DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 3 and 12-19 in the reply filed on 3/17/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-2 and 4-11 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected method, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 3/17/2026.
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.
Claims 3, 12-14, and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Leatherman (US 4029837) with evidence from MP, Tg, and Structure of Common Polymers Sheet (Hereafter “MP Sheet”).
Leatherman discloses a composite plastic-metallic bonding laminate. Concerning claim 3, Leatherman discloses the laminate (FIG. 3) comprises a metal layer (element 27) and a first layer disposed on one major surface (element 24) and a second layer disposed on the other major surface (element 22), wherein the first and second layers are different thermoplastic resins (abstract; cols. 3-5). Regarding claims 12-14, Leatherman discloses an exemplary embodiment one layer is a polypropylene and the other is a nylon which is a polyamide (col. 3, lines 34-49), wherein as evidenced by the MP sheet, polyamides (i.e. nylons) have a Tm of at least 10°C. Concerning claim 16, since the resins recited above are the only materials in the layers, the resins are the same as the main components and meet the limitations as claimed. Regarding claim 17, the metal layer can be formed of aluminum (col. 4, lines 35-40). Examiner does not give patentable weight to the limitation of “foil” as this is defined by Merriam-Webster as a thin sheet and the mesh metal layer of Leatherman appears to be a thin sheet.
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.
Claims 15 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leatherman (US 4029837) with evidence from MP, Tg, and Structure of Common Polymers Sheet (Hereafter “MP Sheet”).
Leatherman discloses the above, including each layer can be formed from polypropylene, polyethylene, or polyester depending upon the specific bonding application (col. 5, lines 59-68), wherein as shown by the MP Sheet, the Tm difference can be at least 30°C.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leatherman (US 4029837) in view of Abiodun et al. (IJSRSET) with evidence from MP, Tg, and Structure of Common Polymers Sheet (Hereafter “MP Sheet”).
Leatherman discloses the above, including the metal layer is formed from steel (col. 4, lines 35-40). However, Leatherman is silent to the steel being a stainless steel.
Abiodun discloses that stainless steel includes chromium, which provides heat-resistant properties as well as preventing the steel from rusting (p. 104, left column). As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use stainless steel as the steel of Leatherman.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PRASHANT J KHATRI whose telephone number is (571)270-3470. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10AM-6:30PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Veronica Ewald can be reached at (571) 272-8519. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
PRASHANT J. KHATRI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1783
/PRASHANT J KHATRI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1783
Prosecution Insights