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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 13 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Claim 13 reciting “wherein subjecting the mixture to a pressure greater than about 6.5 GPa and a temperature greater than about 1,500°C comprises forming the in-situ nucleated diamond grains between the first plurality of diamond grains and the second plurality of diamond grains” fail to further limit the limitation “controlling sintering parameters including temperature, pressure… including subjecting the mixture for… to a pressure greater than about 6.5 gigapascals (GPa) and a temperature greater than about 1,500°C to form a polycrystalline diamond compact comprising in-situ nucleated diamond grains of hard material” in claim 6.
Claim 17 reciting “further comprising selecting the larger grains and the smaller grains to comprise the same superabrasive material” fail to further limit the limitation “a first plurality of diamond grains with a second plurality of diamond grains” in claim 6.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-13 and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johnson et al. (US 10,017,390 B2) (“Johnson” hereinafter).
Regarding claim 1, Johnson teaches a method of forming a polycrystalline compact (see Johnson at C1 L15-17 teaching the present disclosure relates generally… methods to manufacture such polycrystalline diamond bodies, see Johnson at C9 L36-43 teaching an exemplary method of manufacture of diamond bodies… which can be used to manufacture a diamond body having a microstructure consistent with the microstructure 100 disclosed in Figs. 3A and 3B… an exemplary method 500 to manufacture a diamond body and includes: preparing a feedstock 510, incorporating the feedstock into an assembly for high pressure-high temperature (HPHT) processing, see Johnson at C11 L17-20 teaching the recovered polycrystalline diamond body (or polycrystalline diamond body metallurgically bonded to the substrate to form a polycrystalline diamond compact) can be further processed to final form), comprising:
coating larger grains of superabrasive material having a first average grain size between about five microns (5 µm) and about forty microns (40 µm) with smaller grains of superabrasive material having a second average grain size between about five nanometers (5 nm) and about two microns (2 µm) (see Johnson at C9 L45-48, L53-57, and L60-67 teaching preparation of feedstock… a feedstock incorporating two or more fractions (by D50 particle size) of monocrystalline diamond particles and modified diamond particles… modified diamond particles (representing a first of the two or more fractions)… can have a D50 value for particle size of about 0.1 to about 3.0 µm… monocrystalline diamond particles (representing a second of the two or more fractions) can be added to the modified diamond particles… and mixed… to form a slurry… the monocrystalline diamond particles in the second fraction may have a D50 value for particle size from about 10.0 to about 40.0 µm, see Johnson at C5 L12-14 and L20-22 teaching Figs. 3A and 3B, shown below, are SEM photomicrographs of the microstructure of exemplary embodiments of a diamond body incorporating two fractions of diamond particles… the dark regions are coarse diamond grans of a second fraction or modified diamond grains of a first fraction and the light areas are binder phase, see Johnson at C5 L28-35 teaching the microstructure 100… includes coarse particles 110 and fine particles 120… the fine particles 120 and binder phase 130 are distributed through-out a matrix 140, such that individual coarse particles 110 are spaced apart from one another and are not bonded directly to one another).
