CTNF 18/569,600 CTNF 84271 DETAILED ACTION 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. Election/Restrictions 08-08 AIA Restriction to one of the following inventions is required under 35 U.S.C. 121: I. Claim s 1-5 and 8-12 , drawn to a method of producing a grain-oriented steel sheet , classified in CPC C22C 1/00 . II. Claim s 6-7 , drawn to a rolling mill apparatus , classified in CPC C21D 6/00 . 08-17 AIA Inventions I and II are related as process and apparatus for its practice. The inventions are distinct if it can be shown that either: (1) the process as claimed can be practiced by another and materially different apparatus or by hand, or (2) the apparatus as claimed can be used to practice another and materially different process. (MPEP § 806.05(e)). In this case, the rolling mill apparatus as claimed can be used to produce another and materially different steel sheet without any strain rate condition . Restriction for examination purposes as indicated is proper because all these inventions listed in this action are independent or distinct for the reasons given above and there would be a serious search and/or examination burden if restriction were not required because at least the following reason(s) apply: the inventions have acquired a separate status in the art in view of their different classification the inventions have acquired a separate status in the art due to their recognized divergent subject matter the inventions require a different field of search (e.g., searching different classes /subclasses or electronic resources, or employing different search strategies or search queries). prior art applicable to one invention may not be applicable to another . 08-23 AIA During a telephone conversation with Tatsuya Sawada on 3/12/26 a provisional election was made without traverse to prosecute the invention of Group I , Claim s 1-5 and 8-12 . Affirmation of this election must be made by applicant in replying to this Office action. Claim s 6-7 are withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a non-elected invention. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 1-5 and 8-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aragaki et al. (JP 2012-184497-A, see attached document & translation ) . Regarding claim 1, Aragaki discloses a method of producing a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet (abstract, [0015]), comprising: subjecting a steel material to hot rolling to obtain a hot-rolled steel sheet [0015, 0038]; subjecting the hot-rolled steel sheet to either a single cycle or multiple cycles of cold rolling with intermediate annealing in between, to obtain a cold-rolled sheet having a final sheet thickness [0015, 0039]; and then subjecting the cold-rolled sheet to decarburization annealing [0045-0046] followed by secondary recrystallization annealing [0047]. With respect to cold rolling, Aragaki discloses that a final cold rolling is performed using a tandem mill, where the steel sheet is heated to a temperature of 100°C (meets 70-200°C) and then introduced into the first pass of the tandem mill [0049] in which rolling in the first pass is performed with a biting temperature T of 100°C and a strain rate e of 100 (s- 1 ) [0025] that satisfies the recited condition: 0.0378e 2 + 0.367e + 37.2 > T [Wingdings font/0xE0] 0.0378*(100) 2 + 0.367*(100) + 37.2 > 100. The final cold rolling biting temperature and strain rate taught by Aragaki overlaps with the claimed condition. In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990), MPEP 2144.05. As to claim 2, Aragaki discloses that primary recrystallization & decarburization annealing includes heating at a heating rate of 50 °C/s or higher in a temperature from 500-700°C ([0019], claim 5), which overlaps with recited rate and temperature range from 400-700°C. As to claims 3-5, Aragaki discloses that the steel material comprises a chemical composition containing, by mass%: C: 0.01 % to 0.10 %, Si: 2.0 % to 4.5 %, Mn: 0.01 % to 0.50 %, Al: 0.0100 % to 0.0400 %, one or both of S and Se: 0.01 % to 0.05 % in total and N: 0.0050 % to 0.0120 %, with the balance being Fe and inevitable impurities [0015, 0020]. The steel composition further contains at least one selected from the group consisting of Sb: 0.005 % to 0.500 %,Cu: 0.01 % to 1.50 %, P: 0.005 % to 0.500 %, Cr: 0.01 % to 1.50 %, Ni: 0.005 % to 1.500 %, Sn: 0.01 % to 0.50 %, Nb: 0.0005 % to 0.0100 % [0022]. The respective amount of each element disclosed by Aragaki falls within the recited range, thereby rendering the claims obvious. As to claims 8-12, Aragaki discloses that the steel material comprises a chemical composition containing, by mass%: C: 0.01 % to 0.10 %, Si: 2.0 % to 4.5 %, Mn: 0.01 % to 0.50 %, Al: 0.0100 % to 0.0400 %, one or both of S and Se: 0.01 % to 0.05 % in total and N: 0.0050 % to 0.0120 %, with the balance being Fe and inevitable impurities [0015, 0020]. The steel composition further contains at least one selected from the group consisting of Sb: 0.005 % to 0.500 %,Cu: 0.01 % to 1.50 %, P: 0.005 % to 0.500 %, Cr: 0.01 % to 1.50 %, Ni: 0.005 % to 1.500 %, Sn: 0.01 % to 0.50 %, Nb: 0.0005 % to 0.0100 % [0022]. The respective amount of each element disclosed by Aragaki falls within the recited range, thereby rendering the claims obvious. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 1/7/26, 9/17/25, 7/1/25, 4/4/24, 12/13/23 complies with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Inquiry Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEVANG R PATEL whose telephone number is (571) 270-3636 . The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8am-5pm, EST. To schedule an interview, Applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/laws/interview-practice. Communications via Internet email are at the discretion of Applicant. If Applicant wishes to communicate via email, a written authorization form must be filed by Applicant: Form PTO/SB/439, available at www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The form may be filed via the Patent Center and can be found using the document description Internet Communications, see https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/forms. In limited circumstances, the Applicant may make an oral authorization for Internet communication. See MPEP § 502.03. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith Walker can be reached on 571-272-3458. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Center. For more information, see https://patentcenter.uspto.gov . For questions, technical issues or troubleshooting, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center at ebc@uspto.gov or 1-866-217-9197 (toll-free). /DEVANG R PATEL/ Primary Examiner, AU 1735 Application/Control Number: 18/569,600 Page 2 Art Unit: 1735 Application/Control Number: 18/569,600 Page 3 Art Unit: 1735 Application/Control Number: 18/569,600 Page 4 Art Unit: 1735 Application/Control Number: 18/569,600 Page 5 Art Unit: 1735 Application/Control Number: 18/569,600 Page 6 Art Unit: 1735