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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claim 1 amended
Claims 10-14 canceled
Claims 1-9, 15-17 pending
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 1-4, 6-9, 15-17 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 1 states “spraying a liquid comprising the second material on to the surface along a path to form a first layer comprising none of the first material;
wherein the second material comprises a metallic and electrically conductive material; and spraying a solid comprising the first metallic material and none of the second material onto the first layer”.
However, there no support in the specification as originally filed, for “liquid”, “first layer”, “layer”, nor “solid” to exclude a particular “material” whether it is first or second as amended. Mainly figures 1 and 3 does not support this, but contrary to the claim, fig 1 (for example) disclose mixtures of both materials as a first layer and also in second layer, and third layer, which are on top of substrate 9.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Singh (Inkjet-printed nanomaterial based flexible radio frequency identification (RFID) tag sensors for the internet of nano things).
Consider Claim 5, Singh teaches the process for fabricating a conductor track (Table 1), the method comprising: heating a plurality of particles to a temperature using sintering (200-300℃); applying the heated plurality of particles to a substrate to form the conductor track (right Col, page 48602, second paragraph); wherein each particle includes a core comprising a first material and a coating comprising a second metallic material (right Col, page 48622, first paragraph); wherein the second metallic material has a lower melting point than the first material and melts during the heating while the first material remains in a solid state.
Although Singh does not explicitly teach the melting.
However, it would be obvious for skilled person in the art that the sintering of the silver to 200 ℃ is similar to some degree to melting the silver during heating process.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 05/18/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-9, 15-17 under 103a have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of 112a rejection.
In light of the newly amended claim, a 112 new matter is applied.
Additionally, in light of newly prior art, regarding claim5, a rejection is applied.
All other applicant arguments not specifically addressed above are deemed unpersuasive as either not commensurate in scope with the broadly drafted claims or are unsupported by factual evidence and are deemed mere attorney speculation.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mohammad Mayy whose telephone number is (571)272-9983. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 11:00AM-7:00PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gordon Baldwin can be reached at 571-272-5166. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Mohammad Mayy/
Art Unit 1718
/GORDON BALDWIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1718
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