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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Preliminary Amendment
Applicant's amendment filed on 12/13/2022 has been entered.
Claims 1 and 6-7 have been amended.
Claims 2-4 and 8-10 are as previously presented.
Claim 5 has been cancelled.
Claims 1-4 and 6-10 are still pending in this application, with claims 1 and 8 being independent.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because fig. 5 shows a large top of welded post 201/202 having a size L that is smaller than a small root of welded post 201/202, which runs contrary to para. 0056 of the specification: “As shown in FIG. 5, both the first welded post 201 and the second welded post 202 are posts with a large top and a small root, that is, a size L of a top of the welded post is less than a size l of a root of the welded post.” Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The amendment filed 12/13/2022 is objected to under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) because it introduces new matter into the disclosure. 35 U.S.C. 132(a) states that no amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention. The added material which is not supported by the original disclosure is as follows: The incorporation by reference of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2022/089511, and Chinese Application No. 202110869182.6 is ineffective as it was added on the date of entry into the national phase, which is after the filing date of the instant application. The filing date of this national stage application is the filing date of associated PCT, in this case 4/27/22, see MPEP 1893.03(b). Therefore the specification amendment of 12/13/22 to include the incorporation by reference is new matter, per MPEP 608.01(p). For the purposes of this office action, Examiner will interpret the disclosure as reciting “This application is a national stage of International Application No. PCT/CN2022/089511, filed on April 27, 2022, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202110869182.6, filed on July 29, 2021. The disclosures of both of the aforementioned application are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.” in para. 0001.
Applicant is required to cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office Action.
Claim Interpretation
Regarding claim 1 and claim 8, which respectively recite “surfaces of the plurality of welded posts and surfaces of the plurality of through-holes are rough surfaces” and “performing film processing…so that at least surfaces of the plurality of welded posts are rough surfaces…performing surface treatment…so that at least surfaces of the plurality of through-holes are rough surfaces”
In light of
para. 0007: “The rough surface is configured to increase a laser absorption amount in the fit part of the welded post and the through-hole during the laser welding.”
para. 0016: “In an implementation, the rough surface of the welded post is obtained by film processing, and surface glossiness of the welded post is less than 20 Gu.”
para. 0017: “In an implementation, a surface roughness value of the through-hole is from Ra3.2 to Ra5.”
para. 0022: “In an implementation, the performing surface treatment on the bezel so that at least surfaces of the plurality of through-holes are rough surfaces includes: performing chemical sanding on the bezel so that at least surface roughness values of the through-hole surfaces are from Ra3.2 to Ra5.”
para. 0048: “It may be understood that surface roughness of the bezel 1 may be increased by removing the material, for example, chemical sanding. A glossiness requirement of the middle plate 2 may be ensured by adding a dense film layer, for example, film processing.”
the claims, while not rendered indefinite by the limitation ‘rough’, will be interpreted as establishing the metes and bounds of the claim to include surfaces (including surfaces with non-zero Gu) with any measurable level of roughness (i.e., non-zero Ra, wherein real-world surfaces inherently have some degree of roughness, and are not considered to be able to achieve perfect smoothness). If Applicant intends the recitation of surfaces of the welded posts/through-holes be rough surfaces to further limit the invention, Examiner recommends including roughness value(s) with an appropriate dimensional unit [see Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112].
Regarding claims 6 and 8-9, which recite film processing to obtain the rough surface of the welded post (claims 6 and 8), such that the surface glossiness less than 20 Gu is met (claims 6 and 9),
the term “film processing” is used by the claims to mean adding/generating thereon a dense film layer [para. 0048: “A glossiness requirement of the middle plate 2 may be ensured by adding a dense film layer, for example, film processing.”; para. 0080: “In an implementation, the film processing means that phosphate reacts with a middle plate semifinished part of die casting aluminum, so that a dense film layer is generated and is closely attached to a surface of metal.”].
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.
Claims 1-4 and 6-10 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.
Regarding claims 1 and 8, which recite “a plurality of welded posts…a plurality of through-holes…the plurality of welded posts form a hole shaft fit in a one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of through-holes” wherein claim 1 recites “the bezel and the middle plate are connected by using laser welding in each fit part of the welded post and the through-hole” and claim 8 similarly recites “connecting the bezel and the middle plate into an integrated structure by using laser welding in each fit part of the welded post and the through-hole”
There is insufficient antecedent basis for the limitations “the welded post” and “the through-hole”, which renders the claim indefinite.
