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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 2/4/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grasso EP 3075531 in view of MEHR (CN 115215674).
Grasso teaches an intermediate layer that bond two ceramic substrates with a fiber layer and infiltrating using a slurry and or CVD densification to bond the two layers (see figures and claims).
Grasso may not teach all the limitations of the claims.
MEHR (CN 115215674) teaches a method, comprising: forming a product comprising a first ceramic composite material substrate, a second ceramic composite material substrate, and a pre-sintered ceramic interface between the first ceramic composite material substrate and the second ceramic composite material substrate, wherein the pre-sintered ceramic (bonding) interface comprises a plurality of ceramic particles and a plurality of fibres; and sintering the portion of the pre-sintered ceramic interface to engage the first substrate and the second substrate by heating at least a portion of the pre-sintered ceramic interface to a sintering temperature of the ceramic interface using joule heating, wherein the sintering temperature is greater than about 1000 degrees centigrade (degrees centigrade) and densified (see claim 1 and translation).
The pre-sintered product may be subject to a chemical process prior to or during sintering that provide and/or includes densification (see page 23 translation; ).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to provide densification of the ceramic body using infiltration or CVD method via a “chemical process” meeting the newly claim language.
Plurality of Fiber layers that can be woven or non-woven including a agglomeration, web, bundles, and/or needling combinations of layers (see translation).
The substrate may be a matrix of partially encapsulated fibers with high pressure impregnation (densification).
The substrate 52 may also include a matrix material that at least partially encapsulates the ceramic fibres. one or more of the technology can be used in the base material into the porous preform, the plurality of techniques comprises chemical vapor deposition/chemical vapor permeation (CVD/CVI), resin transfer molding (RTM), vacuum/pressure permeation (VPI), high pressure impregnation/carbonization (PIC) and so on (see translation).
The coating layer (56) can be silicon carbide (See translation and figures).
In some embodiments the bonding layer can bond between the first substrate (62A) and second substrates (62A) through interface (64) (See figures, claims and translation).
The interface (68) may comprise silicates that aid in adhesion (See translation figures). The (66) metal layer may impregnate into the substrate cracks or voids (See translation pages 30-31).
Exemplary fibers in the interface layer (68) may include, but are not limited to, carbon/carbon fibers, silicon carbide fibers, and the like (see translation and figure).
Regarding claims 8 and 9, to fibers that can be heated and removed leaving channels, voids or pores, the art teaches heating metal to move it and form metal carbides or leave voids or fluid channels (see translation).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to provide a fiber that leaves a voids in the same manner to form fluid channels and to allow the metal to fill in cracks or voids in the substrate.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 2/4/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The interface (68) may comprise silicates that aid in adhesion (See translation figures). The (66) metal layer may impregnate into the substrate cracks or voids (See translation pages 30-31 and figures 4A-D).
Exemplary fibers in the interface layer (68) may include, but are not limited to, carbon/carbon fibers, silicon carbide fibers, and the like (see translation and figure).
Regarding claims 8 and 9, to fibers that can be heated and removed leaving channels, voids or pores, the art teaches heating metal to move it and form metal carbides or leave voids or fluid channels (see translation pages 30-31 and figures 4A-D).
Rejection maintained.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL H MILLER whose telephone number is (571)272-1534. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 9-6.
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/DANIEL H MILLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1783
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