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
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 06/02/2026 has been entered.
Status of claims
Claim 1 has been amended; claim 7 is added as a new claim; Claims 1-7 remain for examination, wherein claim 1 is an independent claim.
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 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 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hayakawa et al (US-PG-pub 2019/0233914 A1, listed in IDS filed on 9/26/2023, thereafter PG’914).
Regarding claims 1-2, PG’914 teaches a manufacturing process a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet that has excellent magnetic properties and can be manufactured by secondary recrystallization orientation control using coil annealing with high productivity (Abstract of PG’914). All of the essential alloy composition ranges disclosed by the example #5 in table 2 of PG’914 are within the claimed alloy composition ranges. PG’914 teaches all of essential process including heating, hot-rolling, hot-band annealing, decarburization annealing, applying an annealing separator, and finishing annealing, which reads on the process steps as claimed in the instant claim 1. The parameters including heating temperature range, heating rate decarburization anneal process, heating rate at finish annealing process, and heating time during finish annealing process, disclosed by PG’914 overlap the claimed process parameters, which 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 parameters from the disclosure of PG’914 since PG’914 teaches the same as claimed the throughout whole disclosing range.
Element
From instant Claim 1 (mass%)
Example #5 in table 2 of PG’914 (mass %)
within range
(mass %)
C
0.002-0.10
0.0020
0.203
Si
2.0-8.0
3.3
1.89
Mn
0.005-1.0
0.12
2.35
Al
0.010 or less
0.0007
0.0007
N
0.0050 or less
0.0008
0.0008
Se
0.0070 or less
0.0001
0.0001
S
0.0050 or less
0.0001
0.0001
Fe
Balance + impurities
Balance + impurities
Balance + impurities
From claim 2
One or more consisting of
NI: 0.01-1.50;
Cr: 0.01-0.50;
Cu: 0.005-1.000;
P: 0.005-0.500;
Sb: 0.005-0.500;
Sn: 0.005-0.500;
Bi: 0.005-0.500;
Mo: 0.005-0.500;
Nb: 0.0010-0.0100;
Ta: 0.001-0.010;
Ti: 0.001-0.0100
Sb: 0.06
P: 0.05
Sb: 0.06
P: 0.05
From PG’914
Overlapping range
Heating (oC)
1150-1250
1050-1300 (par.[0292]-[0293]
1150-1250
Hot-rolling
Form a sheet
Hot-rolling (par.[0294]-[0296])
Reads on
Hot-band annealing
Before cold rolling
Hot-band annealing before cold rolling (par.[0297]-[0300])
Reads on
Decarburization annealing
Serve as primary recrystallized anneal
Decarburization annealing to realize primary recrystallization (par.[0048], [0312])
Reads on
Applying an annealing separator
On the surface of the steel sheet
An annealing separator on surface of the primary recrystallized steel sheet and dried ([par.0049],[0314]-[0316])
Reads on
Finishing annealing
Form a insulation coating
Anneal to form forsterite film (par.[0322]-[0323])
Reads on
Decarburization anneal
500-700oC at 100-1000oC/s
500°C. to 700°C. is 50°C./sec or more (par.[0313])
Overlapping
Rate: 100-1000oC/s
Finish anneal
800-900oC at 0.5-4.0oC/hr for at least 10hrs.
800°C- and 900°C in the secondary recrystallization annealing is preferably 5°C/h or less for 2-20 hrs. (par.[0320]-[0321])
Overlapping
Rate: 0.5-4.0oC/hr for 10-20 hrs.
From claim 7
Heating rate at
1150-1250 oC
5oC/hr or more
1200oC at 20oC/hr (PG’137)
20oC/hr
Claims 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PG’914 in view of Sakai et al (US-PG-pub 2013/0017408, thereafter PG’408).
Regarding claims 3-6, PG’914 does not specify forming a groove after cold rolling in a direction intersecting the rolling direction (cl.3 and 5) by irradiation of electron beam or laser (cl.4 and 6). PG’408 teaches a manufacturing process of a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet (Title, abstract, and claims of PG’408). PG’408 specify forming grooves each having a given length and extending in a direction intersecting a transportation direction of the grain-oriented electrical steel sheet by laser irradiation (Fig.5, par.[0022], [0047] of PG’408), which reads on the calmed limitations of as claimed in the instant clams. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made of forming a groove after cold rolling in a direction intersecting the rolling direction by irradiation of electron beam or laser as claimed from the disclosure of PG’408 in the process of PG’914 since PG’408 specify forming grooves to obtain the desired properties (Title, abstract, and claims of PG’408).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PG’914 in view of Ehashi et al (US-PG-pub 2022/0042137 A1, thereafter PG’137)..
Regarding claim 7, PG’914 does not specify the heating rate at temperature range 1150-1250oC. PG’137 teaches a manufacturing process of a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet with all of the alloy composition ranges (Title, abstract, and claims of PG’137) overlapping the claimed composition ranges. MPEP 2144 05 I. PG’137 specify heating rate at 1200oC with heating rate 20oC/hr (par.[0035], [0075] of PG’137), which reads on the claimed heating rate in temperature range of 1150-1250oC. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to adjusting heating rate at heating temperature range as claimed from the disclosure of PG’137 in the process of PG’914 in order to obtain desired grain-oriented electrical steel sheet (Title, abstract, and claims of PG’137).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments to the art rejection to Claims 1-7 have been considered but it is not persuasive in view of rejection as stated above. Regarding the arguments related to the amended features in the instant claims, the Examiner’s position has stated as above.
The Applicant’s arguments are summarized as following:
1, the cited prior art(s), Hayakawa et al (PG’914) fails to disclose, teach, or suggest a step of gradual heating that is conducted from 800 to 900oC in a heating process of finishing annealing at a heating rate of 0.5-4.0oC/hr for at least 10 hours since no examples in Hayakawa et al (PG’914) meet the claimed parameters.
2, Claims 2-6 depend on claim 1, they are also allowed.
In response,
Regarding the Applicant arguments 1-2, Firstly, as pointed out in the rejection for above, Hayakawa et al (PG’914) indicates that: “In terms of completing secondary recrystallization, the average heating rate in a temperature range of 800° C. or more and 900° C. or less in the secondary recrystallization annealing is preferably 5° C./h or less.” (Par.[0320] of PG’914) for 2-20h (par.[0321] of PG’914), which is same annealing temperature range as claimed and overlapping the heating rate of 0.5-4.0oC/hr and duration as claimed in the instant claim 1. MPEP 2144 05 I. Actually, PG’914 provides examples heating from 800° C to 880° C at 2.0oC/h. and hold for 50hrs, (par.[0346]-[0348] of PG’914), which reads on the claimed heating parameters as calmed in the instant claim. Secondly, there is no evidence (properties or microstructure improvement) to show the criticality of the argued process parameters.
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 on IFP.
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/JIE YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1734
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