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 .
Response to Amendment
Claims 1-5, 10-12, and 14-18 are pending in the Amendment filed 04/07/2026.
The provisional rejection of claims 1 and 14 on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 and 8-9 of copending Application No. 18/230759 (reference application), is withdrawn in view of the abandonment the copending Application.
The prior art rejections of record are withdrawn in view of Applicant’s amendment to claim 1 (incorporating previous claim 7), and Applicant’s persuasive arguments. See “Response to Arguments” below.
However, claims 1-5, 10-12, and 14-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, see “Remarks” filed 04/07/2026, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues as to amended claim 1 (incorporating previous claim 7):
“None of the cited prior art references (Chadwick, Wang, or Pandis) teach or suggest such an intervening cooling step between two distinct, sequentially performed adhesion heatings as part of a single manufacturing method. Applicants have amended claim 1 to incorporate limitations from claim 7.
“Respectfully, amended claim 1 specifies particular temperatures and durations for the heating stages (e.g., first stage at 500°F for at least 40 seconds, second stage at 745°F for at least 40 seconds). This is not a matter of mere routine optimization. Pandis describes sintering as reaching a temperature 1-40 degrees Celsius above the melting point of the polymer (Pandis [0023]) and holding at a maximum temperature for approximately 1-3 minutes (Pandis [0029]). These are general teachings within a single sintering process. Pandis does not teach or suggest the specific multi-stage heating profile with an intervening cooling step as claimed in Claim 1, nor the precise temperature-time combinations of claims 7 and 9, which relate to two distinct heating stages for adhesion.” [“Remarks”, pg. 2, para. 2-3].
In response, this argument is persuasive as to Chadwick and Wang because neither was applied to previous claim 7, and is persuasive as to Pandis because the reference discloses only a single adhesion heating step [claim 6, para. 0028, Step 204] which is followed by a cooling step [para. 0030, Step 206], and no other heating step thereafter [Fig. 2].
For the foregoing reasons, the prior art rejections of record are withdrawn.
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 1-5, 10-12, and 14-18 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 recites the limitation “the first heating stage” and “the second heating stage” in the final limitation of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purposes of examination, the first and second heating stages are interpreted to be part of the claimed first heating, as set forth in cancelled claim 7 (as it depended from cancelled claim 6), and as asserted in the “Remarks” [pg. 2, para. 3, “Applicants have amended claim 1 to incorporate limitations from claim 7.”].
Claims 2-5 and 10-12, and 14-18 are rejected as being dependent upon rejected claim 1, and failing to cure the deficiencies thereof.
Conclusion
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 CHRISTOPHER M REMAVEGE whose telephone number is (571)270-5511. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM.
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/CHRISTOPHER REMAVEGE/Examiner, Art Unit 1713
/BINH X TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1713
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