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Diamond particles are taken to meet the claimed grains of superabrasive material based on specification at [0045] disclosing either the larger grains… the smaller grains… or both, may be selected to include diamond, and specification at [0067] disclosing selecting the superabrasive material of each of the relatively larger grains and the relatively smaller grains to comprise diamond. Monocrystalline diamond particles with particle size from about 10.0 to about 40.0 µm is taken to meet the claimed “larger grains of superabrasive material having a first average grain size between about five microns (5 µm) and about forty microns (40 µm)” (see MPEP 2144.05(I)). Modified diamond particles having a particle size of about 0.1 to about 3.0 µm is taken to meet the claimed “smaller grains of superabrasive material having a second average grain size between about five nanometers (5 nm) and about two microns (2 µm)” (see MPEP 2144.05(I)). Mixing monocrystalline diamond particles and modified diamond particles forming a microstructure wherein the coarse particles (or monocrystalline diamond particles) surrounded or covered by fine particles (or modified diamond particles) in the binder phase is taken to meet the claimed “coating larger grains of superabrasive material with smaller grains of superabrasive material”;
forming a green structure comprising the larger coated grains (see Johnson at C10 L10-14 teaching the resulting feedstock captured from the mixing process is a well-integrated mixture of the constituents introduced thereto… the powder is ready to be used directly as feedstock in an assembly for high pressure-high temperature (HPHT) processing), which is taken to meet the claimed limitations; and
sintering the green structure by subjecting the green structure for less than about two minutes to a pressure greater than about six and a half gigapascals (6.5 GPa) and a temperature greater than about 1,500°C (see Johnson at C11 L2-9 teaching the cell is then subjected to HPHT processing conditions sufficient to consolidate and sinter the diamond feed into a polycrystalline diamond body… an example of suitable HPHT processing conditions includes pressure of 4 GPa to 10 GPa… temperature of greater than 1200oC… and a processing time of 2 minutes to about 1 hour (see MPEP 2144.05(I))),
to form a continuous matrix of the smaller grains including in-situ nucleated grains, to form inter-granular bonds between the larger grains and the smaller grains, to prevent growth of the larger grains, and to prevent shrinkage of the smaller grains, wherein the larger grains are dispersed within the continuous matrix, and at least some of the larger grains are non-contiguous (these limitations are not steps in the claimed method, and are being treated as being taught by Johnson). Alternatively, Johnson teaches in the presence of the metal catalyst, diamond crystals are bonded to each other in diamond particle-to-diamond particle bonds by a dissolution-precipitation process to form a sintered compact (see Johnson at C4 L55-58)… Figs. 3A and 3B are SEM photomicrographs of the microstructure of exemplary embodiments of a diamond body incorporating two fractions of diamond particles… the dark regions are coarse diamond grains of a second fraction or modified diamond grains of a first fraction and the light areas are binder phase (see Johnson at C5 L12-14 and L20-22)… the microstructure 100… includes coarse particles 110 and fine particles 120… the fine particles 120 and binder phase 130 are distributed through-out a matrix 140… within the microstructure 100, individual coarse particles 110 are generally separated from each other by the matrix 140 (see Johnson at C5 L28-33)… the matrix 140 that includes the fine particles 120 and the binder phase 130 is continuous throughout exemplary embodiments of the microstructure (see Johnson at C6 L3-5)… no more than 10%... of the coarse particles are in physical contact with each other (see Johnson at C6 L13-16)… diamond particles 210 exhibiting coarse particle sizes that contact each other in the microstructure 200, as at region 250, is indicative of the diamond particles 210 having sintered together in the HPHT processing to produce diamond particle-to-diamond particle bonding between coarse particles (see Johnson C7 L51-56). The fine particles distributed through-out a matrix and diamond particle-to-diamond particle bonding are taken to meet the claimed “to form a continuous matrix of the smaller grains including in-situ nucleated grains, to form inter-granular bonds between the larger grains and the smaller grains”. The teachings – within the microstructure, individual coarse particles are generally separated from each other by the matrix, and no more than 10% of the coarse particles are in physical contact with each other – are taken to meet the claimed “wherein the larger grains are dispersed within the continuous matrix, and at least some of the larger grains are non-contiguous”. The modified diamond particles (or fine diamond grains), and monocrystalline diamond particles (or coarse diamond grains) are expected to be capable of preventing growth of the larger grains, and preventing shrinkage of the smaller grains, respectively.
Regarding claims 2 and 5, Johnson teaches the limitations as applied to claim 1 above, and Johnson teaches further comprising selecting the superabrasive material of each of the larger grains and the smaller grains to comprise diamond (claim 2), and further comprising selecting each of the larger grains of hard material and the smaller grains of hard material to comprise a material selected from the group consisting of… diamond (claim 5) (see Johnson at C5 L36-38 teaching the coarse particles… are diamond grains… the fine particles… are modified diamond particles).
