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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Applicant is reminded that in order for a patent issuing on the instant application to obtain priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) or (f), 365(a) or (b), or 386(a) or (b), based on priority papers filed in a parent or related Application No. 17274145(to which the present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) or is a reissue application of a patent issued on the related application), a claim for such foreign priority must be timely made in this application. To satisfy the requirement of 37 CFR 1.55 for a certified copy of the foreign application, applicant may simply identify the parent nonprovisional application or patent for which reissue is sought containing the certified copy.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/22/2024, 01/07/2025, 04/02/2026 is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings in Fig. 5E are objected to because “510” and “512” labeling seems to be switched/flipped than how they were described/identified in the specification. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure.
A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art.
If the patent is of a basic nature, the entire technical disclosure may be new in the art, and the abstract should be directed to the entire disclosure. If the patent is in the nature of an improvement in an old apparatus, process, product, or composition, the abstract should include the technical disclosure of the improvement. The abstract should also mention by way of example any preferred modifications or alternatives.
Where applicable, the abstract should include the following: (1) if a machine or apparatus, its organization and operation; (2) if an article, its method of making; (3) if a chemical compound, its identity and use; (4) if a mixture, its ingredients; (5) if a process, the steps.
Extensive mechanical and design details of an apparatus should not be included in the abstract. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length.
See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the first sentence is analogous to the title and should be removed. A corrected abstract, such as of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claims 2-16, and 18-22 are objected to because of the following informalities:
“An” in the beginning should be “The”
“table” in Claim 11 should be “cable”
“sealing sheath” in claim 17 should be “sealing the sheath” as examiner does not see a mention of a “sealing sheath” in the specification
“second block … the other end” in Claim 19 should be “second terminal block … an other end positioned opposite to the one end”
“tape … maintaining it” in Claim 21 should be “tapes … maintaining the HTS current lead”
Appropriate correction is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3, 12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim,but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form (as well addressing the double patenting rejection) including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 21-22 would be allowable if the Double Patenting rejection(s) set forth in this Office action are overcome.
Applicant is advised that should claim 2-3 be put in independent claim 1, claim 21 might be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-5, 13, 17-18, and 21-22 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-5 of U.S. Patent No.12131837. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they are related parent/child applications and refer to the same structure.
US 12131837
Application 18893688
1. A high temperature superconducting, HTS, current lead comprising: an HTS cable including a plurality of HTS tapes; a braided sleeve around the HTS cable; a stabiliser material impregnating the HTS cable and the braided sleeve, the stabiliser material having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes; and a terminal block at each end of the HTS cable, each terminal block being electrically connected to the HTS tape, and being configured for electrical connection to external components, wherein, the HTS cable is bent and the terminal blocks are at an angle to each other.
1. A reshapeable high temperature superconducting, HTS, current lead comprising: an HTS cable comprising a plurality of HTS tapes; a braided sleeve around the HTS cable; and a stabiliser material impregnating the HTS cable and the braided sleeve, the stabiliser material having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes.
4. An HTS current lead according to claim 1, wherein the HTS cable comprises a stack of parallel HTS tapes.
5. An HTS current lead according to claim 1, further comprising: a terminal block at each end of the HTS cable, each terminal block being electrically connected to the HTS tape, and being configured for electrical connection to external components.
2. A method of manufacturing an HTS current lead, the method comprising: providing an HTS cable including a plurality of HTS tapes; placing a braided sleeve around the cable; placing a leak-tight sheath around the braided sleeve; filling the leak-tight sheath
with a stabiliser material, the stabiliser material having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes; and sealing the leak-tight sheath, wherein the step of filling the leak-tight sheath with stabiliser material includes: inserting pellets of the stabiliser material into the leak-tight sheath; melting the pellets.
1. A reshapeable high temperature superconducting, HTS, current lead comprising: an HTS cable comprising a plurality of HTS tapes; a braided sleeve around the HTS cable; and a stabiliser material impregnating the HTS cable and the braided sleeve, the stabiliser material having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes.
