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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Japan on 9/2/22. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the JP2022-139905 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to the judicial exception of abstract ideas without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) abstract ideas as indicated by in-line comments below. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application for reasons also indicated by in-line comments below. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception for reasons also indicated by in-line comments below.
1. A physical property value estimation device that estimates a physical property value corresponding to a physical property required for a composite material, comprising:
a storage unit (does not integrate into a practical application because insignificant extra-solution activity; not significantly more because insignificant extra-solution activity) that stores a learned physical property regression formula corresponding to the physical property (abstract; mathematical concepts; mathematical calculations) in order to calculate a physical property value corresponding to a physical property predetermined as an objective variable, by using compound data of a material that composes the composite material and feature data of the material as explanatory variables (abstract; mathematical concepts; mathematical relationships), and stores a feature amount value of the material required for calculating the feature data (does not integrate into a practical application because insignificant extra-solution activity; not significantly more because insignificant extra-solution activity);
a reception unit that receives compound data of the material that composes the composite material as an estimation target (does not integrate into a practical application because insignificant extra-solution activity; not significantly more because insignificant extra-solution activity); and
a physical property calculation unit (does not integrate into a practical application because generic computer performing generic computer functions; not significantly more because generic computer performing generic computer functions) that obtains the physical property regression formula corresponding to the physical property from the storage unit (does not integrate into a practical application because insignificant extra-solution activity; not significantly more because insignificant extra-solution activity), and calculates the physical property value based on the obtained compound data by using the obtained physical property regression formula (abstract; mathematical concepts; mathematical calculations),
wherein the physical property regression formula established by using the compound data and the feature data includes a feature function for calculating the feature data from the compound data and the feature amount value (abstract; mathematical concepts; mathematical relationships).
2. The physical property value estimation device, according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores multiple physical property regression formulas learned in order to calculate multiple physical property values corresponding to multiple physical properties predetermined as objective variables (merely further details of ineligible subject matter), and the multiple physical property regression formulas include a first physical property regression formula established by using the compound data and the feature data as explanatory variables, and the second physical property regression formula established by using the compound data as an explanatory variable (abstract; mathematical concepts; mathematical relationships).
3. The physical property value estimation device, according to claim 1, wherein the feature data is structural feature data of the material (merely further details of ineligible subject matter).
4. The physical property value estimation device, according to claim 3, wherein the composite material is a macromolecular composite material, and the structural feature data includes at least one of a volume fraction of a polymer in the macromolecular 1 composite material, a content rate of ethylene copolymer in the polymer, a denaturation amount of maleic acid anhydride in the polymer, a volume fraction of a flame retardant in the macromolecular composite material, and a surface area of the flame retardant (merely further details of ineligible subject matter).
5. The physical property value estimation device, according to claim 1, wherein the feature data is thermal feature data of the material (merely further details of ineligible subject matter).
6. The physical property value estimation device, according to claim 5, wherein the composite material is a macromolecular composite material, and the thermal feature data includes at least one of heat of fusion of a crystal part in a polymer in the macromolecular composite material, and a melt flow rate of the crystal part (merely further details of ineligible subject matter).
Regarding claim 7, see the foregoing rejection of claim 1, which is very similar, with clearly corresponding limitations. However, note that the reception unit and physical property calculation unit are listed later in claim 1
Regarding claim 8, see the foregoing rejection of claim 7.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Note that, in the following rejections, the highlighting indicates differences from the exact claim language, or items involved in an obviousness argument.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 7, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kano et al. (JP 2007-271448 A)(The following remarks are made with respect to the English translation, mailed herewith).
Regarding claim 1, Kano et al. disclose a physical property value estimation device that estimates a physical property value corresponding to a physical property required for a composite material, comprising:
... a learned physical property regression formula (strength estimation formula; see paragraph 10) corresponding to the physical property in order to calculate a physical property value (compressive strength; see paragraph 10) corresponding to a physical property predetermined as an objective variable (see paragraph 10), by using compound data (amount of clinker; see paragraph 11) of a material (clinker; see paragraph 11) that composes the composite material and feature data (crystal information; see paragraph 11) of the material as explanatory variables, and stores a feature amount value (crystal structure information values; see paragraphs 11 and 17) of the material required for calculating the feature data;
... compound data of the material that composes the composite material as an estimation target (see paragraphs 10-11 and 17); and
... the physical property regression formula corresponding to the physical property from the storage unit, and calculates the physical property value based on the obtained compound data by using the obtained physical property regression formula (see paragraphs 11 and 17),
wherein the physical property regression formula established by using the compound data and the feature data includes a feature function (the functional dependences on the crystal structure information; see paragraphs 11 and 17) for calculating the feature data from the compound data and the feature amount value.
Kano et al. does not disclose the highlighted limitations:
a storage unit that stores a learned physical property regression formula ... ;
a reception unit that receives compound data of the material ... ; and
a physical property calculation unit that obtains the physical property regression formula ... , and calculates the physical property value ... .
Examiner takes official notice that it is well-known and common knowledge to include memory and processor units to perform these functions.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the invention of Kano et al. to incorporate a storage unit that stores a learned physical property regression formula ... ; a reception unit that receives compound data of the material ... ; and a physical property calculation unit that obtains the physical property regression formula ... , and calculates the physical property value ..., because such a modification would have combined prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. at 416, 82 USPQ2d at 1395.
Regarding claim 3, Kano et al. further teaches the physical property value estimation device, according to claim 1, wherein the feature data is structural feature data of the material (crystal structure; see paragraphs 11 and 17).
Regarding claim 7, see the foregoing rejection of claim 1, which is very similar, with clearly corresponding limitations. However, note that the reception unit and physical property calculation unit are listed later in claim 1
Regarding claim 8, see the foregoing rejection of claim 7.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GEOFFREY T EVANS whose telephone number is (571)272-2369. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9 AM - 5:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Walter Lindsay can be reached at (571) 272-1674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WALTER L LINDSAY JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2852
/GEOFFREY T EVANS/Examiner, Art Unit 2852