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 .
Status of Claims
The status of the claims is unchanged from the filing on 10/04/2023. Claims 1 and 3 are as originally filed, Claims 2, 4, and 5 are currently amended, and Claims 6 and 7 are new.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2019/093384 A1 based on the machine translation.
WO 2019/093384 A1 (WO ‘384) is applied as discussed in the office action mailed 12/23/2025.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 2, and 7 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the reasons are applied as discussed in the office action mailed 12/23/2025.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/18/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues WO ‘384 does not teach or suggest the features of an average grain size of prior austenite grains is 5 to 25 μm as recited in Claim 3 and an area ratio of the prior austenite grains having an average grain size of 0.5 to 3.0 μm is 60% or less as recited in Claim 5.
Regarding Claim 3, applicant contends that WO ‘384 neither discloses nor suggests manufacturing method described in the specification. The manufacturing conditions are not claimed, and applicant does not address the average grain size of 8 μm of the prior austenite grains taught by WO ‘384 on page 7 of the machine translation. Applicant refers to [0062] from the specification to support the argument that the standard deviation of the prior austenite grain sizes is fundamentally different from the standard deviation described in the office action mailed 12/23/2025. Both [0062] and [0063] describe obtaining the crystal orientation of the prior austenite grains is not particularly limited. Claim 3 as currently recited does not limit the method by which the grains sizes are determined. The calculation of the standard deviation is calculated by excluding the minimum value and maximum value of the prior austenite grain sizes [0064].
Regarding Claim 5, the range of 60% or less reads on zero. WO ‘384 does not need to teach or suggest a range of greater than 0% and 60% or less.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tima M. McGuthry-Banks whose telephone number is (571)272-2744. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith D. Hendricks can be reached at (571) 272-1401. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Tima M. McGuthry-Banks
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1733
/TIMA M. MCGUTHRY-BANKS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733
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