Regarding claim 3, Johnson teaches the limitations as applied to claim 1 above, and Johnson teaches further comprising mixing a catalyst material comprising at least one of… cobalt… with the larger grains coated with the smaller grains (see Johnson at C10 L10-16 teaching the resulting feedstock captured from the mixing process is a well-integrated mixture of the constituents introduced thereto… the powder is ready to be used directly as feedstock in an assembly for high pressure-high temperature (HPHT) processing… alternatively, the powder can be further processed to include… catalytic… additives, see Johnson at C4 L47-50 teaching often, the metal catalyst, such as cobalt metal or alloys thereof, is present as a diamond bond-forming aid in high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) manufacturing).
Regarding claim 4, Johnson teaches the limitations as applied to claim 1 above, and Johnson teaches further monocrystalline diamond particles (or larger grains of superabrasive material)… can be added to the modified diamond particles (or smaller grains of superabrasive material) + alcohol and mixed, either ultrasonically or by mechanical agitation, to form a slurry… the slurry of modified diamond particles + alcohol + diamond particles can then be dried while agitated… once the liquid component is removed, the resulting feedstock can be recovered… the resulting feedstock captured from the mixing process is a well-integrated mixture of the constituents introduced thereto (see Johnson at C9 L60-63 and C10 L5-12). Johnson further teaches it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular methodologies… as these may vary (see Johnson at C4 L1-3).
Johnson does not explicitly teach wherein coating larger grains of superabrasive material with smaller grains of superabrasive material comprises electrospraying the smaller grains of superabrasive material over the larger grains of superabrasive material.
However, since Johnson teaches that disclosure is not limited to the particular methodologies, and methodologies may vary, there is a reasonable expectation that Johnson may employ methodologies such as a known coating method (e.g., electrospraying) with a reasonable expectation of success that the known coating method (e.g., electrospraying) would form well-integrated mixture of the constituents, thus meeting the claimed “wherein coating larger grains of superabrasive material with smaller grains of superabrasive material comprises electrospraying the smaller grains of superabrasive material over the larger grains of superabrasive material”.
Regarding claims 15-16, Johnson teaches the limitations as applied to claim 1 above, and Johnson teaches further comprising forming the polycrystalline compact such that about 30% or less of the larger grains are in direct physical contact with other grains of the larger grains (claim 15), and further comprising forming the polycrystalline diamond compact such that about 10% or less of the larger grains are in direct physical contact with other grains of the larger grains (claim 16) (see Johnson at C6 L13-16 teaching no more than 10%... of the coarse particles are in physical contact with each other) (see MPEP 2144.05(I)).
