DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
This office action is responsive to the amendment filed on 06/19/26. As directed by the amendment: claims 12 and 16-19 have been amended; claims 1-11 have been cancelled; and claim 32 has been added. Thus, claims 12-32 are presently pending in this application.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
Claims 12-23 and 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han et al. (KR 20150066192)
With regard to claim 12, Han teaches a submerged arc welding wire (Title: “submerged arc welding and gas metal arc welding wire having high strength and superior toughness at ultra-low temperature”) having a composition comprising, by mass %, C: 0.20 to 0.80% (Table 1 - example 1; C: .6), Si: 0.15 to 0.90% (Table 1 - example 1; Si: .8), Mn: 15.0 to 30.0% (Table 1 - example 1; Mn: 20), P: 0.030% or less (Table 1 - example 1; P: .015), S: 0.030% or less (Table 1 - example 1; S: .01), Cr: 6.0 to 15.0% (Table 1 - example 1; Cr: .7), and N: 0.120% or less (Table 1 - example 1; N: .02), the balance being Fe and incidental impurities (“and the balance Fe and other unavoidable impurities are contained in an amount of not more than 0.1% by mass”, pg. 2, ln. 21).
Han does not explicitly teach the exact claimed ranges for the aforementioned chemical elements; however, it is submitted that as the citation teaches values which are overlapping the claimed range values, a case of obviousness exists (see MPEP 2144.05 Obviousness of Similar and Overlapping Ranges, Amounts and Proportions: “I. OVERLAPPING, APPROACHING, AND SIMILAR RANGES, AMOUNTS, AND PROPORTIONS In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990)”, and accordingly, it is submitted that it would have been obvious before the effective date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to adapt the claimed ranges of Han as appropriate for the purpose of achieving a joint having high strength and enhanced cryogenic toughness as a matter of routine experimentation and/or since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
With regard to the limitation of “inevitable impurities comprising one or more selected from the group consisting of O, Sn, Sb, As, Pb and Bi, it is submitted the prior citation teaches “unavoidable impurities are contained in an amount of not more than 0.1% by mass”, and as such, it is respectfully submitted that the claimed “inevitable impurities” are not critical to the subject invention as they are by-products resultant from a composition formation process of the subject welding wire,. Furthermore, as the instant patent application describes the impurities as being “incidental” and accordingly not critical, the Examiner is providing limited patentable weight to the aforementioned limitations.
With regard to claim 13, Han teaches the composition further comprises, by mass %, at least one of following (A) to (C); (A) one or two selected from Ni: 10.00% or less (Table 1 – example 1; Ni: 6) and Mo: 3.50% or less (Table 1 – example 1; Mo: 2), (B) one, or two or more selected from V: 1.0% or less, Ti: 1.0% or less, and Nb: 1.00% or less., (C) one, or two or more selected from Cu: 1.00% or less, Al: 0.100% or less, Ca: 0.010% or less, and REM: 0.020% or less.
With regard to claim 14, Han teaches the wire is a solid wire (“Solid wires for submerged arc welding having a diameter of 4.0 mm as shown in Table 1 below were prepared.“, pg. 3, ln. 40-41) or a flux-cored wire.
With regard to claim 15, Han teaches the wire is a solid wire (“Solid wires for submerged arc welding having a diameter of 4.0 mm as shown in Table 1 below were prepared.“, pg. 3, ln. 40-41) or a flux-cored wire.
With regard to claim 16, Han teaches a method for producing a weld joint (“The present invention having the above-described structure can provide a welded joint having excellent toughness at low temperature and yield strength at room temperature while preventing high temperature cracking during welding while maintaining the welded joint in an austenite phase excellent in toughness even in a cryogenic environment.”, pg. 2, ln. 14-16), comprising submerged arc welding a high-Mn content steel material containing 10 to 35 mass% (“steel sheet contains … 15 to 32” of Mn”, pg. 2, ln. 8) using the submerged arc welding wire described in claim 12 (see correlations above for claim 12).
With regard to claim 17, Han teaches a method for producing a weld joint (“The present invention having the above-described structure can provide a welded joint having excellent toughness at low temperature and yield strength at room temperature while preventing high temperature cracking during welding while maintaining the welded joint in an austenite phase excellent in toughness even in a cryogenic environment.”, pg. 2, ln. 14-16), comprising submerged arc welding a high-Mn content steel material containing 10 to 35 mass% (“steel sheet contains … 15 to 32” of Mn”, pg. 2, ln. 8) using the submerged arc welding wire described in claim 13 (see correlations above for claim 13).
