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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant's amendments and remarks filed on October 3, 2025 have been entered and considered. Claim 1 has been amended and claims 1 – 6 are pending. In view of Applicant’s amendments, all previously set forth rejections have been withdrawn. The invention as currently claimed is not found to be patentable for reasons herein below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 – 6 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1 – 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakamura et al. (WO2012133217A1).
Nakamura et al. is directed to a glass composition for sealing that has thermal
expansion characteristics for sealing of a ceramic member (Abstract).
As to claim 1, Nakamura et al. teach glass compositions such as composition circled below from Table 2 (page 20 of Japanese language WO document).
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419
603
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Greyscale
ZnO + SiO2 = 41.6 + 14.0 = 55.6 %
Al2O3 = 4.7 % (when rounded to 1 significant figure = 5%)
B2O3 = 22.0 %
MgO = 17.4%
The glass composition does not contain lead as shown by the components listed in the chart and the disclosure as a whole does not suggest or teach the inclusion of lead.
Additionally, the general disclosure of Nakamura et al. teach glass compositions with the following components and ranges (pages 2 – 5 of English translation):
Instant claims
Nakamura et al.
ZnO + SiO2 = 40 – 65 mol %
SiO2: 14 to 21 mass%
+
ZnO: 29 To 51% by mass
=
43 – 72% by mass
SiO2 = usually 14 to 21 mass%, preferably 14.5 to 20 mass%, more preferably 15 to 19 mass%
Al2O3 = usually 0 to 12% by mass, more preferably 1 to 10% by mass
SiO2/ZnO = 0.5 – 2.0
(14 to 21 mass%)/(29 To 51 mass%)
= 0.27 - 1.38
B2O3 = 7 – 25 mol %
17 to 24 mass%
Al2O3 = 5 – 15 mol %
0 to 12 mass%
MgO = 17 – 22 mol %
MgO: 7 to 16% by mass
As to claim 3, Nakamura et al. teach Al2O3/( ZnO + SiO2) = (4.7)/(41.6 + 14.0) = 4.7/55.6 % = 0.08
As to claim 5, Nakamura et al. teach it is preferable that the sealing material of the present invention contains a ceramic powder. The ratio of the ceramic powder to the total amount of the glass powder and the ceramic powder is preferably more than 0% by mass and 5% by mass or less (English translation portion, page 3, 4th to last paragraph on page).
It should be noted that the compositional components in Nakamura et al. are all disclosed as % by mass while the instant claims require all components by mol %. The Examiner submits that the prior art ranges substantially overlap with the claimed ranges. It has been held that obviousness exists where the claimed ranges overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art. See MPEP 2144.05 (I). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have selected from the overlapping portion of the range taught by Nakamura et al., because overlapping ranges have been held to establish prima facie obviousness.
As to claims 4 and 6, Nakamura et al. teach that the glass composition of the present invention preferably has a thermal expansion coefficient of 60 to 80 × 10 -7 / ° C. at 30 to 550 ° C. of the glass ceramics formed by firing (page 3 of translation, 5th paragraph from bottom of page). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to optimize the thermal expansion coefficient of the glass composition to include the claimed range. Nakamura et al. note that in order to adjust the strength and thermal expansion coefficient of the fired body obtained by firing the sealing material, it is preferable that the sealing material of the present invention contains a ceramic powder together with the glass powder made of the glass composition In this case, the ratio of the ceramic powder to the total amount of the glass powder and the ceramic powder is preferably more than 0% by mass and 5% by mass or less. The inclusion of such a ceramic powder makes it easy to adjust the strength and the thermal expansion coefficient of the fired body (composite of glass ceramic and ceramic powder) after firing (page 3 of translation, 4th paragraph from bottom of page). It has been held that, where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation. See MPEP 2144.05(II).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/JENNIFER A BOYD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1786