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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Response to Election/Restrictions
1. Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 4-6, in the reply filed on 05/19/2026 is acknowledged.
2. Claims 1-3 & 7-8 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention(s), there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 05/19/2026.
Specification
3. The examiner has not checked the specification to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors (grammatical, typographical, and idiomatic). Cooperation of the applicant(s) is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant(s) may become aware of in the specification, in the claims and in any further amendment(s) that applicant(s) may file.
Applicant(s) is also requested to complete the status of the copending applications referred to in the specification by their Attorney Docket Number or Application Serial Number, if any.
The status of the parent application(s) and/or any other application(s) cross-referenced to this application, if any, should be updated in a timely manner.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/31/2023 has been made of record. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
An initialed copy of the IDS accompanies this office action.
Status of Application
5. This application was filed on 10/31/2023.
Claims 1-8 were originally presented in this application for examination.
Claims 1-8 are currently pending in this application for examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
Claim(s) 4-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shibuya (US 10,544,363 B2), hereinafter “Shibuya ‘363” in view of Gualtieri et al. (US 5,175,787), hereinafter “Gualtieri et al. ‘787”.
The claimed invention relates to an infrared stealth material comprising a ceramic sintered body having a composition represented by R3Al5O12 or R3Ga5O12 (R represents at least two rare earth elements), and having an overall porosity of 10% or more and 30% or less (as recited in claim 1).
Shibuya ‘363 discloses a ceramic emitter for thermal (infrared) radiation comprising a polycrystalline body having a garnet structure having a composition R3Al5O12 or R3Ga5O12 (R: rare-earth element), the polycrystalline body having pores with a porosity of not less than 20% and not more than 40% (see Abstract; col. 1, lines 34-35; col. 8, claim 1).
Shibuya ‘363 teaches a ceramic emitter for infrared radiation, which is taken to meet the claimed “an infrared stealth material”. The polycrystalline body disclosed has the same compositional formulas as claimed, however “R” is Yb or Er but not both or “at least two rare earth elements”. The disclosed polycrystalline body porosity (not less than 20% and not more than 40%) appears overlapping with the claimed porosity (10% or more and 30% or less).
Gualtieri et al. ‘787 fairly teaches a similar polycrystalline material and suggested that R represents one or more of the elements selected from the group of rare earth metals including samarium (Sm), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), and thullium (Tm) (see col. 18, claim 3).
Thus, it would have been prima facie obvious to a person skilled in the art (before the effective filing date of the claimed invention) to consider using more than one rare earth elements as suggested by Gualtieri et al. ‘787 in Shibuya ‘363 to obtain a polycrystalline body having multifunctional and useful at high temperature as achieved by Gualtieri et al. ‘787 (see Abstract, col. 1-2).
Claims 4-6 are unpatentable or not inventive as being obvious over Shibuya ‘363 in view of Gualtieri et al. ‘787.
Citations
7. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. All references are cited for related art. See PTO-892 Form prepared.
US 4,679, 892 (relates to a component for infrared radiation comprising a monocrystalline substrate consists of R3Ga5O12, R is a rare-earth metal).
US 10,017,396 B1 (relates to an optical taggant material comprising sintered ceramic beads comprising a rare earth aluminum garnet of the general formula R3Al5O12, wherein R is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Dy, Ho, Y, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu).
US 5,245,689 (relates to a magneto-optical waveguide comprising, in combination, a magneto-optically active waveguiding body composed of a first crystalline aluminum garnet, and a cladding comprising an epitaxially deposited layer of a second crystalline aluminum garnet, the aluminum crystalline garnets having a composition R3(Al,T)5O12, R is one or more of rare earth elements and T is one or more of the 3-valence elements selected from the group consisting of gallium, indium, and scandium).
US 4,384,909 (relates to a composition comprising Y3O5O12).
Conclusion
8. Claims 1-8 are pending. Claims 1-3 & 7-8 are withdrawn. Claims 4-6 are rejected. No claims are allowed.
Contacts
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Primary Examiner CAM N. NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1357. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F (8:30 am – 5:00 pm) at alternative worksite or at cam.nguyen@uspto.gov.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anthony Zimmer, can be reached at 571-270-3591. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Cam N. Nguyen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1736
/CNN/
July 24, 2026
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