CTNF 19/185,706 CTNF 84184 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 08-25-01 AIA Applicant’s election without traverse of group I, claims 1-10 in the reply filed on 4/14/2026 is acknowledged. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claims 1-10 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 is indefinite because it is unclear what is meant by “welded portion” and “first welded portion” and “second welded portion”. The welded portions appear to be the surface that performs the welding. Are these portions actually welded or are they used for welding the objects? If they are used for welding the objects, then the term “welded” is not accurate as they are not actually welded. For the purpose of examination, the portion(s) will be understood to be ‘welding’. Claim 5 recites the limitation "the one side of the body portion" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of examination, the claim limitation will read “a one side of the body portion”. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1-2, 4-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 a1 as being anticipated by Noro (2006/0043150A1) . Regarding claim 1, Noro discloses a welding device comprising: a driving portion 30 configured to generate ultrasonic waves; a welding horn 10 connected to the driving portion; and an anvil 40, wherein the welding horn is configured to be positioned on one side of a welding object and the anvil is configured to be positioned on an other side of the welding object, wherein the welding horn and the anvil, together, are configured to pressurize the welding object (figures 2A-B, paragraphs 0029-0033), wherein the welding horn comprises: a body portion 16; and a welded portion 11 formed along an outer surface of the body portion (figures 1, 2A-B, paragraphs 0029-0033), wherein the welded portion comprises: a first welded portion formed along the outer surface of the body portion; and a second welded portion formed on one side of the first welded portion. Since a first portions and second portions are not defined, any amount of area of the welded portion can be a first portion and any amount of area of the welded portion can be a second welded (see figure 1). Therefore, the claim limitation is met. Regarding claim 2, as stated in claim 1, the first and second welded portions are not defined so any two areas on the welded portion would read on this claim limitation. Therefore, the second welded portion includes a plurality of the second welding portion spaced apart at predetermined intervals. Regarding claim 4, as stated in claim 1, the first and second welded portions are not defined so any two areas on the welded portion would read on this claim limitation. Therefore, the second welded portion is in contact with the first welded portion. Regarding claim 5, Noro discloses that welding horn further comprises a driving shaft 15, 35 on the one side of the body portion (paragraph 0033, figure 1, 2A-B). Regarding claim 6, Noro discloses that the driving shaft 15, 35 is connected to the driving portion and is configured to rotate the welding horn (paragraph 0030, figure 2B). Regarding claim 7, Noro discloses that the body portion has a substantially cylindrical shape (figure 2A, B). Regarding claim 8, the welding object is material worked upon and does not further limit the structure of the welding device. With that being said, Noro does disclose that the welding object comprises a first base material and a second base material, and wherein the welding horn and the anvil, together, are configured to pressurize the first base material and the second base material simultaneously (figure 2A, B). Regarding claim 9, Noro discloses that the anvil 40 comprises a first body portion (the part that is below the welded portion as shown in figure 2A), and wherein the first body portion comprises a counterpart corresponding to the welded portion (figure 2A). Regarding claim 10, Noro discloses that the counterpart comprises a first counterpart and a second counterpart, and wherein the first counterpart corresponds to the first welded portion and the second counterpart corresponds to the second welded portion. As the welded portion rotates across the workpiece a first welded portion will correspond to the first counterpart and a second counterpart will correspond to the second welded portion (figure 2A) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1-4, 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oishi et al. (2004/0020580A1) in view of Hull (2015/0090405A1) . Regarding claim 1, Oishi discloses a welding device comprising: a welding horn 7; and an anvil 6, wherein the welding horn is configured to be positioned on one side of a welding object and the anvil is configured to be positioned on an other side of the welding object, wherein the welding horn and the anvil, together, are configured to pressurize the welding object (figure 2), wherein the welding horn comprises: a body portion (body of horn 7); and a welded portion (where 9, 10 are located, figure 2) formed along an outer surface of the body portion (figure 2), wherein the welded portion comprises: a first welded portion formed along the outer surface of the body portion; and a second welded portion formed on one side of the first welded portion (figures 2, 3). Since a first portions and second portions are not defined, any amount of area of the welded portion can be a first portion and any amount of area of the welded portion can be a second welded. Therefore, the claim limitation is met. Oishi does not specifically disclose a driving portion configured to generate ultrasonic waves, the welding horn connected to the driving portion. However, Hull discloses a welding device 50 that is connected to a drive portion 10, 30 configured to generate ultrasonic waves (figure 1A, paragraph 0068). To one skilled in the art at the time of the invention it would have been obvious to have a drive portion as taught by Hull because they allow for the formation of the ultrasonic waves that are to be transmitted to the horn for bonding. The drive portion allows the user to control the amplitude and frequency of the waves to achieve the desired weld. Regarding claim 2, as stated in claim 1, the first and second welded portions are not defined so any two areas on the welded portion would read on this claim limitation. Therefore, the second welded portion includes a plurality of the second welding portion spaced apart at predetermined intervals. Regarding claim 3, Oishi discloses that the second welded portion has a length of about 8 mm to about 10 mm. Oishi discloses that the projections 9 can each have a length of 1mm (paragraph 0023). There are 6 shown in figure 3, which may be 6mm total. Oishi discloses that the slits 10 are formed at an interval of 0.2mm (paragraph 0053). Oishi shows 7 slits. That would equal a length of 7.4 mm. A second weld portion can be a length of protrusions with the slits. Since the current specification only states “about 8 mm”, it is the Examiner’s position that 7.4mm would read on this limitation. Regarding claim 4, as stated in claim 1, the first and second welded portions are not defined so any two areas on the welded portion would read on this claim limitation. Therefore, the second welded portion is in contact with the first welded portion. Regarding claim 8, the welding object is material worked upon and does not further limit the structure of the welding device. With that being said, Oishi does disclose that the welding object comprises a first base material and a second base material, and wherein the welding horn and the anvil, together, are configured to pressurize the first base material and the second base material simultaneously (figures 2-3). Regarding claim 9, Oishi discloses that the anvil 6 comprises a first body portion, and wherein the first body portion comprises a counterpart corresponding to the welded portion (figure 6). Regarding claim 10, Oishi discloses that the counterpart comprises a first counterpart (one protrusion of the anvil) and a second counterpart (a second protrusion of the anvil), and wherein the first counterpart corresponds to the first welded portion and the second counterpart corresponds to the second welded portion (Figure 6). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIN B SAAD whose telephone number is (571)270-3634. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:30a-6p. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith Walker can be reached at 571-272-3458. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /ERIN B SAAD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1735 Application/Control Number: 19/185,706 Page 2 Art Unit: 1735 Application/Control Number: 19/185,706 Page 3 Art Unit: 1735 Application/Control Number: 19/185,706 Page 4 Art Unit: 1735 Application/Control Number: 19/185,706 Page 5 Art Unit: 1735 Application/Control Number: 19/185,706 Page 6 Art Unit: 1735 Application/Control Number: 19/185,706 Page 7 Art Unit: 1735 Application/Control Number: 19/185,706 Page 8 Art Unit: 1735
Prosecution Insights