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
Note that the restriction requirement is withdrawn based on the amendment to claim 16.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1-6, 8-16 and 19-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Beall et al. (US 2019/0161397).
Regarding claim 1, Beall discloses a transparent gahnite-spinel glass ceramic that includes a first crystal phase including spinel and a second crystal phase including zirconia, which corresponds to not comprising a Li-containing crystal, see abstract. The reference further discloses the glass composition comprises: about 35 mol % to about 60 mol % SiO2; greater than about 13 mol % Al2O3; greater than about 8 mol % ZnO; 0 mol % to about 8 mol % MgO; and greater than 0 mol % to about 10 mol % ZrO2 [0028]. Additionally, the glass compositions comprises: 0 mol % to about 6 mol % TiO2; 0 mol % to about 10 mol % Na2O; 0 mol % to about 8 mol % Li2O [0029]. In some embodiments, the composition may include BaO with examples up to 1.4 mol% of BaO, which corresponds to zero BaO and up to 1.4 mol% BaO, see Tables 1 and 4 and [0069]. Note that the disclosed ranges for the individual constituents overlap the claimed ranges, and, as such, a prima facie case of obviousness exists; see MPEP 2144.05 I. Although the reference does not specifically disclose the claimed sum of TiO2 and ZrO2, based on the range disclosed for the values, the sum disclosed by the reference is from greater than 0 to 16 mol%, which encompasses the claimed range; see MPEP 2144.05 I and above discussion.
Regarding claim 2, the reference discloses a transparent gahnite-spinel glass ceramic that includes a first crystal phase including spinel and a second crystal phase including zirconia, which corresponds to not comprising quartz or a solid solution of quartz, see abstract.
Regarding claim 3, the reference discloses the crystallinity as greater than or equal to about 30 wt% [0050].
Regarding claim 4, the reference discloses the average grain size as less than 10 nm [0017], see Table 5 Examples of crystal sizes for both crystalline phases.
Regarding claim 5, the reference discloses the first crystal phase as (MgxZn1-x)Al2O4, which corresponds to a spinel crystal comprising zinc spinel and magnesium spinel, see abstract.
Regarding claim 6, the reference discloses a transmittance of at least about 90% in the visible range with examples having a 1 mm thickness [0015 & 0104]; see Fig. 7.
Regarding claims 8-11, while the reference does not specifically disclose the composition satisfies the claimed formulas, based on the ranges disclosed, the reference is considered to render obvious a composition that satisfies the claimed properties. For example, the reference renders obvious composition of 59% SiO2, 14.5% Al2O3, 8% ZnO, 6% Li2O, 4% Na2O, 3.5% MgO and 5% TiO2 + ZrO2, which satisfies the claimed equations.
Regarding claim 12, the reference discloses the glass composition comprises: about 35 mol % to about 60 mol % SiO2; greater than about 13 mol % Al2O3; greater than about 8 mol % ZnO; 0 mol % to about 8 mol % MgO; and greater than 0 mol % to about 10 mol % ZrO2 [0028]. Additionally, the glass compositions comprises: 0 mol % to about 6 mol % TiO2; 0 mol % to about 10 mol % Na2O; 0 mol % to about 8 mol % Li2O [0029]. In some embodiments, the composition may include BaO with examples up to 1.4 mol% of BaO, which corresponds to zero BaO and up to 1.4 mol% BaO, see Tables 1 and 4 and [0069]. Note that the disclosed ranges for the individual constituents overlap the claimed ranges, and, as such, a prima facie case of obviousness exists; see MPEP 2144.05 I. Although the reference does not specifically disclose the claimed sum of TiO2 and ZrO2, based on the range disclosed for the values, the sum disclosed by the reference is from greater than 0 to 16 mol%, which encompasses the claimed range; see MPEP 2144.05 I and above discussion.
Claims 13-16 define the product by how the product was made, the preparation method of the spinel glass ceramic. Thus claims 13-16 are product-by-process claims. For purposes of examination, product-by-process claims are not limited to the manipulation of the recited steps, only the structure implied by the steps. See MPEP 2113. In the present case, the recited steps imply a structure comprising a transparent spinel glass. The reference suggests such a product.
Regarding claim 19, the reference discloses the glass ceramic is ion-exchanged and comprises a compressive stress region extending form ta surface of the glass ceramic to a depth of compression [0018 & 0026]
Regarding claim 20, note that the limitation “used in watches, transparent armors, guided missile windows…” is deemed to be a statement with regard to intended use and is not further limiting in so far as the composition of the product is concerned. Note that the reference does disclose the glass ceramic may be incorporated in automobiles [0088].
Regarding claims 21 and 22, the reference discloses the glass composition comprises: about 35 mol % to about 60 mol % SiO2; greater than about 13 mol % Al2O3; greater than about 8 mol % ZnO; 0 mol % to about 8 mol % MgO; and greater than 0 mol % to about 10 mol % ZrO2 [0028]. Additionally, the glass compositions comprises: 0 mol % to about 6 mol % TiO2; 0 mol % to about 10 mol % Na2O; 0 mol % to about 8 mol % Li2O [0029]. In some embodiments, the composition may include BaO with examples up to 1.4 mol% of BaO, which corresponds to zero BaO and up to 1.4 mol% BaO, see Tables 1 and 4 and [0069]. Note that the disclosed ranges for the individual constituents overlap the claimed ranges, and, as such, a prima facie case of obviousness exists; see MPEP 2144.05 I. Although the reference does not specifically disclose the claimed sum of TiO2 and ZrO2, based on the range disclosed for the values, the sum disclosed by the reference is from greater than 0 to 16 mol%, which encompasses the claimed range; see MPEP 2144.05 I and above discussion.
Conclusion
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/LAURA A AUER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1783
