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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11/6/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment dated 11/6/2025 has been considered and entered into the record. Claims 1, 7, and 8 have been cancelled. New claims 13–19 have been added. Newly independent claim 9 requires a stitching yarn having a linear expansion coefficient in the fiber axial direction of 10*10-6 to 70*10-6K after being heated at 180oC for 2 hours and then cooled. Claims 6 and 10 remain withdrawn from consideration, while claims 2–5, 9, and 11–19 are pending and are examined below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 11/6/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 9 under 35 USC 103 in view of Ouchiyama have been considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection are made below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102/103
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 2–4, 9, and 11–19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Fang (EP 2 447 305 A1) as evidenced by Report-Nr.: 030_25 “D4l.”
Fang discloses a composite preform comprising a reinforcing carbon fiber fabric layer, a polyetherimide stitching yarn, and epoxy resin. Fang abstract, ¶¶ 6–7, 17. The epoxy resin may make up from about 20 weight percent to about 60 weight percent of the composite preform. Id. ¶ 32. The reinforcing fabric layer may include multiple layers of fabric, wherein the yarn stitches the layers of fabric together to form a composite material. Id. ¶ 17.
Fang fails to expressly teach that the stitching yarns have a linear expansion coefficient in the fiber axial direction of 10*10-6 to 70*10-6/K after being heated at 180oC for 2 hours and then cooled. However, Fang does teach using a polyetherimide stitching yarn that may be made from one of the ULTEM® polymers, including ULTEM® 1000. Id. ¶ 24. As shown in Applicant’s submitted Experimental Report, listed as D4l on the IDS, ULTEM® 1000 has a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), which can be equated to a material’s linear expansion coefficient in the axial direction of ~47*10-6/K. Accordingly, the polyetherimide used in Fang as the stitching yarn would have a linear expansion coefficient in the fiber axial direction within the claimed range. The burden is upon Applicant to prove otherwise. In re Fitzgerald 205 USPQ 594.
In addition, the presently claimed property of a linear expansion coefficient in the fiber axial direction of 10*10-6 to 70*10-6/K after being heated at 180oC for 2 hours and then cooled would obviously have been present one the Fang product is provided. Note In re Best, 195 USPQ at 433, footnote (CCPA 1977) as to the providing of this rejection made above under 35 USC 102. Reliance upon inherency is not improper even though rejection is based on Section 103 instead of Section 102. In re Skoner, 517 F.2d 947 (CCPA 1975).
Claims 2 and 4 are rejected as the reinforcing fiber fabric layer may comprise a plurality of layers of unidirectionally drawn and aligned reinforcement fibers, wherein each layer of fabric is altered from the next. See Fang ¶ 17. Claim 3 is rejected as the epoxy resin is applied to all surfaces of the reinforcement fiber fabric layer. Id. ¶¶ 32–33. The composite preform of Fang may have a basis weight as low as 100 grams per square meter, wherein the stitching yarn makes up less than about 10 weight percent of the preform. Id. ¶ 18. Accordingly, the stitching yarn of Fang makes upon about 10 g/m2 or less of the preform.
With regard to claims 13–17, Fang does not explicitly teach the claimed linear relative expansion coefficients, the linear expansion coefficient of the polymeric matrix resin, or the linear expansion coefficient of the reinforcement fiber, however, it is reasonable to presume that said properties are inherent to Fang. Support for said presumption is found in the use of like materials (i.e. stitching yarn with claimed linear expansion coefficient, epoxy resin matrix, and carbon reinforcement fibers). The burden is upon Applicant to prove otherwise. In re Fitzgerald 205 USPQ 594. In addition, the presently claimed properties would obviously have been present one the Fang product is provided. Note In re Best, 195 USPQ at 433, footnote (CCPA 1977) as to the providing of this rejection made above under 35 USC 102. Reliance upon inherency is not improper even though rejection is based on Section 103 instead of Section 102. In re Skoner, 517 F.2d 947 (CCPA 1975).
Fang also recognizes that it also known to use polyester or nylon yarns as stitching yarns in fabrics where thermal stresses are to be minimized. See Fang ¶ 3. As such, it would have been obvious to have used a polyester or nylon yarn as the stitching yarn in Fang because simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results is obvious. KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fang as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Ouchiyama (US 2021/0301462 A1).
Fang fails to teach the use of a stitching yarn comprising an organic compound having a polar group adhered.
Ouchiyama teaches a multiaxial fabric resin base material includes a multiaxial fabric base material laminate impregnated with resin, wherein the laminate includes fiber bundle sheets layered at different angles relative to one another, and the fiber bundle sheets including unidirectionally aligned fiber bundles stitched with thermoplastic stitching yarns. Ouchiyama abstract, ¶¶ 25, 49, 108–109, Fig. 2. The thermoplastic stitching yarn may comprise polar epoxy groups to provide hydrolysis resistance, heat resistance, and improved mechanical properties. Id. ¶ 79.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have included epoxy groups in the stitching yarn to provide improved properties.
Conclusion
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/MATTHEW D MATZEK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786