CTNF 18/564,530 CTNF 77079 DETAILED ACTION Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s amendment filed 3/27/26. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA) 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1, 14 - 16 and 18 - 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aoyama (JPWO2016186203 in view of Ifju et al. (6,327,030, hereinafter Ifju). Regarding claim 1, Aoyama discloses an apparatus comprising a test sheet 10, a substrate layer (base) 1 containing a polymeric material; and a stress luminescent layer 3 formed on the substrate layer, the stress luminescent layer containing a stress luminescent material, wherein the substrate layer is thicker than the stress luminescent layer and a thickness of the stress luminescent layer is between 3 um and 7 um (See Fig. 1, See Pg. 2, Para. 9 and Pg. 13, Para. 7). Aoyama fails to disclose measuring stress or strain. However, Ifju discloses a method and apparatus comprising a test specimen layer 3 that is adhered to a target object 9 which a load is applied in measuring stress or strain (See Col. 7, lines 28 -67 and Col. 8, lines 1 – 8). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Aoyama according to the teachings of Ifju for the purpose of, advantageously providing an improved device since this type of device easily and accurately measures full field strain on complex shaped structures (See Ifju, Col. 1, lines 62 – 67). Regarding claim 14, in Aoyama, an adhesive layer 6 is provided for adhering the test sheet to the target object, wherein the substrate layer 1 is formed on the adhesive layer (See Fig. 10, See Pg. 18, Para. 6). Regarding claim 15, in Aoyama, an antistatic layer (brittle layer) 8 is formed between the adhesive layer 6 and the substrate layer 1 via a second substrate 1b (See Fig. 11, See Pg. 19, Para. 11). Regarding claim 16, in Aoyama, the adhesive layer is made of a removable adhesive (See Pg. 18, Paras. 6 - 9). Regarding claim 18, in Aoyama, the antistatic layer 8 is provided, the substrate layer 1 is formed on the antistatic layer, the substrate layer contains a polymeric material; the stress luminescent layer 3 is formed on the substrate layer, and the stress luminescent layer containing a stress luminescent material (See Fig. 1, See Pg. 2, Para. 9). Aoyama fails to disclose measuring stress or strain. However, Ifju discloses a method and apparatus comprising a test specimen layer 3 that is adhered to a target object 9 which a load is applied in measuring stress or strain (See Col. 7, lines 28 -67 and Col. 8, lines 1 – 8). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Aoyama according to the teachings of Ifju for the purpose of, advantageously providing an improved device since this type of device easily and accurately measures full field strain on complex shaped structures (See Ifju, Col. 1, lines 62 – 67). Regarding claim 19, in Aoyama, the adhesive layer 6 adheres the test sheet to a target object, wherein the substrate layer is formed on the antistatic layer (See Fig. 10). Regarding claim 20, in Aoyama, the antistatic layer 8 is formed between the adhesive layer and the substrate layer via the second substrate 1b (See Fig. 11). Regarding claim 21, in Aoyama, the adhesive layer is made of a removable adhesive (See Pg. 18, Paras. 6 - 9). Regarding claim 22, in Aoyama, the stress luminescent layer has a thickness of 10 um or less (See Pg. 10, Para. 5). Regarding claim 23, in Aoyama, the test sheet is irradiated and adhered to the target object with excitation light, the test sheet comprises a substrate layer 1 containing a polymeric material, and a stress luminescent layer 3 formed on the substrate layer, the stress luminescent layer containing a stress luminescent material; a captured image of the test sheet is acquired and a luminous intensity of the test sheet is identified from the captured image (See Pg. 2, Para. 16, Pg. 5, Para. 5, Pg. 7, Para. 6 and Pg. 54, Para. 9). Aoyama fails to disclose a step of applying a load to the target object and a step of acquiring a captured image of each of the one or more test sheets irradiated with the excitation light and the applied load. However, in Ifju, a load is applied to the object using a device 17 (See Fig. 3)and a captured image of each of the one or more test sheets irradiated with the excitation light and the applied load is obtained (See Col. 7, lines 61 – 67 and Col. 8, lines 1 – 14). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Aoyama according to the teachings of Ifju for the purpose of, advantageously providing an improved device since this type of device easily and accurately measures full field strain on complex shaped structures (See Ifju, Col. 1, lines 62 – 67). Regarding claim 24, in Aoyama, the substrate layer 1 is thicker than the stress luminescent layer 3 (See Fig. 1). Regarding claim 25, in Aoyama, the test sheet comprises an antistatic layer 8 disposed on an opposite side of the substrate layer 1 opposite to a side on which the stress luminescent layer 3 is formed (See Fig. 11). Regarding claim 26, in Aoyama, the test sheet comprises an adhesive layer 6 disposed on an opposite side of the substrate layer 1 opposite to a side on which the stress luminescent layer 3 is formed (See Fig. 10). Regarding claim 27, in Aoyama, the adhesive layer is made of a removable adhesive (See Pg. 18, Paras. 6 - 9). Regarding claim 28, in Aoyama, the stress luminescent layer has a thickness of 10 um or less (See Pg. 10, Para. 5). Regarding claim 29, in Aoyama, a plurality of test sheets is cut out from the same sheet, and the plurality of test sheets is adhered to a respective plurality of locations on the target object (See Figs. 44 and 46, See Pg. 18, Para. 9 and Pg. 54, Paras. 10 - 12). Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, on Pg. 10, Paras. 1 – 4, Pg. 11, Paras. 1 – 5 and Pg. 12, Para. 1, with respect to these claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection. In response to applicant’s arguments that the references do not disclose a thickness of the stress luminescent layer being between 3 um and 7 um and an antistatic layer, after further consideration, it is the Examiner’s position that in Aoyama, a thickness of the stress luminescent layer is between 3 um and 7 um since the thickness of the stress-stimulated luminescent layer is defined as a layer that exists in the range of 0.1 micrometer-4 micrometers (See Pg. 13, Para. 7) and an antistatic layer is provided since the antistatic layer is defined as a layer that is made of a material commonly utilized as an antistatic agent (Para. 0042 of applicant’s specification) and in Aoyama the material layer 8 includes various types or resin materials (See Pg. 26, Para. 11 and Pg. 27, Paras. 1 and 11), thus the reference still stands. Conclusion 07-96 6. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. 7. Omura et al. (JP2017065709) disclose a laminate for tube container, tube container, and method for manufacturing laminate for tube container. Xu et al. (DE112006002049) disclose a material to be measured for stress analysis, coating liquid for forming a film layer on the material to be measured and stress induced luminescent structure.8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OCTAVIA HOLLINGTON whose telephone number is (571)272-2176. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, John Breene can be reached at 5712724107. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /OCTAVIA HOLLINGTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855 5/29/26 Application/Control Number: 18/564,530 Page 2 Art Unit: 2855 Application/Control Number: 18/564,530 Page 4 Art Unit: 2855 Application/Control Number: 18/564,530 Page 5 Art Unit: 2855 Application/Control Number: 18/564,530 Page 6 Art Unit: 2855 Application/Control Number: 18/564,530 Page 7 Art Unit: 2855 Application/Control Number: 18/564,530 Page 8 Art Unit: 2855 Application/Control Number: 18/564,530 Page 9 Art Unit: 2855
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