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 without traverse of Group I, claims 1-8, in the reply filed on May 26, 2026 is acknowledged.
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe (US 2022/0010463) in view of Oka (US 2015/0210925).
Claim 1: Watanabe discloses a method for regenerating a carbon fiber bundle from a structure having a hollow substrate, and a carbon fiber reinforced resin layer including a carbon fiber bundle that is wound around the hollow substrate, and a matrix resin (¶¶ 3, 27-36). The method includes a first heating process of heating the structure to decompose a part of the matrix resin (¶¶ 38-41, 69-70); an unwinding process of unwinding an intermediate carbon fiber bundle to which decomposition residue of the matrix resin is adhering from the carbon fiber reinforced resin layer in which a part of the matrix resin is decomposed (¶¶ 49-50, 64, 71); a second heating process of heating the unwound intermediate carbon fiber bundle to decompose the decomposition residue of the matrix resin, and thereby obtaining a regenerated carbon fiber bundle (¶¶ 52-59, 72); a winding process of winding the regenerated carbon fiber bundle (¶¶ 64-66; 73-74). Watanabe is silent as to using a tube furnace that has a heater that heats the intermediate carbon fiber bundle, and a lid that is installed at each of an inlet and an outlet, and has at least one through-hole through which the intermediate carbon fiber bundle can pass through formed in the lid. However, in the same field of endeavor, Oka discloses using a tube furnace that has a heater that heats a carbon fiber bundle, and a lid that is installed at each of an inlet and an outlet, and has at least one through-hole through which the carbon fiber bundle can pass through formed in the lid (¶¶ 49-50, 57-59; figs. 1a-b). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to have performed Watanabe’s second heating process using the fiber-bundle tube furnace of Oka because Watanabe’s second heating process is exactly the operation Oka’s furnace is designed for, which is continuous conveyance of a running carbon fiber bundle into, through and out of a heated chamber at temperatures within Oka’s disclosed range, Oka teaches that closing the furnace ends confines the treatment atmosphere and the decomposition and keeps ambient air from uncontrollably entering, which protects fiber quality, and the combination is no more than the application of a known furnace, used for its established purpose, to a process step with predictable results.
Claim 2: Oka discloses in the tube furnace, a heating region where the carbon fiber bundle is heated, and a non-heating region where the carbon fiber bundles are not heated are present (¶ 57), and the non-heating region is between the heating region and the inlet or between the heating region and the outlet (¶¶ 4-5, 49, 55; figs. 1a-b).
Claim 3: Oka discloses the tube furnace has an introduction tube that introduces oxidizing gas into the heating region (¶¶ 53, 56, 60-62, 70; fig. 2).
Claim 4: Oka discloses the oxidizing gas being introduced along a surface of the carbon fiber bundle (¶¶ 50, 56, 62-67; fig. 1b).
Claims 5-6: Oka discloses the oxidizing gas is introduced from a downstream side to an upstream side of the tube furnace, creating a turbulent flow (¶¶ 55-56, 103).
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe (US 2022/0010463) in view of Oka (US 2015/0210925), as applied to claim 1, further in view of Hatayama (US 2016/0040322).
Claim 7: Modified Watanabe is silent as to the claimed shape and position of the through-holes. However, in the same field of endeavor, Hatayama discloses a flameproofing furnace 2 that has heat-treatment chamber 7 and sealing chambers 8A-B formed facing each other with the heat treatment chamber between them (¶¶ 47-48; fig. 1), and each sealing chamber is formed with slits through which the fiber bundles pass horizontally (¶¶ 49-51). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to have formed the through-hole in each lid of the tube furnace of modified Watanabe as a slit extending horizontally in order to pass a flat fiber bundle through the furnace end wall without contact while keeping the open area of the end wall to a minimum, thereby minimizing uncontrolled gas exchange and heat loss at the furnace ends (Oka, ¶¶ 4-5; Hatayama, ¶¶ 4-5, 54). Selecting the art-recognized slit shape is the use of a known element for its established function with predictable results.
Claim 8: Hatayama teaches a plurality of through-holes being formed (¶¶ 49-52, 82).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LARRY THROWER whose telephone number is (571)270-5517. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm MT M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Susan Leong can be reached at 571-270-1487. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LARRY W THROWER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1754
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