In view of the interpretation that “each fit part” is directed towards the “hole shaft fit” formed from the one-to-one combination of each of the plurality of welded posts with a corresponding through-hole of the plurality of through-holes, Examiner will interpret the claims as reciting connecting the bezel and middle plate “by using laser welding in each fit part of [[the]]each welded post of the plurality of welded posts and [[the]]each through-hole of the plurality of through-holes”
Regarding claim 1, which recites “a root of the at least one welded post,” the limitation “the at least one welded post” has insufficient antecedent basis, and thus renders the claim indefinite. For the purposes of this office action, in view of claim 3 similarly reciting “the plurality of welded posts comprise at least one first welded post and at least one second welded post,”, Examiner will interpret claim 1 as reciting “a root of [[the]] at least one welded post of the plurality of welded posts”
Regarding claims 7 and 10, which recite that a surface roughness value of the through-hole is between Ra3.2 to Ra5, renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear what dimensional unit (i.e., micrometer or microinch) is to be applied. However, since micrometer and microinch are generally accepted as the dimensional unit for Ra, Examiner will interpret the claim as requiring Ra values of 3.2-5 in micrometers or microinches.
Claims 2-4, 6-7, and 9-10 are rejected due to dependence on a rejected claim.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 7, 8, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu (CN 106862399 A) in view of Kim (US 20200152876 A1) and Fujiwara (US 20190368524 A1).
Regarding claim 1,
Xu discloses:
An electronic device [p. 3: “The mobile terminal in the invention can be a smart phone, tablet computer, PDA (PersonalDigital Assistant, handheld computer) can be terminal device of wireless communication.”], comprising
a middle frame [fig. 1; p. 3: “FIG. 1 is the mobile terminal of this invention metal frame manufacturing method of one embodiment of the disclosure”], wherein the middle frame comprises
a bezel [metal frame 21] and
a middle plate [bracket 22];
the bezel is disposed around an edge of the middle plate [fig. 5; p. 5: “Referring to FIG. 5, picture 5 is the structure schematic diagram of the invention in mobile terminal metal frame is a metal outer frame and metal in the bracket; wherein the rivet enters the through hole”];
a plurality of welded posts are disposed on the middle plate [studs/rivet 221];
a plurality of through-holes whose positions and sizes are corresponding to those of the plurality of welded posts are disposed on the bezel [through-hole 211; p. 2: “metal in one side of the bracket is provided with a convex rivet, metal outer frame corresponding position is provided with a through hole… wherein the length of the rivet column is equal to the length of the through hole”],
and the plurality of welded posts form a hole shaft fit in a one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of through-holes [see figs. 1 and 5; p. 3: “S101: preparing respectively independent metal outer frame and in metal bracket, metal in one side of the bracket is provided with a convex rivet, corresponding position of outer metal frame is a through hole.”];
surfaces of the plurality of welded posts and surfaces of the plurality of through-holes are rough surfaces [i.e., the surfaces of 221 and 211 inherently have surfaces with non-zero Ra]; and
the bezel and the middle plate are connected by using [p. 4: “S103, using rivet for riveting and welding the metal outer frame and metal inner frame.”]
However, Xu does not explicitly disclose:
the bezel and the middle plate are connected by using laser welding,
and the rough surface is configured to increase a laser absorption amount of the fit part of the welded post and the through-hole during the laser welding;
further comprising an exhaust groove,
wherein the exhaust groove is disposed around a root of the at least one welded post,
and the exhaust groove is configured to discharge gas that is generated during the laser welding and increase a weld pool depth during the laser welding.
Kim, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
a frame [see fig. 1, showing frame 110, with surfaces having inherent roughness] and a sheet [see fig. 1, showing sheet 120, with surfaces having inherent roughness] connected by using laser welding such that the connection has improved welding characteristics [para. 0076: “Accordingly, when the first and second hatching areas HA1 and HA2 are irradiated with the welding laser, laser process efficiency increases according to the rough surfaces of the first and second hatching areas HA1 and HA2, and the welding characteristics may be improved.”]. Kim further teaches that it is known that surface roughness increases absorption of a laser beam [para. 0076: “When the surface roughness becomes large, an absorptance of a laser beam increases.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to simply substitute the welding connection of Xu with the laser welding connection of Kim, since this would yield the predictable result of connecting the bezel and middle plate, and further since Kim teaches this results in improved welding characteristics [para. 0076].
