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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/19/2026 has been entered.
Status of claims
Claims 2-3, 5-6, 9, and 24 have been cancelled, Claims 1 and 19 are amended; Claims 4, 8, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20-21, and 28-29 are withdrawn from consideration as non-elected claims, claims 1, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16-17, 19, 22-23, and 25-27 remain for examination, wherein claims 1 and 19 are independent claims.
Previous Rejections/Objections
Previous rejection(s) of Claim(s) 1, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16-17, 19, 22-23, and 25-27 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MIYAZAKI et al (JP 2001254135 A, with on-line translation, thereafter JP’135) in view of Sanaty-Zadeh et al (US-PG-pub 2016/0258042 A1, thereafter PG’042) is withdrawn in view of the Applicant’s “Arguments/Remarks with amendment” filed on 01/19/2026.
In view of the Applicant’s “Arguments/Remarks with amendment” filed on 01/19/2026 and newly recorded reference(s), a new ground rejection(s) have been added as following.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16-17, 19, 22-23, and 25-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MIYAZAKI et al (JP 2001254135 A, with on-line translation, thereafter JP’135) in view of Schoerner et al (US 4,080,222, thereafter US’222).
Regarding claims 1, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16-17, 19, and 25-26, JP’135 teaches a die casting Al alloy and product (Abstract, par.[0014], and claims of JP’135), which reads on the claimed cast Al-Fe-Ni alloy as recited in the instant claims 1, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16-17, 19, and 25-26. The comparison between the claimed alloy composition ranges and the alloy ranges disclosed by JP’135 has been listed in following table. All of the essential alloy composition ranges disclosed in JP’135 (Abstract, par.[0004]-[0011], and claims of JP’135) overlap the claimed alloy composition ranges, which creates a prima facie case of obviousness. MPEP 2144 05 I. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to optimize the amount of the alloy composition ranges as claimed from the disclosure of JP’135 since JP’135 teach the same die-cast Al-Fe-Ni alloy for die casting application as claimed throughout whole disclosing range. Since JP’135 teaches all of the essential alloy elements as claimed in claim 19, which reads on the “consisting of” language as recited in the instant claim 19. It is noted that the 1-500 ppm P range (cl.1, 19) is within impurity level. JP’135 indicates including inevitable impurities in the alloy total max. 0.1 wt% (abstract, par.[0011], and claims of JP’135), which overlapping the claimed P range as recited in the instant claims. Overlapping in P range creates a prima facie case of obviousness. MPEP 2144 05 I. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to optimize the amount of P as claimed from the disclosure of JP’135 since JP’135 teach the same die-cast Al-Fe-Ni alloy for die casting application as claimed throughout whole disclosing range. JP’135 does not specify the claimed 0.2% offset yield strength as claimed in the instant claims 1 and 19. US’222 teaches a cast Al-Fe-Ni alloys without splitting and cracking of the subsequently rolled and cold-drawn rod (Abstract of US’222). All of the essential alloy composition disclosed by US’222 (Abstract, claims, and table on col.2 of US’222) overlap the claimed alloy composition ranges. MPEP 2144 05 I. US’222 indicates at least 8,000 psi yield strength (more than 55 MPa—noted by the Examiner) (Abstract and claims of US’222), which is within the claimed 0.2% offset yield strength as claimed in the instant claims 1 and 19. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to optimize the property of 0.2% offset yield strength as claimed from the disclosure of US’222 for the alloy JP’135 since both US’222 and JP’135 teach the same cast Al-Fe-Ni alloy for casting application throughout whole disclosing range.
Element
From instant Claims 1, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16-17, 19, and 25-26 (wt%)
From JP’135 (wt%)
Overlapping range
(wt%)
Fe
1.2-1.9 (cl.1, 19)
0.05-2.5
1.2-1.9 (cl.1, 19)
Ni
1.18-1.9 (cl.1, 19)
0.05-2.5
2.0
B
0.004-0.03 (cl.1,19)
0.007-0.02 (cl.7)
0.002-0.08
0.004-0.03 (cl.1,19)
0.007-0.02 (cl.7)
Zn
0-5 (cl.1, 19)
0-3 (cl.12)
0.1-4.0
0-4 (cl.1, 19)
0-3 (cl.12)
Sn
0-5 (cl.1,19)
0-2.5 (cl.17)
Trace amount
0-Trace amount
Cu
0-3 (cl.1, 19)
0.2-3 (cl.10)
0.05-1.0
0.05-1 (cl.1, 19)
0.2-1 (cl.10)
Mn
(cl.1,19)
0-0.1 (cl.16)
or less
0.1 (cl.1,19)
0-0.1 (cl.16)
Mg
0-0.6 (cl.1,19)
0-0.4 (cl.14)
0.05-1.0
0.05-0.6 (cl.1,19)
0.05-0.4 (cl.14)
P
0.0001-0.05 (cl.1,19)
Impurity level
max 0.1 wt%
0.0001-0.05 (cl.1,19)
Si
0-0.04 (cl.1,19)
Optional element
0-trace amount (cl.1,19)
Selected from group including: Cr, Li, V, Ti, Ca, and Mo
0-0.8 (cl.1,19)
Optional:
Ti: 0.1 or less
Cr: 0.1 or less
Optional
Ti: 0.1 or less
Cr: 0.1 or less
Zr
Not included
Optional element
Optional not included
Al
Balance + impurities
Balance + impurities
Balance + impurities
Regarding claims 22, 23, and 27, JP’135 teaches an Al alloy product manufactured by die-casting for automobile component application (par.[0002], [0014] of JP’135), which reads on the casting alloy in claims 22, die casting of 27, and application in claim 23.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments to the art rejection to claims 1, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16-17, 19, 22-23, and 25-27 have been considered but they are moot in view of the new ground rejection as stated above. Regarding the Applicant’s arguments related to the amended features in the claims, the Examiner’s position has been stated as above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIE YANG whose telephone number is (571)270-1884. The examiner can normally be reached on IFP.
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, Jonathan J Johnson can be reached on 571-272-1177. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JIE YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1734