdrawn from the previous office action:
Objections to the claims
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-3, 5-9, 11-13, 15-19, and 89-90 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Published Application US20170225429A1, hereafter YANG, in view of Foreign Publication GB2141376A, hereafter GOLDSTONE, further in view of Foreign Publication DE29701263U1 (used previously attached machine translation), hereafter HEIDEL, and further in view of Foreign Publication EP0483716A1 (supplied by applicant), hereafter TADAMICHI.
Regarding claim 1, YANG discloses an inline process for producing a porous thermoplastic composite article (100) using an inline system configured to produce the porous thermoplastic composite article on a moving support ([0108] moving wire screen used to continuously produce a uniform, fibrous wet web, ending with the composite being passed through tension rolls and being continuously cut), the inline process comprising:
combining reinforcing fibers with a thermoplastic resin material in a liquid in a mixing reservoir to provide an aqueous foam ([0015] combining thermoplastic material, reinforcing fibers to form agitated aqueous foam);
depositing the aqueous foam onto the moving support of the inline system ([0015] disposing aqueous foam onto wire support; [0105] moving wire support); and
removing the liquid from the deposited aqueous foam on the support to form a porous web ([0015] evacuating water to form web) of open cell structures ([0109] open cell structure) formed from the thermoplastic resin material and a random arrangement of reinforcing fibers ([0013] random crossing over of reinforcing fibers),
providing the formed porous web on the support to a first press device at a first pressure and a first temperature to apply heat and pressure to the formed porous web on the moving support using the first press device ([0015] heating web, applying pressure to web), wherein the first temperature and first pressure are selected to melt the thermoplastic resin material of the formed web to provide a porous heated web with a first thickness ([0015] heating at or above melting temperature; [0108] applying pressure with nip of heated rollers),
providing the porous heated web with the first thickness to a second press device of the system at a second temperature to cool the porous heated web using the second press device ([0105] web 1160 may be consolidated or pressed to a desired thickness prior to fully forming it), wherein the second temperature is below the melting point of the thermoplastic material of the heated web ([0106] web is cooled, after drying and heating, and pressed to a predetermined thickness); and
discharging the porous cooled web from the system to provide the porous thermoplastic composite article (implicit to discharge product from production system).
However, YANG is silent on wherein the porous heated web with the first thickness remains in the second press device for a dwell time to permit wet-out of the reinforcing fibers with the thermoplastic material, the second pressure at a second press device is equal to or less than the first pressure at the first press device, the cooled web comprises the same thickness as the heated web, or the explicit use of the inline system to move the web to the first and second press devices.
In the analogous art of continuous thermoplastic composite molding, GOLDSTONE discloses wherein the heated web remains in the second press device for a dwell time (page 4 lines 70-75, cooling time from 10-25 seconds; page 4 lines 84-90 cooling period of 20-30 seconds).
As the temperature of the composite and the manufacturing time is/are variable(s) that can be modified, among others, by adjusting dwell time in the cooling press, with the temperature of the composite decreasing as dwell time in the cooling press is increased, and with the total manufacturing time for the composite increasing as dwell time in the cooling press is increased, the dwell time in the cooling press would have been considered a result effective variable by one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention. As such, without showing unexpected results, the claimed dwell time of the heated web in the second press device cannot be considered critical. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, would have optimized, by routine experimentation, the dwell time in the cooling press in the invention of YANG to a suitable timeframe such as 10-25 seconds as disclosed by GOLDSTONE (page 4 lines 70-75, cooling time from 10-25 seconds), to obtain the desired balance between composite temperature and total manufacturing time of the composite (In re Boesch, 617 F.2d. 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980)), since it has been held that where the general conditions of the claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. (In re Aller, 105 USPQ 223).