However, Kim is not directed towards any discharging of gas during the laser welding.
Fujiwara, in the same field of endeavor, teaches it is known that during laser welding two components together see [fig. 1, showing material 1 welded to material 3], gases may arise due to evaporation causing poor welds [para. 0074: “It sometimes happens during welding that the melted part of second material 2 flows from inner periphery 2A of through-hole 211 into second gap 7 between outer peripheral region 9 of the projections of first material 1 and/ or third material 3 along the thickness of these materials. In this case, if second material 2 is made of a low-boiling point material such as resin, second material 2 may liquefy or evaporate and be blown out, causing fusion zone 12 to be poorly welded.”]. Fujiwara further teaches exhaust grooves disposed around a root of projections 1E [see fig. 1, showing exhaust grooves 1a disposed around a base of 1E] to prevent gas from second material 2 from entering the welding connection [para. 0075: “In the present exemplary embodiment, exhaust holes ( or exhaust grooves) la and 3a are located outside projections lE and 3E so as to prevent second material 2 from being blown out to fusion zone 12 even if it is liquefied or evaporated.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the electronic device of Xu and Kim, by including the exhaust grooves of Fujiwara, disposed around the root of the welded posts, since this would discharge gas that is generated during laser welding, thus preventing contamination of the weld pool, inherently increasing weld pool depth, as taught by Fujiwara [paras. 0074-75].
Regarding claim 7, Xu in view of Kim and Fujiwara discloses the electronic device according to claim 1.
Xu as modified by Kim, specifically Kim further teaches:
wherein a surface roughness value of the through-hole is from Ra3.2 to Ra5.
In this case, in view of Kim disclosing example arithmetical average roughness in the range of 0.1 um to 0.2 um [para. 0010: “In an embodiment, the arithmetical average roughness of the second surface in the hatching area may be about 0.1 μm to about 0.2 μm”], and a ten-point average roughness of 2.0 um to 5 um [para. 0012], and in view of Kim further teaching that as surface roughness becomes large, absorptance of a laser beam increases, which improves welding characteristics [para. 0076: “When the surface roughness becomes large, an absorptance of a laser beam increases. Accordingly, when the first and second hatching areas HAl and HA2 are irradiated with the welding laser, laser process efficiency increases according to the rough surfaces of the first and second hatching areas HAl and HA2, and the welding characteristics may be improved.”], it would have been obvious to a PHOSITA to discover an optimum range of Ra (i.e., surface roughness; e.g., in order to generate a desired level of heat as quickly and efficiently as possible), since it has been held by the courts that optimizing a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art.
Regarding claim 8,
Xu discloses:
A manufacturing method for a middle frame [fig. 1; p. 3: “FIG. 1 is the mobile terminal of this invention metal frame manufacturing method of one embodiment of the disclosure”],
wherein the middle frame comprises
a middle plate [bracket 22] and
a bezel [metal frame 21],
and the method comprises:
obtaining the middle plate by using a die casting molding process [p. 3: “The metal bracket is realized independently moulded by aluminium alloy die-casting.”], and
disposing a plurality of welded posts on the middle plate [studs/rivet 221];
[i.e., the surfaces of 221 inherently have surfaces with non-zero Ra];
performing machining on an aluminum profile to obtain the bezel [p. 3: “The mobile terminal metal in the embodiments of the invention, the frame can be made of aluminium, titanium alloy, stainless steel and so on, and the material are not limited… wherein the metal frame is by casting, stamping, computer numerical control machine tool (Computer The invention claims a, namely the CNC) cutting process to realize independently formed.”], and
disposing a plurality of through-holes whose positions and sizes are corresponding to those of the plurality of welded posts on the bezel [through-hole 211; p. 2: “metal in one side of the bracket is provided with a convex rivet, metal outer frame corresponding position is provided with a through hole… wherein the length of the rivet column is equal to the length of the through hole”];
performing surface treatment [i.e., machining via a CNC cutting process] on the bezel so that at least surfaces of the plurality of through-holes are rough surfaces [i.e., the surfaces of 211 inherently have surfaces with non-zero Ra after machining];
mounting the bezel on the middle plate so that the plurality of welded posts form a hole shaft fit in a one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of through-holes [see figs. 1 and 5; p. 3: “S101: preparing respectively independent metal outer frame and in metal bracket, metal in one side of the bracket is provided with a convex rivet, corresponding position of outer metal frame is a through hole.”]; and
connecting the bezel and the middle plate into an integrated structure by using [p. 4: “S103, using rivet for riveting and welding the metal outer frame and metal inner frame.”].
