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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claim 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Renegar (US# 2022/0250684) in view of Martino Gonzalez et al (US# 2017/0058985).
Renegar discloses a thin-walled tube 112 filled with metamaterials including a thin-walled tube body with a porous structure, wherein each hole of the thin-walled tube body is filled. Figures 11-12. Renegar lacks the disclosure of the holes of the body being filled with a PPR filling strip or a NPR filling strip; the PPR filling strip comprises a plurality of PPR cells that are connected in sequence, and the PPR filling strip is a metamaterial with a positive Poisson ratio; the NPR filling strip comprises a plurality of NPR cells that are connected in sequence, and the NPR filling strip is a metamaterial with a negative Poisson ratio. Martino Gonzalez et al discloses a similar impact absorber and further teach PPR filling strips 25 and NPR filling strips 35; the PPR filling strip comprises a plurality of PPR cells that are connected in sequence, and the PPR filling strip is a metamaterial with a positive Poisson ratio; the NPR filling strip comprises a plurality of NPR cells that are connected in sequence, and the NPR filling strip is a metamaterial with a negative Poisson ratio. [0026]-[0029] Figures 3a-7b. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use PPR and NPR filling strips, such as taught by Martino Gonzalez et al, to fill the layers 128/130 or 126/128/130 or 126/128/130/132 of Renegar to provide high energy absorption capacity, to provide adaptability for damping impacts with predetermined excitation frequencies, and/or to reduce weight. [0045]-[0048]
Claims 2-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Renegar (US# 2022/0250684) and Martino Gonzalez et al (US# 2017/0058985), as applied to claim 1 above, in further view of Ivens et al (US# 2019/0231019).
Regarding claim 2, Renegar, as modified, disclose all the limitations of the instant claim with exception to the thin-walled tube body having a 3×3 structure. Ivens et al disclose an energy absorption structure and further teaches various configurations including a 3x3 arrangement. Figures 2a-2b. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a 3x3 arrangement, such as taught by Ivens et al, in the device of Renegar as an obvious alternative arrange which provides a different number of zones which can be provide further tuning of the device, thereby increasing performance in various applications.
Regarding claims 3-8, the claims are directed to various combinations of NPR and PPR filling strips in the 3x3 array. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to determine the optimum distribution of NPR and PPR filling strips in the 3x3 array through routine design and/or experimentation to provide the optimum mechanical and/or acoustic absorption for a given application. Note particular applications may expect more or less mechanical or acoustic impacts, or may expect the impact from particular directions.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/13/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding Martino Gonzalez et al, Applicant argues that “the segments with a positive Poison's ratio and a negative Poisson's ratio in Gonzalez et al are just common honeycomb configurations which belong to 2D in-plane structures, wherein the cells of the first and second segments are shown in FIG. 3 below. As the specific structure of the segments, they can only provide positive Poison's ratio and negative Poisson's ratio in directions perpendicular to the axis of the cell (that is, in the xy plane), resulting that the segments in Gonzalez et al only function in resisting impact of x, y directions not z direction” and “the NPR filling strip and the PPR filling strip belong the 3D structure and thus can function in resisting impact of x, y, z directions.” Applicant further states “Therefore, although Gonzalez et al discloses segments with a positive Poison's ratio and a negative Poisson's ratio, it does not disclose "the PPR filling strip is a metamaterial with a positive Poisson ratio" and "the NPR filling strip is a metamaterial with a negative Poisson ratio" defined in amended claim 1 of the resent invention.” It is first noted that it is not clear which limitations of the claims require the function in resisting impact of x, y, z directions argued by Applicant. Applicant’s disclosure does not appear to discuss these features either. Figures 3a-c of Martino Gonzalez et al are also noted. An impact in the direction D (can be considered the X direction) results in transmission and absorption in the Y direction (T, figures 1a-1b, horizontal arrows in figure 3c) as well as the Z direction (vertical direction in figure 3b, substantially the same as T in the Y direction). The specific orientation of the Poisson’s ratios does not appear to be required by the claims, nor for providing impact absorption.
Regarding Renegar and Ivens et al, Martino Gonzalez et al is relied upon for the recited metamaterial.
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 BRADLEY T KING whose telephone number is (571)272-7117. The examiner can normally be reached 10:30-5:00 PM.
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/BRADLEY T KING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616
BTK