13. An HTS current lead according to claim 1, and comprising a leak-tight sheath surrounding the stabiliser material.
3. A method of reshaping an HTS current lead, comprising: providing an HTS cable including a plurality of HTS tapes, a braided sleeve around the HTS cable, a stabiliser material impregnating the HTS cable and the braided sleeve, the stabiliser material having a melting point above a critical temperature of the HTS tape and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes, and a leak-tight sheath encapsulating the stabiliser material; heating the HTS current lead to a temperature above the melting point of the stabiliser material and below the degradation temperature of the HTS tape; bending the HTS current lead into a desired shape; and allowing the HTS current lead to cool while maintaining it in the desired shape.
A reshapeable high temperature superconducting, HTS, current lead comprising: an HTS cable comprising a plurality of HTS tapes; a braided sleeve around the HTS cable; and a stabiliser material impregnating the HTS cable and the braided sleeve, the stabiliser material having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes.
2. An HTS current lead according to claim 1, wherein the HTS current lead is rigid when the stabiliser material is solid and wherein the HTS current lead is reshapeable when the stabiliser material is at a temperature above the melting point of the stabiliser material.
3. An HTS current lead according to claim 1, wherein the HTS current lead is reshapeable from a first shape to a second shape when the stabiliser material is at a temperature above the melting point of the stabiliser material; and wherein the HTS current lead is configured to retain said second shape of the HTS current lead when the stabiliser material is cooled from the temperature above the melting point of the stabiliser material to a temperature below the melting point of the stabiliser material.
21. A method of reshaping an HTS current lead, comprising: providing an HTS cable comprising a plurality of HTS tapes, a braided sleeve around the HTS cable, and a stabiliser material impregnating the HTS cable and the braided sleeve, the stabiliser material having a melting point above a critical temperature of the HTS tape and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes; heating the HTS current lead to a temperature above the melting point of the stabiliser material and below the degradation temperature of the HTS tape; bending the HTS current lead into a desired shape; and allowing the HTS current lead to cool while maintaining it in the desired shape.
22. A method of reshaping an HTS current lead according to claim 21, wherein the HTS cable comprises a sheath encapsulating the stabiliser material.
4. A method of manufacturing an HTS current lead, the method comprising: providing an HTS cable including a plurality of HTS tapes; placing a braided sleeve around the cable; placing a leak-tight sheath around the braided sleeve; filling the leak-tight sheath with a stabiliser material, the stabiliser material having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes; and sealing the leak-tight sheath, wherein, the leak-tight sheath is formed from a heat shrink material, and the method further comprises heating the leak-tight sheath following the step of filling the leak-tight sheath with stabiliser material in order to melt the stabiliser material and shrink the sheath.
1. A reshapeable high temperature superconducting, HTS, current lead comprising: an HTS cable comprising a plurality of HTS tapes; a braided sleeve around the HTS cable; and a stabiliser material impregnating the HTS cable and the braided sleeve, the stabiliser material having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes.
17. A method of manufacturing a reshapeable HTS current lead, the method comprising: providing an HTS cable comprising a plurality of HTS tapes; placing a braided sleeve around the HTS cable; placing sheath with a stabiliser material, the stabiliser material having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes; and sealing sheath.
18. A method according to claim 17, wherein the sheath is a leak-tight sheath.
5. A method of manufacturing an HTS current lead, the method comprising: providing an HTS cable including a plurality of HTS tapes; placing a braided sleeve around the cable; placing a leak-tight sheath around the braided sleeve; filling the leak-tight sheath with a stabiliser material, the stabiliser material having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes; sealing the leak-tight sheath; affixing the HTS cable to a first terminal block at one end; bending the HTS cable; and affixing the HTS cable to a second terminal block at the other end, while the HTS cable is bent, such that the first and second terminal blocks are at an angle relative to each other.
1. A reshapeable high temperature superconducting, HTS, current lead comprising: an HTS cable comprising a plurality of HTS tapes; a braided sleeve around the HTS cable; and a stabiliser material impregnating the HTS cable and the braided sleeve, the stabiliser material having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes.
4. An HTS current lead according to claim 1, wherein the HTS cable comprises a stack of parallel HTS tapes.
5. An HTS current lead according to claim 1, further comprising: a terminal block at each end of the HTS cable, each terminal block being electrically connected to the HTS tape, and being configured for electrical connection to external components.
