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 .
Response to Arguments
The amendments filed with the written response received on 04/30/2026 have been considered and an action on the merits follows. Claims 1-5 and 19-20 are withdrawn from further consideration. Accordingly, claims 1-20 are pending in this application, with an action on the merits to follow regarding claims 6-18.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of claims 6-15 in the reply filed on 04/30/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that Groups I and II are related as subcombination and combination. This is found persuasive. Therefore, the restriction is withdrawn and claims 6-18 will be examined on the merits.
Claim Objections
Claims 6, 7, 16 and 17 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 6, line 3, and claim 16, line 5, recite “the warp tows of adjacent layers.” It is suggested the claim is rephrased to recite “the first plurality of adjacent layers of warp fiber tows,” or a similar recitation, for consistency with the rest of the claim and/or for antecedent basis purposes.
Claim 6, lines 4-5, and claim 16, line 7, recites “the warp tows of adjacent layers.” It is suggested the claim is rephrased to recite “the second plurality of adjacent layers of warp fiber tows,” or a similar recitation, for consistency with the rest of the claim and/or for antecedent basis purposes, and to distinguish this element from the first plurality element.
Claim 7, recites “in (a)” and “in (b).” It is believed that the applicant intended to recite “and (a)” and “and (b).” Appropriate correction or clarification is required.
Claim 7 and claim 17 recite “the warp tows of adjacent layers.” It is suggested the claim is rephrased to recite “the third plurality of adjacent layers of warp fiber tows,” or similar recitation, for consistency with the rest of the claim and/or for antecedent basis purposes, and to distinguish this element from the first and/or second plurality elements.
Claim 7, lines 10-11, and claim 17, lines 10-11, recite “connecting weft tow sections.” It is suggested the claim is rephrased to recite which of the above tow sections are being referred to for consistency with the rest of the claim and/or for antecedent basis purposes.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 6-12 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2010/0105268 A1 to Ouellette.
For claim 6, Ouellette discloses a method of preparing a fiber preform (para 0017), said method comprising: (a) providing a first plurality of adjacent layers of warp fiber tows to form a base section (120) wherein the warp tows of adjacent layers are arranged in vertical columns (para 0040, fig. 1), and providing a second plurality of adjacent layers of warp tows to form a leg section (125) wherein the warp tows of adjacent layers are arranged in vertical columns (para 0040, fig. 1), and (b) weaving a plurality of weft fiber tows through said base section and said leg section to form a single three-dimensional woven fiber structure comprising said base section and said leg section (paras 0043-0044), wherein said base section comprises a bottom surface, a top surface opposite said bottom surface, a first end surface, and a second end surface opposite to said first end surface (surfaces of 120, fig. 1), said base section having a thickness defined as the distance between said bottom surface and said top surface (thickness of 120, fig. 1) and a length defined as the distance between said first end surface and said second end surface (length of 120, fig. 1), wherein said leg section is positioned above said top surface of said base (fig. 1), wherein said leg section has a first side surface, a second side surface, first end surface, and a second end surface (surfaces of 125, fig. 1), and wherein the three-dimensional woven fiber structure includes connecting weft tow sections, that connect the base section to the leg section, wherein the connecting weft tow sections include through-the-thickness tow regions that pass from a leg section through the thickness (height) of the base section (paras 0043-0044, see fig. 1).
For claim 7, Ouellette discloses the method according to claim 6, further comprising in (a) providing a third plurality of adjacent layers of warp tows to form a further leg section (135, fig .1) wherein the warp tows of adjacent layers are arranged in columns (para 0040, fig. 1), in (b) weaving a plurality of weft tows through said third plurality of adjacent layers of warp tows wherein the single three-dimensional woven fiber structure comprises said base section, said leg section, and said further leg section (paras 0043-0044), wherein said further leg section is positioned above said top surface of said base, and said further leg section has a first side surface, a second side surface, first end surface, and a second end surface (surfaces of 135, fig. 1), and wherein the three-dimensional woven fiber structure includes connecting weft tow sections that connect the base section to the further leg section, wherein the connecting weft tow sections that connect the base section to the further leg section include through-the-thickness tow regions that pass from the further leg section through the thickness (height) of the base section (paras 0043-0044, see fig. 1).
