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
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.
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 1-7 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 1, line 4 recites “the surface”; claim 2, line 3 recites “the form”; claim 5, lines 3-4 recites “the entire surface; the material”; claim 6, line 5 recites “the top and bottom”; claim 7, lines 3-4 recites “the formation”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 2, lines 2-3 recites “the elastic member is equipped in the form of cotton” which renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear is the elastic member is made from cotton or is an elastic material in combination with cotton.
Claim 6, lines 4-5 recites “the planar heating element forms a sewing thread on a single side as a conductive resistor” which renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear how the planar heating element forms a sewing thread. Is the planar heating element an actual thread used for sewing or does the heating element have the shape of a thread as a conductive resistor? Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 3 and 4 are also objected to as being dependent upon claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen (CN211968648). An English machine translation of Chen (CN211968648) is included with the Notice of Refence Cited (PTO-892).
With respect to the limitations of claim 1, Chen teaches an aerogel blanket insulator, comprising: an aerogel blanket formed to include aerogel particles (Fig 1, insulation layer 3 is an aerogel felt layer; warp-knitted fabric 2, 0023), a sewing thread (Fig 1, thread 4, 0023) used to quilt the whole aerogel blanket, and a cover layer (outer protective layer 1, 0023) covering the surface of the aerogel blanket, the aerogel blanket insulator includes the aerogel blanket made of insulation of an elastic member (0023, aerogel felt layer) and the sewing thread (4) is created to quilt only the aerogel blanket (2, 3).
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Chen (CN211968648) as applied to claim 1, further in view of Dong (KR101912455) and Weng (CN210065154). An English machine translation of Dong (KR101912455) and Weng (CN210065154) is included with the Notice of Refence Cited (PTO-892).
With respect to the limitations of claim 2, Chen discloses the claimed invention except for further comprising a separate enveloping layer that covers the above cover layer, the elastic member is equipped in the form of cotton.
However, Dong discloses further comprising a separate enveloping layer (Fig 3, polyimide coating film 320, 0035) that covers the above cover layer (cover layer of base material 310, 0035) is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the aerogel blanket insulator of Chen having a cover layer silent to a separate enveloping layer with the further comprising a separate enveloping layer that covers the above cover layer of Dong for the purpose of providing a known enveloping layer that reduces the shedding of aerogel particles (0015), thereby improving the overall ruggedness of the device.
Additionally, Weng discloses the elastic member is equipped (Fig 6, aerogel particles 1, 10, fibers 11, 0108, 0112) in the form of cotton (0030, the aforementioned fibers are one or a mixture of several of the following: cotton) is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the aerogel blanket insulator of Chen in view of Dong having an elastic member silent to cotton with the elastic member is equipped in the form of cotton of Weng for the purpose of using a known fiber filling material that can reduce the amount of aerogel filler used, reduce costs, and at the same time, make full use of the physical or chemical properties of these materials (0031).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Chen (CN211968648) as applied to claim 1, further in view of Dong (KR101912455) and White (US 2014/0255642).
With respect to the limitations of claim 3, Chen discloses the claimed invention except for the cover layer is formed by penetrating a liquid synthetic resin through a partial thickness of the aerogel blanket, the cover layer is formed by applying liquid polyimide or synthetic resin to the surface of the aerogel blanket, or by combining non-woven fabric or thin fabric on the layer composed of the liquid polyimide or synthetic resin again, and the sewing thread created using impregnated liquid polyimide or synthetic resin.
However, Dong discloses the cover layer is formed by penetrating a liquid synthetic resin through a partial thickness of the aerogel blanket, the cover layer is formed by applying liquid polyimide or synthetic resin to the surface of the aerogel blanket (Fig 3, polyimide coating film 320, 0036, 0037), or by combining non-woven fabric or thin fabric on the layer composed of the liquid polyimide or synthetic resin again is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the aerogel blanket insulator of Chen having a cover layer silent to how the cover layer is formed with the cover layer is formed by penetrating a liquid synthetic resin through a partial thickness of the aerogel blanket, the cover layer is formed by applying liquid polyimide or synthetic resin to the surface of the aerogel blanket, or by combining non-woven fabric or thin fabric on the layer composed of the liquid polyimide or synthetic resin again of Dong for the purpose of providing a known cover layer that reduces the shedding of aerogel particles (0015), thereby improving the overall ruggedness of the device.