In the analogous art of continuous thermoplastic composite molding, HEIDEL discloses a method of manufacturing a reinforced thermoplastic composite article by providing the web (raw parts) on a moving support (belt system 62) to a first press station (16) and heating (with heating stations 51, 53) and pressing ([0089-0091]), followed by providing the heated web to a second press station (cooling station 54) to cool and press ([0091] pressing cooling plates 24, 26) the heated web at a temperature lower than its melting point ([0091] freezing occurs), followed by discharging the cooled web from the belt ([0091]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to further modify the invention of YANG with the moving support and in-line process described above as taught by HEIDEL in order to enable efficient automation of the production of porous reinforced thermoplastic composites (also see MPEP 2144.04 (III)).
In the analogous art of thermoplastic composite molding, TADAMICHI discloses the formation of a reinforced thermoplastic composite by hot pressing followed by cold pressing at the same pressure (page 4, lines 53-56) in order to effectively bind the reinforcing fibers with the thermoplastic resin (page 3, lines 32-33), and the web having the same thickness after heating and after cooling (the thickness would necessarily be substantially the same after cooling given the same pressure is used for hot and cold pressing – this is further supported by applicant in paragraph [0090] on page 12 of the present specification).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention to further modify the invention of YANG with the use of cold pressing at the same pressure as hot pressing as taught by TADAMICHI in order to effectively bind the reinforcing fibers with the thermoplastic resin, as suggested by TADAMICHI (page 3, lines 32-33).
Regarding claim 2, GOLDSTONE further discloses the first pressure to be between 13.8 bar and 34.5 bar (as converted from 200-500 psi, page 4 lines 66-67) in order to consolidate and press the composite to the desired thickness, which overlaps with the claimed limitation of “wherein the first pressure is between 3 bar and 15 bar.” In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists (MPEP 2144.05 (I)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to further modify YANG with the first pressure as taught by GOLDSTONE in order to evenly consolidate the composite and remove voids to control the overall thickness.
Regarding claim 3, YANG is silent on wherein the first temperature is 170 degrees Celsius to 250 degrees Celsius, and the second temperature is 0 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius.
TADAMICHI further discloses the first temperature to be between 170 degrees Celsius and 250 degrees Celsius (210°C) in order for the composite to reach a state where it may be reformed by compression (example 1, page 4, lines 53-56).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to further modify YANG with the first temperature taught by TADAMICHI in order to heat the composite above the melting point of the thermoplastic to shape it by pressing.
GOLDSTONE further discloses wherein the second temperature is 0 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius in order to dissipate the residual heat from the hot plastic sheet (page 4 lines 68-70 dies 50 and 51 cooled to nominal temperature of approximately 100°F, which is 37.8°C).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to further modify YANG with the second temperature taught by GOLDSTONE in order to dissipate the residual heat from the sheet, as suggested by GOLDSTONE.
Regarding claim 5, YANG further discloses the use of cutting after pressing of the reinforced thermoplastic composite, in order to change the composite to a form more conducive for further processing ([0108]) and discharging the composite.
YANG is silent on cutting the composite into individual articles using the inline system.
TADAMICHI also further discloses the use of a cutting tool to cut the cooled web into individual articles, making the web useful to be formed into distinct final products (page 3, lines 24-26).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to further modify YANG with the cutting of the cooled web into individual articles in order to produce individual shaped and cut intermediate porous reinforced thermoplastic composite articles that are ready for final or further processing to be formed into the desired products.
Regarding claim 6, HEIDEL further discloses the use of upper and lower plates as pressing means for the heat press device ([0024]).
Regarding claim 7, HEIDEL further discloses the use of upper and lower plates as pressing means for the cold press device ([0053]).
Regarding claim 8, YANG further discloses the first press device comprises a set of upper rollers and a set of lower rollers with a space between the set of upper rollers and the set of lower rollers of the first press device, wherein each of the plurality of upper rollers and the plurality of lower rollers of the first press device is heated to the first temperature and together are used to apply the first pressure to the porous formed web as the formed web passes between the set of upper rollers and the set of lower rollers of the first press device ([0108] pressure applied using heated nip rollers).
Regarding claim 9, HEIDEL further discloses the use of upper and lower rollers as the cold press device ([0054-0057]).
