DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group II, claims 11-14 in the reply filed on 11/14/2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there is no search burden. This is not found persuasive because search burden has been established in light of the different classifications for the groups.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 1-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected method, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 11/14/2025.
Claim Objections
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: please add the term “A” in front of the term “Laminated” for proper antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cleary et al. (WO 2019/245819).
Cleary discloses a glass laminate with controlled breakage for pedestrian safety. Concerning claims 11 and 12, Cleary discloses a laminated glass comprising an outer glass sheet having a first outer surface and a second inner surface and an inner glass sheet having a third outer surface and a fourth inner surface with an interlayer disposed between the outer and inner glass sheets to form a glass laminate, wherein at least one of the inner and outer glass sheets has at least one surface that has a plurality of fracture-initiation points in a predetermined pattern, resulting weakened areas in form of the predetermined pattern (abstract; para. 0041-0089).
With respect to the glass laminate meeting the conditions 1 to 3 as claimed, Cleary discloses the fracture-initiation points can be on at least one of surfaces 1 through 4 wherein surfaces 1 and 2 are that of the outer glass sheet and surfaces 3 and 4 are that of the inner sheet and the fracture-initiation points can be formed by scratching the surface of the glass sheet and the pattern, spacing, and physical dimension of the fracture-initiation points are such as to prevent small impacts from instigating fracture of the region but allowing for larger impact such as pedestrians to instigate the fracture (para. 0043-0069; FIGS. 4 and 5). The glass laminate is further required to meet the safety requirements for head impact collisions and country or bloc standards (para. 0049-0058 and 0097-0152). As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have the claimed strength distribution value and fracture stress for each surface and differences thereof as claimed, in order to meet safety standards and the desired fracture characteristics. With respect to claims 13 and 14, the glass laminate is a windshield used in automobiles (FIGS. 6-15; para. 0049-0110).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Oehrlein (US 20060138798), Cleary et al. (WO 2020/005554), and Mannheim et al. (WO 2019/038720) disclose glass laminates having glass sheets that have weakened regions that result in predetermined rupture patterns.
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PRASHANT J. KHATRI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1783
/PRASHANT J KHATRI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1783