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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 4/23/26 has been entered.
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.
Claim(s) 1-12, 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adams et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0335750 in view of Yoon et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0352838.
Adams discloses a cross laid scrim suitable for forming composite materials. The scrim comprises a plurality of layers of unidirectional multifilament bundles which are equated with the claimed rovings, (see paragraph 0033, 0034, 0040) wherein the bundles are spaced apart from each other in each layer to form a gappy structure and wherein the bundles in each layer are parallel to other bundles in that layer and at a different, (non-parallel), angle relative to bundles in other layers. See figure 1. Adams teaches selecting the orientation or angle of each successive layer in order to provide reinforcement in particular directions. See paragraphs 0016 -0018, 0041, 0067.
Adams differs from the claimed invention because it does not teach the particularly claimed spacing or gaps of each layer relative to the other layers.
However, since Adams teaches selectively placing the bundles to provide spaces within each layer and selecting orientation the respective layers to provide angular reinforcement, it would have been obvious to have selected the particular spacing of the bundles within each layer and relative to the other layers which provided the optimum strength to the composite material while maintaining the gappy structure to allow for full impregnation of the composite material. Therefore, while Adams does not teach that the gaps are larger than the size of the bundles, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have selected suitable spacing to allow for full impregnation of the composite material.
Additionally, Yoon teaches a fiber preform architecture for a composite article wherein fiber bands such as tows are laid down at different orientation angles where the bands are offset and placed so as to fill the spaces between previously disposed bands. See paragraph 0008 and claim 5 of Yoon. The gaps may have a size which is the same as or larger than the size of the tows. See paragraph 0041. Yoon teaches this method of providing the fibers results in a structure with high impact resistance and superior damage tolerance without increasing the overall weight. See paragraph 0006.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to have placed the tows of Adams so that the subsequent layers filled the gaps between the tows in the previous layers as taught by Yoon in order to provide a composite structure having high impact resistance, superior damage tolerance and no excess weight.
With regard to the limitation that the distance between the rovings provides for crimps in the roving, (wherein crimps refers to the undulations produced by one set of spaced unidirectional rovings overlying another set of spaced unidirectional rovings which are oriented in a different direction than the first set of spaced unidirectional rovings), since Adams teaches forming spaced sets of unidirectional bundles or tapes, and then placing another set of spaced unidirectional tapes extending in a different direction over the first set, and since Yoon teaches providing tapes in additional layers to fill the gaps wherein the gaps can be the same size or larger than the size of the tows, the same structure which produces the claimed crimps is present in Adams as modified by Yoon and therefore, it is reasonable to expect that the claimed crimps are necessarily present in Adams as modified by Yoon and would provide channels as claimed, because the gaps being larger than the tows is what produces the crimps in the structure.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adams et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0335750 in view of Yoon, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0352838 as applied to claims 1-2 above, and further in view of Ritti et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0116198.
Adams discloses a composite material as set forth above.
Adams differs from the claimed invention because it does not disclose impregnating the structure with a slurry of ceramic particles to form a prepreg or a molded article.
However, Ritti teaches a method of providing a composite material comprising the steps of providing a fibrous reinforcement, placing the fibrous reinforcement in a mold, injection a slurry of ceramic particles under pressure into the mold, removing excess liquid, and forming a prepreg from the molded structure. See paragraphs 0018-0026. The fibrous reinforcement can be a laid fabric. See paragraph 0054.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to have employed the particular gappy scrim of Adams as the laid scrim in Ritti in view of the teaching of Adams that the gappy scrim provides tailorable impregnation and reinforcement to a composite material.
Applicant’s amendments, arguments and Declaration under 1.132 are sufficient to overcome the previous rejections. A new rejection including the Yoon reference is set forth above.
With regard to the argument that the tapes of Adams are coated with adhesive, since they are still described as flexible tapes, it is reasonable to expect that the crimps would form, especially once gaps and tapes are disposed as taught by Yoon.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH M IMANI whose telephone number is (571)272-1475. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Wednesday 7AM-7:30; Thursday 10AM -2 PM.
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/ELIZABETH M IMANI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1789
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