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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Applicant elected Invention I (Claims 1-3), drawn to product of a plated steel sheet with Al-based plated layer, classified in class B32B15/012 for examination, without traverse. Therefore, Claims 7-11 have been cancelled; Claims 4-6 and 12-13 are withdrawn from consideration as non-elected claims, Claims 1-3 remain for examination, wherein claim 1 is an independent claim.
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 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.
Claim(s) 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Tabata (US-PG-pub 2021/0355560, thereafter PG’560).
Regarding claim 1, PG’560 teaches a coated steel member and coated steel sheet excellent in hydrogen embrittlement resistance in a corrosive environment for hot press (abstract and par.[0183] of PG’560), which reads on the claimed plated steel sheet for hot press as claimed in the instant claim. PG’560 teaches the Al-based coating with 0-1.0 mass% Ni (par.[0131] of PG’560). PG’560 provides working example #D17 in table 10-2 having 0.1 mass% Ni in the Al-based coating, which is within the claimed Ni range of 0.05-0.35 wt% as claimed in the instant claim. Since PG’560 teaches all limitation in the instant claim, Claim 1 anticipated by PG’560.
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(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PG’560.
Regarding claim 2, The comparison between the claimed alloy composition ranges and the example #A18 in table 1 of PG’560 has been listed in following table. All of the essential alloy composition ranges disclosed in the example #A18 in table 1 of PG’560 are within the claimed alloy composition ranges. It is noted the Ti range disclosed in the example #A18 in table 1 of PG’560 is outside the claimed Ti range. However, PG’560 teaches adjusting the Ti in range of 0.010-0.100 mass% (par.[0077]), which overlaps the claimed Ti range. Overlapping Ti range creates a prima facie case of obviousness. MPEP 2144 05 I. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to optimize the Ti amount as claimed from the disclosure of PG’560 since PG’560 teaches the same Al-based coated steel sheet as claimed throughout whole disclosing range.
Element
From instant Claim 2 (mass %)
#A18 in table 1 of PG’560 (mass %)
Within range
(mass %)
C
0.07-0.5
0.33
0.33
Si
0.05-1
0.39
0.39
Mn
0.5-4
0.65
0.65
P
0.001-0.015
0.012
0.012
S
0.0001-0.02
0.0008
0.0008
Al
0.01-0.1
0.05
0.05
Cr
0.01-1
0.7
0.7
N
0.0010.02
0.004
0.004
Ti
0.01 or less
0.040
Adjusting range:
0.010-0.100 (par.[0077])
--
Overlap at 0.01
B
0.01 or less
0.0025
0.0025
Fe
Balance + impurities
Balance + impurities
Balance + impurities
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PG’560 and further in view of Kim et al (US-PG-pub 2020/0190620 A1, thereafter PG’620).
Regarding claim 3, PG’560 teaches an Al-based alloy coated steel sheet (abstract, par.[0077] and [0183] of PG’560). PG’560 does not specify concentration gradient Al based plating layer as claimed in the instant claim. PG’620 teaches a steel sheet for a hot press formed member having excellent coating adhesion (Abstract and examples of PG’620). PG’620 teaches a concentration gradient in the Al alloy plated layer (abstract, claims, examples, par.[0013] and [0038] of PG’620), which reads on the claimed Al rich plating layer and the concentration gradient layer as claimed in the instant claim. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to form Al rich plating layer and the concentration gradient layer as demonstrated by PG’620 for the Al-based alloy coated steel sheet of PG’560 in order to obtain a steel sheet for a hot press formed member having excellent coating adhesion (Abstract and examples of PG’620).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIE YANG whose telephone number is (571)270-1884. The examiner can normally be reached IFP.
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/JIE YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1734
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