However, Xu does not explicitly disclose:
performing film processing on the middle plate;
connecting the bezel and the middle by using laser welding.
Kim, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
a frame [see fig. 1, showing frame 110, with surfaces having inherent roughness] and a sheet [see fig. 1, showing sheet 120, with surfaces having inherent roughness] connected by using laser welding such that the connection has improved welding characteristics [para. 0076: “Accordingly, when the first and second hatching areas HA1 and HA2 are irradiated with the welding laser, laser process efficiency increases according to the rough surfaces of the first and second hatching areas HA1 and HA2, and the welding characteristics may be improved.”]. Kim further teaches that it is known that surface roughness increases absorption of a laser beam [para. 0076: “When the surface roughness becomes large, an absorptance of a laser beam increases.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to simply substitute the welding connection of Xu with the laser welding connection of Kim, since this would yield the predictable result of connecting the bezel and middle plate, and further since Kim teaches this results in improved welding characteristics [para. 0076].
Fujiwara, in the same field of endeavor, teaches it is known that during laser welding two components together [see figs. 1 and 10, showing material 1 welded to material 3], a film layer of material 2 may be positioned therebetween [para. 0099: “Thus, second material 2 is fixed to first material 1 and/ or third material 3.”] such that a predetermined gap is formed and positioning is aided [para. 0088: “Second material 2 is sandwiched between first material 1 and third material 3, which has a stepped portion, such that a predetermined second gap 7 is formed between third material 3 and first material 1 along their thickness.”; para. 0090: “Furthermore, inserting second material 2 into first material 1 can temporarily fix and position second material 2.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the method of Xu and Kim, by including the film processing of Fujiwara, such that a dense film layer is added to a welded post of the middle plate, since Fujiwara teaches a film layer of material 2 can form a predetermined gap and aid in positioning, and thus would aid in positioning a welded post in a corresponding through hole.
Regarding claim 10, Xu in view of Kim and Fujiwara discloses the manufacturing method for a middle frame according to claim 8.
Xu as modified by Kim, specifically Kim further teaches:
wherein the performing surface treatment on the bezel so that at least surfaces of the plurality of through-holes are rough surfaces comprises: performing chemical sanding [para. 0095: “In other words, as another embodiment of the inventive concept, the hatching process may include a polishing process, a sandblasting process, an electrochemical nano-etching process, or the like in order to increase the surface roughness of a part of the welding part.”] on the bezel so that at least surface roughness values of the through-hole surfaces are from Ra3.2 to Ra5.
In this case, in view of Kim disclosing example arithmetical average roughness in the range of 0.1 um to 0.2 um [para. 0010: “In an embodiment, the arithmetical average roughness of the second surface in the hatching area may be about 0.1 μm to about 0.2 μm”], and a ten-point average roughness of 2.0 um to 5 um [para. 0012], and in view of Kim further teaching that as surface roughness becomes large, absorptance of a laser beam increases, which improves welding characteristics [para. 0076: “When the surface roughness becomes large, an absorptance of a laser beam increases. Accordingly, when the first and second hatching areas HAl and HA2 are irradiated with the welding laser, laser process efficiency increases according to the rough surfaces of the first and second hatching areas HAl and HA2, and the welding characteristics may be improved.”], it would have been obvious to a PHOSITA to discover an optimum range of Ra (i.e., surface roughness; e.g., in order to generate a desired level of heat as quickly and efficiently as possible), since it has been held by the courts that optimizing a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art.
