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
REQUIREMENT FOR UNITY OF INVENTION
As provided in 37 CFR 1.475(a), a national stage application shall relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept (“requirement of unity of invention”). Where a group of inventions is claimed in a national stage application, the requirement of unity of invention shall be fulfilled only when there is a technical relationship among those inventions involving one or more of the same or corresponding special technical features. The expression “special technical features” shall mean those technical features that define a contribution which each of the claimed inventions, considered as a whole, makes over the prior art.
The determination whether a group of inventions is so linked as to form a single general inventive concept shall be made without regard to whether the inventions are claimed in separate claims or as alternatives within a single claim. See 37 CFR 1.475(e).
WHEN CLAIMS ARE DIRECTED TO MULTIPLE CATEGORIES OF INVENTIONS
As provided in 37 CFR 1.475(b), a national stage application containing claims to different categories of invention will be considered to have unity of invention if the claims are drawn only to one of the following combinations of categories:
(1) A product and a process specially adapted for the manufacture of said product; or
(2) A product and process of use of said product; or
(3) A product, a process specially adapted for the manufacture of the said product, and a use of the said product; or
(4) A process and an apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out the said process; or
(5) A product, a process specially adapted for the manufacture of the said product, and an apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out the said process.
Otherwise, unity of invention might not be present. See 37 CFR 1.475(c).
Restriction is required under 35 U.S.C. 121 and 372.
This application contains the following inventions or groups of inventions which are not so linked as to form a single general inventive concept under PCT Rule 13.1.
In accordance with 37 CFR 1.499, applicant is required, in reply to this action, to elect a single invention to which the claims must be restricted.
Group I, claims 1-10, drawn to a reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel.
Group II, claims 11-16, drawn to equipment.
Group III, claims 17-27, drawn to a method for continuous production.
The inventions listed as Groups I, II, and III do not relate to a single general inventive concept under PCT Rule 13.1 because, under PCT Rule 13.2, they lack the same or corresponding special technical features for the following reasons:
The common feature --a reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel comprising: a plurality of honeycomb core sheets having edges, first skin layers with 0° fiber reinforcement laminated on both sides of each of the plurality of honeycomb core sheets, a butt joint between edges of respective laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets in a side-by-side location of the edges of the laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets so that the edges overlap each other or penetrate each other or are deformed to create an area at the conjunction of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores, second skin layers with 90° fiber reinforcement layer on both sides of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores on the 0° fiber reinforced layers, to form a laminated reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel-- cannot qualify as a special technical feature as it does not provide a contribution over the prior art because it is disclosed by Zhu (US 2022/0001643 A1) in view of Palmersten (US 6,256,959 B1), Johnston (US 10,793,201 B1), and McCarville (US 6,039,832 A) (see the international search report).
Zhu discloses a continuous honeycomb core material (ref. #110), including a plurality of honeycomb cores including a plurality of cells (ref. #1) arranged in rows, each of the cells is a hexagonal column formed by side walls (ref. #2), (figure 1 and [0108] of Zhu). Zhu also discloses a connecting structure (ref. #113) arranged between adjacent two honeycomb cores, the connecting structure includes a first connecting portion (ref. #111) and a second connecting portion (ref. #112) corresponding to the first connecting portion, the first and second connecting portions respectively arranged on edges of two transverse sides of each of the plurality of honeycomb cores to form the continuous honeycomb core material, wherein the first and second connecting portions are staggardly engaged to form the connecting structure, so as to form a continuous honeycomb core material with the connecting structure (ref. #69) (figures 1 to 2, 5 to 7, [0108], and [0109] of Zhu). Zhu further discloses a honeycomb-core sandwich composite panel including at least two continuous honeycomb core materials (ref. #110), a continuous honeycomb core material with the connecting structure (ref. #69) connected by a connecting structure (ref. #113), and panels (ref. #73) comprising a first panel on the upper surface (ref. #69A) and a second panel on the lower surface (ref. #69A), and wherein the panels (ref. #73) are made from a bulk layer (ref. #71) and a interface layer (ref. #72), the bulk layer and the interface layer being made of continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic materials (figures 26, 28, [0114], and [0116] of Zhu). Specifically, Zhu provides for --a reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel comprising: a plurality of honeycomb core sheets having edges, and having a first core density, a butt joint between edges of respective honeycomb core sheets in a side-by-side location of the edges of the laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets so that the edges penetrate each other to create an area of a second core density higher than the first core density at the conjunction of the honeycomb cores where the edges of the honeycomb cores join, second skin layers with fiber reinforcement layer on both sides of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores, to form a laminated reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel--.