13. An HTS current lead according to claim 1, and comprising a leak-tight sheath surrounding the stabiliser material.
Claim 6-11, 14-15 and 17-19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12131837 in view of Thieme (US7816303) or MAEDA (EP2587493) or Iwasa (US20160240286) or Folts (US2008194411) or ASAKURA (JP2000030776). The references are in the same field of invention and generally disclose the claimed limitations of the application for use in different application such as power lines or for technical benefits such as leak prevention.
MAEDA teaches the stabiliser material is a wax (MAEDA, paraffin wax is a wax).
Thieme teaches the braided sleeve includes a metal, and is electrically connected to the HTS cable (Thieme, column 11 lines 47-58).
Regarding Claim 4. (Previously Presented) Thieme teaches the metal is copper or brass (Thieme, column 11 lines 47-58).
Iwasa teaches the each terminal block (925) is soldered to the HTS cable (Fig. 9E,
[0067], 1070).
Iwasa teaches the each terminal block (925) is affixed to the braided sleeve (Thieme - Fig. 4A-4B {450} when combined) (Fig. 9E, [0067], 1070)
Asakura teaches affixing the braided sleeve to the first or second terminal block ([0005], [0023]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the HTS cable as disclosed by the claim with the affixed braided sleeve to terminal block as disclosed by Asakura in order to provide a connection structure of the superconducting current lead portion which is particularly resistant to external impact (Asakusa, [0028]).
Folts teaches the leak-tight sheath is removable (Folts, Fig. 2, (114,116,118,120,122), to add in more layers as suggested in [0051], the leak-tight sheath can obviously be removed by some method)
Folts teaches the leak-tight sheath includes an inner sheath (Folts, 114) formed from a leak-tight material, and an outer sheath (Folts,120) formed from a material which maintains structural integrity after cooling to below 77K (Folts, [0007],[0057]).
See Claim 1 rejection above
6. An HTS current lead according to claim 1, wherein the stabiliser material is a wax.
7. An HTS current lead according to claim 1, wherein the braided sleeve comprises a metal, and is electrically connected to the HTS cable.
8. An HTS current lead according to claim 7, wherein the metal is copper or brass.
9. An HTS current lead according to claim 5, wherein the terminal block at each end of the HTS cable is soldered to the HTS cable.
10. An HTS current lead according to claim 5, wherein the terminal block at each end of the HTS cable is affixed to the braided sleeve.
11. An HTS current lead according to claim 5, wherein the terminal block at each end of the HTS table is soldered to the braided sleeve.
14. An HTS current lead according to claim 13, wherein the leak-tight sheath is removable.
15. An HTS current lead according to claim 13, wherein the leak-tight sheath comprises an inner sheath formed from a leak-tight material, and an outer sheath formed from a material which maintains structural integrity after cooling to below 77K.
5. A method of manufacturing an HTS current lead, the method comprising: providing an HTS cable including a plurality of HTS tapes; placing a braided sleeve around the cable; placing a leak-tight sheath around the braided sleeve; filling the leak-tight sheath with a stabiliser material, the stabiliser material having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes; sealing the leak-tight sheath; affixing the HTS cable to a first terminal block at one end; bending the HTS cable; and affixing the HTS cable to a second terminal block at the other end, while the HTS cable is bent, such that the first and second terminal blocks are at an angle relative to each other.
Asakura teaches affixing the braided sleeve to the first or second terminal block ([0005], [0023]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the HTS cable as disclosed by the claim with the affixed braided sleeve to terminal block as disclosed by Asakura in order to provide a connection structure of the superconducting current lead portion which is particularly resistant to external impact (Asakusa, [0028]).
17. A method of manufacturing a reshapeable HTS current lead, the method comprising: providing an HTS cable comprising a plurality of HTS tapes; placing a braided sleeve around the HTS cable; placing a sheath around the braided sleeve; filling the sheath with a stabiliser material, the stabiliser material having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes; and sealing sheath.
