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 of Group I (Claims 1-3 and 6) in the reply filed on 06/01/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)). Claims 4-5 are withdrawn. Claims 1-3 and 6 are examined herein.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP’384 (JP 2021-004384).
Regarding claims 1-3 and 6, JP’384 discloses (Abstract; Pages 5 to 8) a ferritic stainless steel sheet with a composition that overlaps with the instant claimed composition and therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have selected amounts of each element from the ranges disclosed in JP’384 to produce a ferritic stainless steel sheet that meets the recited composition in claims 1-3 and 6. See MPEP 2144.05 I.
Element
Claim 1
(mass %)
JP’384
(mass %)
Overlap
(mass %)
C
More than 0 and 0.008 or less
0.001-0.1
0.001-0.008
Si
0.01-2.5
0.01-5.0
0.01-2.5
Mn
0.01-0.50
0.01-2.0
0.01-0.50
P
0.0001-0.04
≤0.05
0.0001-0.04
S
0.001-0.01
≤0.01
0.001-0.01
Al
0.001-2.5
0.01-5
0.01-2.5
Cr
10-25
9-30
10-25
Nb
More than 0 and 0.8 or less
0.01-1
0.01-0.8
Ti
0.05-0.5
0.01-1
0.05-0.5
V
0.01-0.15
0.001-1.0
0.01-0.15
N
More than 0 and 0.05 or less
0.001-0.05
0.001-0.05
Ni
0-0.4
0.01-0.5
0.01-0.4
Sn
0-0.2
0.01-3
0.01-0.2
Mo
0-1.4
0.01-3
0.01-1.4
Cu
0-1.4
0.01-0.5
0.01-0.5
B
0-0.002
0.0001-0.005
0.0001-0.002
Sb
0-0.5
0.001-0.1
0.001-0.1
Zr
0-0.5
0.0001-0.03
0.0001-0.03
Co
0-0.5
0.001-0.5
0.001-0.5
W
0-0.5
0.001-1
0.001-0.5
Ta
0-0.1
0.001-0.05
0.001-0.05
Mg
0-0.005
0.0001-0.005
0.0001-0.005
Ca
0-0.005
0.0001-0.005
0.0001-0.005
Ga
0-0.05
0.0001-0.01
0.0001-0.01
REM
0-0.1
0.001-0.1
0.001-0.1
Fe + Impurities
Balance
Balance
Balance
JP’384 discloses an example containing elements that meet the recited amount of each element in claim 1 expect Nb and S (Abstract; Table 1, Sample A3). The amount of Nb and S in sample A3 of Table 1 is close to the recited amount of Nb and S in claim 1. A prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges or amounts do not overlap with the prior art but are merely close. Titanium Metals Corp. of America v. Banner, 778 F.2d 775, 783, 227 USPQ 773, 779 (Fed. Cir. 1985). See MPEP 2144.05 I.
JP’384 does not explicitly disclose that a composition parameter PS of a passive film on steel surface is 0.03 or more and 0.15 or less, and a surface coverage of an Al-containing oxide having a circle-equivalent diameter of 0.01 to 1.0 µm in the passive film is 15% to 40%. However, these characteristics of the passive film depend on the steel composition and a method of making the steel.
JP’384 discloses that the steel is made by finish annealing at 820 ºC or 920 ºC with a dew point of -50 ºC for 120 seconds and then electrolytically pickled in a solution containing preferably 5 g/L or more sodium fluoride (Page 9, the last 5 paragraphs), which meets the processing limitations recited in claim 4. In view of the fact that JP’384 teaches a steel composition that meets the recited steel composition in claim 1 and a method of making the steel that meets the recited processing limitation in claim 4, one of ordinary skill in the art would expect that the steel disclosed by JP’384 to meet the limitation that a composition parameter PS of a passive film on steel surface is 0.03 or more and 0.15 or less, and a surface coverage of an Al-containing oxide having a circle-equivalent diameter of 0.01 to 1.0 µm in the passive film is 15% to 40% as recited in claim 1. “Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established.” In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977). See MPEP 2112.01 I.
Conclusion
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/XIAOWEI SU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733
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