Zhu fails to disclose --first skin layers laminated on both sides of each of the plurality of honeycomb core sheets, to form laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets, a butt joint between edges of respective laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets in a side-by-side location of the edges of the laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets so that the edges overlap each other or penetrate each other to create an area at the conjunction of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores and of the first skin layers above and below a position where the edges of the honeycomb cores join, and second skin layers with fiber reinforcement layer on both sides of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores on the first skin layers, to form a laminated reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel--.
Palmersten discloses a building panel (ref. #100, #300, #400) including a first skin (ref. #106, #306, and #406) which is bonded to a first face (ref. #108, #308, and #408) of a first foam sheet (ref. 110, #310, and #410), a second face (ref. #112, #312, and #412) of the first foam sheet is fixed to a first face (ref. #116, #316, and #416) of a cellular network (ref. #114, #314, and #414), a second face (ref. #118, #318, and #418) of the cellular network opposite the first face is fixed to a first face (ref. #124, #324, and #424) of a second foam sheet (ref. #130, #330, and #430), and a second skin (ref. #134, #334, and #434) is bonded to a second face (ref. #132, #332, and #432) of the second foam sheet, and wherein the cellular network includes a plurality of cells (ref. #120, #320, and #420) defined by a plurality of cell walls (ref. #122, #322, and #422) (figure 1 and [Col. 2: li. 51 to Col. 3: li. 5], and [Col. 5: li. 13 to Col. 7: li. 2] of Palmersten). Palmersten further discloses an assembly (ref. #338 and #438) including a plurality of building panels (ref. #300 and #400), wherein the panels further comprise first and second interlocking members (ref. #350 and #360; ref. #450 and #460) on one edge, and first and second complementary interlocking members (ref. #352 and #362; ref. #452 and #462) on an opposing edge (figures 6 to 9 and [Col. 5: li. 13 to Col. 7: li. 2] of Palmersten). It is also disclosed by Palmersten that in one embodiment the building panel (ref. #400) includes a groove (ref. #496) defined by the cellular network (ref. #414), and on an opposite side the groove is a tongue (ref. #488) defined by the cellular network, the tongue to be disposed within the groove between two adjacent building panels (figures 8 to 9, [Col. 6; li. 45-50], and [Col. 6: li. 66 to Col. 7: li. 2] of Palmersten). (In the instant case, Palmersten discloses two interconnected panels in which the core of one panel is inserted into the core of another panel, and each panel comprising, independently from one another, a cellular core (e.g., honeycomb core) with two opposing skin layers (i.e., first skin and second skin) (figures 2, 3, and 6 to 9 of Palmersten).)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have combined the building panels of Palmersten with the reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel of Zhu in order to have --first skin layers laminated on both sides of each of the plurality of honeycomb core sheets, to form laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets, a butt joint between edges of respective laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets in a side-by-side location of the edges of the laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets so that the edges overlap each other or penetrate each other to create an area at the conjunction of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores and of the first skin layers above and below a position where the edges of the honeycomb cores join, and second skin layers with fiber reinforcement layer on both sides of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores on the first skin layers, to form a laminated reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel--. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have combined the building panels of Palmersten with the reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel of Zhu, from the stand-point of joining a plurality of building panels together in a snap-fit edge to edge configuration ([Col. 1: li. 29-64] of Palmersten).
Zhu in view of Palmersten failed to disclose --first skin layers with 0° fiber reinforcement laminated on both sides of each of the plurality of honeycomb core sheets--.
Johnston discloses a sandwich structure (ref. #800) comprising a upper skin (ref. #802), a lower skin (ref. #804), and a core (ref. #806) extending therebetween, wherein the upper skin is formed from eight (8) laminated plies (ref. #808A to #808H), wherein the lower skin is formed from four (4) laminated plies (ref. #810A to #810D), and wherein the laminated plies are formed of thermoplastic composite tape reinforced by continuous unidirectional strands of fibers (figure 9 and [Col. 12: li. 9-22] of Johnston). Johnston also discloses that the orientation of the fibers in each ply can alternate between 0° and 90° in the upper skin, and the lower skin can have the fibers in each ply oriented at 0°, 90°, and ±45° (figure 9 and [Col. 14: li. 1-25] of Johnston).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have incorporated the upper and lower skins of Johnston with the first skin layers of the reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel disclosed by Zhu in view of Palmersten in order to have --first skin layers with 0° fiber reinforcement laminated on both sides of each of the plurality of honeycomb core sheets--. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporated the upper and lower skins of Johnston with the first skin layers of the reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel disclosed by Zhu in view of Palmersten, from the stand-point of providing strength [to the sandwich structure] in two or more directions ([Col. 12: li. 10-22] of Johnston).