18. A method according to claim 17, wherein the sheath is a leak-tight sheath.
19. A method according to claim 17, and comprising: affixing the HTS cable to a first terminal block at one end; affixing the HTS cable to a second block at the other end; and affixing the braided sleeve to the first or second terminal block.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
The test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary reference; nor is it that the claimed invention must be expressly suggested in any one or all of the references. Rather, the test is what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981).
Claim(s) 1, 4, 6-8, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thieme (US7816303) in view of MAEDA (EP2587493).
Regarding Claim 1. Thieme teaches, in Fig. 4A-4B, a reshapeable high temperature superconducting, HTS, current lead comprising: an HTS cable comprising a plurality of HTS tapes (410,420); a braided sleeve (450) around the HTS cable; but does not disclose a stabiliser material impregnating the HTS cable and the braided sleeve, the stabiliser material having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes.
MAEDA teaches a stabiliser material (paraffin wax, [00174]) impregnating the HTS cable and the braided sleeve, the stabiliser material having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes ([00174], paraffin wax has a melting point between 46 to 68 Celsius- see Paraffin_Britannica- page 1).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the HTS current lead as disclosed by Thieme with the stabilizer material as disclosed by MAEDA in order to operate as a insulator/lubricant layer that also can provide waterproofing (Parafin_Britannica, page 1, page 5 3rd paragraph) .
Regarding Claim 4. Thieme and MAEDA teaches an HTS current lead according to claim 1, wherein the HTS cable comprises a stack of parallel HTS tapes (see Thieme, Fig. 4A-4B) (duplication of parts is obvious).
Regarding Claim 6. Thieme and MAEDA teaches the HTS current lead according to claim 1, wherein the stabiliser material is a wax (MAEDA, paraffin wax is a wax).
Regarding Claim 7. Thieme and MAEDA teaches the HTS current lead according to claim 1, wherein the braided sleeve comprises a metal, and is electrically connected to the HTS cable (Thiene, column 11 lines 47-58)..
Regarding Claim 8. Thieme and MAEDA teaches the HTS current lead according to claim 7, wherein the metal is copper or brass (Thieme, column 11 lines 47-58)..
Regarding Claim 16. Thieme and MAEDA teaches an HTS current lead according to claim 1, wherein the braided sleeve is configured to prevent bending of the HTS cable below a threshold radius of curvature (Thieme, column 11 lines 57-58, implicit property of materials that thicker material is harder to bend beyond a certain radius than a thinner material) (intended use - it has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations Ex parte Masham 2 USPQ2d 1647 1987)).
Claim(s) 5, 9-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thieme (US7816303) and MAEDA (EP2587493) in view of ASAKURA (JP2000030776).
Regarding Claim 5. Thieme and MAEDA teaches an HTS current lead according to claim 1, further comprising: but does not teach a terminal block at each end of the HTS cable, each terminal block being electrically connected to the HTS tape, and being configured for electrical connection to external components.
ASAKURA teaches, in Fig. 1 Fig. 9, a terminal block (10, 11, 1,2) at each end of the HTS cable, each terminal block being electrically connected to the HTS tape (not disclosed however when combined meets limitation), and being configured for electrical connection to external components (see [0011]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the HTS cable as disclosed by Thieme and MAEDA with the affixed braided sleeve to terminal block as disclosed by Asakura in order to provide a connection structure of the superconducting current lead portion which is particularly resistant to external impact (Asakusa, [0028]).
Regarding Claim 9. Thieme, MAEDA, ASAKURA teaches an HTS current lead according to claim 5, wherein the terminal block at each end of the HTS cable is soldered to the HTS cable (ASAKURA, [0005], by the braided sleeve).
Regarding Claim 10. Thieme, MAEDA, ASAKURA teaches An HTS current lead according to claim 5, wherein the terminal block at each end of the HTS cable is affixed to the braided sleeve (ASAKURA, [0005]).
Regarding Claim 11. Thieme, MAEDA, ASAKURA teaches an HTS current lead according to claim 5, wherein the terminal block at each end of the HTS table is soldered to the braided sleeve (ASAKURA, [0005]).
Claim(s) 13-15, 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thieme (US7816303) and MAEDA (EP2587493) in view of Folts (US2008194411).
