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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-10 are pending and are presented for this examination.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on 07/12/2024 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.
Claims 1-10 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the zinc or zinc-alloy coated sheet" in lines 5-6, line 10 and third line from end of claim 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Does it refer to two first zinc or zinc-alloy coated sheet or the second zinc or zinc-alloy coated steel sheet? Clarification is required.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the furnace atmosphere" in the step of “adding”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear whether the furnace atmosphere refers to the atmosphere A1 or something else.
Claim 10 recitation “the soaking temperature T2” in the end of step “adding”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear whether soaking temperature refers to the soaking temperature T2 (emphasis added) or something else.
Lastly, it is further unclear whether claim 10 recitation “T1” and “T1”, or “T2” and “T2” are the same thing. If “T1” and “T1”, or “T2” and “T2” are the same thing, applicant is required to amend the recitations in a consistent manner.
As a result of rejected independent claim 1, all dependent claims are rejected under the same statue.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-10 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith Hendricks can be reached on (571)272-1401. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JENNY R WU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733
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