Claims 2-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu (CN 106862399 A) in view of Kim (US 20200152876 A1) and Fujiwara (US 20190368524 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Chen (US 20190252809 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Xu in view of Kim and Fujiwara discloses the electronic device according to claim 1.
Xu discloses a circular shape for the posts and the through-holes [see fig. 1, showing circular 221 and 211. However, Xu does not explicitly disclose:
wherein
each of the plurality of welded posts is a rounded rectangular welded post; and
each of the plurality of through-holes is a rounded rectangular through-hole.
Chen, in the same field of endeavor, teaches a welded post and through-hole combination [see figs. 1 and 9-10; para. 0016: “According to embodiments of the present disclosure, each metal welding column has at least one through hole or concave slot configured to be inserted by a corresponding one of the at least two protrusion engaging portions.”] wherein the shape of the welded post and the corresponding through-hole is rounded rectangular [see fig. 1; para. 0017: “According to embodiments of the present disclosure, each protrusion engaging portion has a rectangular, semicircular or triangular cross section.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to substitute the circular shape of Xu with the rounded rectangular shape of Chen, since this would predictably form the hole shaft fit of Xu, and since Chen teaches this allows the combination to stand upright reliable [para. 0071: “In summary, the welding column combination of the present disclosure can reduce the height/width ratio of the overall structure of the metal welding column by using an insulator block and at least two metal welding columns with a larger height/width ratio such that the welding column combination can stand upright reliably.”].
Regarding claim 3, Xu in view of Kim and Fujiwara discloses the electronic device according to claim 1.
Xu discloses a circular shape for the posts and the through-holes [see fig. 1, showing circular 221 and 211. However, Xu does not explicitly disclose:
wherein
the plurality of welded posts comprise at least one first welded post and at least one second welded post, the first welded post is a circular welded post, and the second welded post is a rounded rectangular welded post;
the plurality of the through-holes comprise at least one first through-hole and at least one second through-hole, the first through-hole is a circular through-hole, and the second through-hole is a rounded rectangular through-hole; and
the at least one first welded post forms a hole shaft fit in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one first through-hole, and the at least one second welded post forms a hole shaft fit in a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one second through-hole.
Chen, in the same field of endeavor, teaches a welded post and through-hole combination [see figs. 1 and 9-10; para. 0016: “According to embodiments of the present disclosure, each metal welding column has at least one through hole or concave slot configured to be inserted by a corresponding one of the at least two protrusion engaging portions.”] wherein the shape of the welded post and the corresponding through-hole can be rectangular or circular [see fig. 1; para. 0017: “According to embodiments of the present disclosure, each protrusion engaging portion has a rectangular, semicircular or triangular cross section.”], and wherein two welding posts/through-hole combinations can be different shapes [para. 0015: “According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least two metal welding columns are of the same shapes or different shapes.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to substitute the circular shape of all the welded posts/through-holes of Xu with the circular and rounded rectangular shapes for different combinations of Chen, since this would predictably form the hole shaft fit of Xu, and since Chen teaches this allows the combination to stand upright reliable [para. 0071: “In summary, the welding column combination of the present disclosure can reduce the height/width ratio of the overall structure of the metal welding column by using an insulator block and at least two metal welding columns with a larger height/width ratio such that the welding column combination can stand upright reliably.”].
Regarding claim 4, Xu in view of Kim, Fujiwara, and Chen discloses the electronic device according to claim 3.
Xu further discloses:
wherein the middle plate is a rectangular middle plate [see fig. 1, showing rectangular 22], and the at least one first welded post and/or the at least one second welded post are/is disposed on each side line of the middle plate [see fig. 1, showing a post 221 in each of the corners of 22].
Claims 6 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu (CN 106862399 A) in view of Kim (US 20200152876 A1) and Fujiwara (US 20190368524 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Li (CN 102861990 B).
Regarding claim 6, Xu in view of Kim and Fujiwara discloses the electronic device according to claim 1.
Xu as modified by Kim and Fujiwara, specifically Fujiwara further discloses the known technique of adding a dense film layer (i.e., film processing), wherein material 2 (which inherently has a non-zero Gu), is formed on the middle plate. However, Fujiwara does not explicitly disclose
the welded post meets that surface glossiness is less than 20 Gu.
