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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/05/2023, 03/15/2024, and 09/04/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-6 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claims 2-6: the limitation “a welded member” as cited in line 1, should be changed to --the welded member--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1-3 and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hamlock et al. (US 20150239061 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Hamlock discloses
A method for manufacturing a welded member (steel component and steel weld nut, fig.4) in which a workpiece (steel component, fig.4) made of a high tensile material and a welding object (steel weld nut, fig.4) are welded [Tittle and abstract cited: “…process for projection welding a steel weld nut to an ultra high strength steel component…”], the method comprising:
welding the workpiece (steel component, fig.4) and the welding object (steel weld nut, fig.4) [steps 400 and 410, fig.4] such that welded portions are formed between the workpiece (steel component, fig.4) and the welding object (steel weld nut, fig.4) by performing projection welding [step 420, fig.4] [Par.0025 cited: “…steel component and weld nut are assembled with a DC projection welding machine at step 420…”]; and
applying a cancellation stress [step 430, fig.4] to the welded member (steel component and steel weld nut, fig.4) after the projection welding [step 420, fig.4], so that a stress that is generated in the welded portions after the projection welding [step 420, fig.4] and acts in a direction to pull the welded portions close to each other is canceled [Par.0025 cited: “…a predetermined force/pressure, weld current and weld time is applied to the weld nut-steel assembly at step 430.…”].
Regarding claim 2, Hamlock discloses
the cancellation stress [step 430, fig.4] is generated by applying a load to a load target (conical shaped projections 24, fig.2A-B) which is a target portion of the welded member (steel component and steel weld nut, fig.4) to which the load is applied.
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Regarding claim 3, Hamlock discloses
the load target (conical shaped projections 24, fig.2A-B) is a nut (steel weld nut, fig.4) which is the welding object (steel weld nut, fig.4), and the cancellation stress [step 430, fig.4] is generated by using a member (top surface of steel weld nut, fig.4) arranged along a central axis of a screw hole of the nut (steel weld nut, fig.4) to apply a load to the nut (steel weld nut, fig.4) in a direction in which the nut (steel weld nut, fig.4) moves away from the workpiece (steel component, fig.4).
Regarding claim 5, Hamlock discloses
the cancellation stress [step 430, fig.4] is generated by pushing the nut (steel weld nut, fig.4) in a direction in which the nut (steel weld nut, fig.4) moves away from the workpiece (steel component, fig.4).
Regarding claim 6, Hamlock discloses
the cancellation stress [step 430, fig.4] is generated by pulling the nut (steel weld nut, fig.4) in a direction in which the nut (steel weld nut, fig.4) moves away from the workpiece (steel component, fig.4).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamlock et al. (US 20150239061 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Hamlock discloses substantially all the features as set forth in the claim above, such as the load target (conical shaped projections 24, fig.2A-B), the workpiece (steel component, fig.4), the welding object (steel weld nut, fig.4) is a nut (steel weld nut, fig.4)….and the cancellation stress [step 430, fig.4] is generated by compressing surroundings of the nut (steel weld nut, fig.4) in the workpiece (steel component, fig.4) in a thickness direction of the workpiece (steel component, fig.4).
However, Hamlock does not disclose the load target is the workpiece.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to relocate a load target of Hamlock, is on the workpiece, as it well known in the art of manufacturing design choice of re-arrangement parts, in order to provide a compress load on the workpiece.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHUONG T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1834. The examiner can normally be reached 9.00am-5.00pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven Crabb can be reached on 571-270-5095. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PHUONG T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761
01/25/2026