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 . 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.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-6, 11-14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 06/01/2026.
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.
Claims 7-10, 15-18 are 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the first contact area and the second contact area" in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “the first contact region” in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as this limitation is previously referred to as “a first end region” in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 7-10, 15-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sakamoto (EP2505339B1).
Regarding claim 7, Sakamoto drawn also to the art of a heat sealing tool and tape (Abstract; [0001]), discloses a sealing tape that has a first contact region and second contact region on two ends and a heating region in between the first and second contact region with cuts/notches/holes/recesses in the heating region (see figures 3 & 13-15; claims 1-4). Further, as pertaining to the distance between contact areas being less than a length of the electrical path due to the cuts/notches/holes/recesses, this is disclosed as well by Sakamoto (see claim 2), and further this would naturally be the case, as tracing the electrical path between the contact region would mean tracing around the cuts/holes/notches/recesses, whereas the distance between the contact regions would just be a straight line linear distance, and this would naturally be shorter.
Regarding claims 8-10, Sakamoto has disclosed a first and second heating area adjoining each other and being equal in resistance and cross section with first and second recesses in the first and second heating areas (given that the heating wire is the same and has recesses all along the wire – see figures 3 & 13-14, then the resistance and cross sections would be the same, as well as the recesses as claimed) [0044-0046].
Regarding claims 15-18, Sakamoto discloses the tape being a metallic tape [0049 & 0046]. Sakamoto also discloses a dimensionally stable support body (i.e. heat dissipating base 2) (Figures 6-7 & 11-12; [0036-0037 & 0041-0042]). Sakamoto has also disclosed an insulating intermediate member between the support surface and sealing tape (aluminum plate 21 and aluminum nitride plate 6), as well as a separating film (insulating member 23) (Figure 10).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABHISHEK A PATWARDHAN whose telephone number is (571)272-8431. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 7:30am-5pm.
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/ABHISHEK A PATWARDHAN/Examiner, Art Unit 1746
/CARSON GROSS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1746
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