Zhu in view of Palmersten and Johnston failed to disclose --second skin layers with 90° fiber reinforcement layer on both sides of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores--.
McCarville discloses a panel (ref. #10) comprising two discrete honeycomb core segments, a core splice positioned therebetween, and two face sheets (ref. #12), wherein the face sheets cover both opposing surfaces of the honeycomb core segments and the core splice, and wherein the face sheets can include laminated plies (ref. #22) of thermoplastic resin reinforced with glass tape or glass fabric (e.g., ten (10) plies oriented from top to bottom at angles of 0°, 45°, 90°, -45°, 0°, 0°, -45°, 90°, 45°, and 0°) (figure 3, [Col. 3: li. 38-52], and [Col. 5: li. 6-29] of McCarville).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have incorporated the face sheet of McCarville as the second skin layers of the reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel disclosed by Zhu in view of Palmersten and Johnston in order to have --second skin layers with 90° fiber reinforcement layer on both sides of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores--. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have incorporated the face sheet of McCarville as the second skin layers of the reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel disclosed by Zhu in view of Palmersten and Johnston, from the stand-point of having face sheets that are stable at elevated temperatures ([Col. 3: li. 30-32] of McCarville).
Therefore, the reference(s) specifically suggest(s) using the common elements as claimed.
During a telephone conversation with Thomas Lee on 16 July 2026 a provisional election was made without traverse to prosecute the invention of Group I, claims 1-10. Affirmation of this election must be made by applicant in replying to this Office action. Claims 11-27 are withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to non-elected inventions.
Applicant is advised that the reply to this requirement to be complete must include (i) an election of a species or invention to be examined even though the requirement may be traversed (37 CFR 1.143) and (ii) identification of the claims encompassing the elected invention.
The election of an invention or species may be made with or without traverse. To preserve a right to petition, the election must be made with traverse. If the reply does not distinctly and specifically point out supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election shall be treated as an election without traverse. Traversal must be presented at the time of election in order to be considered timely. Failure to timely traverse the requirement will result in the loss of right to petition under 37 CFR 1.144. If claims are added after the election, applicant must indicate which of these claims are readable on the elected invention or species.
Should applicant traverse on the ground that the inventions have unity of invention (37 CFR 1.475(a)), applicant must provide reasons in support thereof. Applicant may submit evidence or identify such evidence now of record showing the inventions to be obvious variants or clearly admit on the record that this is the case. Where such evidence or admission is provided by applicant, if the examiner finds one of the inventions unpatentable over the prior art, the evidence or admission may be used in a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) of the other invention.
Applicant is reminded that upon the cancellation of claims to a non-elected invention, the inventorship must be corrected in compliance with 37 CFR 1.48(a) if one or more of the currently named inventors is no longer an inventor of at least one claim remaining in the application. A request to correct inventorship under 37 CFR 1.48(a) must be accompanied by an application data sheet in accordance with 37 CFR 1.76 that identifies each inventor by his or her legal name and by the processing fee required under 37 CFR 1.17(i).
The examiner has required restriction between product or apparatus claims and process claims. Where applicant elects claims directed to the product/apparatus, and all product/apparatus claims are subsequently found allowable, withdrawn process claims that include all the limitations of the allowable product/apparatus claims should be considered for rejoinder. All claims directed to a nonelected process invention must include all the limitations of an allowable product/apparatus claim for that process invention to be rejoined.
