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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 20-21, and 27-31, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Regarding Claim 20; “at least one polarizing functional group”, line(s) 2-3 is unclear; whereas ‘at least one polarizing functional group comprising a nitrogen-containing functional group’ is already asserted in claim 18 line(s) 9-10, and thus it appears that claim 20 shall otherwise assert ‘atleast another polarizing functional group comprising a nitrogen-containing functional group’. Otherwise, claim 20 appears to replace the already asserted polarizing functional group. Regarding Claim 21; “additive manufacturing” is unclear; whereas the terminology is presented without reference to 3D printing already presented in claim 18, and thus it cannot be readily ascertained if intended to refer thereto or to a manufacturing technique for a different or another portion of the composite or the cooling system. Regarding Claim 27; “a waterglass” is unclear; whereas a waterglass is already asserted in claim 18, and thus it cannot be readily ascertained if the same or different waterglass is intended, and further note dependent claims 28 is already presented verbatim in claim 18.
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(s) 18-21, and 23-33, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (Pomestchenko 2018/0208762) in view of (Mittal 2011/0281070).
Regarding Claim(s) 18-19; Pomestchenko discloses a composite (as set forth by the abstract which discloses a composite including electrically conductive thermoplastic polyesters, graphene, plasticizers and/or stabilizers) comprising: an electrical and/or electronic component generating heat during operation and having a surface (as further set forth by para.’s 0002-0003—wherein the electrically conductive thermoplastic polymer composites in form of electrically conductive extruded filaments to electrically conductive articles such as circuit boards and conductive traces and may form printable electronics or power sources directly incorporated into functional printed devices; and para.’s 0136-0138 discloses the electrically conductive thermoplastic polymer composite(s) are 3D printed into conductive circuits and pathways to create i.e. heat sinks and integrated electrical circuitry i.e. printed circuit boards or antennae (RFID tags) having a surface thereof and each of the printed conductive pathways may be printed together as a final article/component); a cooling system joined to the surface of the component by a set of chemical bonds transmitting heat from the surface to the cooling system (whereas para’s 0076 and 0136-0138 discloses respective composites printed together as a final component constituted by atleast a heat sink which denotes a cooling system being printed on the surface of the electrical circuitry i.e. antennae, wherein a thermoplastic polymer of the heat sink necessitates heat transfer from an electrically conductive surface of the electronic device uniformly distributed in the thermoplastic—as further set forth by the abstract; wherein the successive layers of the extruded thermoplastic material are fused together to form the printed article, device or component—para. 0003 and include covalently bonded atoms or layers—as set forth by para. 0059); the cooling system including as suggested further comprising a waterglass comprising a compound including oxygen bonded to silicon (whereas a waterglass is constituted by hydrous magnesium silicate—para. 0071 which comprises magnesium, silicon, and oxygen); wherein the set of chemical bonds includes covalent bonds and Van der Waals bonds-claim 2 (as set forth by para. 0059 and/or otherwise disclosed by para. 0047-0052—whereas the crystalline arrangement is a stack-like arrangement or stacked carbon nanotubes or graphene layers of honeycomb like crystalline structure of the composite are covalent bonds that are weakly bound by Van der Waals forces); wherein the set of chemical bonds comprise polar bonds constructed via functional groups comprising at least one polarizing functional group selected from the group consisting of: sulfur and an oxygen-containing functional group (as constituted by -NH2--para. 0053 and/or para. 0072—via an aromatic sulfonamide which denotes an organosulfur group with the structure R−S(=O)2−NR2. It consists of a sulfonyl group (O=S=O) connected to an amine group (−NH2)); suggests wherein the surface of the component is pretreated prior to joining the cooling system to the surface of the component (whereas para. 0134-0135 discloses metal additives including metal nanoparticles, metal nanowires etc may be added, used in preparation of or imbedded in the thermoplastic polymer composite and thus may further boost electrical and thermal conductivity of the composite then para.’s 0137-0138 discloses the composites including heat sink or RFID tag or antennae may be printed together to for the final article or component). Except, explicitly disclosing pretreating includes cleaning and/or roughening the surface of the component. However, Mittal-Fig. 1D discloses pretreating includes cleaning and/or roughening the surface of a component (whereas para.’s 0007-0008 discloses additives embedded in host materials used in devices in including antennas, and thermal conductor/cooling devices etc, and the surface embedded additives-improves higher electrical and thermal conductivity and constitutes a roughness prior to stacking atleast one thermally conductive layer with atleast one electrically conductive layer of a TCE device forming a network—as further set forth by para. 0051-0055; and para.’s 0076 and 0079 discloses the extent in which the additives i. e. nanowires are embedded impacts the variation of roughness; para. 0072 further discloses the host material as a thermoplastic polymer composite additive metals and metallic nanoparticles and nanowires etc further disclosed by para.’s 0081-0083; and/or wherein pre-treatment the material of the device is further constituted by cleaning—as set forth by para.’s 0138), and thus it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the component surface with conductive additives which constitute roughening since it was known in the art that improve conductivity will be achieved by increased junctions between the surface embedded additives. Going further, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the cooling system as comprising a waterglass defined by the hydrous magnesium silicate which constitutes a sodium silicate which necessitates the waterglass structure since it was known in the art that a waterglass composite of the cooling system includes unique physical and chemical properties characterizing an arrangement of crystal lattice and provides improved thermal performance with low corrosivity to enhance application for long term use. Also, ‘pretreating’ constitutes a method of manufacture and is not structurally distinguished from the prior art. (In re Johnson, 157 USPQ 670, 1968; In re Thorpe, 227 USPQ 964, 1985; See MPEP 2113—Product by Process Claims). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time that the invention was made that the disclosed structure of the prior art is a fully functional equivalent to the claimed structure as evidenced by meeting all of the claimed structural limitations thereof.