For claim 8, Ouellette discloses the method according to claim 6, further comprising positioning said leg section to be perpendicular to the top surface of said base section with the first end surface of said leg section being positioned adjacent and parallel to the top surface of said base section (paras 0025, 0049, and fig. 4).
For claim 9, Ouellette discloses the method according to claim 7, further comprising positioning said leg section and said further leg section to be perpendicular to the top surface of said base section with the first end surface of each of said leg section and said further leg section being positioned adjacent and parallel to the top surface of said base section (paras 0025, 0049, and fig. 4).
For claim 10, Ouellette discloses the method according to claim 8, further comprising removing slack within the through-the-thickness tow regions (equalizing fiber lengths when the preform is folded into shape for a smooth transition at the fold, para 0025 and fig. 4).
For claim 11, Ouellette discloses the method according to claim 9, further comprising removing slack within the through-the-thickness tow regions (equalizing fiber lengths when the preform is folded into shape for a smooth transition at the fold, para 0025 and fig. 4).
For claim 12, Ouellette discloses the method according to claim 6, wherein the fibers are made from material selected from silicon carbide (SiC), carbon (C), silicon oxycarbide (SiOC), silicon nitride (Si3N4), silicon carbonitride (SiCN), hafnium carbide (HfC), tantalum carbide (TaC), silicon borocarbide (SiBC), silicon borocarbonitride (SiBCN), and silicon aluminum carbon nitride (SiAlCN) (paras 0040 and 0055).
For claim 14, Ouellette discloses the method according to claim 7, wherein the fibers are made from material selected from silicon carbide (SiC), carbon (C), silicon oxycarbide (SiOC), silicon nitride (Si3N4), silicon carbonitride (SiCN), hafnium carbide (HfC), tantalum carbide (TaC), silicon borocarbide (SiBC), silicon borocarbonitride (SiBCN), and silicon aluminum carbon nitride (SiAlCN) (paras 0040 and 0055).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claims 13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ouellette as applied to claim above, and further in view of US 5,013,216 A to Bailey.
For claim 13, Ouellette discloses the method according to claim 6, but does not specifically disclose wherein the fibers are made from silicon carbide (SiC).
However, Ouellette teaches the fibers are made from carbon fibers or any other fiber type (paras 0020 and 0040).
Attention is also directed to Bailey teaching an analogous method of forming preforms made of fibers (abstract and col. 1, lines 9-12 of Bailey). Specifically, Bailey teaches fibers made from carbon and silicon carbide in a resin or metal matrix is widely recognized for providing filaments in preform components requiring high modulus and high strength (col. 1, lines 15-21 of Bailey). Therefore, Bailey teaches carbon and silicon carbide fibers are capable of providing the similar functional properties in the same field of application and are known in the art. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date wherein Ouellette would be modified wherein carbon fibers are substituted for silicon carbide fibers since the modification would amount to a simple substitution of known materials for a predictable result. In this case, the substitution would yield the predictable result of providing filaments in preform components with high modulus and high strength in the same field of application, without requiring more than ordinary skill in the art to accomplish (see MPEP 2143(I)(B)). Further, It is within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice (see MPEP 2144.07).
For claim 15, Ouellette discloses the method according to claim 7, but does not specifically disclose wherein the fibers are made from silicon carbide (SiC).
However, Ouellette teaches the fibers are made from carbon fibers or any other fiber type (paras 0020 and 0040).
Attention is also directed to Bailey teaching an analogous method of forming preforms made of fibers (abstract and col. 1, lines 9-12 of Bailey). Specifically, Bailey teaches fibers made from carbon and silicon carbide in a resin or metal matrix is widely recognized for providing filaments in preform components requiring high modulus and high strength (col. 1, lines 15-21 of Bailey). Therefore, Bailey teaches carbon and silicon carbide fibers are capable of providing the similar functional properties in the same field of application and are known in the art. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date wherein Ouellette would be modified wherein carbon fibers are substituted for silicon carbide fibers since the modification would amount to a simple substitution of known materials for a predictable result. In this case, the substitution would yield the predictable result of providing filaments in preform components with high modulus and high strength in the same field of application, without requiring more than ordinary skill in the art to accomplish (see MPEP 2143(I)(B)). Further, It is within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice (see MPEP 2144.07).
Claims 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ouellette in view of US 2017/0260661 A1 to Marchal.