Regarding claim 11, YANG discloses an inline process for producing a porous thermoplastic composite article (100) using an inline system configured to produce the porous thermoplastic composite article on a moving support ([0108] moving wire screen used to continuously produce a uniform, fibrous wet web, ending with the composite being passed through tension rolls and being continuously cut), comprising:
combining reinforcing fibers with a thermoplastic resin material in a mixture to provide an aqueous foam ([0015] combining thermoplastic material, reinforcing fibers to form agitated aqueous foam);
depositing the aqueous foam onto the moving support of the inline system ([0015] disposing aqueous foam onto wire support; [0105] moving wire support); and
removing the liquid from the deposited aqueous foam on the support to form a web ([0015] evacuating water to form web) of open cell structures ([0109] open cell structure) formed from the thermoplastic resin material and a random arrangement of reinforcing fibers ([0013] random crossing over of reinforcing fibers),
disposing a first skin on a first surface of the formed web ([0016] coupling composite sheet to a skin; [0108] laminating film onto web after drying);
providing the formed web and disposed first skin on the support to a first press device at a first pressure and a first temperature to apply heat and pressure to the formed web and disposed skin using the first press device ([0015] heating web, applying pressure to web), wherein the first temperature and first pressure are selected to melt the thermoplastic material of the formed web to provide a heated web and disposed first skin, wherein the heated web and the disposed first skin comprise a first thickness ([0015] heating at or above melting temperature; [0108] applying pressure with nip of heated rollers),
providing the heated web and disposed first skin to a second press device of the system at a second temperature to cool the heated web and disposed skin and apply pressure to the heated web at a second pressure using the second press device ([0105] web 1160 may be consolidated or pressed to a desired thickness prior to fully forming it), wherein the cooling of the heated web provides a cooled web ([0106] web is cooled, after drying and heating, and pressed to a predetermined thickness); and
discharging the cooled web from the system to provide the porous thermoplastic composite article (implicit to discharge product from production system).
However, YANG is silent on wherein the heated web and disposed first skin remains in the second press device for a dwell time to permit wet-out of the reinforcing fibers with the thermoplastic material, the second pressure at a second press device is equal to or less than the first pressure at the first press device, the cooled web comprises the same thickness as the heated web, or the explicit use of the inline system to move the web to the first and second press devices.
In the analogous art of continuous thermoplastic composite molding, GOLDSTONE discloses wherein the heated web remains in the second press device for a dwell time (page 4 lines 70-75, cooling time from 10-25 seconds; page 4 lines 84-90 cooling period of 20-30 seconds).
As the temperature of the composite and the manufacturing time is/are variable(s) that can be modified, among others, by adjusting dwell time in the cooling press, with the temperature of the composite decreasing as dwell time in the cooling press is increased, and with the total manufacturing time for the composite increasing as dwell time in the cooling press is increased, the dwell time in the cooling press would have been considered a result effective variable by one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention. As such, without showing unexpected results, the claimed dwell time of the heated web in the second press device cannot be considered critical. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, would have optimized, by routine experimentation, the dwell time in the cooling press in the invention of YANG to a suitable timeframe such as 10-25 seconds as disclosed by GOLDSTONE (page 4 lines 70-75, cooling time from 10-25 seconds), to obtain the desired balance between composite temperature and total manufacturing time of the composite (In re Boesch, 617 F.2d. 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980)), since it has been held that where the general conditions of the claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. (In re Aller, 105 USPQ 223).
In the analogous art of continuous thermoplastic composite molding, HEIDEL discloses a method of manufacturing a reinforced thermoplastic composite article by providing the web (raw parts) on a moving support (belt system 62) to a first press station (16) and heating (with heating stations 51, 53) and pressing ([0089-0091]), followed by providing the heated web to a second press station (cooling station 54) to cool and press ([0091] pressing cooling plates 24, 26) the heated web at a temperature lower than its melting point ([0091] freezing occurs), followed by discharging the cooled web from the belt ([0091]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to further modify the invention of YANG with the moving support and in-line process described above as taught by HEIDEL in order to enable efficient automation of the production of porous reinforced thermoplastic composites (also see MPEP 2144.04 (III)).