In the event of rejoinder, the requirement for restriction between the product/apparatus claims and the rejoined process claims will be withdrawn, and the rejoined process claims will be fully examined for patentability in accordance with 37 CFR 1.104. Thus, to be allowable, the rejoined claims must meet all criteria for patentability including the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 101, 102, 103 and 112. Until all claims to the elected product/apparatus are found allowable, an otherwise proper restriction requirement between product/apparatus claims and process claims may be maintained. Withdrawn process claims that are not commensurate in scope with an allowable product/apparatus claim will not be rejoined. See MPEP § 821.04. Additionally, in order for rejoinder to occur, applicant is advised that the process claims should be amended during prosecution to require the limitations of the product/apparatus claims. Failure to do so may result in no rejoinder. Further, note that the prohibition against double patenting rejections of 35 U.S.C. 121 does not apply where the restriction requirement is withdrawn by the examiner before the patent issues. See MPEP § 804.01.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in this application on 30 December 2024.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that use the word “means” or “step”, and is being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph because the claim limitation(s) recite(s) uses a generic placeholder (i.e., recites "means to") that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation is: --the further reinforcement is a means to ensure the transfer of shear forces in the honeycomb cores-- in claim 10.
Because this claim limitation is being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it is being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this limitation interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because it contains an embedded hyperlink and/or other form of browser-executable code. Applicant is required to delete the embedded hyperlink and/or other form of browser-executable code; references to websites should be limited to the top-level domain name without any prefix such as http:// or other browser-executable code. See MPEP § 608.01. (See page 7 of the filed specification.)
Claim Objections
Claims 1-10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
With Regards to Claim 1: Claim 1 recites in lines 1 to 13 that:
A reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel comprising: a plurality of honeycomb core sheets having edges, and having a first core density,
first skin layers with 0° fiber reinforcement laminated on both sides of each of the plurality of honeycomb core sheets, to form laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets,
a butt joint between edges of respective laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets in a side-by-side location of the edges of the laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets so that the edges overlap each other or penetrate each other or are deformed to create an area of a second core density higher than the first core density at the conjunction of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores and of the first skin layers with 0° fiber reinforcement layer above and below a position where the edges of the honeycomb cores join,
second skin layers with 90° fiber reinforcement layer on both sides of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores on the 0° fiber reinforced layers, to form a laminated reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel
which appears to be a typographical error; for clarity and consistency it is recommended to correct this to read:
A reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel comprising: a plurality of honeycomb core sheets having edges, and having a first core density;[[,]]
first skin layers with 0° fiber reinforcement layer laminated on both sides of each of the plurality of honeycomb core sheets, to form laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets;[[,]]
a butt joint between edges of respective laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets in a side-by-side location of the edges of the laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets so that the edges overlap each other or penetrate each other or are deformed to create an area of a second core density higher than the first core density at a[[the]] conjunction of the laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets and of the first skin layers with 0° fiber reinforcement layer above and below a position where the edges of the honeycomb core sheets join; and[[,]]
second skin layers with 90° fiber reinforcement layer on both sides of the laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets on the first skin layers with 0° fiber reinforcement layer
With Regards to Claims 2-10: Claims 2 to 10 each recites --The panel-- in line 1, which appears to be a typographical error; for clarity and consistency it is recommended to correct these to each read "The reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel".
With Regards to Claim 3: Claim 3 recites --first 0° fiber reinforcement layers at-- in line 2, which appears to be a typographical error; for clarity and consistency it is recommended to correct this to read "first skin layers with 0° fiber reinforcement layer
With Regards to Claim 5: Claim 5 recites --the honeycomb core is a folded honeycomb core-- in lines 1 to 2, which appears to be a typographical error; for clarity and consistency it is recommended to correct this to read "the honeycomb core sheet is a folded honeycomb core sheet".
With Regards to Claim 6: Claim 6 recites --the honeycomb core is made from a sheet-- in lines 1 to 2, which appears to be a typographical error; for clarity and consistency it is recommended to correct this to read "the honeycomb core sheet is made from a sheet".
With Regards to Claim 7: Claim 7 recites --the honeycomb core is made from a sheet-- in lines 1 to 2, which appears to be a typographical error; for clarity and consistency it is recommended to correct this to read "the honeycomb core sheet is made from a sheet".
With Regards to Claim 9: Claim 9 recites --the joints between the honeycomb cores-- in line 2, which appears to be a typographical error; for clarity and consistency it is recommended to correct this to read "the butt joints between the honeycomb core sheets".
