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 .
Withdrawn Rejections
The 35 U.S.C. §112, 2nd paragraph, rejection(s) of claims 2 and 12, made of record in the office action mailed on 06/27/2025, page 7 have been withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendment in the response filed on 10/10/2025.
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(s) 1, 3-4, 12, 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keller et al. (US 2013/0237403).
Regarding claims 1, 3-4, 12, 14-16 Keller discloses formation of boron carbide-boron nitride carbon composition (title). Keller discloses when the elemental boron and carbon precursor composition are heated in a nitrogen atmosphere, boron nitride nanoparticles form as a layer on the exterior portion of the ceramics (para 0031). FIG. 2 schematically illustrates boron particles 10 embedded in a thermoset matrix 20) (para 0016). Keller discloses composition comprising: boron; and an organic component selected from: an organic compound having a char yield of at least 60% by weight; and a thermoset made from the organic compound (claim 10). The organic compound is 1,2,4,5-tetrakis(phenylethynyl)benzene or a prepolymer thereof (claim 12). Keller discloses the composition comprises fibers, carbon fibers, ceramic fibers, or metal fibers (claim 13), where ceramic fibers correspond to the filler of present invention. Keller teaches embodiments wherein the composition comprises, in the carbonaceous matrix, boron nitride along with said boron carbide. In these embodiments, the boron nitride particulate can be considered a filler. This component meets the limitations imparted by the term of the art “filler,” and as such Keller teaches a composition comprising a nanoparticulate carbide along with a nitride filler. As seen in figure 2, the composition comprising metal component and an thermoset made from organic compound is present on two layers of the ceramic.
Claim(s) 2 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keller et al. (US 2013/0237403) as applied to claims 1 and 12, further in view of Flaschberger et al. (US 2016/0023328).
Regarding claims 2 and 13, Keller fails to disclose that the metal component is tungsten, hafnium, zirconium, vanadium.
Whereas, Flaschberger discloses bonded abrasive article comprising shaped abrasive particles and a bonding medium comprising a vitreous bond (abstract). The shaped abrasive particles used in the present invention can typically be made using tools (i.e., molds), cut using diamond tooling, which provides higher feature definition than other fabrication alternatives such as, for example, stamping or punching (para 0269). Specific examples of suitable abrasive materials include known ceramic materials, carbides, nitrides and other hard and superhard materials such as aluminum oxide (for example alpha alumina) materials (including fused, heat treated, ceramic and sintered aluminum oxide materials), silicon carbide, titanium diboride, titanium nitride, boron carbide, tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, diamond, cubic boron nitride (CBN), zirconium oxide, titanium oxide or a combination thereof (para 0106).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to include tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, zirconium oxide as taught by Flaschberger in the composition of Keller motivated by the desire to have high precision grinding properties.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 10/10/2025 have been fully considered, but they are moot in view of new grounds of rejections as stated above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RONAK C PATEL whose telephone number is (571)270-1142. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30AM-6:30PM (FLEX).
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, ALICIA CHEVALIER can be reached at 5712721490. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/RONAK C PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1788
Prosecution Insights