DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
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
Applicant’s election of invention and/or species, and corresponding claims is acknowledged. The election has been made without traverse. Non-elected claims are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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.
Claim(s) 1-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
In reference to claim 1, the limitation “wherein the divergent cooling interface comprises a plurality of surfaces angled with respect to one another, and wherein an angle between adjacent surfaces of the plurality of surfaces is smaller adjacent to the flow of the molten film tube” is unclear as explained below:
The limitation is presumed to be supported by Fig 2, annotated by Examiner copy shown below, in addition to the paragraphs cited by applicant in the remarks.
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The claim requires “an angle between adjacent surfaces of the plurality of surfaces is smaller adjacent to the flow of the molten film tube”. This limitation is problematic for two reasons: First: “smaller” is an undefined relative term
Second: even if “smaller” was assumed to “smaller than other angles between other surfaces” it would still be indefinite because this is the opposite of what is illustrated in Fig 2 or described in the specification.
Figure 2 shows the interface comprises angles ∡I & ∡II between flat surfaces (annotated again and below by examiner), and shows:
∡I is closer to the film tube than ∡II
∡I > ∡II.
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Note: Claims 2-9 are also rejected by virtue of their dependence on claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
In claim 1, the limitation “wherein the divergent cooling interface comprises a plurality of surfaces angled with respect to one another, and wherein an angle between adjacent surfaces of the plurality of surfaces is smaller adjacent to the flow of the molten film tube” is not supported.
Fig 2 shows the opposite (explained in 112(b) section above).
The specification suggests “air foil surfaces, which are advantageously arranged to change from a larger to a smaller angle relative to the molten film tube” (paragraph 30). There is no description of the angles between surfaces as claimed
The specification uses the term large and small in reference to the angle of the airfoil surface with respect to the molten film surface.
Conclusion
Any prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS KRASNOW whose telephone number is (571)270-1154. The examiner can normally be reached M-R: 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Xiao Zhao can be reached on 571-270-5343. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Examiner has utilized USPTO approved search resources, such as EIC or external tools, beyond routine search tools and/or leveraged experts in the field. Examiner has cited and explained the relevance of prior art not used in rejections but pertinent to the claims or disclosure. Examiner has provided detailed search documentation through detailed Search Notes, such as annotated search results that identify which data sets were reviewed. When citing the prior art examiner has used annotations clearly in prior art rejections such as, using item-to-item matching to the prior art, pairing exact claim language to particular language used in the prior art, and/or clearly explaining examiner’s interpretation as to how a citation maps to claim language especially when there is not a one-to-one matching of terms.
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/NICHOLAS KRASNOW/Examiner, Art Unit 1744
