DETAILED ACTION
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Any rejections made in a previous Office action and not repeated below are hereby withdrawn.
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 .
Claim 2-9, 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shiragami (WO 2020/153061). Note that Shiragami (US 2022/0098089) will be used as the English translation of Shiragami (WO 2020/153061), and all citations hereinafter will refer to Shiragami (US ‘089).
Regarding claim 6, Shiragami discloses a glass powder that enables air tight sealing at a low temperature and is free of harmful lead [0001]. The reference further discloses that the glass powder contains as glass composition of: TeO2 of 15 mol % to 65 mol %, MoO3 of 10 mol % to 60 mol %, up to less than 2 mol % B2O3, and is substantially free of PbO, see abstract [0025 & 0033]. Note that the disclosed ranges overlap the claimed ranges and that a prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art”; see MPEP 2144.05 I. The reference further discloses sealing material according to the present invention contains 40 vol % to 100 vol % of the above glass powder, and 0 vol % to 60 vol % of a refractory filler powder [0011].
Regarding claim 2, the reference discloses the glass composition as including, in terms of mol%, Na2O as from 0 to 20% and K2O as from 0 to 15%, which renders obvious the claimed sum [0026-0027]; see MPEP 2144.05 I.
Regarding claim 3, the reference discloses the glass composition as including, in terms of mol%, a total content of MgO, CaO, SrO, and BaO as from 0 to 20% and ZnO as from 0 to 10%, which renders obvious the claimed sum [0028-0029]; see MPEP 2144.05 I.
Regarding claim 4, the reference discloses the glass compositions as including up to less than 2 mol % Al2O3, which overlaps the claimed range [0033]; see MPEP 2144.05 I. Note that the composition does not include TiO2, see entire document.
Regarding claim 5, the glass composition as including, in terms of mol%, CuO as from 0 to 30%, P2O5 as 1 mol % to 35 mol %, Fe2O3 as up to less than 2%, and WO3 as 0 to 25%, all of which overlap the claimed ranges [0019, 0022, 0023 and 0033]; see MPEP 2144.05 I.
Regarding claims 7 and 8, the reference discloses the sealing glass composition free of refractory filler powder, which corresponds to 100 vol% of glass powder, see entire document. Note that since the filler is not present, the limitations of claims 7 and 8 are not required.
Regarding claim 9, note that the limitation “for use in a crystal oscillator package” is deemed to be a statement with regard to intended use and is not further limiting in so far as the structure of the product is concerned. In article claims, a claimed intended use must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. MPEP § 2111.02.
Regarding claims 12 and 13, the reference discloses the glass composition contains TeO2 as 15 mol % to 65 mol %, which renders obvious the claimed range and claimed value, see abstract; see MPEP 2144.05 I.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shiragami (WO 2020/153061) as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Yamazaki et al. (US 2013/0213852). Note that Shiragami (US 2022/0098089) will be used as the English translation of Shiragami (WO 2020/153061), and all citations hereinafter will refer to Shiragami (US ‘089).
Shiragami discloses the sealing material of claim 6 with the claimed composition, see above discussion. The reference, however, fails to disclose a sealing paste with the sealing material and a vehicle.
Yamazaki discloses a glass frit for hermetically sealing a gap between substrates so as to surround an electrical element, see abstract. The reference further discloses that the glass frit and a vehicle are kneaded and processed into a paste material to be used in order to enhance application workability and the like [0120].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention for the glass composition of Shiragami to be kneaded with a vehicle to form a paste in order to enhance application workability and the like.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 2-10, 12 and 13 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.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAURA A AUER whose telephone number is (571)270-5669. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9 am - 4 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, M. Veronica Ewald can be reached at (571)272-8519. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAURA A AUER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1783
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