With Regards to Claim 10: Claim 10 recites in lines 1 to 9:
The panel according to claim 9, wherein the further reinforcement is provided by a thermoplastic film or a thermoplastic adhesive film which has an excess loop between adjacent edges of the honeycomb cores, or wherein the further reinforcement is a means to ensure the transfer of shear forces in the honeycomb cores, or wherein the further reinforcement is a thermoplastic film or a thermoset adhesive film or a thermoplastic coated aluminum layer which allows induction heating of the aluminium layer, or wherein the further reinforcement sags between the honeycomb cores before completing an adhesive process, optionally by pressure and heat
which appears to be a typographical error; for clarity and consistency it is recommended to correct this to read:
The reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel according to claim 9, wherein the further reinforcement satisfies one of the following: wherein the further reinforcement is provided by a thermoplastic film or a thermoplastic adhesive film which has an excess loop between adjacent edges of the honeycomb core sheets; sheets;ium layer which allows induction heating of the aluminium layer;[[,]] or wherein the further reinforcement sags between the honeycomb core sheets before completing an adhesive process, optionally by pressure and heat.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
With Regards to Claim 1: Claim 1 recites the limitation --with 0° fiber reinforcement layer-- in line 3. Furthermore, claim 1 also recites the limitation --with 90° fiber reinforcement layer-- in line 11. As written, a person having ordinary skill in the art would not be adequately apprised as to the intended scope of the claimed invention. In the instant case, there is no basis by which the 0° angle of the fiber reinforcement layer of the first skin layers, and the 90° angle of the fiber reinforcement layer of the second skin layers are in relationship to with respect to the claimed invention, or if they are with respect to the same feature. Furthermore, the claim is rendered indefinite because the claim can have at least two conflicting interpretations: (1) that the 0° angle and the 90° angle are with respect to the same reference direction; or (2) that the 0° angle and the 90° angle are with respect to two different and unrelated reference directions. For the purposes of examination, both interpretations will be applied.
Claims 2-10, which depend from claim 1, are rejected for the same reasons as recited above
With Regards to Claim 2: Claim 2 recites the limitation "the edge connections" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purposes of examination the limitation will be treated to read as "the edges
Claim 4, which depends on claim 2, is rejected for the same reasons as recited above.
With Regards to Claim 4: Claim 4 recites the limitation "reinforced honeycomb core sheet" in line 3 and line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purposes of examination the limitation will be treated to read as "
With Regards to Claim 7: Regarding claim 7, the phrase "in particular" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d). (In the instant case, "in particular" has the same meaning as "for example".)
With Regards to Claim 8: Claim 8 recites the limitation --each of the sheet of thermoplastic polymer of the sheet of thermoplastic elastomeric polymer is joined or laminated by thermoplastic welding to each honeycomb core-- in lines 1 to 3. Claim 6, from which claim 8 depends, recites the limitation --the honeycomb core [sheet] is made from a sheet which is composed of a thermoplastic polymer and/or a thermoplastic elastomeric polymer-- in lines 1 to 3. Claim 1, from which claim 6 depends, recites --a plurality of honeycomb core sheets having edges, [...], a butt joint between edges-- in lines 1 to 5. As written the claim is rendered indefinite because it can have two conflicting interpretations: (1) that said limitation is intending to define a "honeycomb core", which is distinct from said "honeycomb core sheet" of claim 1; (2) that said limitation is intending to recite that said "sheet of thermoplastic polymer" or said "sheet of thermoplastic elastic polymer" are part of each of said "honeycomb core sheets", and that each of said "honeycomb core sheets" are connected to an adjacent honeycomb core sheet via said "sheet of thermoplastic polymer" or "sheet of thermoplastic elastic polymer". For the purposes of examination, it is the decision of the examiner that the latter interpretation applies, and that the limitation of claim 8 will be treated to read as "each of the honeycomb core sheets at the butt joint by thermoplastic welding of the sheet of thermoplastic polymer of the sheet of thermoplastic elastomeric polymer(If applicant disagrees, appropriate clarification and correction is requested by the examiner.)
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 1-3 and 5-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu (US 2022/0001643 A1) in view of Palmersten (US 6,256,959 B1), Johnston (US 10,793,201 B1), and McCarville (US 6,039,832 A).
