Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 1, 4-6 & 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 1 recites the limitation, “a central shaft made of electrically conductive fiber-reinforced plastic”. Applicant has not pointed out where this limitation is supported in the application as originally filed. Examiner notes that in the application as originally filed the shaft 1 is disclosed as made from fiber-reinforced plastic. It is also disclosed as conductive, but not specifically electrically conductive.
Claims 1, 4-6 & 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention. Claim1 recites the limitation, “electrically conductive fiber-reinforced plastic”. As noted in items 4b & 12 of the previous Office action, fiber-reinforced plastic is not an electrically conductive material. In the reply filed June 22, 2026 applicant cites a US patent and a foreign patent that disclose methods for making fiber-reinforced plastic electrically conductive. However those methods aren’t disclosed in the instant application, nor is the US patent incorporated by reference. Without such disclosure or incorporation, making fiber-reinforced plastic electrically conductive would have required undue experimentation on the part of one of ordinary skill in the art to make the claimed invention.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/Greg Binda/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3679
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