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 .
The Amendment filed July 28, 2025 has been entered. Claims 1-20 are pending in this application and examined herein.
Rejections -- 35 U.S.C. 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Specifically, nothing in the specification as originally filed disclosed, either explicitly or implicitly, the concept of a step of applying “without performing grinding” as recited in independent claim 1 as amended. Thus claim 1 and all claims dependent thereon are rejected under this statute.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s remarks filed July 28, 2025 have been fully considered, with the following effect:
a) The art previously applied under 35 U.S.C. 103 does not appear to be applicable to the claims as amended. The primary reference in the prior rejections (Zang et al., CN 111041409) clearly requires grinding, prohibited by the amended language of independent claim 1. Thus all rejections of the claims under 35 USC 103 are withdrawn.
b) Nonetheless, the pending claims remain rejected for reasons indicated supra. While Applicant alleges that support for claim 1 is provided at paragraph 0031 of PG Pub US 2023-0226642 (equivalent to paragraph [0021] of the specification as filed), nothing in that paragraph refers to grinding, either positively or negatively. Further, the examiner has carefully reviewed the entire specification as filed, and found no discussion of grinding (or lack thereof) in the papers as filed.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 GEORGE WYSZOMIERSKI whose telephone number is (571) 272-1252. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday thru Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Eastern time.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith Hendricks, can be reached on 571-272-1401. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GEORGE WYSZOMIERSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733 September 23, 2025
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