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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 14-20 in the reply filed on 10/22/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-13 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 10/22/2025.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 09/29/2023, 10/13/2024, and 04/10/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS is being considered by the examiner.
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 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujieda et al. (US 2015/0028333) and further in view of Barbarossa et al. (US 2018/0309469).
Regarding claims 14-16, Fujieda discloses a metal matrix composite comprising a glass coating film (0001). The glass coating (instant enameled coating) on the surface of the MMC material (Fig. 1) and comprising a transition metal oxide, such as vanadium pentoxide (instant pigment/colored dye material), and glass (0022).
Fujieda teaches that the metal matrix composite substrate includes an aluminum alloy or magnesium alloy (0024), however does not expressly teach the substrate containing a metal and a ceramic or organic compound.
Barbarossa, in the analogous field of metal matrix composite materials for housings of electronic devices (0002), teaches a metal matrix composite comprising a metal and a ceramic (0023), such as Al-SiC (0025).
A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious for the substrate of Fujieda to include a ceramic such as SiC, as taught by Barbarossa, to tailor the properties of the substrate, including for higher strength and lower density (0023).
Please note, the recitation in claim 1, that the structure is a housing for an electronic consumer device is merely and intended use. Applicants attention is drawn to MPEP 2111.02 which states that intended use statements must be evaluated to determine whether the intended use results in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art. Only if such structural difference exists, does the recitation serve to limit the claim. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
It is the examiner’s position that the intended use recited in the present claims does not result in a structural difference between the presently claimed invention and the prior art and further that the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use. Given that Fujieda discloses a coated metal matrix composite as presently claimed, it is clear that the metal matrix composite of Fujieda would be capable of performing the intended use, i.e. as a housing for an electronic consumer device, presently claimed as required in the above cited portion of the MPEP.
Regarding claim 17, Fujieda teaches controlling the thermal expansion of the glass coating to be brought close to that of the substrate (0025). As applicant’s specification teaches that a “substantially similar” CTE is less than 5%, but can be less than 1%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or any other amount to achieve a desired result, Fujieda teaches the coating having a CTE substantially similar to the first CTE as claimed.
Regarding claim 18, Fujieda teaches the metal matrix composite substrate includes an aluminum alloy (0024).
Regarding claim 19, Barbarossa teaches Al-SiC (0025).
Regarding claim 20, Barbarossa teaches young’s modulus due to addition of SiC of 125 GPa or more (0025), overlapping the claimed value of greater than 125 GPa.
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 the overlapping portion of the ranges disclosed by the reference because overlapping ranges have been held to be a prima facie case of obviousness, In re Wertheim, 191 USPQ 90, In re Woodruff, 16 USPQ2d 1934, and In re Peterson, 65 USPQ2d 1379. MPEP 2144.05.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALICIA WEYDEMEYER whose telephone number is (571)270-1727. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9-4.
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, Frank Vineis can be reached at 571-270-1547. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALICIA J WEYDEMEYER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1781