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 § 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.
Claim 1, thus dependent claims 2-8 and 9-10 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.
Claims 1, 9 and 10 recite, “heated to a joining temperature immediately before”…It is unclear at what temperature and for how long the heating needs to take place. Since the claims are directed to method steps, the temperature and time of the heating appears to be an important step in the method of producing the bipolar plate.
Applicant is required to respond to the 112 rejection noted and provide the necessary information as needed.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-10 are allowed, however, Applicant must respond to the 112 rejection noted above.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
The prior art searches does not teach:
A method for producing a bipolar plate strand, comprising a plurality of interconnected bipolar plates of a fuel cell, the method comprising: providing of a first unipolar plate strand and a second unipolar plate strand, the unipolar plate strands comprising a plurality of at least preformed webs and a plurality of at least preformed ducts running between every two adjacent web, moving of the unipolar plate strands in the direction of a roll gap of a roll pair provided with roll structures of a rolling device, sending of a laser beam of a laser device onto a rotating mirrored polygon wheel the laser beam being directed at a plurality of individual positions of a surface of one or both of the unipolar plate strands and the individual positions are thus heated to a joining temperature immediately before or upon entry of the unipolar plate strands in the roll gap; and joining of the unipolar plate strands at least at one of the individual positions of the surface to form a bipolar plate strand upon transporting of the unipolar plate strands through the roll gap under the action of pressure.
The following are the closest prior art found:
US20060027634A1 (Sigler)- teaches a roll bonding of bipolar plates, and teaches
Specifically, the prior art searches fail to teach the claimed rotating mirrored polygon wheel. Sigler teaches the rolling and moving/pressing as claimed [0040-0043, fig. 7], however does not teach sending of a laser beam of a laser device onto a rotating mirrored polygon wheel the laser beam being directed at a plurality of individual positions of a surface of one or both of the unipolar plate strands and the individual positions are thus heated to a joining temperature immediately before or upon entry of the unipolar plate strands in the roll gap as claimed.
Conclusion
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/S.G./Examiner, Art Unit 1729
/ULA C RUDDOCK/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1729
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