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 .
Drawings
As noted in the previous office action, the drawings are objected to because Fig 11 is a two axis graph comparing Friction Force to Sliding Distance yet neither axis includes the units of measurement used. 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 disclosure is objected to because [0088]-[0089] of the specification discloses that the block of embodiment 1 showed a 6.1% improvement in comparison to comparative example 1 as evidenced by the results of Fig. 12. However, it is unclear how exactly applicant arrived at this specific number of 6.1%. The proposed amendment to [0089] to note that the 6.1% improvement was “confirmed by Applicant’s testing” does not address the issue that based on the originally submitted disclosure, it would be unclear to a person of ordinary skill in the art as to how the inventor arrived at the specific value so as to be repeatable.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goumault et al. (US20200101683) (of record) in view of Collette et al. (US20050109438) (of record).
Regarding claim 1, Goumault (Fig 2, 4-7) discloses a 3-dimensional blade being installed in a vulcanization mold for forming a kerf, the blade comprising:
a frame formed in the shape of a plate (“moulding elements” (1, 2)); and
a support formed in the shape of a bar having one side connected to the frame and the other side connected to another frame, the support further corresponding to a shape of the kerf on a second cross section including the thickness direction (“assembly means” (4)).
While Goumault does not explicitly disclose that the frame has a wave shape, the wave shape corresponding to a shape of the kerf on a first cross section horizontal to a thickness direction, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the earliest effective priority date of the instant application to do so, given that Collette, which is within the tire vulcanizing art, teaches that a sipe blade (“blade” (10)) can comprise of a plate with a wave shape in a cross section horizontal to a thickness direction (Fig 1, 2) for the benefit of reduced sipe face wear and improved tread wear ([0008]).
With regards to the limitation of “wherein the support prevents the frame from being deformed during a process of vulcanizing a tire”, examiner notes that such a limitation is directed towards the intended use of the claimed product and does not further structurally limit said claimed product (see MPEP 2114(II)).
Regarding claim 2, modified Goumault teaches all limitations of claim 1 as set forth above. Additionally, given that Goumault teaches that the assembly means can have a variety of shapes ([0045]), including shapes where the support comprises a main support body in a bar shape (Fig 4-7) and where a connecting member exists between the main support body and the frame (Fig 7), modified Goumault teaches that the support comprises a main support body having a shape of a bar and a connecting member formed between the main support body and the frame to connect the main support body and the frame.
Regarding claim 3, modified Goumault teaches all limitations of claim 2 as set forth above. Additionally, Goumault teaches that the main support body has the second cross section in the shape of a circle or a polygon (Fig 5-7).
Regarding claim 4, modified Goumault teaches all limitations of claim 3 as set forth above. Additionally, Goumault teaches that a slot located on the assembly means can have a width of less than or equal to 1mm ([0013]) would mean that the assembly means itself has a total width (or radius that is half of the total width for a circle shaped assembly) that has to be greater than that of the slot (otherwise, no slot would exist). Such a total width range would at least include the range of 1.0 - 1.1 mm (or 0.5 – 0.55 mm for a radius), which would be within the claimed range of 0.3 to 1.0 millimeters. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the earliest effective priority date of the instant application for the second cross section of the main support body to be a circle having a radius of 0.3 to 1.0 millimeters.
While not part of the current rejection set forth above, examiner notes that the instant original disclosure fails to provide a conclusive showing of criticality for the claimed radius of the main support body, as only radii of 0.5 and 0.6 mm, which represent only a portion of the claimed range, has been tested and no radii outside the claimed range have been tested. To establish unexpected results over a claimed range, applicants should compare a sufficient number of tests both inside and outside the claimed range to show the criticality of the claimed range (See MPEP 716.02(d)(II)).
Regarding claim 5, modified Goumault teaches all limitations of claim 3 as set forth above. Additionally, Goumault teaches that the main support body and the connecting member comprise a connecting portion having a curvature surface formed having a predetermined curvature radius (Fig 7).
Regarding claim 6, modified Goumault teaches all limitations of claim 5 as set forth above. While Goumault does not explicitly teach that the curvature radius of the connecting portion of the main support body and the connecting member ranges from 0.3 to 1.0 millimeters (mm), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the earliest effective priority date of the instant application to do so, as such a modification would involve only a mere change in size of a component, and such a scaling up or down of an element which merely requires a change in size is generally considered as being within the ordinary skill in the art (see MPEP 2144.04(IV)(A)). One would have been motivated to scale the size of the curvature radius to be within the claimed range in order to provide a smooth connection between the assembly means and the moulding element.
