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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-19 and 21 are pending wherein claims 1-12 and 15-19 are amended, claim 21 is new and claim 20 is canceled.
Status of Previous Rejections
The previous rejection of claims 1-14 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BYD (CN 112159916 A) is withdrawn in view of the Applicant’s amendment to claims 1-14. The previous rejection of claims 15-19 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BYD (CN 112159916A) in view of Bui Dac et al. (US 2021/0044685) is withdrawn in view of the Applicants amendment to claims 15-19.
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 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BYD (CN 112159916 A) in view of Jones (Factors affecting the grain-refinement of aluminum using titanium and boron additives).
In regard to claim 21, BYD (CN ‘916) discloses aluminum alloys having compositions relative to that of the instant invention as set forth below (abstract and page 2).
Element
Instant Claim
(mass percent)
BYD (CN ‘916)
(mass percent)
Overlap
Si
8 – 10
7 – 11
8 – 10
Mg
0.001 – 0.2
0.001 – 0.2
0.001 – 0.2
Mn
0.001 – 0.09
0.005 – 0.1
0.005 – 0.09
Fe
0.7 – 1.3
0.4 – 1.0
0.7 – 1.0
Sr
0.001 – 0.05
0.01 – 0.06
0.01 – 0.05
Cu and Zn
optional
– 0.2 Cu
0.001 – 0.2 Zn
– 0.2 Cu
0.001 – 0.2 Zn
Ti
– 0.1
-
-
Al
Balance
Balance
Balance
The Examiner notes that the amounts of silicon, magnesium, manganese, iron, strontium, copper, zinc and titanium for the aluminum base alloys disclosed by BYD (CN ‘916) overlap the amounts of the instant invention, which is prima facie evidence of obviousness. MPEP 2144.05 I. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the filing of the instant invention to have selected the claimed amounts of silicon, magnesium, manganese, iron, strontium, copper, zinc and titanium from the amounts disclosed by BYD (CN ‘916) because BYD (CN ‘916) discloses the same utility throughout the disclosed ranges.
With respect to the recitation “wherein the inevitable impurities account for ≤0.15%” in claim 21, BYD (CN ‘916) discloses impurity elements at less than 0.1% (abstract and page 2).
With respect to the transitional language “comprising” in claim 21, the Examiner notes that the claim would be open to additional, unrecited elements. MPEP 2111.03.
With respect to the claimed range of titanium, BYD (CN ‘916) does not specify the presence of titanium.
Jones teaches adding 0.005 to 0.01 weight percent titanium in order refine the grains of aluminum alloys (page 232, left column).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art prior to the filing of the instant invention to add 0.005 to 0.01 weight percent titanium, as disclosed by Jones, to the aluminum base alloys, as disclosed by BYD (CN ‘916), in order to refine the grains, as disclosed by Jones (page 232, left column).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-14 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In regard to claim 1, Applicant has amended the transitional language on independent claim 1 to be “consisting of”. This would not allow for the presence of elements outside what is specified in the claim and impurities according to MPEP 2111.03. The closest prior art to BYD (CN ‘916) teaches wherein the aluminum alloy requires the presence elements such as boron (0.003 to 0.05%), gallium (0.01 to 0.02%), molybdenum (0.001 to 0.01%), cerium (0.001 to 0.2%), and lanthanum (0.0003 to 0.02%) (abstract and claim 1) which would exclude BYD from being applicable as a prior art since boron, gallium, molybdenum, cerium and lanthanum are not specified in claim 1.
Claims 15-19 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In regard to claim 15, Applicant has amended the transitional language on independent claim 15 to be “consisting”. This would not allow for the presence of elements of the aluminum housing of an electronic device comprising a housing and a body in the housing with a processing unit with at least part of the housing being an aluminum outside what is specified in the claim and impurities according to MPEP 2111.03. The closest prior art to BYD (CN ‘916) teaches wherein the aluminum alloy requires the presence elements such as boron (0.003 to 0.05%), gallium (0.01 to 0.02%), molybdenum (0.001 to 0.01%), cerium (0.001 to 0.2%), and lanthanum (0.0003 to 0.02%) (abstract and claim 1) which would exclude BYD from being applicable as a prior art since boron, gallium, molybdenum, cerium and lanthanum are not specified in claim 15.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been considered, but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/JESSEE R ROE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759
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