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 JP 2022-110142 required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Japan on 03/23/2023 . It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the JP 2023-046594 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Washington Alloy Co (www.washingtonalloy.com), hereinafter Washington.
Specific webpages cited are: USA 120S-1 Welding Wire and Rod technical data sheet (https://web.archive.org/web/20210804094255/https://www.washingtonalloy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/cast-helix.pdf), hereinafter TDS, as of October 24th 2021, and Cast and Helix general technical information (https://web.archive.org/web/20210804094255/https://www.washingtonalloy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/cast-helix.pdf), hereinafter Cast and Helix, as of August 4th 2021.
Regarding Claim 1, Washington teaches (TDS) a welding wire (ER120S-1) comprising a solid wire of metal that has a tensile strength of 800 MPa or more (tensile strength; 120,000 psi or 827 MPa). Further, Washington teaches (Cast and Helix) the welding wire has a cast of 300 mm or more (22” or 560 mm) and a helix of 20.0 mm or less (0.25” or 6.35 mm).
Regarding Claim 2, Washington teaches (TDS) the welding wire comprising a coating layer comprising Cu or a Cu alloy on an outer periphery of the solid wire (Cu coated).
Regarding Claim 3, Washington teaches (TDS) the welding wire wherein the solid wire is formed of a Ni-based alloy, a stainless steel, or a tool steel (typical wire chemistry (%) and weld metal properties).
Regarding Claim 4, Washington teaches (TDS) the welding wire having a wire diameter of 0.4 mm or more and 4.2 mm or less (wire diameter; 0.035” or 0.9 mm).
Regarding Claim 5, Washington does not explicitly recite a welding wire wherein during feeding of the welding wire in a feeding direction via a welding torch, a deviation amount of a position through which a center of a tip of the welding wire passes is less than +3mm in both of two directions orthogonal to each other set in a plane orthogonal to the feeding direction. However, because Washington teaches a welding wire possessing structure substantially identical to that of the claims, the claimed properties or functions of the wire are assumed to be inherent, see MPEP 2112.01(I). Therefore, Washington teaches the invention of claim 5.
Conclusion
The prior art of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure.
AWS A5 Committee on Filler Metals and Allied Materials. (2005). Specification for Low-Alloy Steel Electrodes and Rods for Gas Shielded Arc Welding (3rd Edition): (AWS A5.28/A5.28M:2005). American Welding Society (AWS). The specification details a variety of industry standards for welding wire established by the American Welding Society to include (Part C, Chapter 19) winding requirements of electrode cast and helix.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS FREDRICK GAUTHIER whose telephone number is (571)272-8725. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00am-5:00pm.
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 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.
/NICHOLAS FREDRICK GAUTHIER/Examiner, Art Unit 3761 /EDWARD F LANDRUM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761
Prosecution Insights