Regarding Claim 13. Thieme and MAEDA teaches the HTS current lead according to claim 1, but does not teach comprising a leak-tight sheath surrounding the stabiliser material.
Folts teaches, in Fig. 2, a leak-tight sheath (114,116,118,120,122) surrounding the stabiliser material (264) ([0078],[0084]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the HTS current lead as disclosed by Thieme and MAEDA with the leak tight sheath as disclosed by Folts in order to protect the HTS cable and prevent coolant from leaking as it is known in the art.
Regarding Claim 14. (Previously Presented) Thieme, MAEDA, and Folts teaches the HTS current lead according to claim 13, wherein the leak-tight sheath is removable (Folts, Fig. 2, (114,116,118,120,122)), to add in more layers as suggested in [0051], the leak-tight sheath can obviously be removed by some method).
Regarding Claim 15. (Previously Presented) Thieme, MAEDA, and Folts teaches An HTS current lead according to claim 13, wherein the leak-tight sheath comprises an inner sheath (Folts, 114) formed from a leak-tight material, and an outer sheath (Folts,120) formed from a material which maintains structural integrity after cooling to below 77K (Folts, [0007],[0057]).
Regarding Claim 17. Thieme teaches a method of manufacturing a reshapeable HTS current lead, the method comprising: providing an HTS cable comprising a plurality of HTS tapes (410, 420) (110,120) (Fig. 1); placing a braided sleeve (450) around the HTS cable (Fig. 4A); but does not disclose placing a sheath around the braided sleeve; filling the sheath with a stabiliser material, the stabiliser material having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes; and sealing sheath.
MAEDA teaches the stabiliser material (paraffin wax, [00174]) having a melting point above 290K and below a thermal degradation temperature of the HTS tapes ([00174], paraffin wax has a melting point between 46 to 68 celcius- see Parafin_Britannica-page 1).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the HTS current lead as disclosed by Thieme with the stabilizer material as disclosed by MAEDA in order to operate as a insulator/lubricant layer that also can provide waterproofing (Parafin_Britannica, page 1, page 5 3rd paragraph) .
Folts teaches placing a sheath (Fig. 2, (114,116,118,120,122)) around the braided sleeve (see Thieme); filling the sheath with a stabiliser material ((264) ([0078],[0084]) and sealing the sheath ([0078],[0084]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the HTS current lead as disclosed by Thieme and MAEDA with the leak tight sheath as disclosed by Folts in order to protect the HTS cable and prevent coolant from leaking as it is known in the art.
Regarding Claim 18. Thieme, MAEDA and Folts teaches a method according to claim 17, wherein the sheath is a leak-tight sheath (Folts, ([0078],[0084])).
Claim(s) 19- 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thieme (US7816303), MAEDA (EP2587493), and Folts (US2008194411), hereby relabeled as TMF, in view of ASAKURA (JP2000030776).
Regarding Claim 19. TMF teaches a method according to claim 17, but comprising: affixing the HTS cable to a first terminal block at one end; affixing the HTS cable to a second block at the other end; and affixing the braided sleeve to the first or second terminal block.
ASAKURA teaches, in Fig. 1 and Fig. 9, affixing the HTS cable to a first terminal block at one end; affixing the HTS cable to a second block at the other end; and affixing the braided sleeve to the first or second terminal block ([0011]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the HTS cable as disclosed by Thieme and MAEDA with the affixed braided sleeve to terminal block as disclosed by Asakura in order to provide a connection structure of the superconducting current lead portion which is particularly resistant to external impact (Asakusa, [0028]).
Regarding Claim 20. TMF and ASAKURA teaches a method according to claim 19, but does not directly teach affixing the braided sleeve and the HTS cable to the first or second terminal block comprises dipping the first or second terminal block, a portion of the HTS cable, and a portion of the braided sleeve together into a bath of solder.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to change the method of affixing to be using a solder bath in order to reduce time, both in preparation and action, needed to quickly affix the structures together as it is known in the art, since it has been held that omission of an element and its function in a combination where the remaining elements perform the same function as before involves only routine skill in the art. In re Karlson, 136 USPQ 184.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is presented in the Notice of References Cited.
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/MA/Examiner, Art Unit 2847
/Timothy J. Dole/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2847
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