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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 15-20 in the reply filed on 2/27/2026 is acknowledged.
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 17 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.
Claim 17 recites “one same mold is used” in line 2 after requiring the molds be identical in construction. It is not clear if this requires both a first and a second mold, wherein the molds are the same, or requires that only a single mold be used in the method, which would render the separately claimed molds indefinite.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-16 and 18-20 allowed.
Claim 17 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: LEE (US 2011/0135825) discloses producing a laminate via thermoforming a polycarbonate shell and a polystyrene liner, but is directed towards sports protective equipment. CHEUNG (US 2008/0146102) teaches a method of producing molded materials via heating polystyrene beads in a mold. The prior art of record does not teach such a method to produce an airframe part, wherein the shell covers at least 70% of an exposed surface of the airframe part and bonding the at least one shell part of the shell to the liner over at least 90% of an extension of the at least one shell part by heating the at least one shell part and liner.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: CHOPARD et al. (US 2021/0316673), HICKS et al. (US 2016/0031135), BUEHRING et al. (US 2013/0280517), WHITE, III et al. (US 5,525,641), and ROSENBERG et al. (US 4,615,438.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Nickolas R Harm whose telephone number is (571)270-7605. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00-6:00.
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/NICKOLAS R HARM/Examiner, Art Unit 1745
/PHILIP C TUCKER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1745
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