In the analogous art of thermoplastic composite molding, TADAMICHI discloses the formation of a reinforced thermoplastic composite by hot pressing followed by cold pressing at the same pressure (page 4, lines 53-56) in order to effectively bind the reinforcing fibers with the thermoplastic resin (page 3, lines 32-33), and the web having the same thickness after heating and after cooling (the thickness would necessarily be substantially the same after cooling given the same pressure is used for hot and cold pressing – this is further supported by applicant in paragraph [0090] on page 12 of the present specification).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention to further modify the invention of YANG with the use of cold pressing at the same pressure as hot pressing as taught by TADAMICHI in order to effectively bind the reinforcing fibers with the thermoplastic resin, as suggested by TADAMICHI (page 3, lines 32-33).
Regarding claim 12, GOLDSTONE further discloses the first pressure to be between 13.8 bar and 34.5 bar (as converted from 200-500 psi, page 4 lines 66-67) in order to consolidate and press the composite to the desired thickness, which overlaps with the claimed limitation of “wherein the first pressure is between 3 bar and 15 bar.” In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists (MPEP 2144.05 (I)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to further modify YANG with the first pressure as taught by GOLDSTONE in order to evenly consolidate the composite and remove voids to control the overall thickness.
Regarding claim 13, YANG is silent on wherein the first temperature is 170 degrees Celsius to 250 degrees Celsius, and the second temperature is 0 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius.
TADAMICHI further discloses the first temperature to be between 170 degrees Celsius and 250 degrees Celsius (210°C) in order for the composite to reach a state where it may be reformed by compression (example 1, page 4, lines 53-56).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to further modify YANG with the first temperature taught by TADAMICHI in order to heat the composite above the melting point of the thermoplastic to shape it by pressing.
GOLDSTONE further discloses wherein the second temperature is 0 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius in order to dissipate the residual heat from the hot plastic sheet (page 4 lines 68-70 dies 50 and 51 cooled to nominal temperature of approximately 100°F, which is 37.8°C).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to further modify YANG with the second temperature taught by GOLDSTONE in order to dissipate the residual heat from the sheet, as suggested by GOLDSTONE.
Regarding claim 15, YANG further discloses the use of cutting after pressing of the reinforced thermoplastic composite, in order to change the composite to a form more conducive for further processing ([0108]) and discharging the composite.
YANG is silent on cutting the composite into individual articles using the inline system.
TADAMICHI also further discloses the use of a cutting tool to cut the cooled web into individual articles, making the web useful to be formed into distinct final products (page 3, lines 24-26).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to further modify YANG with the cutting of the cooled web into individual articles in order to produce individual shaped and cut intermediate porous reinforced thermoplastic composite articles that are ready for final or further processing to be formed into the desired products.
Regarding claim 16, HEIDEL further discloses the use of upper and lower plates as pressing means for the heat press device ([0024]).
Regarding claim 17, HEIDEL further discloses the use of upper and lower plates as pressing means for the cold press device ([0053]).
Regarding claim 18, YANG further discloses the first press device comprises a set of upper rollers and a set of lower rollers with a space between the set of upper rollers and the set of lower rollers of the first press device, wherein each of the plurality of upper rollers and the plurality of lower rollers of the first press device is heated to the first temperature and together are used to apply the first pressure to the porous formed web as the formed web passes between the set of upper rollers and the set of lower rollers of the first press device ([0108] pressure applied using heated nip rollers).
Regarding claim 19, HEIDEL further discloses the use of upper and lower rollers as the cold press device ([0054-0057]).
Regarding claim 89, GOLDSTONE discloses wherein the dwell time in the second press device is 10-25 seconds or 20-30 seconds (page 4 lines 70-75, cooling time from 10-25 seconds; page 4 lines 84-90 cooling period of 20-30 seconds), which encompasses the claimed dwell time of 20 seconds. In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists (MPEP 2144.05 (I)).
