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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 10/17/2025 has been entered.
Status of Rejections
All previous rejections are withdrawn in view of the Applicant’s amendments.
New grounds of rejection are necessitated by the Applicant’s amendments.
Claims 28-38 are pending and under consideration for this Office Action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(a)
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 28-38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 28: The limitations claiming “providing a field effect transistor (FET) in the electrically conductive circuit which acts as a current regulating device… wherein there is provided a resistor connected between the first and second conductors so that the resistor provides a path in parallel with FET so that current passes through the resistor between the anode construction and the steel member” are considered new matter because the original disclosure only discusses this configuration when using a current regulating diode, not a FET (see [0014] and Fig 11 of the instant PGPub).
Claim 33: The limitations claiming “providing for each anode construction a respective field effect transistor (FET)… wherein there is provided for each FET a resistor connected between the first and second conductors so that the resistor provides a path in parallel with FET so that current passes through the resistor between the anode construction and the DC power supply” are considered new matter because the original disclosure only discusses this configuration when using a current regulating diode, not a FET (see [0014] and Fig 11 of the instant PGPub).
Claim 36: The limitations claiming “providing for each anode construction a respective field effect transistor (FET)… wherein there is provided for each FET a resistor connected between the first and second conductors so that the resistor provides a path in parallel with FET so that current passes through the resistor between the anode construction and the DC power supply” are considered new matter because the original disclosure only discusses this configuration when using a current regulating diode, not a FET (see [0014] and Fig 11 of the instant PGPub).
Any claims dependent on the above claims are rejected for their dependence.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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 28-38 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.
Claim 28: There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation "the first…[conductor]" in the paragraph starting with “and wherein there is provided a path in parallel…”.
Claim 28: There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation " the…second [conductor]" in the paragraph starting with “and wherein there is provided a path in parallel…”.
Claim 33: There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation "the first…[conductor]" in the paragraph starting with “and wherein there is provided for each FET a resistor…”.
Claim 33: There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation " the…second [conductor]" in the paragraph starting with “and wherein there is provided for each FET a resistor…”.
Claim 36: There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation "the first…[conductor]" in the paragraph starting with “and wherein there is provided for each FET a resistor…”.
Claim 36: There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitation " the…second [conductor]" in the paragraph starting with “and wherein there is provided for each FET a resistor…”.
Any claims dependent on the above claims are rejected for their dependence.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 10/17/2025 with respect to the rejection(s) of the claim(s) under 35 USC 102 over Lambert (US 4713158) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.
Relevant Prior Art
Mochizuki (JP2018123394A, Google Patents translation used for citation): The reference discloses a cathodic protection method (see e.g. abstract) comprising providing a plurality of anodes (see e.g. #20 on Fig 6), generating a voltage difference between the anodes and a steel member in concrete (see e.g. abstract), and providing a field effect transistor (FET) for each anode between the anodes and the steel member (see e.g. #36 on Fig 6). However, Mochizuki does not teach providing a resister having a path in parallel with the FET so that current passes through the resistor between the anode construction and the steel member.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER W KEELING whose telephone number is (571)272-9961. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Luan Van can be reached at 571-272-8521. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALEXANDER W KEELING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1795