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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show labels or identification of overlap areas as described in the specification. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the intensity" twice at line 13. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the ratio" in line 16. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the average area" twice, once at lines 15-16 and once at line 18. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the portions" twice, once at line 17 and once at line 18. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Additionally, claim 1 section 3 lines 15-18 is unclear because the limitations “the average area of the portions where Ti, Al, and at least one selected from the group consisting of Si, Mg, and Zn overlap” as well as the limitation “the average area of the portions where Ti and Al overlap” are unclear. It is unclear how this Auger electron spectroscopy overlap is determined; for example, if this overlap is measured at a depth of 1 nm, the result will be significantly different from a measurement at a depth of 1 µm. The instant specification does not appear to provide a detailed method describing the performance of the Auger electron spectroscopy measurement. As such, the meaning of these limitations are unclear.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. While not used to form the basis of a rejection, Examiner notes the closest prior art is US20190111495 to Maekawa et al, hereinafter referred to as Maekawa.
Maekawa is directed towards a surface-coated cubic boron nitride sintered material tool including a cBN substrate (see Maekawa at the Abstract). Maekawa discloses a component comprising TiN, TiCN, WC, AlN, TiB2, and Al2O3 (see Maekawa at Table 2, Example 5). While Maekawa discloses a Ti-Al alloy at [0090], Maekawa does not disclose a binder comprising Ti-Al because Maekawa discloses the Ti-Al alloy forming a cathode electrode. Additionally, Maekawa does not disclose or make obvious the binder further comprising Si, Mg, Zn, the claimed ITi2CN/ITiAl ratio, and the claimed STiAlM/STiAl ratio. As such, Maekawa does not disclose or make obvious the subject matter of instant claim 1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CAMERON K MILLER whose telephone number is (571)272-4616. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber Orlando can be reached at (571) 270-3149. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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CAMERON K MILLER
Examiner
Art Unit 1731
/CAMERON K MILLER/Examiner, Art Unit 1731