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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/20/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1-3, 5-16, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Tour (US 2005/0233158) in view of Sui (US 2016/0010022).
The art is considered to teach all the elements of newly amended claim 1.
Tour teaches a metal surface coated with molecules having linking groups comprising thiols amides and other claimed groups attaching carbon nanotubes to the surface and a second metal surface that can form a sliding member (See [0046], Abstract, figures and claims, [0059-0060] ).
Regarding claim 8, the claimed molecules are met Tour (See figures and claims).
The metal surface can be gold, silver and other alloys thereof (See claim 34).
Regarding claims to 3 or more connective functional groups the art teaches multiple thiol or other connective groups to a CNT (See figures), meeting the claim limitations.
To the extent to which one of ordinary skill has to pick between embodiments it would have been obvious to provide an embodiment within the claimed ranges of molecules and functional groups that overlap with the claimed art.
The art is considered to encompass new claim 19. See figures, including those included in claims (particularly claim 5) depicting molecules attached to functional groups that would meet and /pr render obvious the claimed molecular structure.
[0045] Once the interconnects are treated with the above oligomers and polymers, they also have the advantage of presenting a contact surface with a lubricity higher than present in untreated contacts, thereby reducing the rate of physical wear of the contact surfaces subject to repeated connection/disconnection cycles or long-term vibrations. It is expected that all or nearly all of the above-noted oligomers and polymers exhibit this lubricity property since the pendant moieties are hydrophobic and there is no H-bonding mechanism from which they can adhere to each other. These hydrophobic (lipophilic) interactions are very weak relative to dipolar and H-bonding interactions, and therefore the coatings do not "stick" to other surfaces [0045].
Contacts in which lubricity is important include sliding contacts in motors which are typically subject to substantial friction and wear that produces undesirable electrical noise. Lubricants often used on such contacts to reduce the wear (such as graphite and molybdenum disulfide) may have deleterious effects on conductivity because, inter alia, their surface coatings are much thicker than the coatings disclosed here, therefore they are not readily shifted away from the desired metal-to-metal mating contact areas. Other examples of contacts in which lubricity is important are make/break contacts such as are found in electrical relays. These are particularly subject to electrical and material breakdown [0046-0047] Tour.
Claims 1-3, 5-16, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Tour (US 2005/0233158), as above, in view of Sui.
The art may not teach the nanohorns as claimed.
Sui (US 2016/0010022) teaches Carbon nanotube or graphene nanoribbons or carbon nanohorns (and/or combinations thereof) can be added to a lubricant and put between two sliding or motor surfaces (see [0021-0022, and claims). The material with a polymer or organic molecule with functional groups and the nanohorn(s) are good in high temperatures (see claims and abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to provide nanohorns in order to provide a high temperature lubricant between two surfaces at an interface as Tour teaches the connective material can have usefulness of providing lubricating effects.
The art is considered to encompass new claim 19. See figures, including those included in claims (particularly claim 5) depicting molecules attached to functional groups that would meet and /pr render obvious the claimed molecular structure.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/20/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The 112 has been overcome by Examiner amendment.
[0045] Once the interconnects are treated with the above oligomers and polymers, they also have the advantage of presenting a contact surface with a lubricity higher than present in untreated contacts, thereby reducing the rate of physical wear of the contact surfaces subject to repeated connection/disconnection cycles or long-term vibrations. It is expected that all or nearly all of the above-noted oligomers and polymers exhibit this lubricity property since the pendant moieties are hydrophobic and there is no H-bonding mechanism from which they can adhere to each other. These hydrophobic (lipophilic) interactions are very weak relative to dipolar and H-bonding interactions, and therefore the coatings do not "stick" to other surfaces [0045].
Contacts in which lubricity is important include sliding contacts in motors which are typically subject to substantial friction and wear that produces undesirable electrical noise. Lubricants often used on such contacts to reduce the wear (such as graphite and molybdenum disulfide) may have deleterious effects on conductivity because, inter alia, their surface coatings are much thicker than the coatings disclosed here, therefore they are not readily shifted away from the desired metal-to-metal mating contact areas. Other examples of contacts in which lubricity is important are make/break contacts such as are found in electrical relays. These are particularly subject to electrical and material breakdown [0046-0047] Tour.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention to provide nanohorns in order to provide a high temperature lubricant between two surfaces at an interface as Tour teaches the connective material can have usefulness of providing lubricating effects.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL H MILLER whose telephone number is (571)272-1534. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 9-6.
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/DANIEL H MILLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1783