Additionally, White discloses the sewing thread created using impregnated liquid polyimide or synthetic resin (Fig 16, Kevlar thread, 0073) is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the aerogel blanket insulator of Chen in view of Dong having a sewing thread silent to the material with the sewing thread created using impregnated liquid polyimide or synthetic resin of White for the purpose of using known thread material that has increased strength (0073).
Claims 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Chen (CN211968648) as applied to claim 1, further in view of Xu (CN208891091). An English machine translation of Xu (CN208891091) is included with the Notice of Refence Cited (PTO-892).
With respect to the limitations of claim 4, Chen discloses the aerogel blanket insulator of claim 1 as set forth in the rejection of claim 1 above. Chen discloses the claimed invention except for a functional composite with the aerogel blanket insulator of claim 1, comprising: an additional planar heating element layer on the cover layer on a single side of the aerogel blanket. However, Xu discloses a functional composite with the aerogel blanket insulator (Fig 1, heating insulation layer 2, 0038, made of heat insulation materials such as aerogel felt) comprising: an additional planar heating element layer (heating element 1, heating layer 12, conductive layer 13, 0035, 0036) on the cover layer (second heat-permeable layer 14, 0035, 0037) on a single side of the aerogel blanket (2) is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the aerogel blanket insulator of Chen silent to a functional heating composite with a functional composite with the aerogel blanket insulator, comprising: an additional planar heating element layer on the cover layer on a single side of the aerogel blanket of Xu for the purpose of forming a known electric heating appliance that achieves uniform heating with improved utilization of electric energy (Abstract, 0020, 0034).
With respect to the limitations of claims 5 and 6, Chen in view of Xu discloses the planar heating element layer includes a resistive conductive layer that generates heat when current flows, and the resistive conductive layer is formed to cover the entire surface (Xu, graphene heating layer 12, conductive layer 13, 0032, 0033) or according to a pattern of the material or formation by either attachment, printing, or coating according to a specific pattern.
the planar heating element is composed of a metal thin film or formed by applying and drying a viscous liquid with conductive particles or fibers, and the planar heating element forms a sewing thread on a single side as a conductive resistor (Xu, graphene heating layer 12, conductive layer 13, 0032, 0033) while using a separate sewing thread on the top and bottom of the aerogel blanket (Chen, Fig 1, thread 4, warp-knitted fabric 2).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Chen (CN211968648) in view of Xu (CN208891091) as applied to claims 1 and 4, further in view of Jerjian (WO2019/079893). A copy of Jerjian (WO2019/079893) is included with the Notice of Refence Cited (PTO-892).
With respect to the limitations of claim 7, Chen in view of Xu discloses the claimed invention except for the planar heating element is formed by distributing at least two electrical terminals in multiple locations, and the planar heating element is a functional composite with a unique feature of the formation using PTC heaters made at least in part from PTC (positive temperature coefficient) materials.
However, Jerjian discloses the planar heating element is formed by distributing at least two electrical terminals in multiple locations (Fig 3, 0245, non-heating conductors 301 provide terminals for the heating conductors), and the planar heating element is a functional composite with a unique feature of the formation using PTC heaters made at least in part from PTC (positive temperature coefficient) materials (Fig 3, heating element 300, 0256, 0258, a resistive heating conductor may be manufactured of Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) materials formulated using carbon pastes) is known in the art. It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the functional composite with the aerogel blanket insulation of Chen in view of Xu having a planar heating element silent to terminals and PTC heaters with the planar heating element is formed by distributing at least two electrical terminals in multiple locations, and the planar heating element is a functional composite with a unique feature of the formation using PTC heaters made at least in part from PTC (positive temperature coefficient) materials of Jerjian for the purpose of providing a known terminal configuration that allows current to be supplied to the heating element and providing a known resistive heating conductor configuration that exhibit self-regulating properties such that the electric resistance is variable with temperature (0256).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THIEN S TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7745. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday [8:00-4:00].
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/THIEN S TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761 1/14/2026