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 Group I, claims 15-23 in the reply filed on 09/02/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 24-30 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Status of Claims
Claims 15-30 are pending. Claims 15-23 are presented for this examination. Claims 24-30 are withdrawn.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on 05/30/2024 and is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Instant claim 20 requires amount of martensite 65-84%. It is unclear whether amount of martensite refers to amount of tempered martensite or fresh martensite. Clarification is required.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 15-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Minami (US20200040420A1).
As for claims 15-22, Minami discloses a high strength hot rolled (Claim 5) steel sheet comprising overlapping compositions as illustrated in Table 1 below.
A prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges and prior art ranges overlap or are close enough that one skilled in the art would have expected them to have the same properties. See MPEP 2144.05 I.
Hence, based on the teaching of Minami, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art, to select the amount of each element within the ranges disclosed by Minami in order to arrive at steel of claimed invention.
Table 1
Element
Applicant
(weight %)
Minami et al.
(weight %)
Overlap
(weight %)
C
0.02-0.2
0.08-0.35
0.08-0.2
Mn
3-9
2-3.5
3-3.5
Si
0.2-1.2
0.5-2.5
0.5-1.2
Al
0.9-2.5
0.01-1
0.9-1
P
0-0.03
0.001-0.1
0.001-0.03
S
0-0.03
<=0.02
<=0.02
N
0-0.025
0.0005-0.01
0.0005-0.01
Mo
0-0.6
0.01-0.5
0.01-0.5
Ti
0-0.1
0.001-0.1
0.001-0.1
B
0.0001-0.01
0.0001-0.01
0.0001-0.01
Cr
0-0.5
0.01-1
0.01-0.5
Nb
0-0.1
0.001-0.1
0.001-0.1
V
0-0.2
0.001-0.1
0.001-0.1
Ni
0-1
0.01-0.5
0.01-0.5
Cu
0-1
0.01-1
0.01-1
Ca
0-0.005
0.0001-0.02
0.0001-0.005
Mg
0-0.001
0.0001-0.02
0.0001-0.001
TM (%)
>=60
>=75
>=75
Residual austenite (%)
15-40
5-20
15-20
Polygonal ferrite (%)
0-10
0
0
Bainite(%)
0-5
0
0
Fresh martensite(%)
0-15
1-20
1-15
Carbides (%)
0-5
0
0
Si (Claim 16)
0.3-1
0.5-2.5
0.5-1
C(Claim 17)
0.03-0.18
0.08-0.35
0.08-0.18
Mn(Claim 18)
3.5-8.5
2-3.5
3.5
Al (Claim 19)
1-2.3
0.01-1
1
Martensite (Claim 20)
65-84
>=75
75-84
Residual austenite (Claim 21)
18-35
5-20
18-20
TS (MPa)
El (%) (Claim 22)
>=750
>=20
>=1180
>13.98
>=1180
>20
Claim(s) 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Minami in view of Duprez (WO2021123877A1 using US20230058956A1 as English Translation).
As for claim 23, Minami does not disclose instant claimed shape factor.
Duprez discloses a hot rolled steel sheet with at least 70% tempered martensite and shape factor of tempered martensite of 4-12, preferably 5-11.([0039])
Hence, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art, at the time the invention is made to apply shape factor of 4-12 of Duprez, in the hot rolled steel sheet of Minami for the benefit of maintaining high strength without sacrificing the toughness.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JENNY R WU whose telephone number is (571)270-5515. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30 AM-5:00 PM.
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/JENNY R WU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733
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