Regarding Claim 20; Pomestchenko discloses the composite as claimed in claim 18, wherein the functional groups further comprise a nitrogen-containing functional group (as already set forth).
Regarding Claim 21; Pomestchenko discloses the composite as claimed in any of claim 18, obtained by additive manufacturing (as constituted by the 3D printing--as set forth by para. 0138).
Regarding Claim 23; Pomestchenko discloses the composite as claimed in the preceding claim 21, wherein the cooling system comprises a print material including at least one reactive group selected from the group consisting of: amide group, ester group (as set forth by para. 0072—whereas the plasticizer constitutes a reactive group including the aromatic sulfonamides or an ester).
Regarding Claim(s) 24; Pomestchenko discloses the composite as claimed in claim 23, wherein the reactive groups are printed in the form of organometallic compounds (as set forth by para. 0071—as constituted by the composites properties being altered by one or more titanium oxides, aluminum oxides, metal fibers etc).
Regarding Claim 25; Pomestchenko discloses the composite as claimed in claim 24, wherein at least one organometallic compound is present, for example, in the form of a complex-type compound with one or more ligands (as constituted by i. e. the nanoscopic titanium dioxide—para.’s 0002 and 0071 which acts as a ligand or receptor).
Regarding Claim 26; Pomestchenko discloses the composite as claimed in claim 25, wherein the complex-type compound comprises a central atom selected from the group consisting of silicon, aluminum, zirconium, and titanium (as set forth by—para.’s 0071 and 0116—as depicted by Fig. 1—whereas 112-1 and/or 112-2 constitutes the central atoms).
Regarding Claim 28; Pomestchenko discloses the composite as claimed in claim 27, wherein the composite is constructed using waterglasses comprising, for example, silicon oxygen bonds (as already set forth).
Regarding Claim 29; Pomestchenko discloses the composite as claimed in claim 21, wherein the additive manufacturing includes printable compounds comprising pastes or a dispersion (paste--as further set forth by para. 0060 or dispersion—as set forth by para. 0073 or 0080).
Regarding Claim 30; Pomestchenko discloses the composite as claimed in claim 21, wherein the additive manufacturing includes printable compounds comprising a pure form or in a mixture with a solvent (as set forth by para. 0073).
Regarding Claim 31; Pomestchenko discloses the already modified composite as claimed in claim 21, wherein the additive manufacturing includes printable compounds comprising thermally conductive particles, for example those that are based on metals (as already set forth).
Regarding Claim 32; Pomestchenko discloses the composite as claimed in either of claim 18, further comprising a filler of particles in platelet form, rod form and/or bead form (as respectively set forth by para.’s 0002, 0060 and/or 0071).
Regarding Claim 33; Pomestchenko discloses the already modified composite as claimed in any of claim 32, except, explicitly wherein the filler is present in an amount of 20% to 70% by volume of a material to be printed. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the volume of the filler in an amount of atleast 20% by volume so as to achieve desired volumetric resistivity of the polymer composite allowing for enhanced control of electrostatic dissipation thereof, as suggested by para. 0113, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 18-21, and 23-33 have been considered but are moot; whereas the rejections are herein modified to present new rejections to read on the amended claim language. As an initial matter, the office hereby notes that the applicant has presented a different combination of claim constructions including atleast in-part excluding “print bed” from the claim 22 which is incorporated into claim 18; and further wherein claim 22 is in-part incorporated into 18 in combination with the waterglass material of claim 27-28 which did not previously depend on claim 22. Further, it is to be noted that varying amendments are made and/or incorporated into claim 18 without subsequently amending, correcting or cancelling the corresponding dependent claims, as otherwise noted in the 112(b) rejections. Going further, the applicants remarks on pages 6-7 that Pomestchenko does not disclose waterglass as part of the composite cooling system and the cooling system is constructed by means of 3D printing on the surface of the component. The office otherwise notes that the applicant has only generally alleged the structures are not disclosed in the prior art but does not actually present the actual language in cited in the prior art and the rejection along with corresponding reasons why the citation doesn’t read thereon. In either case, print bed has been removed and thus broadens the claim construction and the manner by which the 3D printing is deemed to associate with composite cooling system. As such, a waterglass of the composite is constituted by hydrous magnesium silicate—para. 0071 and comprises magnesium, silicon, and oxygen as asserted, wherein the composites of the cooling system, as set forth by para.’s 0136-0138 already discloses the composites comprise an RFID tag or antennae defining the component and a heat sink printed together to form the final article or component, and printing the composites using 3D printing. It is otherwise noted that it appears the applicant shall seek to differentiate the assertion by asserting a particular combination of a reactive group and complex type compound that present an attribute that cannot be achieve by the prior art of record.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to COURTNEY SMITH whose telephone number is (571)272-9094. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5p.
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/COURTNEY L SMITH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835