For claim 16, Ouellette discloses a method of preparing ceramic matrix composite (CMC) (para 0007 and 0017) comprising: (a) forming a ceramic matrix composite preform by: (i) providing a first plurality of adjacent layers of warp fiber tows to form a base section (120) wherein the warp tows of adjacent layers are arranged in columns (para 0040, fig. 1), and providing a second plurality of adjacent layers of warp fiber tows to form a leg section (125) wherein the warp tows of adjacent layers are arranged in vertical columns (para 0040, fig. 1), (ii) weaving a plurality of weft fiber tows through said first plurality of adjacent layers of warp tows and weaving a plurality of weft fiber tows through said second plurality of adjacent layers of warp tows to form a single three-dimensional woven fiber structure comprising said base section and said leg section (paras 0043-0044), wherein said base section comprises a bottom surface, a top surface opposite said bottom surface, a first end surface, and a second end surface opposite to said first end surface (surfaces of 120, fig. 1), said base having a thickness defined as the distance between said bottom surface and said top surface (thickness of 120, fig. 1) and a length defined as the distance between said first end surface and said second end surface (length of 120, fig. 1), wherein said leg section is positioned above said top surface of said base section (fig. 1), wherein said leg section has a first side surface, a second side surface, first end surface, and a second end surface (surfaces of 125, fig. 1), and wherein the three-dimensional woven fiber structure includes connecting weft tow sections, that connect the base section to the leg section, wherein the connecting weft tow sections include through-the-thickness tow regions that pass from a leg section through the thickness (height) of the base section (paras 0043-0044, see fig. 1); (b) positioning said leg section of the preform to be perpendicular to the top surface of said base section wherein the first end surface of said leg section is positioned adjacent and parallel to the top surface of said base section (paras 0025, 0049, and fig. 4); (c) removing slack within the through-the-thickness tow regions (equalizing fiber lengths when the preform is folded into shape for a smooth transition at the fold, para 0025 and fig. 4).
Ouellette does not explicitly disclose densifying the above preform to form said ceramic matrix composite. However, Ouellette teaches reinforcement preforms and matrix materials may then be cured and stabilized and after being cured, the solidified masses of the matrix material normally are very strongly adhered to the reinforcing material (para 0007).
Attention is also directed to Marchal teaching a method of making an analogous fiber preform of π-shaped section (abstract of Marchal). Specifically, Marchal teaches, in order to obtain a composite material part, the fiber preform (10) is densified with a matrix by holding the preform in shaping tooling at least until the preform has been stiffened (or consolidated) (para 0041 of Marchal) for purposes of maintaining the preforms final dimensions (para 0056 of Marchal). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date wherein Ouellette would be further modified to comprise the method step of densifying the preform to form said ceramic matrix composite, as taught by Marchal, for purposes of maintaining the preforms final dimensions, as taught by Marchal (paras 0041 and 0056 of Marchal).
For claim 17, the modified Ouellette teaches the method according to claim 16, further comprising in (i) providing a third plurality of adjacent layers of warp tows to form a further leg section (135, fig .1) wherein the warp tows of adjacent layers are arranged in columns (para 0040, fig. 1), in (ii) weaving a plurality of weft tows through said third plurality of adjacent layers of warp tows wherein the single three-dimensional woven fiber structure comprises said base section, said leg section, and said further leg section (paras 0043-0044), wherein said further leg section is positioned above said top surface of said base, and said further leg section has a first side surface, a second side surface, first end surface, and a second end surface (surfaces of 135, fig. 1), and wherein the three-dimensional woven fiber structure includes connecting weft tow sections that connect the base section to the further leg section, wherein the connecting weft tow sections that connect the base section to the further leg section include through-the- thickness tow regions that pass from the further leg section through the thickness (height) of the base section (paras 0043-0044, see fig. 1) .
For claim 18, the modified Ouellette teaches the method according to claim 16, wherein the fibers are made from material selected from silicon carbide (SiC), carbon (C), silicon oxycarbide (SiOC), silicon nitride (Si3N4), silicon carbonitride (SiCN), hafnium carbide (HfC), tantalum carbide (TaC), silicon borocarbide (SiBC), silicon borocarbonitride (SiBCN), and silicon aluminum carbon nitride (SiAlCN) (paras 0040 and 0055).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERICK I LOPEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-3262. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 9:00am - 5:30pm EST.
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/ERICK I LOPEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3732
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