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 .
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the legal phraseology such as “means” or “comprising” or “comprises” or “said” often used in the patent claims should be avoid in the abstract. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
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.
Claim(s) 1-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2015/152019A1 in view of JP 2002-538580A both cited by applicant. Regarding claims 1-2 and 8, WO 2015/152019A1 discloses, par. 0052-par. 0083 and figures 1-3, carbon fiber manufacturing device and method comprising a furnace body (27) that includes a fiber inlet and a fiber outlet which are formed on a tube wall of a waveguide (22); and a microwave oscillator (21) for introducing microwaves into the waveguide (22), the continuous fiber (31b) as the heating subject being configured to run inside the waveguide (22). However, WO 2015/152019A1 does not disclose the waveguide with an inclination at an angle θ with respect to a tube axis of the waveguide, the angle θ satisfying 0 < θ < 90, and the fiber outlet being formed at a portion other than a terminal end portion of the waveguide. JP 2002-538580A discloses a feature in which an object to be heated is moved inside a waveguide so that the object has an angle within the range of 10 < θ < 60 relative to the tube axis of said waveguide (par. 0035). It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention was made to utilize in WO 2015/152019A1 a feature in which an object to be heated is moved inside a waveguide so that the object has an angle within the range of 10 < θ < 60 relative to the tube axis of said waveguide as taught by JP 2002-538580A in order to provide the object moving inside the waveguide can be efficiently and uniformly heated. Regarding claim 3, WO 2015/152019A1 discloses, par. 0073, the waveguide is a rectangular waveguide. The position of the fiber inlet and the fiber outlet are to be set by person skill in the art in order to suit user specific application. Regarding claims 4 and 10, WO 2015/152019A1 discloses, par. 0063- par. 0064 and figure 3, the feature further including a heat-insulating tube connecting the fiber inlet and the fiber outlet; and being configured such that the continuous fiber to be heated travels through the inside of the heat-insulating tube. Regarding claims 5 and 11, WO 2015/152019A1 discloses, par. 0067, that alumina is used as a material of the heat-insulating tube. Furthermore, the material of a heat-insulating tube is to be set by a person skill in the art in order to suit user specific application. Regarding claim 6, WO 2015/152019A1 discloses, par. 0052-par. 0083 and figures 1-3, a carbon-fiber production method in which a microwave heating unit is used to heat a continuous fiber to be heated while causing the continuous fiber to travel, the carbon-fiber production method including a step in which the continuous fiber is heated to obtain a carbon fiber. The carbon content of the continuous fiber to be heated in WO 2015/152019A1 is to be set by person ordinary skill in the art to suit user specific application. It would also have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art to easily apply the invention (carbon-fiber production method) disclosed by WO 2015/152019A1 to an intermediate-carbon-fiber production method. Regarding claim 7, JP 2002-538580A, par. 0016, suggests that the object to be heated, while being moved, is heated by a portion inside the waveguide where the magnetic field is at the maximum. Regarding claims 8-11, WO 2015/152019A1 discloses, par. 0052-par. 0083 and figures 1-3, a carbon-fiber production method in which a microwave heating unit is used to heat a continuous fiber to be heated while causing the continuous fiber to travel, the carbon-fiber production method including a step in which the continuous fiber is heated to obtain a carbon fiber. The carbon content of the continuous fiber to be heated in WO 2015/152019A1 is to be set by person ordinary skill in the art to suit user specific application. It would also have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art to easily apply the invention (carbon-fiber production method) disclosed by WO 2015/152019A1 to an intermediate-carbon-fiber production method and JP 2002-538580A, par. 0016, suggests that the object to be heated, while being moved, is heated by a portion inside the waveguide where the magnetic field is at the maximum. Regarding claims 12-15, JP 2002-538580A, par. 0016, suggests that the object to be heated, while being moved, is heated by a portion inside the waveguide where the magnetic field is at the maximum.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Zushi et al (US 10,260,173) discloses carbon fiber manufacturing device and carbon fiber manufacturing method. Bartoletti et al (US 2002/0000437) discloses on-demand sauce or beverage heating system and method thereof.
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/QUANG T VAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761 August 7, 2026
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