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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/11/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment dated 12/11/2025 has been considered and entered into the record. Independent claim 1, from which all other remaining claims depend, now requires at least one of the plurality of thermoplastic polymer yarns to be woven in a warp direction. Claims 1–12 remain pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 12/11/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1–12 under 35 USC 103 in view of the Horibe reference have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejections have been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made below.
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, 3–6, 8, 9, 11, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Homma (US 2005/0085147 A1).
Homma teaches a process for forming a two-dimensional reinforcing woven fabric comprising warp and weft carbon fiber tows using a loom, wherein auxiliary, nylon-based yarns are woven along with the carbon fibers in the warp direction to be melted to bond the fibers of the fabric. Homma abstract, ¶¶ 21, 30, 31, 98, 100–104, 115–118, Figs. 1, 2. The woven fabric is then impregnated with a matrix polymer to form a prepreg composite material. Id. ¶ 33. The auxiliary, nylon-based yarn has a more preferred dtex of no more than 225 dtex. Id. ¶ 58. The nylon-based filaments constitute 0.5–10 weight percent of the woven fabric. Id. ¶ 21. The woven fabric may further comprise low-melting thermoplastic polymer that is fed along with the warp yarns to provide bonding in the fabric. Id. ¶¶ 25, 98. As the woven fabric exits the loom, the fabric is heated to cause thermoplastic material to melt. Id.
Claim 3 is rejected as nylon is a polyamide polymer. Claim 4 is rejected as the auxiliary, nylon-based yarns 3 are woven into the fabric parallel to a reinforcing fiber tows 1, 2. Id. ¶ 72, Fig. 2. Claims 8 and 9 are rejected as the heat source used in Homma is directed at the woven fabric to heat it to 160oC. Id. ¶¶ 98, 118. Claim 12 is rejected as the woven reinforcing fabric of Homma is a preform for a composite, wherein the preform is introduced to a resin matrix material in a bath to form a composite component. Id. ¶ 109, Fig. 6.
Claim 5 is rejected as obvious as the use of powder-based polymer rather than liquid polymer to infiltrate the woven fabric to form a prepreg composite material is within the skill of an ordinarily skilled artisan as polymers take different forms when they are being processed.
Claim(s) 2 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Homma as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Horibe (JP 2006-233341).
Homma fails to teach heating the woven reinforcing fiber fabric under tension as the fabric exits the loom to cause the polymeric material to melt.
Horibe teaches the formation of a two-dimensional woven reinforcing fiber fabric using a loom, wherein the fabric is formed by weaving yarns of tows of reinforcing fibers along with polyamide yarns wherein the formed fabric is heated as it is leaving the loom to melt the polyamide fibers or filaments. Horibe Abstract, Description, Figures 1, 2. The woven fabric is under tension while being heated 10, 16 using an infrared heater and exits the loom so that the fibers and yarns within the fabric are fixed without being touched. Id. Description, Figs. 1, 2.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have heated with fabric of Homma under tension motivated by the desire to keep the warp and weft fibers in place during manufacturing.
Claim 10 is rejected as it would have been obvious to cool the fabric to a temperature of no greater than 50oC because the fabric must be cooled to a temperature below the softening point of polyamide.
Claim(s) 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Homma as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Couri (US 2007/0048491 A1).
Homma fails to teach heating the woven fiber fabric after carrying out a beat-up operation.
Couri teaches a method for making woven yarn carpet material, wherein a reed is used to beat-up the woven material to tighten the weave of warp and weft materials of the carpet. Couri abstract, ¶¶ 4, 12, 45.
One of ordinary skill would have found it obvious to have beaten up the warp and weft materials of the woven reinforcing fiber fabric of Homma to tighten the that fabric’s weave.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW D MATZEK whose telephone number is (571)272-5732. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6.
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, Jennifer Boyd can be reached at 571.272.7783. 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.
/MATTHEW D MATZEK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786