DETAILED ACTION
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 36, 38, 41-43, 45, 47-54, 56 and 57 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by ESGUERRA (US-2023/0295041) alone or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious in combination with Stav (US-2022/0282484).
Claim 36: Esguerra teaches a gypsum panel comprising a gypsum core and a
first facing material and a second facing material sandwiching the gypsum core (para.
0075), wherein the gypsum core includes gypsum, a thermal insulation additive (i.e.
glass microspheres or soda lime glass) and a shrinkage reduction additive (i.e. colloidal
silica or sodium silicate) (Esguerra, page 8, Tables 1 & 2). Additionally, Esguerra also suggest silicone as binder (para. 0045) and as enhancement additive (Esguerra, para. 0048). The silicone could function as shrink reducing agent because as a binder, it could prevent the deformation of the panel even though it is not identified as such. The gypsum panel contains "low amounts of" vermiculite (para. 0071) and thus meets the claimed range of 3% or less, and wherein the gypsum panel passes ASTM E119-20 (para. 0090 & 0103). With regards to the newly added “nail pull resistance of at least 75 lbf, Esguerra does not report the nail pull resistance of the panel but Esguerra teaches a gypsum panel having a thickness having a thickness of 1 inch and weight of 800-2500 lb/msf (Esguerra, para. 0059) and thus the gypsum panel is expected to have a nail pull resistance of at least 75 lbf (as admitted by Applicant in the instant specification at paragraph [0064] that such nail pull resistance values would correspond to a panel thickness of 5/8 inch). Alternatively, Stav reports a gypsum panel having a nail pull strength of 70 to 100 lb. (Stav, para. 0058). Because this value is dependent on the thickness and density of the panel (a fact admitted by Applicant in the instant specification at paragraph 0064), the POSITA would have been able to arrive at a predetermined nail pull resistance by adjusting the thickness of the panel through routine experimentation.
Claim 38: The gypsum panel of Esguerra includes a thermal insulation additive which is clay (para. 0027 and Page 8 Tables 1-2)
Claims 41-42: Esguerra teaches gypsum panel includes a glass or soda lime
glass (Page 8, Tables 1 & 2).
Claims 43 and 45: The gypsum panel of Esguerra includes a shrinkage reduction
additive, that is, a silicate or a colloidal silica (Esguerra, Page 8, Tables 1 and 2).
Claims 47-48: Stav teaches adding a metal salt including barium chloride as shrinkage reducing agent (para. 0044).
Claim 49.: The gypsum panel of Esguerra contains a shrinkage reduction
additive which is a clay (para. 0027 and Page 8, Tables 1-2).
Claim 50: The gypsum panel of Esguerra comprises a thermal insulation additive
(i.e. glass or soda lime glass) in an amount of less than 2 wt% (para. 0098) which is well
within the claimed range of 0.05 wt.% to 5 wt.%.
Claim 51: The gypsum panel of Esguerra comprises a shrinkage reduction
additive (i.e. silicate or colloidal silica) in an amount of 2wt% or less (para. 0092) which
is well within the claimed range of 0.001 wt.% to 5 wt.
Claim 52: Esguerra teaches the gypsum panel contain "low amounts (or even
free) of vermiculite (para. 0071) and thus meets the claimed range of less 0.1 wt.%
Claim 53: The gypsum panel of Esguerra exhibits a shrinkage in the thickness
direction of 15% or less (para. 0097).
Claim 54: The gypsum panel of Esguerra exhibits a shrinkage in the width-length
(i.e. diameter or volume) direction of 15% or less (Page 8, Table 3, and para. 0097).
Claim 56: Because the gypsum panel of gypsum comprises the same materials
and additives in the same concentration as discussed above, it is expected that the
gypsum panel of Esguerra exhibits the compressive strength within the claimed range.
Claim 57: Esguerra teaches a method of making the gypsum panel discussed
above comprising: providing the first facing material, providing a gypsum slurry
comprising gypsum, water, the thermal insulation additive, and the shrinkage reduction
additive onto the first facing material, providing the second facing material on the
gypsum slurry (Esguerra, para. 0036 ad 0077-0080).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 39-40, 46 and 56 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being
unpatentable Esguerra and Stave as applied to claims 36, 38, 41-43, 45, 47-54, 56 and 57 above, and further in view of Yu (US- 2002/0045074), and/or Buttner (US-2022/0048823).
Claim 39: Esguerra teaches the claimed gypsum panel as discussed above.
However, Esguerra does not suggest inclusion of expanded perlite. Yu teaches adding
expanded perlite in gypsum panel in order to reduce the density and enhance strength
(Yu, para. 0032-0033). This teaching gives guidance to the POSITA to include
expanded perlite in the gypsum panel.
Claim 40: Esguerra teaches the claimed gypsum panel as discussed above.
However, Esguerra does not suggest inclusion of aluminum trihydrate. Buttner teaches
additive for gypsum including aluminum trihydrate to liberate crystal water upon heat
exposure (Butner, para. 0026).
Claim 46: Esguerra teaches the claimed gypsum panel as discussed above,
wherein silica and colloidal silica are used as additives; however, Esguerra does not
mention fumed silica. Buttner teaches fumed silica as fire resistive additive (para.
0009).
Claim 56: Esguerra teaches the claimed gypsum panel as discussed above.
Esguerra does not report the compressive strength of the panel. Yu reports a gypsum
panel with a compressive strength of 800 psi to 1075 psi (Yu, Page 7, Table I). In
addition, this value is dependent on the thickness and density of the panel. Therefore,
the POSITA would have been able to arrive at a predetermined compressive strength
by adjusting the thickness of the panel through routine experimentation.
Response to Arguments
Applicant alleges that Esguerra does not teach the use of silicone and silica as shrink reduction agent. Contrary to this allegation, Esguerra does teach incorporating silica and silicone as additives (Esguerra, page 8, Tables 1 & 2 and paragraph 0048), which would inherently provide the shrink reduction effect to the panel even as Esguerra does not specifically name such effect. In addition, Esguerra also teaches the use of silicone as binder (Esguerra, para, 0045) which would inherently provide deformation resistance to the panel for being a binder and which would further aid in shrink reduction of the panel.
Applicant's arguments filed January 2, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive for the reasons discussed above.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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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HOA (Holly) LE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1788
/HOA (Holly) LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1788
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