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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 7/09/2026 has been entered.
Claim Interpretation
Formula 1 for claim 1: the following Table illustrates the values of Q as a function of G, to aid in determining claim scope.
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.
Claims 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 108367376 in view of either JP 5293653 or KR 10-2018-0031046 and optionally in view of Jones et al (2013/0136540). CN ‘376 teaches (1) A gas-shielded arc welding method for one-side butt welding of steel plates 1 in a horizontal direction [intended use], the method comprising, with a ceramic-made backing material 6 [¶ 0021] attached to a bottom surface of a groove, performing root pass 7 in one pass using a welding speed S of 100 to 250 mm/min [top of page 14 of the translation, the range includes “welding speed (upwards): 1~15cm/ minutes (preferably 4cm/ minutes or more and 9cm/ minutes or less)”], a welding current I (A) of 200 to 450 A, a welding voltage V (V) of 25 to 50 V, and a welding heat input Q (kJ/mm) within a range defined by the following formula 1: 0.4×G−1 ≤Q≤0.6×G+1
where G in formula 1 is a root gap (mm) [Example 15 in Tables 1, 2 teaches 270 A, 28 V, G of 10 mm, and a calculated Q1 of 4.5 kJ/mm when the welding speed is increased from 76 mm/min (of e.g. example 15) to 100 mm/min (claimed range)], which is in the range of 3-7]. As CN ‘376 teaches a wider range of speeds is contemplated, including up to 150 mm/min [with other example e.g. 92 mm/min (Example 2), it would have been obvious to increase the welding speed to greater than 100 mm/min, as within the contemplated range of CN ‘376, and an obvious matter of using the workable ranges in the art. Accordingly, using the calculated Q of example 15 with a welding speed of 100 mm/min, results in calculated Q of 4.5 kJ/mm when the welding speed is increased from 76 mm/min (of example 15) to 100 mm/min (claimed range)], which is in the claimed range of 3-7; (2) wherein the groove has an groove angle θ of 35° or less [20° or less]. (3) wherein the groove has an groove angle θ of 20° or less, and the root gap G is 7 to 15 mm (0.276 -0.59 in) [10 mm in Example 15]. (5, 7) wherein, in the root pass, a welding wire containing 0.015 to 0.100% by mass of a rare earth metal (REM) is used [abstract], and the welding is performed with straight polarity [associated with REM, ¶ 0079]. (9, 11, 13) A welded joint welded using the gas-shielded arc welding method according to claim 1, 3, 5 respectively. (15, 17, 19) A method for producing a welded joint, the method using the gas-shielded arc welding method according to claim 1, 3, 5, respectively. CN ‘376 already appears to teach ceramic-made backing material 6 [¶ 0021]. Alternately, JP ‘653 teach a ceramic-made backing material 4 attached to a bottom surface of a groove 3 and KR ‘046 the use of a ceramic-made backing material [¶ 0019]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to obvious to employ a ceramic-made backing material, as a high-temperature material that can withstand welding conditions. As treated above, CN ‘376 already teaches A gas-shielded arc welding method for one-side butt welding of steel plates 1 in a horizontal direction [intended use]. Alternately, Jones et al teach A gas-shielded arc welding method for one-side butt welding of steel plates 10a, 10b in a horizontal direction is equivalent to doing the welding in a vertical direction [¶ 0027]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ apply the method for one-side butt welding of steel plates in a horizontal direction, as taught by Jones et al, as an equivalent orientation to the vertical direction.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 10-29091 in view of KR 10-2018-0031046. JP ‘091 teaches (1) A gas-shielded arc welding method for one-side butt welding of steel plates in a horizontal direction, the method comprising, with a backing material 15 attached to a bottom surface of a groove, performing root pass in one pass using a welding speed S of 100 to 250 mm/min [150 mm/min, Ex. 31 and 100 mm/min Ex. 25], a welding current I (A) of 200 to 450 A, a welding voltage V (V) of 25 to 50 V, and a welding heat input Q (kJ/mm) within a range defined by the following formula 1: 0.4×G−1 ≤Q≤0.6×G+1 where G in formula 1 is a root gap (mm) [see ¶ 0040, Example 31 with 250 A, 30 V, welding speed 150 mm/min and G of 10 mm, resulting in Q of 5.63, which is within the claimed range of 3-7. Also, Example 25 has 250 A, 30 V, speed of 100 mm/min and G of 10 mm, resulting in Q of 4.5 which is within the claimed range of 3-7]. (3), and the root gap G is 7 to 15 mm (0.276 -0.59 in). JP 10-29091 does not teach backing material is ceramic-made and wherein the groove has an groove angle θ of 35 degrees or less and more narrowly 20° or less, although the groove angle appears relatively low. KR ‘046 teaches wherein the groove has an groove angle θ of 35 degrees or less and more narrowly 20° or less [see ¶ 0048] is a typical range used in the art and also teaches the use of a ceramic-made backing material [¶ 0019]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to obvious to employ a ceramic-made backing material, as a high-temperature material that can withstand welding conditions. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ an groove angle θ of 35° and more narrowly 20° or less as a typical angle utilized in the art and suitable for arc-welding. JP 10-29091 does not teach wherein, in the root pass, a welding wire containing 0.015 to 0.100% by mass of a rare earth metal (REM) is used, and the welding is performed with straight polarity. KR ‘046 teaches in the root pass, a welding wire containing 0.015 to 0.100% by mass of a rare earth metal (REM) is used [¶ 0061+], and the welding is performed with straight polarity [¶ 0064] which facilitates strong welds. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ n the root pass, a welding wire containing 0.015 to 0.100% by mass of a rare earth metal (REM) is used, and the welding is performed with straight polarity, as taught by KR ‘046 to facilitate strong welds.
Also taught, alone or in combination, are: (9, 11, 13) A welded joint welded using the gas-shielded arc welding method according to claim 1, 3, 5 respectively. (15, 17, 19) A method for producing a welded joint, the method using the gas-shielded arc welding method according to claim 1, 3, 5, respectively.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/09/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments concerning Kozuki (CN 108367376) assert that CN ‘376 is limited to vertical welding vs the invention’s horizontal welding. This is not persuasive because claim 1’s in a horizontal direction are only in the preamble and treated as intended use. Alternately, Jones et al teach A gas-shielded arc welding method for one-side butt welding of steel plates 10a, 10b in a horizontal direction is equivalent to doing the welding in a vertical direction [¶ 0027].
Applicant’s arguments concerning Yamashita (JP 10-29091 are also not persuasive. Applicant focuses only on JP ‘091 and the claimed range of groove angle θ of 35 degrees or less. However, applicant failed to argue the more narrow treatment of θ of 20° or less which was taught in combination by the KR ‘046 reference which still covers the broader range of angle θ of 35 degrees or less.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to TED KIM whose telephone number is 571-272-4829. The Examiner can be reached on regular business hours before 5:00 pm, Monday to Thursday and every other Friday.
The fax number for the organization where this application is assigned is 571-273-8300.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Devon Kramer, can be reached at 571-272-7118 Alternate inquiries to Technology Center 3700 can be made via 571-272-3700.
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/Ted Kim/
Telephone
571-272-4829
Primary Examiner
Fax
571-273-8300
July 22, 2026
1 Q= V*I *60/1000 x s, where s= welding speed
Prosecution Insights