While not part of the current rejection set forth above, examiner notes that the instant original disclosure fails to provide a conclusive showing of criticality for the claimed radius of the connecting portion, as only the radius of 0.5 mm, which represent only a singular point of the claimed range, has been tested and no radii outside the claimed range have been tested. To establish unexpected results over a claimed range, applicants should compare a sufficient number of tests both inside and outside the claimed range to show the criticality of the claimed range (See MPEP 716.02(d)(II)).
Regarding claim 7, modified Goumault teaches all limitations of claim 3 as set forth above. Additionally, Goumault teaches that the main support body is connected on the outside to an outer plane of the connecting member (Fig 7).
Regarding claim 8, modified Goumault teaches all limitations of claim 1 as set forth above. Additionally, Collette teaches that the frame comprises a first surface and a second surface that face each other across the thickness direction, the frame further comprising at least one amplitude portion (“vertex” (22)) formed by depressing a part of the first surface and projecting a part of the second surface correspondingly (Fig 1, 2).
Regarding claim 9, modified Goumault teaches all limitations of claim 8 as set forth above. Additionally, Collette teaches that the frame further comprises a slope portion formed at a connecting portion between the amplitude portion and the support (Fig 2).
Regarding claim 10, modified Goumault teaches all limitations of claim 8 as set forth above. Additionally, Collette teaches that the frame further comprises a plate portion (“vertex” (22)) connected to an end of the amplitude portion and formed in a plate shape (Fig 1, 2).
Regarding claim 11, modified Goumault teaches all limitations of claim 1 as set forth above. Additionally, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the earliest effective priority date of the instant application for the frame to have a thickness equal to or greater than 0.2 mm, given that Goumault teaches that the slot in which the moulding element connects to the assembly means can have a width of less than or equal to 1 mm ([0013]), shows that the moulding element fits into said slot (therefore have at least one portion of the moulding element that is a similar width) and can have a similar thickness along its length (Fig 2, 5-7).
While not part of the current rejection set forth above, examiner notes that the instant original disclosure fails to provide a conclusive showing of criticality for the claimed frame thickness, as only the thickness of 0.5 mm, which represent only a singular point of the claimed range, has been tested and no thicknesses outside the claimed range have been tested. To establish unexpected results over a claimed range, applicants should compare a sufficient number of tests both inside and outside the claimed range to show the criticality of the claimed range (See MPEP 716.02(d)(II)).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12 February 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding p.5-6 of applicant’s remarks, applicant argues that the graph in Fig. 11 is not required to have axis units but is used to “illustrate the relative improvement of Embodiment 1 over Comparative Example 3” and that “the trend-based takeaway (higher maximum friction force for Embodiment 1) is clear without numeric units.” Examiner disagrees noting that depending on which units would be used for the vertical axis (Newtons? Pounds? Kilogram-Force?) and the horizontal axis (Micrometers? Meters? Kilometers?), the graph could be interpreted as indicating a dramatic change in friction force or a negligible change.
Regarding p.6 of applicant’s remarks, applicant argues that amending [0089] to read that the “6.1% improvement in dry braking performance, as confirmed by Applicant’s testing” addresses the specification objection. Examiner disagrees, as the issue is not whether the evidence and calculation for “6.1% improvement in dry braking performance” existed in the world at one point or another, it’s whether a person of ordinary skill in the art can use the information from the originally provided disclosure to arrive at the same value of “improvement in dry braking performance” as the applicant, through either data points and calculations based off those data points found in the originally provided disclosure or by repeating the simulations as disclosed in the originally provided disclosure. Currently, a person of ordinary skill in the art could not do either.
In response to applicant's argument that the “assembly means” (4) in Goumault is for “joining/stiffening rather than molding” on p. 7-8, a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. Moreover, examiner notes that even in the paragraphs cited in Goumault by the applicant ([0014] and [0015]), nowhere is there any evidence that the “assembly means” (4) is limited only to “joining/stiffening” and would not contribute in any manner to the molding of the tire, despite their location relative to other explicitly-defined moulding elements such as “first/second moulding elements” (1,2) and the fact that as shown in Fig 4, there are portions of “assembly means” (4) that are clearly found in the “moulding zone” (8).
In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, specifically that Collette doesn’t disclose the supposedly missing feature from Goumault, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Voss et al. (US20110168311) (of record) teaches a 3-dimensional blade comprises a wave-shaped frame plate (“sipe form” (48)) and a bar-shaped support (“sipe-intersecting extension” (50), Fig 6)).
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 ALEXANDER D BOOTH whose telephone number is 571-272-6704. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:00-4:30.
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/ALEXANDER D BOOTH/Examiner, Art Unit 1749
/SEDEF E PAQUETTE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1749