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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1,3 and 4-12) in the reply filed on 7/16/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 13-20 and 22 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 7/16/2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 5-12 are 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 5 has the limitation “corona poling the metal electrode” which renders the claim indefinite. Corona poling or also known as corona discharging is usually applied to an electrode to treat an electret. It is unclear if the corona poling is done to the electret or an electrode alternate to the electrode that is part of the membrane.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1,3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yuzo et al (WO2019208580).
With regards to claim 1, Yuzo et al discloses an electret membrane (laminate 50, Fig. 1), comprising an electret material matrix (electret film A, Fig. 1); a metal electrode (electrode layer C which includes aluminum foil or copper foil, page 7, lines 54-55), provided on one side of the matrix and attached to the electret material matrix (Fig. 1); and a hydrophobic layer, provided on an outer surface of the electret material matrix (adhesive layer B is on the outer surface of electret film A and made of polyamide, Fig. 1, page 7, lines 25-28).
With regards to claim 3, Yuzo et al discloses wherein a material of the electret material matrix comprises at least one of poly tetra fluoroethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene, tetrafluorethylene- hexafluoropropylene (the thermoplastic resin constituting the electret film A can include polyethylene resins, polypropylene resins or ethylene tetrafluoride-hexafluoropropylene copolymer, page 3, lines 29-38).
With regards to claim 4, Yuzo et al discloses wherein the metal electrode comprises at least one of: an aluminum electrode, a copper electrode and a silver electrode (the electrode layer C include aluminum foil, copper foil and silver foil, page 7, lines 54-59).
Claim(s) 5,6 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Huang et al (US20110186437).
With regards to claim 5, Huang et al discloses a method of preparing an electret membrane (method of manufacturing a polymeric electret film, Title), comprising: mixing a dielectric material and a masterbatch to obtain a mixture (polytetrafluoroethylene film 1 is manufactured by mixing a suspension of polytetrafluoroethylene resin or a dispersion of polytetrafluoroethylene resin with at least one additive, paragraph 0034,lines 6-8 ); melting the mixture and pressing the mixture at a first temperature to obtain an original matrix (the heat-setting step and cooling step, thereby the polytetrafluoroethylene film 1 composed of expanded porous polytetrafluoroethylene is obtained, paragraph 0036, lines 3-4) ; stretching the original matrix to obtain an electret material matrix (treating the above-mentioned resin by means of a stretching shaping method, thus obtaining the polytetrafluoroethylene film 1 composed of expanded porous polytetrafluoroethylene, paragraph 0034, lines 7-9); and coating a metal electrode to a first side of the electret material matrix (an electrode layer 2 formed on the lower surface 11B of the polytetrafluoroethylene film 1, paragraph 0037, lines 1-2) through vacuum evaporation (the process for forming the electrode layer on the lower surface 11B of the polytetrafluoroethylene film can be physical vapor deposition, sputtering, sputtering deposition, spin coating, immersion plating, or other semiconductor deposition process which could include vacuum evaporation, paragraph 0037, lines 3-5) and corona poling the metal electrode to obtain the electret membrane (corona charging method, paragraph 0040, lines 1-4).
With regards to claim 6, Huang et al discloses wherein the dielectric material comprises poly tetrafluoroethylene (a polytetrafluoroethylene film 1, paragraph 0034, lines 2).
With regards to claim 12, Huang et al discloses wherein a thickness of the metal electrode ranges from 80 nm to 120 nm (the thickness of the electrode layer 2 ranges between 50 nm and 150 nm, paragraph 0037, line 3).
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.
Claim(s) 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang et al as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Yuzo et al.
With regards to claim 11, Huang et al does not disclose spraying a hydrophobic coating on an outer surface of the electret material matrix to form a hydrophobic layer, wherein the hydrophobic coating comprises polyamide.
Yuzo et al teaches spraying a hydrophobic coating (adhesive layer B is coating with spray type adhesive, page 9, line 27-29) on an outer surface of the electret material matrix to form a hydrophobic layer, wherein the hydrophobic coating comprises polyamide (adhesive layer B is on the outer surface of electret film A and made of polyamide, Fig. 1, page 7, lines 25-28).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Huang et al and Yuzo et al before him or her, to modify the space between the electret film and metal layer of Huang et al to include the polyamide because the combination allows for strengthen the connection between the electrode layer and electret layer
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 7, the prior art does not disclose or teach wherein the masterbatch comprises a polypropylene, calcium carbonate, titanium oxide, and a coupling agent in the percentages as claimed.
Regarding claim 8, the prior art does not disclose or teach wherein the first temperature ranges from 230°C to 250°C.
Regarding claim 9, the prior art does not disclose or teach wherein the stretching the original matrix comprises: stretching the original matrix in a first direction at a second temperature, and stretching the original matrix in a second direction at a third temperature. Claim 10 is dependent on claim 9.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS JOHN WARD whose telephone number is (571)270-1786. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 7am - 4pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, EDWARD LANDRUM can be reached at 5712725567. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THOMAS J WARD/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
/JOHN J NORTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761
