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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 10-17 in the reply filed on March 13, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim 18 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected electronic device, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on March 13, 2026.
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) 10-11, 13-14 and 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2016/0009054 to Okunaka.
Regarding Claims 10-11, 13-14 and 16-17
Okunaka teaches an integrally molded body comprising a laminate and a structure the laminate including prepregs that are laminated and made of a continuous carbon fiber (Okunaka, abstract, paragraph [0032], [0051], [0056], fig. 1-3) and the structure being made of a thermoplastic resin and a reinforcing fiber and disposed on a periphery of the laminate (Id., paragraph [0118]). Okunaka teaches that the first prepreg constituting an outermost layer of the laminate being disposed on both sides of the core layer, and has a continuous carbon fiber with a thermal conductivity of between 20 and 600 W/(m*K) which overlaps the claimed range of between 100 and 800 W/(m*K) in the fiber direction (Id., paragraphs [0019] and [0047]). Okunaka teaches that a layer including a different continuous carbon with a thermal conductivity is 3-20 w/(m*K) which provides a ratio of 0.05 to 1, overlapping the claimed ratio of between 0 and 1.0 (Id., paragraph [0019]). Okunaka teaches that the density of the continuous carbon fiber in the first prepreg may be 2.12 g/cm3 which is withing the claimed range of between 2.0 and 2.5 g/cm3 (Id., paragraph [0126]). Okunaka teaches that a thermoplastic resin substrate may be at least partially disposed between the laminate and the structure (Id., paragraph [0080]). Okunaka teaches that the integrally molded body can be used as an electronic device housing (Id., paragraph [0116]).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okunaka as applied to claims 10-11, 13-14 and 16-17 above, in view of US Pub No. 2009/0117366 to Honma.
Regarding Claim 12
Okunaka does not teach that the core is specifically a foamed molded body made of a foamed resin or a porous substrate made of a discontinuous fiber and a thermoplastic resin. However, Honma teaches an integrally molded body comprising at least a skin layer reinforced with carbon fibers and a core layer comprising a foamed resin body (Honma, abstract, paragraphs [0009], [0016], [0118], and [0149]). Honma teaches such a structure is suitable for use in electronic housing and provides lighter weight yet sufficient mechanical properties (Id., paragraphs [0004] and [0138]) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to form the composite of Okunaka and to utilize the foamed core of Honma, motivated by the desire to form a conventional multi-layer integrally molded structure having decreased weight without sacrificing mechanical properties.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okunaka as applied to claims 10-11, 13-14 and 16-17 above, in view of CN-202819972 to Tan.
Regarding Claim 15
Okunaka teaches that the composite may include a decorative layer on a further outer side of at least one of the outermost layers, but does not specifically teach that the decorative layer is a continuous fiber fabric substrate (Okunaka, paragraphs [0084] and [0085]). However, Tan teaches a layered composite for housing an electronic product comprising a decorative layer comprising a woven fabric which increases the aesthetics and hand of the product (Tan, abstract, paragraphs [0002] - [0007], [0014]-[0015], claim 1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to form the composite of Okunaka and to apply as the decorative layer, the woven fabric containing decorative layer of Tan, motivated by the desire to further increase the beauty and hand of the finished product.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VINCENT A TATESURE whose telephone number is (571)272-5198. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30AM-4PM EST.
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/VINCENT TATESURE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786
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