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 .
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.
Claim(s) 59-78 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2013/127444 in view of WO 2014/189546.
WO 2013/127444 teaches a metal foil and roiled into a tube or rod shape and pressed (or compressed) into sheets then directly grown on CNT (See [0027-0028]). The resulting sheet can then be rolled again [0027]. The tube can be aluminum (See [0027]).
WO 2013 is considered to render obvious the claimed structures and manipulating the foil to form voids and/or patterned structures as claimed using known techniques absent a showing of unexpected results.
The foil and CNT can be folded into random shapes to form a labyrinth of shapes (see [0030], and figure 3). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to provide claimed shaping dependent upon the desired usage.
Regarding claim 66, the rolled precursor can be rolled up (See figures).
Regarding claims to optional features, such as in claim 67, these features are not required.
Regarding claim 69, the method ids direct growth of CNTs as claimed (See [0025-0026]).
WO 2014/189546 teaches structures suitably include an elongate substrate (e.g., a wire) surmounted by a coating comprising carbon nanotubes, the elongate substrate having a major axis, and at least a portion of the carbon nanotubes of the coating being aligned with the major axis [0004].
Some of the limitations of the claims may not be taught above.
WO 2014/189546 teaches coating the CNT with a metal coating particulate (see claims). While (2013) teaches electroplating to produce CNT coating wherein gold is a carrier. Therefore, the multiple coatings should be obvious to provide as claimed in claim 70.
Regarding claim 72, the material is necessarily a conductive element as claimed.
Regarding claim 73, the article is roiled (See claims and figures).
Regarding claim 75, the article is compressed as above.
Regarding claims 76-78, both the primary reference and WO 2014/189546 teaches the carbon nanotubes can be multi-walled carbon nanotubes (See claims). It would have been obvious to provide the claimed CNTs to grow CNTs on a metal foil or wire.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The current rejection is a 103 over 2013/127444 in view of WO 2014/189546.
Applicant has argued that the CNTs grown on the walls of the openings is not taught. The Examiner disagrees. The Examiner notes that the claim 59 and it’s dependents are to products not a process and therefore how the openings are formed or how CNTs are formed there is not relevant to the patentability wherein the structure is otherwise taught. However, even method claim 68 and its dependents do not require an order of formation.
WO 2013/127444 teaches a metal foil and roiled into a tube or rod shape and pressed (or compressed) into sheets then directly grown on CNT (See [0027-0028]). The resulting sheet can then be rolled again [0027]. The tube can be aluminum (See [0027]).
WO 2013 is considered to render obvious the claimed structures and manipulating the foil to form voids and/or patterned structures as claimed using known techniques absent a showing of unexpected results.
Rejection maintained.
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 DANIEL H MILLER whose telephone number is (571)272-1534. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 9-6.
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/DANIEL H MILLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1783