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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 4/6/2026 has been entered.
Claim Status
An amendment, filed 4/6/2026, is acknowledged. Claim 1 is amended. Claims 1-4 are currently pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 1, as amended 4/6/2026, recites “wherein the steel plate is subjected to deep cooling treatment at -196 °C, an amount of retained γ decreases less than 5 % in volume fraction compared with that before the deep cooling treatment and the amount of the retained γ is 0.5% or more in volume fraction.”
While this amendment improves the clarity of the limitation by removing the indefinite phrase “decrease ratio,” it also removes the measurement details (“the amount of the retained γ being estimated at a depth position of 1/4 from a surface of the steel plate in a thickness direction”). These measurement details narrow the scope of the disclosure of the retained γ content. That is, the instant specification only provides support for retained γ measurements before and after a deep cooling treatment at the location of 1/4 depth from a surface of the steel plate and does not provide support for retained γ contents or a decrease in retained γ for the overall/total sheet or in other portions of the sheet. As the amended limitations recite retained γ contents and an amount of decrease in retained γ that may be interpreted as applying to other portions of the sheet including the whole sheet, rather than at a 1/4 depth from the sheet surface, these limitations are broader than that supported by the disclosure as originally filed, and are considered new matter. Claims 2-4 are rejected based on their dependency.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 4/6/2026, with respect to the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive in view of Applicant’s amendments to the claims. Specifically, Furuya and Kawata teach a steel plate comprising retained austenite but fail to teach wherein an average Mn concentration in retained austenite is less than 2 mass% and an average Ni concentration in retained austenite is 12 mass% more. The instant specification provides sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the content of Mn and Ni in retained austenite is not inherent to the composition of the steel plate. (see Tables 1-2). Therefore, the rejections have been withdrawn.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. JP-5561442-B1, drawn to a steel plate disclosing Mn and Ni concentrations in retained austenite, but falling outside the claimed ranges.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN A HEVEY whose telephone number is (571)270-0361. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00-5:30.
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/JOHN A HEVEY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1735
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