Ex Parte Modin

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

May 31, 2016

13079945 (P.T.A.B. May. 31, 2016)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
13/079,945 04/05/2011
63759 7590 06/02/2016
DUKEW. YEE
YEE & AS SOCIA TES, P.C.
P.O. BOX 802333
DALLAS, TX 75380
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
ANDREW E. MODIN
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www .uspto.gov
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
10-0944-US-NP 1809
EXAMINER
SCHIFFMAN, BENJAMIN A
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
1742
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
06/02/2016 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address( es):
ptonotifs@yeeiplaw.com
mgamez@yeeiplaw.com
patentadmin@boeing.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte ANDREW E. MODIN1
Appeal2014-008597
Application 13/079,945
Technology Center 1700
Before CHUNG K. PAK, WHITNEY N. WILSON, and
CHRISTOPHER L. OGDEN, Administrative Patent Judges.
OGDEN, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
Appellant appeals under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner's final
decision2 rejecting claims 6 and 8-13 in the above-identified application.
We have jurisdiction pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 6(b ).
We AFFIRM.
1 According to Appellant, the real party in interest is The Boeing Company.
Appeal Br. 2.
2 The Examiner's decision is reflected in the non-final Office Action
[hereinafter Action] dated October 28, 2013. See Appeal Br. 7; Answer 2.
Appeal2014-008597
Application 13/079,945
BACKGROUND
Appellant's invention relates to a method of making a contoured,
composite part. Spec. i-f 8. Independent claim 6 is representative:
6. A method of making a contoured composite part,
compnsmg:
assembling a charge, including aligning a plurality of plies
along a preselected contour to create an assembled aligned
charge;
transferring the assembled aligned charge to a forming tool;
clamping a first portion of the assembled aligned charge in
the forming tool;
forming the assembled aligned charge on the forming tool to
create a formed charge, including forming a second portion of
the charge on the forming tool while the first portion is
clamped; and
curing the formed charge.
Appeal Br. 19 (emphasis added). Claim 8, which contains similar
limitations, is also independent. See id.
The Examiner maintains the following grounds of rejection:
I. Claims 6, 8-10, and 13 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as being
anticipated by WO 2009/088029 Al [hereinafter Kibe] (published July 16,
2009). 3 Action 2-3.
II. Claims 11 and 12 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable
over Kibe, and further in view of U.S. Patent Pub. No. US 2011/0259508 Al
[hereinafter Inserra Imparato] (published Oct. 27, 2011). Action 3-5.
Regarding rejection I, Appellant argues the patentability of the claims
as a group, with specific reference to the limitations of claims 6 and 8. See
3 Following the practice the Examiner and Appellant, see Action 2; Reply
Br. 3, our citations to Kibe are to the English language equivalent, U.S.
Patent Pub. No. US 2010/0285265 Al (published Nov. 11, 2010).
2
Appeal2014-008597
Application 13/079,945
Appeal Br. 9-13. Regarding rejection II, Appellant argues the patentability
of claims 11 and 12 as a group. See id. at 13-17. Therefore, consistent with
37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(l)(iv) (2013), we limit our discussion to claims 6, 8,
and 12, and all the other claims stand or fall with these claims.
(A)
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DISCUSSION
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