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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 07/10/2025 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered. There is no copy of JP-202037957-A attached in the parent application. It appears that JP-2021136933-A was attached instead, and this reference is not listed on the IDS form.
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.
Claims 1-3 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 recites the limitation “impregnating” in line 9. There is ambiguous antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear whether the limitation means (1) the same as “impregnating” in line 6, or (2) another new impregnating. For the purpose of examination, the limitation would be interpreted as “the impregnating.”
Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being dependent from claim 1.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “impregnating” in line 1. There is ambiguous antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear whether the limitation means (1) the same as “impregnating” (claim 1 line 6), or (2) another new impregnating. For the purpose of examination, the limitation would be interpreted as “the impregnating.”
Appropriate correction or clarification is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3 would be allowable if rewritten or amended 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.
The following is a statement of the reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: It is deemed novel and unobvious over the prior art, including Hatta (US 20190084249 A1), Chung (US 20180274825 A1), and Hyatt (US 5,303,958 A). None of the closest prior art references including these teach or suggest, either alone or in combination: a method of manufacturing a pressure vessel as recited in claim 1, in particular, “during the impregnating, at least a portion of the impregnated resin moves in an extension direction of the liner through a path groove formed in the inner sleeve.”
Hatta teaches a method of manufacturing a pressure tank, comprising impregnating/injecting a resin into a preform made of a liner forming an internal space of the tank and a fiber layer on an outer surface of the liner within a mold from a gate (figs. 1-6, claim 1), but does not specifically teach a specific structure of the preform and that during the impregnating, at least a portion of the impregnated resin moves in an extension direction of the liner through a path groove formed in the inner sleeve.
Chung teaches a high-pressure vessel comprising a liner, a heat-transfer sheet, a spacer, and a composite material surrounding an outer surface of the liner in the order as presented (figs. 4, 7-9 and claim 1). The combination of the heat-transfer sheet and the spacer (i.e., corresponding to “an inner sleeve” as recited in claim 1) is fixed to an outer surface (fig. 9, [0069]) and forms a gap 300 (fig. 4, [0056]). The gap 300 is intended for a flow path, through which remaining gas formed at the interface between the liner and the composite material or between fiber layers insider of the composite layer (fig. 4, [0046, 0056]), but it is not for a flow path groove that an impregnated resin moves in an extension direction of the liner (see, [0025, 0074]: a first layer of the filament winding may not be impregnated with resin).
Hyatt teaches an axially swaged fitting for attachment to a tube (abstract). Although a swaging process is known to connect fluid fittings to tubes (col. 1 lines 6-32), Hyatt is silent that the fitting comprises a groove through which a resin can flow.
Therefore, claim 1 is allowable, and claims 2-3 are allowable as being dependent from claim 1.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kovalevsky (US 20220373085 A1) and Wexler (US 20220356991 A1) teach a Type IV pressure vessel having a breather layer for a gas flow path (Kovalevsky: fig. 2, [0059]; Wexler: abstract, fig. 2).
Chung (US 20150274006 A1) teaches a tank for safely storing a fuel in a high-pressure gaseous state, comprising a metal coil integrally formed within a liner to increase stiffness of the liner (abstract, claim 1, figs 1-4).
Maeda (US 20210213689 A1) teaches a method for manufacturing high-pressure tank (abstract, claim 1, figs.1-3).
Sonnen (US 20220325851 A1) teaches a method of manufacturing a hybrid pressure vessel, characterized by providing a pipe-shaped liner, placing a squeezing ring into or onto the liner, forming an outer layer on the liner, and positioning a valve (figs. 1, 3-4, and claim 9).
Sawai (US 20200171761 A1) teaches a method of manufacturing a high-pressure tank (claim 1, figs. 1-3).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to INJA SONG whose telephone number is (571)270-1605. The examiner can normally be reached Mon. - Fri. 8 AM - 5 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Xiao (Sam) Zhao can be reached at (571)270-5343. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-270-2991.
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/INJA SONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1744