Regarding claim 6, Johnson teaches a method of forming a polycrystalline compact (see Johnson at C1 L15-17 teaching the present disclosure relates generally… methods to manufacture such polycrystalline diamond bodies, see Johnson at C9 L36-43 teaching an exemplary method of manufacture of diamond bodies… which can be used to manufacture a diamond body having a microstructure consistent with the microstructure 100 disclosed in Figs. 3A and 3B… an exemplary method 500 to manufacture a diamond body and includes: preparing a feedstock 510, incorporating the feedstock into an assembly for high pressure-high temperature (HPHT) processing), see Johnson at C11 L17-20 teaching the recovered polycrystalline diamond body (or polycrystalline diamond body metallurgically bonded to the substrate to form a polycrystalline diamond compact) can be further processed to final form), comprising:
mixing a first plurality of diamond grains with a second plurality of diamond grains, the first plurality of grains having a first average grain size between about five microns (5 µm) and about forty microns (40 µm), the second plurality of grains having a second average grain size between about five nanometers (5 nm) and about two microns (2 µm) (see Johnson at C9 L45-48, L53-57, and L60-67 teaching preparation of feedstock… a feedstock incorporating two or more fractions (by D50 particle size) of monocrystalline diamond particles and modified diamond particles… modified diamond particles (representing a first of the two or more fractions)… can have a D50 value for particle size of about 0.1 to about 3.0 µm… monocrystalline diamond particles (representing a second of the two or more fractions) can be added to the modified diamond particles… and mixed… to form a slurry… the monocrystalline diamond particles in the second fraction may have a D50 value for particle size from about 10.0 to about 40.0 µm). Monocrystalline diamond particles is taken to meet the claimed “first plurality of diamond grains” with particle size from about 10.0 to about 40.0 µm overlapping with the claimed larger grains of superabrasive material having a first average grain size between about five microns (5 µm) and about forty microns (40 µm) (see MPEP 2144.05(I)). Modified diamond particles is taken to meet the claimed “second plurality of diamond grains” with particle size of about 0.1 to about 3.0 µm overlapping with the claimed smaller grains of superabrasive material having a second average grain size between about five nanometers (5 nm) and about two microns (2 µm) (see MPEP 2144.05(I)); and
a catalyst for catalyzing the formation of diamond-to-diamond inter-granular bonds (see Johnson at C4 L47-50 teaching often, the metal catalyst, such as cobalt metal or alloys thereof, is present as a diamond bond-forming aid in high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) manufacturing, see Johnson C7 L51-56 teaching diamond particles 210 exhibiting coarse particle sizes that contact each other in the microstructure 200, as at region 250, is indicative of the diamond particles 210 having sintered together in the HPHT processing to produce diamond particle-to-diamond particle bonding between coarse particles);
controlling sintering parameters including temperature, pressure, and time including subjecting the mixture for less than about two minutes to a pressure greater than about 6.5 gigapascals (GPa) and a temperature greater than about 1,500°C to form a polycrystalline diamond compact comprising in-situ nucleated diamond grains of hard material, the first plurality of diamond grains and the second plurality of diamond grains (see Johnson C7 L51-56 teaching diamond particles 210 exhibiting coarse particle sizes that contact each other in the microstructure 200, as at region 250, is indicative of the diamond particles 210 having sintered together in the HPHT processing to produce diamond particle-to-diamond particle bonding between coarse particles, see Johnson at C11 L2-9 teaching the cell is then subjected to HPHT processing conditions sufficient to consolidate and sinter the diamond feed into a polycrystalline diamond body… an example of suitable HPHT processing conditions includes pressure of 4 GPa to 10 GPa… temperature of greater than 1200oC… and a processing time of 2 minutes to about 1 hour (see MPEP 2144.05(I))),
to prevent growth of the first plurality of diamond grains, to prevent shrinkage of the second plurality of diamond grains, and to form a continuous matrix comprising the second plurality of diamond grains in which the first plurality of diamond grains are embedded, wherein at least some of the first plurality of grains are non-contiguous (these limitations are not steps in the claimed method, and are being treated as being taught by Johnson). Alternatively, Johnson teaches in the presence of the metal catalyst, diamond crystals are bonded to each other in diamond particle-to-diamond particle bonds by a dissolution-precipitation process to form a sintered compact (see Johnson at C4 L55-58)… Figs. 3A and 3B are SEM photomicrographs of the microstructure of exemplary embodiments of a diamond body incorporating two fractions of diamond particles… the dark regions are coarse diamond grans of a second fraction or modified diamond grains of a first fraction and the light areas are binder phase (see Johnson at C5 L12-14 and L20-22)… the microstructure 100… includes coarse particles 110 and fine particles 120… the fine particles 120 and binder phase 130 are distributed through-out a matrix 140… within the microstructure 100, individual coarse particles 110 are generally separated from each other by the matrix 140 (see Johnson at C5 L28-33)… the matrix 140 that includes the fine particles 120 and the binder phase 130 is continuous throughout exemplary embodiments of the microstructure (see Johnson at C6 L3-5)… no more than 10%... of the coarse particles are in physical contact with each other (see Johnson at C6 L13-16). The teachings – within the microstructure, individual coarse particles are generally separated from each other by the matrix; fine particles distributed through-out a matrix; and no more than 10% of the coarse particles are in physical contact with each other – are taken to meet the claimed “to form a continuous matrix comprising the second plurality of diamond grains in which the first plurality of diamond grains are embedded, wherein at least some of the first plurality of grains are non-contiguous”. The modified diamond particles (or fine diamond grains), and monocrystalline diamond particles (or coarse diamond grains) are expected to be capable of preventing growth of the diamond grains, and preventing shrinkage of the diamond grains, respectively.