With regard to claim 18, Han teaches a method for producing a weld joint (“The present invention having the above-described structure can provide a welded joint having excellent toughness at low temperature and yield strength at room temperature while preventing high temperature cracking during welding while maintaining the welded joint in an austenite phase excellent in toughness even in a cryogenic environment.”, pg. 2, ln. 14-16), comprising submerged arc welding a high-Mn content steel material containing 10 to 35 mass% (“steel sheet contains … 15 to 32” of Mn”, pg. 2, ln. 8) using the submerged arc welding wire described in claim 14 (see correlations above for claim 14).
With regard to claim 19, Han teaches a method for producing a weld joint (“The present invention having the above-described structure can provide a welded joint having excellent toughness at low temperature and yield strength at room temperature while preventing high temperature cracking during welding while maintaining the welded joint in an austenite phase excellent in toughness even in a cryogenic environment.”, pg. 2, ln. 14-16), comprising submerged arc welding a high-Mn content steel material containing 10 to 35 mass% (“steel sheet contains … 15 to 32” of Mn”, pg. 2, ln. 8) using the submerged arc welding wire described in claim 15 (see correlations above for claim 15).
With regard to claim 20, Han teaches the Mn content, by mass %, in the high-Mn content steel material is 15.0 to 30.0% (“steel sheet contains … 15 to 32” of Mn”, pg. 2, ln. 8).
With regard to claim 21, Han teaches the Mn content, by mass %, in the high-Mn content steel material is 15.0 to 30.0% (“steel sheet contains … 15 to 32” of Mn”, pg. 2, ln. 8).
With regard to claim 22, Han teaches the Mn content, by mass %, in the high-Mn content steel material is 15.0 to 30.0% (“steel sheet contains … 15 to 32” of Mn”, pg. 2, ln. 8).
With regard to claim 23, Han teaches the Mn content, by mass %, in the high-Mn content steel material is 15.0 to 30.0% (“steel sheet contains … 15 to 32” of Mn”, pg. 2, ln. 8).
With regard to claim 32, with regard to the limitation of the composition comprises by mass%, Cr 6.3 to 15.0%, it is submitted that the claimed range is not critical as para. [0017] of the written description of the instant patent application states that in one example the mass% range of Cr may be 2.5 to 15%. Furthermore, the cited prior art citation explicitly teaches that Cr may be less than or equal to 5.5%.
Claims 24-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han et al. (KR 20150066192) in view of Kim et al. (KR 20150066190).
With regard to claims 24-27, Han teaches the invention as detailed above, and further teaches the high-Mn content steel material (“steel sheet”: “steel sheet contains … 15 to 32” of Mn”, pg. 2, ln. 8) has a composition comprising, by mass %, C: 0.10 to 0.80%, Si: 0.05 to 1.00%, Mn: 15.0 to 30.0%, S: 0.030% or less, Cr: 2.5 to 15.0%, and N: 0.120% or less, the balance being Fe and incidental impurities (“The steel sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the steel sheet contains 0.15 to 0.8% of C, 0.5 to 1.5% of Si, 15 to 32% of Mn, 5.5 to 4.0% of Cr, 1.5 to 3% of Mo, 0.025% or less of S, To a wire for submerged welding and gas metal arc welding excellent in high strength and cryogenic impact toughness including B: 0.01% or less, Ti: 0.05-1.2%, N: 0.005-0.5%, balance Fe and other unavoidable impurities .”, pg. 2, ln. 20-23).
However, Han does not teach the high-Mn content steel material including P: 0.030% or less. However, Kim from the same field of endeavor directed toward a welded joint having high strength and superior toughness at ultra-low temperature teaches the aforementioned limitation: “a welded joint obtained by welding a high-strength high Mn steel for cryogenic temperature, wherein the welded portion comprises …. Strength weld joint which is excellent in cryogenic toughness including: not more than 0.02%....”, pg. 2, ln 10-14.
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device in the Han reference, such that the high-Mn content steel material including P: 0.030% or less, as suggested and taught by Kim, for the purpose of providing a high-strength high MN steel for a cryogenic temperature (Kim: pg. 2, ln. 10-14).
With regard to claim 28, Han teaches the composition of the high-Mn content steel material (“steel sheet”: “steel sheet contains … 15 to 32” of Mn”, pg. 2, ln. 8) further comprises, by mass %, at least one of following (A) to (C); (A) one or two selected from Ni: 10.00% or less and Mo: 3.50% or less., (B) one, or two or more selected from V: 2.0% or less, Ti: 1.0% or less, and Nb: 1.00% or less, (C) one, or two or more selected from Cu: 1.00% or less, Al: 0.100% or less, Ca: 0.010% or less, and REM: 0.020% or less.