Regarding Claim 1: Zhu discloses a continuous honeycomb core material (ref. #110), including a plurality of honeycomb cores including a plurality of cells (ref. #1) arranged in rows, each of the cells is a hexagonal column formed by side walls (ref. #2), (figure 1 and [0108] of Zhu). Zhu also discloses a connecting structure (ref. #113) arranged between adjacent two honeycomb cores, the connecting structure includes a first connecting portion (ref. #111) and a second connecting portion (ref. #112) corresponding to the first connecting portion, the first and second connecting portions respectively arranged on edges of two transverse sides of each of the plurality of honeycomb cores to form the continuous honeycomb core material, wherein the first and second connecting portions are staggardly engaged to form the connecting structure, so as to form a continuous honeycomb core material with the connecting structure (ref. #69) (figures 1 to 2, 5 to 7, [0108], and [0109] of Zhu). Zhu further discloses a honeycomb-core sandwich composite panel including at least two continuous honeycomb core materials (ref. #110), a continuous honeycomb core material with the connecting structure (ref. #69) connected by a connecting structure (ref. #113), and panels (ref. #73) comprising a first panel on the upper surface (ref. #69A) and a second panel on the lower surface (ref. #69A), and wherein the panels (ref. #73) are made from a bulk layer (ref. #71) and a interface layer (ref. #72), the bulk layer and the interface layer being made of continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic materials (figures 26, 28, [0114], and [0116] of Zhu). Specifically, Zhu provides for --a reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel comprising: a plurality of honeycomb core sheets having edges, and having a first core density, a butt joint between edges of respective honeycomb core sheets in a side-by-side location of the edges of the laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets so that the edges penetrate each other to create an area of a second core density higher than the first core density at the conjunction of the honeycomb cores where the edges of the honeycomb cores join, second skin layers with fiber reinforcement layer on both sides of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores, to form a laminated reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel--. (In the instant case, because portions of the core overlap in a staggard arrangement (figures 2 and 5 to 7 of Zhu), it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made, that the area of the overlap would have a core density greater than the portions outside of the overlap (i.e., the area would have a second density in the core in the area of overlap that is greater than the first density of the core outside the overlap).)
Zhu fails to disclose --first skin layers laminated on both sides of each of the plurality of honeycomb core sheets, to form laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets, a butt joint between edges of respective laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets in a side-by-side location of the edges of the laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets so that the edges overlap each other or penetrate each other to create an area at the conjunction of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores and of the first skin layers above and below a position where the edges of the honeycomb cores join, and second skin layers with fiber reinforcement layer on both sides of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores on the first skin layers, to form a laminated reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel--.
Palmersten discloses a building panel (ref. #100, #300, #400) including a first skin (ref. #106, #306, and #406) which is bonded to a first face (ref. #108, #308, and #408) of a first foam sheet (ref. 110, #310, and #410), a second face (ref. #112, #312, and #412) of the first foam sheet is fixed to a first face (ref. #116, #316, and #416) of a cellular network (ref. #114, #314, and #414), a second face (ref. #118, #318, and #418) of the cellular network opposite the first face is fixed to a first face (ref. #124, #324, and #424) of a second foam sheet (ref. #130, #330, and #430), and a second skin (ref. #134, #334, and #434) is bonded to a second face (ref. #132, #332, and #432) of the second foam sheet, and wherein the cellular network includes a plurality of cells (ref. #120, #320, and #420) defined by a plurality of cell walls (ref. #122, #322, and #422) (figure 1 and [Col. 2: li. 51 to Col. 3: li. 5], and [Col. 5: li. 13 to Col. 7: li. 2] of Palmersten). Palmersten further discloses an assembly (ref. #338 and #438) including a plurality of building panels (ref. #300 and #400), wherein the panels further comprise first and second interlocking members (ref. #350 and #360; ref. #450 and #460) on one edge, and first and second complementary interlocking members (ref. #352 and #362; ref. #452 and #462) on an opposing edge (figures 6 to 9 and [Col. 5: li. 13 to Col. 7: li. 2] of Palmersten). It is also disclosed by Palmersten that in one embodiment the building panel (ref. #400) includes a groove (ref. #496) defined by the cellular network (ref. #414), and on an opposite side the groove is a tongue (ref. #488) defined by the cellular network, the tongue to be disposed within the groove between two adjacent building panels (figures 8 to 9, [Col. 6; li. 45-50], and [Col. 6: li. 66 to Col. 7: li. 2] of Palmersten). (In the instant case, Palmersten discloses two interconnected panels in which the core of one panel is inserted into the core of another panel, and each panel comprising, independently from one another, a cellular core (e.g., honeycomb core) with two opposing skin layers (i.e., first skin and second skin) (figures 2, 3, and 6 to 9 of Palmersten).)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have combined the building panels of Palmersten with the reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel of Zhu in order to have --first skin layers laminated on both sides of each of the plurality of honeycomb core sheets, to form laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets, a butt joint between edges of respective laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets in a side-by-side location of the edges of the laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets so that the edges overlap each other or penetrate each other to create an area at the conjunction of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores and of the first skin layers above and below a position where the edges of the honeycomb cores join, and second skin layers with fiber reinforcement layer on both sides of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores on the first skin layers, to form a laminated reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel--. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have combined the building panels of Palmersten with the reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel of Zhu, from the stand-point of joining a plurality of building panels together in a snap-fit edge to edge configuration ([Col. 1: li. 29-64] of Palmersten).