Regarding claims 7-11, Johnson teaches the limitations as applied to claim 6 above, and Johnson teaches further comprising forming the polycrystalline diamond compact such that each diamond grain of the first plurality is at least substantially surrounded by diamond grains of the second plurality (claim 7), further comprising forming the polycrystalline diamond compact such that about 90% or less of the diamond grains of the first plurality are in direct physical contact with other diamond grains of the first plurality (claim 8), further comprising forming the polycrystalline diamond compact such that about 60% or less of the diamond grains of the first plurality are in direct physical contact with other diamond grains of the first plurality (claim 9), further comprising forming the polycrystalline diamond compact such that about 30% or less of the diamond grains of the first plurality are in direct physical contact with other diamond grains of the first plurality (claim 10), and further comprising forming the polycrystalline diamond compact such that about 10% or less of the first plurality of grains are in direct physical contact with others of the first plurality of grains (claim 11) (see Johnson at C6 L13-16 teaching no more than 10%... of the coarse particles are in physical contact with each other) (see MPEP 2144.05(I)).
Regarding claim 12, Johnson teaches the limitations as applied to claim 6 above, and Johnson further teaches wherein mixing a first plurality of diamond grains with a second plurality of diamond grains comprises mixing the first plurality of diamond grains having the first average grain size that is between about five (5) times and about three hundred (300) times greater than the second average grain size with the second plurality of diamond grains (see Johnson at C9 L45-48, L53-57, and L60-67 teaching preparation of feedstock… a feedstock incorporating two or more fractions (by D50 particle size) of monocrystalline diamond particles and modified diamond particles… modified diamond particles (representing a first of the two or more fractions)… can have a D50 value for particle size of about 0.1 to about 3.0 µm… monocrystalline diamond particles (representing a second of the two or more fractions) can be added to the modified diamond particles… and mixed… to form a slurry… the monocrystalline diamond particles in the second fraction may have a D50 value for particle size from about 10.0 to about 40.0 µm). The monocrystalline diamond (or first plurality of diamond grains) particle size of from about 10.0 to about 40.0 µm is about 3 times (or 10 ÷ 3) to about 400 (or 40 ÷ 0.1) times greater than the modified diamond particles (or second plurality of diamond grains) of 0.1 to about 3.0 µm (see MPEP 2144.05(I)).
Regarding claim 13, Johnson teaches the limitations as applied to claim 6 above, and Johnson further teaches wherein subjecting the mixture to a pressure greater than about 6.5 GPa and a temperature greater than about 1,500°C comprises forming the in-situ nucleated diamond grains between the first plurality of diamond grains and the second plurality of diamond grains (see Johnson C7 L51-56 teaching diamond particles 210 exhibiting coarse particle sizes that contact each other in the microstructure 200, as at region 250, is indicative of the diamond particles 210 having sintered together in the HPHT processing to produce diamond particle-to-diamond particle bonding between coarse particles, see Johnson at C11 L2-9 teaching the cell is then subjected to HPHT processing conditions sufficient to consolidate and sinter the diamond feed into a polycrystalline diamond body… an example of suitable HPHT processing conditions includes pressure of 4 GPa to 10 GPa… temperature of greater than 1200oC… and a processing time of 2 minutes to about 1 hour (see MPEP 2144.05(I))).
