DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 May 26, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment and response filed on May 26, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1-7 and 9 are pending. Claims 1-6 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected claim grouping. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on October 21, 2025. Claims 7 and 9 are pending and directed to the elected invention.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Dow Global Technologies LLC (WO 2019/173058).
Dow discloses an electrical steel sheet comprising an electrical steel sheet substrate (pg 25, line 14) and a bonding coating layer that includes an adhesive resin and a bonding additive (pg 20, lines 15-20). The adhesive resin is a polyurethane that can contain aromatic isocyanate components, such as 4, 4’-methylene-diphenyldiisocyanate and 2,4-methylene-diphenyldiisocyanate (pg 5, line 19-29), which reads on instantly claimed Chemical Formula 7.
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.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dow Global Technologies LLC (WO 2019/173058) in view of Posco (KR 10-2019-0078162, which is cited on IDS of 06/21/2023). US Pub 2021/0071047 is a family member English language equivalent to KR ‘162 and relied upon in the below rejection.
Dow does not specifically disclose an electrical steel sheet laminate comprising a plurality of electrical steel sheets. As noted above, Dow discloses that the adhesive coating can be used with electrical steel sheet substrates (pg 25, line 14). Dow further states that the adhesive exhibits good latency, long open times, and faster handling strength build up properties (pg 24, lines 3-6). Posco discloses that it is known in the art to bond a plurality of electrical steel sheets with a similar polyurethane-based adhesive in order to obtain a laminated structure suitable for use in motor or transformer applications [0004]. It would have obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have prepared an electrical steel sheet laminate suitable for use in motor or transformer application, as taught in Posco, using the steel sheets and adhesive components of Dow, motivated by the desire to obtain a laminate having desired latency and strength build up properties, as taught in Dow.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed May 26, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The argument that Dow only discloses an adhesive for assembling vehicle parts and does not disclose an electrical steel sheet is not persuasive. Dow discloses the following (see page 25, lines 12-15): “Advantageously, the 2K PU adhesive of the present invention can be suitable as a structural adhesive. The 2K PU adhesive of the present invention can be used, for example, to bond together composites; coated metals such as e-coated steel, e-coated aluminum and the like; and sheet-molded compounds (SMC); and mixtures of such materials.” (Emphasis added).
The argument that POSCO discloses an electrical steel sheet and laminate but does not disclose Chemical Formula 7. This is recognized in the above rejection. However, one cannot show non-obviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). In the present case, it is Dow that is relied upon to teach the adhesive having Chemical Formula 7, not POSCO, which is relied on to teach the electrical steel sheet laminate.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Blaine Copenheaver whose telephone number is (571)272-1156. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5.
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/BLAINE COPENHEAVER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1781