Li, in the same field of endeavor, teaches adding a film layer [i.e., a sprayed coating] such that absorptivity is thereby improved due to less, or reduced (i.e., diffused) reflection [para. 0014: “when the laser beam illuminating the sprayed coating, coarse aluminium powder spraying surface greatly improves the absorptivity of the laser due to the effect of diffuse reflection, on the other hand, spraying aluminium powder can promote absorption of energy due to the increased surface area, when enough heat melt spraying aluminium layer surface of thin, zinc powder or magnesium powder is heated rapidly to form steam, and further improves the absorption of laser energy, forming a small effect.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the device of Xu, Kim, and Fujiwara, by film processing the welded post such that the reflectivity of the welded post is reduced, since this would improve absorptivity of the laser, as taught by Li [para. 0014]. Furthermore, the requirement that the surface glossiness be less than 20 Gu, would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.05(II)(A). In this case, since Li discloses that the high reflectivity of aluminum results in an unstable welding process, and thus teaches the reduction thereof [para. 0002: “However, the laser welding for aluminum alloy, it has many disadvantages and problems. the most serious problem is the aluminium and aluminium alloy has high initial reflectivity of laser when laser welding in the welding process unstable, because most of the energy of the high reflectivity is reflected away and cannot be absorbed by the aluminum substrate. typical aluminium alloy (¾ with the wavelength of 10.6 microns laser high reflectivity is more than 97%, the YAG laser, the reflectivity also reaches the 80%, at the same time the aluminium alloy material with high heat conductivity (most of the aluminium alloy heat conducting coefficient is 3 times of the common carbon steel), this situation caused by the laser welding is difficult, many will not be melted to form.”], it would not have been inventive to discover an optimal value or range of values of Gu for the welded post.
Regarding claim 9, Xu in view of Kim and Fujiwara discloses the manufacturing method for a middle frame according to claim 8.
Xu as modified by Kim and Fujiwara, specifically Fujiwara further discloses the known technique of adding a dense film layer (i.e., film processing), wherein material 2 (which inherently has a non-zero Gu), is formed on the middle plate. However, Fujiwara does not explicitly disclose:
performing film processing on the middle plate, so that at least surfaces of the plurality of welded posts meet that surface glossiness is less than 20 Gu.
Li, in the same field of endeavor, teaches adding a film layer [i.e., a sprayed coating] such that absorptivity is thereby improved due to less, or reduced (i.e., diffused) reflection [para. 0014: “when the laser beam illuminating the sprayed coating, coarse aluminium powder spraying surface greatly improves the absorptivity of the laser due to the effect of diffuse reflection, on the other hand, spraying aluminium powder can promote absorption of energy due to the increased surface area, when enough heat melt spraying aluminium layer surface of thin, zinc powder or magnesium powder is heated rapidly to form steam, and further improves the absorption of laser energy, forming a small effect.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the method of Xu, Kim, and Fujiwara, by film processing the welded post such that the reflectivity of the welded post is reduced, since this would improve absorptivity of the laser, as taught by Li [para. 0014]. Furthermore, the requirement that the surface glossiness be less than 20 Gu, would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.05(II)(A). In this case, since Li discloses that the high reflectivity of aluminum results in an unstable welding process, and thus teaches the reduction thereof [para. 0002: “However, the laser welding for aluminum alloy, it has many disadvantages and problems. the most serious problem is the aluminium and aluminium alloy has high initial reflectivity of laser when laser welding in the welding process unstable, because most of the energy of the high reflectivity is reflected away and cannot be absorbed by the aluminum substrate. typical aluminium alloy (¾ with the wavelength of 10.6 microns laser high reflectivity is more than 97%, the YAG laser, the reflectivity also reaches the 80%, at the same time the aluminium alloy material with high heat conductivity (most of the aluminium alloy heat conducting coefficient is 3 times of the common carbon steel), this situation caused by the laser welding is difficult, many will not be melted to form.”], it would not have been inventive to discover an optimal value or range of values of Gu for the welded post.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THEODORE J EVANGELISTA whose telephone number is (571)272-6093. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Edward F Landrum can be reached at (571) 272-5567. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/THEODORE J EVANGELISTA/ Examiner, Art Unit 3761 /EDWARD F LANDRUM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761