With regard to claim 29, Han teaches the composition of the high-Mn content steel material (“steel sheet”: “steel sheet contains … 15 to 32” of Mn”, pg. 2, ln. 8) further comprises, by mass %, at least one of following (A) to (C); (A) one or two selected from Ni: 10.00% or less and Mo: 3.50% or less (“The steel sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the steel sheet contains 0.15 to 0.8% of C, 0.5 to 1.5% of Si, 15 to 32% of Mn, 5.5 to 4.0% of Cr, 1.5 to 3% of Mo, 0.025% or less of S, To a wire for submerged welding and gas metal arc welding excellent in high strength and cryogenic impact toughness including B: 0.01% or less, Ti: 0.05-1.2%, N: 0.005-0.5%, balance Fe and other unavoidable impurities .”, pg. 2, ln. 20-23)., (B) one, or two or more selected from V: 2.0% or less, Ti: 1.0% or less, and Nb: 1.00% or less, (C) one, or two or more selected from Cu: 1.00% or less, Al: 0.100% or less, Ca: 0.010% or less, and REM: 0.020% or less.
With regard to claim 30, Han teaches the composition of the high-Mn content steel material (“steel sheet”: “steel sheet contains … 15 to 32” of Mn”, pg. 2, ln. 8) further comprises, by mass %, at least one of following (A) to (C); (A) one or two selected from Ni: 10.00% or less and Mo: 3.50% or less (“The steel sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the steel sheet contains 0.15 to 0.8% of C, 0.5 to 1.5% of Si, 15 to 32% of Mn, 5.5 to 4.0% of Cr, 1.5 to 3% of Mo, 0.025% or less of S, To a wire for submerged welding and gas metal arc welding excellent in high strength and cryogenic impact toughness including B: 0.01% or less, Ti: 0.05-1.2%, N: 0.005-0.5%, balance Fe and other unavoidable impurities .”, pg. 2, ln. 20-23), (B) one, or two or more selected from V: 2.0% or less, Ti: 1.0% or less, and Nb: 1.00% or less, (C) one, or two or more selected from Cu: 1.00% or less, Al: 0.100% or less, Ca: 0.010% or less, and REM: 0.020% or less.
With regard to claim 31, Han teaches the composition of the high-Mn content steel material (“steel sheet”: “steel sheet contains … 15 to 32” of Mn”, pg. 2, ln. 8) further comprises, by mass %, at least one of following (A) to (C); (A) one or two selected from Ni: 10.00% or less and Mo: 3.50% or less (“The steel sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the steel sheet contains 0.15 to 0.8% of C, 0.5 to 1.5% of Si, 15 to 32% of Mn, 5.5 to 4.0% of Cr, 1.5 to 3% of Mo, 0.025% or less of S, To a wire for submerged welding and gas metal arc welding excellent in high strength and cryogenic impact toughness including B: 0.01% or less, Ti: 0.05-1.2%, N: 0.005-0.5%, balance Fe and other unavoidable impurities .”, pg. 2, ln. 20-23), (B) one, or two or more selected from V: 2.0% or less, Ti: 1.0% or less, and Nb: 1.00% or less, (C) one, or two or more selected from Cu: 1.00% or less, Al: 0.100% or less, Ca: 0.10% or less, and REM: 0.020% or less.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot in view of the newly presented prior art rejections. With regard to Applicant’s arguments regarding the cited prior art’s teachings related to “Cr”, it is respectfully submitted that the citation explicitly teaches “Therefore, the content of chromium is preferably limited to 5.5% by weight or less.”, and accordingly, does not explicitly teach away from a value above the 5.5% by weight. Additionally, comparative example #4 indicates Cr having a value of 7% by weight. Furthermore, the written description of the instant patent application explicitly teaches at para. [0031]: “Chromium acts as an element that stabilizes the austenite phase at cryogenic temperatures to enhance the cryogenic toughness of a weld metal … In order to obtain these effects, the Cr content needs to be 6.0% or more.” Accordingly, as the written description of the instant patent application places criticality of Cr having a value of 6.0% or more, and as the cited prior art provides a comparative example in which the Cr value is 7%, it is submitted that the cited prior art does not teach away from the claimed invention of the instant patent application.
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 JOSEPH W ISKRA whose telephone number is (313) 446-4866. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 09:00-17:00 EST.
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/JOSEPH W ISKRA/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
/IBRAHIME A ABRAHAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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