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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 7-8 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Barcelo et al. (2023/0024567).
Regarding claims 1 and 8, Barcelo et al. discloses a method for manufacturing panels, comprising the steps of:
Providing a dry fiber mat made of recycled dry fibers [0021]-[0022];
Arranging at least two dry fiber mats and a panel core on a mold [0104];
Confining the mold in a gas-tight space by arranging a vacuum sheet over the mold [0104]l
Infusing the fiber mats with resin [0105];
Curing the fiber mats and the resin under vacuum [0105].
Regarding claim 7, wherein the recycle fiber comprises reimpregnated CFRP – carbon fiber reinforced polymer or GFRP – glass fiber reinforced polymer, [0005], [0022], [0123].
Regarding claim 12, wherein the forming panels can be flat – see abstract – which inherently by using a flat mold.
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 2-6, 9-11 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barcelo et al. (2023/0024567) as applied to claims 1, 7-8 and 12 above, and further in view of Zhang et al. (2020/0223161).
Regarding claims 2-3, Zhang et al. discloses a method for forming wind turbine blade components, comprising a drying mechanism 24 that is configured to dry the fiber strands 26 as the fiber strands 26 are unwound from the respective spools, 23a-c. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide Zhang et al. with fibers spools for better storage and/or transportation of the fiber materials prior to and at the molding site.
Regarding claims 4-7, and 9-11 and 13, Zhang et al. further discloses that the fiber can randomly or arranged be oriented to form a web or a mesh having a thickness and/or density that depends on the speed of the moving belt, [0071], [0075]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to arrange fiber materials in Barcelo et al. in a predetermined orientation, size and shape as taught by Zhang et al. depending on the use, size and shape of the desired forming product.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Thu-Khanh T. Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)272-1136. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30-4:30.
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/Thu Khanh T. Nguyen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1743