Regarding claim 17, Johnson teaches the limitations as applied to claim 6 above, and Johnson teaches further comprising selecting the larger grains and the smaller grains to comprise the same superabrasive material (see Johnson at C5 L36-38 teaching the coarse particles… are diamond grains… the fine particles… are modified diamond particles). Diamond is taken to meet the claimed superabrasive material based on specification at [0045] disclosing either the larger grains… the smaller grains… or both, may be selected to include diamond, and specification at [0067] disclosing selecting the superabrasive material of each of the relatively larger grains and the relatively smaller grains to comprise diamond.
Claim 14 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Johnson as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of DiGiovanni (US 2011/0061942 A1) (“DiGiovanni” hereinafter).
Regarding claim 14, Johnson teaches the limitations as applied to claim 6 above, and, as mentioned, Johnson teaches further often, the metal catalyst, such as cobalt metal or alloys thereof, is present as a diamond bond-forming aid in high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) manufacturing of the polycrystalline diamond cutter (see Johnson at C4 L47-51).
However, Johnson does not explicitly teach further comprising forming the polycrystalline diamond compact such that less than about 5% of a volume of the polycrystalline diamond compact comprises interstitial spaces filled with the catalyst.
Like Johnson, DiGiovanni teaches a polycrystalline diamond cutter comprising coarse and fine diamond grains and metal catalyst sintered in high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) conditions (see DiGiovanni at [0010] teaching polycrystalline compacts comprising a first plurality of grains of hard material having a first average grain size and at least a second plurality of grains of hard material having a second average grain size… the second average grain size of the at least a second plurality of grains is at least about one hundred and fifty (150) times larger than the first average grain size of the plurality of grains… the first plurality of grains and the at least a second plurality of grains are interspersed and interbonded to form a polycrystalline hard material, see DiGiovanni at [0039] teaching in embodiment… the average grain size of the smaller grains… is between about one nanometer (1 nm) and about one hundred and fifty nanometers (150 nm), the average grain size of the larger grains… may be between five microns (5 µm) and about forty microns (40 µm), see DiGiovanni at [0044]-[0046] teaching the polycrystalline material… may also include a catalyst material… disposed in interstitial spaces… between the smaller grains… and the larger grains… of the polycrystalline hard material… the catalyst material… may comprise a catalyst material… capable of (and used to) catalyze the formation of the inter-granular bonds… between grains of the smaller grains… and the larger grains… of the polycrystalline material… the catalyst material may comprise a Group VIIIA element (e.g., … cobalt… ) or an alloy thereof, and the catalyst material… may comprise between about one half of one percent… and about ten percent (10%) by volume of the hard polycrystalline material… the layer of hard polycrystalline material… may be formed using a high temperature/high pressure (HTHP) process, see DiGiovanni at [0054] teaching nanoparticles… of diamond). Cobalt catalyst of about one half of one percent and about ten percent by volume of the hard polycrystalline material is taken to meet the claimed “further comprising forming the polycrystalline diamond compact such that less than about 5% of a volume of the polycrystalline diamond compact comprises interstitial spaces filled with the catalyst” (see MPEP 2144.05(I)).
Additionally, MPEP states that "[w]here 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", and “the normal desire of scientists or artisans to improve upon what is already generally known provides the motivation to determine where in a disclosed set of percentage ranges is the optimum combination of percentages” (see MPEP § 2144.05.II.A).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have selected cobalt catalyst of about one half of one percent and about ten percent by volume of the hard polycrystalline material as taught by DiGiovanni in the methods to manufacture of polycrystalline diamond bodies as taught by Johnson because there is a reasonable expectation of success that the amount of cobalt catalyst disclosed would be suitable.
Conclusion
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/MARITES A GUINO-O UZZLE/Examiner, Art Unit 1731