Zhu in view of Palmersten failed to disclose --first skin layers with 0° fiber reinforcement laminated on both sides of each of the plurality of honeycomb core sheets--.
Johnston discloses a sandwich structure (ref. #800) comprising a upper skin (ref. #802), a lower skin (ref. #804), and a core (ref. #806) extending therebetween, wherein the upper skin is formed from eight (8) laminated plies (ref. #808A to #808H), wherein the lower skin is formed from four (4) laminated plies (ref. #810A to #810D), and wherein the laminated plies are formed of thermoplastic composite tape reinforced by continuous unidirectional strands of fibers (figure 9 and [Col. 12: li. 9-22] of Johnston). Johnston also discloses that the orientation of the fibers in each ply can alternate between 0° and 90° in the upper skin, and the lower skin can have the fibers in each ply oriented at 0°, 90°, and ±45° (figure 9 and [Col. 14: li. 1-25] of Johnston).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have incorporated the upper and lower skins of Johnston with the first skin layers of the reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel disclosed by Zhu in view of Palmersten in order to have --first skin layers with 0° fiber reinforcement laminated on both sides of each of the plurality of honeycomb core sheets--. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporated the upper and lower skins of Johnston with the first skin layers of the reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel disclosed by Zhu in view of Palmersten, from the stand-point of providing strength [to the sandwich structure] in two or more directions ([Col. 12: li. 10-22] of Johnston).
Zhu in view of Palmersten and Johnston failed to disclose --second skin layers with 90° fiber reinforcement layer on both sides of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores--.
McCarville discloses a panel (ref. #10) comprising two discrete honeycomb core segments, a core splice positioned therebetween, and two face sheets (ref. #12), wherein the face sheets cover both opposing surfaces of the honeycomb core segments and the core splice, and wherein the face sheets can include laminated plies (ref. #22) of thermoplastic resin reinforced with glass tape or glass fabric (e.g., ten (10) plies oriented from top to bottom at angles of 0°, 45°, 90°, -45°, 0°, 0°, -45°, 90°, 45°, and 0°) (figure 3, [Col. 3: li. 38-52], and [Col. 5: li. 6-29] of McCarville).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have incorporated the face sheet of McCarville as the second skin layers of the reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel disclosed by Zhu in view of Palmersten and Johnston in order to have --second skin layers with 90° fiber reinforcement layer on both sides of the laminated reinforced honeycomb cores--. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have incorporated the face sheet of McCarville as the second skin layers of the reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel disclosed by Zhu in view of Palmersten and Johnston, from the stand-point of having face sheets that are stable at elevated temperatures ([Col. 3: li. 30-32] of McCarville).
Regarding Claim 2: Zhu in view of Palmersten, Johnston, and McCarville disclose that the honeycomb core sheets have polygonal cells in an array, the polygonal cells having cell walls with a cell wall length between vertices of a polygon, and the interpenetration of the edge connections of the honeycomb core sheets is up to one cell wall length (figures 5 and 6 of Zhu).
Regarding Claim 3: Zhu in view of Palmersten, Johnston, and McCarville discloses the reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel further comprising a joint with the first 0° fiber reinforcement layers at a location where adjacent honeycomb core sheets interpenetrate each other (figures 6 to 9 of Palmersten).
Regarding Claim 5: Zhu in view of Palmersten, Johnston, and McCarville discloses that the honeycomb core is a folded honeycomb core (figures 1 to 2, [0108], and [0109] of Zhu).
Regarding Claim 6: Zhu in view of Palmersten, Johnston, and McCarville discloses that the honeycomb core is made from a sheet which is composed of a thermoplastic polymer ([0031] of Zhu).
Regarding Claim 7: Zhu in view of Palmersten, Johnston, and McCarville discloses that the honeycomb core is made from a sheet which is composed of a thermoplastic polymer selected from a group consisting of polyolefins (e.g., polypropylene) ([0031] and [0111] of Zhu).
