DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-2 and 4-12 are pending, and claims 1-2 and 4-5 are currently under review.
Claims 6-12 are withdrawn.
Claim 3 is cancelled.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11/10/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 10/22/2025 has been entered. Claims 1-2 and 4-12 remain(s) pending in the application.
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-2 and 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsuda et al. (US 2014/0242416) alone or alternatively in view of Seo et al. (WO2018117711, US 2020/0239976 referred to as English translation).
Regarding claims 1 and 4, Matsuda et al. discloses a high strength steel having excellent stretch flangeability (ie. workability) and having a composition as seen in table 1 below [abstract, 0022-0030, 0105-0107]. Matsuda et al. further discloses a microstructure of 5 to 70% martensite (of which at least 25% is tempered), at least 40% bainite, 5 to 40% retained austenite, 10 to 50% ferrite, and a remainder of other phases [abstract, 0090]. The examiner notes that the overlap between the steel composition and microstructure of Matsuda et al. and that as claimed is prima facie obvious. See MPEP 2144.05(I).
Matsuda et al. does not expressly teach a relationship 1 as claimed. However, the examiner submits that overlapping values of relationship 1 would have naturally flowed from the prior art. Specifically, the instant specification teaches meeting this claimed feature by performing an annealing step after cold rolling of heating to Ac1 to Ac3 for at least 50 seconds, cooling to 100 to 300 degrees C at at least 1 degree C per second, and subsequent reheating to 300 to 500 degrees C for 50 to 172,000 seconds [0170-0205]. Matsuda et al. further teaches processing the steel sheet after cold rolling by annealing at up to 1000 degrees C for 60 to 500 seconds, cooling at 8 degrees C per second or faster to the Ms point or lower, and reheating to 350 to 490 degrees C for 40 to 400 seconds [0130-0139]. Since Matsuda et al. discloses an overlapping steel composition, overlapping steel microstructure, and overlapping annealing steps which are essential to achieve the claimed relationship 1 as disclosed by the instant specification, the examiner submits that an overlapping value of relationship 1 would have naturally flowed from the prior art. See MPEP 2144.05(I).
Alternatively, Matsuda et al. does not teach a ratio of hardness as claimed. Seo et al. discloses that it is known to control a ratio of soft phase hardness to hard phase hardness in general to be 1.4 or less to secure desirable mechanical properties such as yield strength, hold expansion, etc. [0079]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to modify the steel of Matsuda et al. by specifying a ratio of soft phase hardness to hard phase hardness to be 1.4 or less for the aforementioned benefits. The examiner notes that the general teaching of hard phase of Seo et al. overlaps with the claimed hard phases. See MPEP 2144.05(I).
Table 1.
Element (wt.%)
Claim 1
Matsuda et al.
C
0.25 – 0.75
0.1 – 0.59
Si
0 – 4
0 – 3
Mn
0.9 – 5
0.5 – 3
Al
0 – 5
0 – 3
P
0 – 0.15
0 – 0.1
S
0 – 0.03
0 – 0.07
N
0 – 0.03
0 – 0.01
Si+Al
3.03 – 6
0.7 – 5
Fe & Impurities
Balance
Balance
Regarding claim 2, Matsuda et al. discloses the steel of claim 1 (see previous). Matsuda et al. further discloses an inclusion of Cr of up to 0.05 to 5 weight percent, which overlaps with the claimed range [0040]. See MPEP 2144.05(I).
Regarding claim 5, Matsuda et al. discloses the steel of claim 1 (see previous). Matsuda et al. further teaches a property of TSxEL of 27,000 or more, as well as a TS value of up to 1400 MPa and a hole expansion ratio of 25% or more [abstract, 0157-0158]. The examiner notes that these ranges overlap with the claimed ranges of relationships 2-3. See MPEP 2144.05(I).
Matsuda et al. does not expressly teach relationship 4. However, as stated above, Matsuda et al. discloses an overlapping steel composition, microstructure, and method of manufacture, such that overlapping mechanical properties would have naturally flowed as explained above.
Response to Arguments
The previous 103 rejections over Natsumeda et al., Kaneko et al., and Nakagaito et al. have been withdrawn in view of applicant’s amendments.
Applicant's arguments 10/22/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Matsuda et al. requires a sum of Al and Si to be less than 3 percent. The examiner cannot concur. Matsuda et al. expressly teaches a sum of Al and Si to be preferably less than 5 percent as stated above, which overlaps with the claimed range. See MPEP 2144.05(I).
Applicant then argues that the Si and Al amounts of Seo et al. do not meet the claimed ranges. In response, it is noted that the Si and Al amounts of Seo et al. were not relied upon in the previous rejections. One cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
The examiner further notes that an alternative rejection over Matsuda et al. alone was established, which applicant has not addressed. Accordingly, the rejections over Matsuda et al. alone still stand.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS A WANG whose telephone number is (408)918-7576. The examiner can normally be reached usually M-Th: 7-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jonathan Johnson can be reached at 5712721177. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NICHOLAS A WANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1734