Regarding claim 90, GOLDSTONE discloses wherein the dwell time in the second press device is 10-25 seconds or 20-30 seconds (page 4 lines 70-75, cooling time from 10-25 seconds; page 4 lines 84-90 cooling period of 20-30 seconds), which encompasses the claimed dwell time of 20 seconds. In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists (MPEP 2144.05 (I)).
Claims 10 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over YANG in view of GOLDSTONE, HEIDEL, and TADAMICHI as applied to claims 1 and 11 above, and further in view of Foreign Publication CN108099083A (used previously attached machine translation), hereafter YU.
Regarding claim 10, in the analogous art of plastic sheet molding, YU teaches the use of pressure rollers to pre-thin the web to advantageously ensure uniform thickness before molding ([0029]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to further modify YANG with the use of pre-press rollers as taught by YU in order to improve the uniformity of the thickness of the molded product, as taught by YU ([0030]).
Regarding claim 20, in the analogous art of plastic sheet molding, YU teaches the use of pressure rollers to pre-thin the web to advantageously ensure uniform thickness before molding ([0029]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to further modify YANG with the use of pre-press rollers as taught by YU in order to improve the uniformity of the thickness of the molded product, as taught by YU ([0030]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/04/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant’s argument regarding claim 1 on page 8 of applicant’s remarks that there is no description in paragraph 15 of YANG that the formed web remains on the moving support and is provided to downstream first and second presses, the examiner disagrees, and notes, as stated in the rejection, that not only is there any description in YANG of removal of the web from the moving support, but there is further evidence in [0108], where a moving wire screen is used to continuously produce a uniform, fibrous wet web, ending with the composite being passed through tension rolls and being continuously cut.
In response to applicant’s argument regarding claim 1 on page 10 of applicant’s remarks that the pressures in GOLDSTONE are very high, such as 2000 psi, the examiner notes this is for a specific embodiment in GOLDSTONE, and as stated in the rejection of claim 2, GOLDSTONE also discloses 200-500 psi pressures, which are 13.8 bar to 34.5 bar (as converted from 200-500 psi, page 4 lines 66-67).
In response to applicant’s argument regarding claim 1 on page 10 of applicant’s remarks that the temperatures in GOLDSTONE are very high, such as 1000 degrees F, the examiner notes this is incorrect. In GOLDSTONE, and as stated in the rejection of claim 3, GOLDSTONE discloses cooling temperatures of 100°F, not 1000°F, as stated on page 4 lines 68-69 of GOLDSTONE’s disclosure.
In response to applicant’s argument regarding claim 1 on page 11 of applicant’s remarks that when the teachings of YANG, GOLDSTONE, HEIDEL and TADAMICHI are considered together, there is no teaching or suggestion of using multiple press devices in any inline process using an inline system configured to produce the porous thermoplastic composite article in an automated manner on a moving support, where a heated web with a first thickness is provided to a second press device of the inline system at a second temperature and a second pressure to cool the heated web using the second press device, wherein the heated web with the first thickness remains in the second press device for a dwell time to permit wet-out of reinforcing fibers in the web with thermoplastic material in the web, the examiner disagrees, and notes that as stated in the rejection, HEIDEL discloses using multiple press devices in an inline process using an inline system configured to produce the porous thermoplastic composite article in an automated manner on a moving support, where a heated web with a first thickness is provided to a second press device of the inline system at a second temperature and a second pressure to cool the heated web using the second press device, and GOLDSTONE discloses wherein the heated web with the first thickness remains in the second press device for a dwell time to permit wet-out of reinforcing fibers in the web with thermoplastic material in the web.
In response to applicant’s argument regarding claims 3 and 13 on page 11 of applicant’s remarks that the combined art is missing any suggestion of the first temperature is about 170 degrees Celsius to about 250 degrees Celsius, and the second temperature is 0 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius, the examiner notes GOLDSTONE discloses these limitations, as stated in the rejections of claims 3 and 13.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIMOTHY HEMINGWAY whose telephone number is (571)272-0235. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 6-4.
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/T.G.H./Examiner, Art Unit 1754
/SEYED MASOUD MALEKZADEH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1754