Regarding Claim 8: Zhu in view of Palmersten, Johnston, and McCarville discloses that the sheet of thermoplastic polymer or the sheet of thermoplastic elastomeric polymer is joined or laminated by thermoplastic welding to each honeycomb core ([0032] of Zhu).
Regarding Claim 9: Zhu in view of Palmersten, Johnston, and McCarville discloses that a further reinforcement (e.g., adhesive layer (ref. #212)) is applied to the joints between the honeycomb cores ([0111] of Zhu).
Regarding Claim 10: Zhu in view of Palmersten, Johnston, and McCarville discloses that the further reinforcement is a thermoplastic film (e.g., adhesive layer made of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA)) ([0111] of Zhu).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu (US 2022/0001643 A1) in view of Palmersten (US 6,256,959 B1), Johnston (US 10,793,201 B1), and McCarville (US 6,039,832 A) as applied to claims 1 and 2 above, and further in view of Holland et al. (US 2,860,740 A) and Kloote et al. (US 2,896,271 A).
Zhu in view of Palmersten, Johnston, and McCarville is relied upon as described above.
Regarding Claim 4: Zhu in view of Palmersten, Johnston, and McCarville failed to disclose --wherein for half of the polygonal cells along one edge, the top or bottom of the cell is open and along an opposing edge, for another half of the cells, the top or bottom is closed, or wherein on an edge of the laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets, the cells from one reinforced honeycomb core sheet have open tops and are cut in half, and joined with cells from an adjacent reinforced honeycomb core sheet, the cells having closed tops that are cut in half--.
Holland discloses a spliced metal foil honeycomb having edges with complementary bevel, the edges being spliced to one another with a plurality of cell edges of one sheet being imbedded within sheared contiguous areas of the second sheet and with the unsheared cell edges of the second sheet imbedded with sheared contiguous areas of the first sheet (figures 1 to 3 and [Col. 1: li. 15 to 45] of Holland).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have combined the complementary edges of the honeycomb core of Holland with honeycomb core sheets of the reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel disclosed by Zhu in view of Palmersten, Johnston, and McCarville in order to have --on an edge of the laminated reinforced honeycomb core sheets, the cells from one reinforced honeycomb core sheet have open tops, and joined with cells from an adjacent reinforced honeycomb core sheet, the cells having closed tops--. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have combined the complementary edges of the honeycomb core of Holland with honeycomb core sheets of the reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel disclosed by Zhu in view of Palmersten, Johnston, and McCarville, from the stand-point of forming, in effect, a unitary section of the honeycomb material of practically any desired dimensions in an edge to edge relationship between two or more sheets ([Col. 1: li. 41-45] of Holland). (In the instant case, Holland teaches that the butt joints of two adjacent honeycomb cores can be formed to have complementary shapes.)
Zhu in view of Palmersten, Johnston, McCarville, and Holland failed to disclose that --the cells are cut in half--.
Kloote discloses panels with facing sheets, wherein the panels have complementary edge profiles to allow assembly of a plurality of panels, wherein the complementary edge profiles can be a lap joint (figure 3) or a bevel joint (figure 4) (figures 2 to 4, and [Col. 3: li. 10-20 and 49-75] of Kloote). (In the instant case, Kloote discloses panels having lap joint and beveled complementary edges.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have combined the lap joint of Kloote with the edge of the honeycomb core sheets of Zhu in view of Palmersten, Johnston, McCarville, and Holland in order to have --the cells be cut in half on opposing ends--. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have combined the lap joint of Kloote with the edge of the honeycomb core sheets of Zhu in view of Palmersten, Johnston, McCarville, and Holland, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the shape of the edges of the honeycomb core sheets. A change in shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP §2144.04(IV)(B). (In the instant case, the combination of Holland and Kloote enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to change the abutting edges to have complementary lapped edges with the cells of the two panels in alignment and with the same height.)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Schmaling (US 4,793,727 A) discloses a composite joint of two honeycomb sandwich panels.
Iseli (US 2016/0123008 A1) discloses two structural sandwich elements joined edge to edge with a formwork disposed between the discrete cores.
Douglas (US 2008/0047121 A1) discloses the joining of edges of adjacent honeycomb core panel sections.
Pflug (US 2025/0332809 A1) discloses a honeycomb core formed from a folded sheet for as the core in a sandwich panel.
Chin et al. (US 4,917,747 A) discloses a projecting flange of a honeycomb core that is crushed to form a joint.
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/DONALD M FLORES JR/
Donald M. Flores, Jr.Examiner, Art Unit 1781
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