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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 01/20/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1-3, 7-8, 14, 15, 17 and 66 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Couillard et al. (WO 2019/017915 A1) [referenced via US 2020/0171952 A1] in view of Wakatsuki et al. (US 2017/0059749 A1).
Regarding Claim 1 and 8, Couillard teaches a cold-formed cover glass for a console of a vehicle (Abstract; Paragraph 0061, 0073) comprising a first end; a second end opposing the second end; a first major surface extending from the first end to the second end, a second major surface opposing the first major surface, a minor surface connecting the first major surface and the second major surface, a thickness defined as a distance between the first major surface and the second major surface, a width defined as a first dimension of one of the first or second major surfaces orthogonal to the thickness, a length defined as a second dimension of one of the first or second major surfaces orthogonal to both the thickness and the width; a first axis and a second axis, the first and second axis both extending along the width or the length. (Claims 1, 23 and 33; Paragraph 0009).
Couillard teaches the first portion extending from the first axis to the first end to the first portion comprising a first radius of curvature of 20 to 2000 mm (Paragraph 0080) or greater than 20 mm to 5 meters (Paragraph 0041). These ranges overlap or lie within the claimed range of 20 to 20,000 mm. In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. (MPEP §2144.05). Couillard teaches a second portion extending from the first axis to the second axis, the second portion comprising a second radius of curvature that increases or decreases from the first axis to the second axis, and the second portion comprises at least one contiguous region from the first axis to the second axis, where the contiguous region occupies the entire area of the second portion. (Paragraph 0034, 0041, 0077-0085; Abstract)
Couillard teaches the glass surface comprises a two separate bend region. (Paragraph 0094). Couillard does not teach the substrate Gaussian curvature with the claimed absolute value range.
Wakatsuki teaches a curved glass (Abstract), where the substrate Gaussian curvature of the entire bent portion of the glass is not 0 and/or -0.1 or less. (Paragraph 0050-0051). This overlaps the claimed range. In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. (MPEP §2144.05). Wakatsuki teaches having this Gaussian curvature range allows for the curved glass to fit to complex devices, such as a center console in transport devices and improve rigidity (Paragraph 0050-0051). Thus, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art to have entire second portion/contiguous region have a non-zero Gaussian curvature as taught by Wakatsuki to improve the rigidity and allow the glass to fit more complex shapes.
Regarding Claim 2, Couillard teaches the first axis and the second axis are disposed between the first end and the second end. (Claims 1, 23 and 33; Paragraph 0009).
Regarding Claim 3, Couillard teaches the first axis is disposed between the first and second ends, and the second axis is disposed at the second end. (Claims 1, 23 and 33; Paragraph 0009).
Regarding Claim 7, Couillard teaches the second radius of curvature can have a range of 20 to 5 meters (Paragraph 0041, 0077). This means the second radius of curvature range overlaps the range of the first radius of curvature to about 30,000 mm. In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. (MPEP §2144.05).
Regarding Claim 14, Couillard teaches a third portion disposed between the second end and the second axis, wherein the third portion comprises a third radius of curvature that differs from the first radius of curvature. (Paragraph 0034, 0037-0085, 0196).
Regarding Claim 15, Couillard teaches one of the first portion and the third portion comprises a concave curvature and the other one of the first portion and the third portion comprises a convex curvature. (Paragraph 0034, 0037-0085, 0196).
Regarding Claim 17, Couillard teaches the first portion and the third portion both comprise a convex curvature or a concave curvature. (Paragraph 0034, 0037-0085, 0196).
Regarding Claim 66, Couillard teaches the contiguous region of the second portion is free of any planar intervening section. (Paragraph 0034)
Claims 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Couillard and Wakatsuki, in view of Salgado et al. (US 2019/0012032 A1).
Regarding Claim 4-5, Couillard does not teach the distance between the first and second axis. Salgado teaches a curved cover plate for a vehicle interior system can have a length of about 5 cm to about 250 cm. (Abstract; Paragraph 0058). Wakatsuki teaches a curved glass with various curves to fit complex geometry of vehicle interior systems. (Paragraph 0051). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art to optimize the distance between the first and second axes and therefore the length of the second radius of curvature to fit various shaped interior systems vehicles with lengths of 5 to 250 cm, where the glass substrate can be 5 to 250 cm in length. A particular parameter can be recognized as a result-effective variable, i.e., a variable which achieves a recognized result, and the determination of the optimum or workable ranges of said variable might be characterized as routine experimentation (see MPEP 2144.05.II.B.).
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Couillard and Wakatsuki in view of 49 CFR 571.21 and 49 CFR 572.12.
Regarding Claim 23, Couillard teaches this cover glass can be used in consoles and instrument panels in a car. Couillard does not teach the claimed deceleration of an impactor.
49 CFR 571.21 and 49 CFR 572.12 recite the required impact standards for cars and components within the car, which require the deceleration of the impactor to not be greater than 80 g for any 3-millisecond interval over the time of impact and the deceleration of impact is 100 to 120 g-force. Thus, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in to ensure the glass of Couillard meets or exceeds the federal regulations and the claimed deceleration ranges, so the glass can actually be used in a vehicle.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered.
Applicant argues that Couillard teaches multi-bend regions with separated by planar regions, which would teach away from the contiguous regions. This argument is found unpersuasive, as Couillard teaches bend regions can be placed directly adjacent to bend regions and does not require intervening planar regions (Paragraph 0034).
Applicant argues that Wakatsuki only teaches the non-zero Gaussian curvature to only local bent parts. This argument is found unpersuasive, as Couillard teaches the second region can be entirely bent and Wakatsuki teaches at least one site, therefore all sites and the entire bent second region, can have a non-zero Gaussian curvature.
Correspondence
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/Michael Zhang/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1781
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