DETAILED ACTION
The following Office action concerns Patent Application Number 18/581,234. Claims 1-12 and 14-21 are pending in the application. Claims 14-20 have been withdrawn from further consideration as being drawn to a non-elected invention.
The applicant’s amendment filed July 29, 2026 has been entered.
The previous grounds of rejection are withdrawn in light of the applicant’s amendment.
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 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 1-11 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being obvious over Chretien et al (US 7,749,300) in view of Allen et al (US 2019/0390072). Kito et al (US 2011/0028586) is cited as an information reference.
Chretien et al teaches an ink containing bi-metallic core-shell particles comprising a chromium core and a palladium shell (col. 1, lines 17-20; col. 5, line 38; col. 6, line 67; col. 9, line 43). The particles have a diameter of 1-1000 nm (col. 8, lines 7-13). The core has a diameter of 1-1000 nm, including, for example 2-20 nm (col. 6, lines 26-32). The shell has a thickness of 1-1000 nm, including, for example 50-500 nm (col. 7, lines 29-31). The particles are dispersed in a mixture of two or more solvents to form an ink (col. 9, lines 50-53). The solvents include low and high vapor pressure solvents (col. 10, lines 20 and 27). The solvents include terpineol (col. 10, line 24). The ink includes a dispersant (col. 11, line 33). The amount of particles in the ink includes 10-20 % by weight (col. 10, lines 33-37). The shell has the claimed composition, therefore, it must be capable of facilitating sintering by decreasing surface energy barrier.
It is reasonably inferred that the palladium shell is substantially free of chromium. The instant specification teaches that a shell being substantially free of chromium satisfies the requirement for a shell or second metallic material having a chromium content (spec., par. 32 and original claim 3).
Chretien et al does not teach a radical scavenger in the ink.
However, Allen et al teaches an ink comprising a radical scavenger (par. 72). The amount of radical scavenger is 0-5 % by weight (par. 72). The radical scavenger includes IRGASTAB UV10 (par. 72). IRGASTAB UV10 is known in the art as a hindered amine stabilizer (Kito et al, par. 52). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to combine the radical scavenger of Allen et al with the ink of Chretien et al in order to obtain an ink protected from free radicals.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Chretien et al in view of Allen et al and Delrot et al (US 2017/0028626). Kito et al (US 2011/0028586) is cited above as an information reference.
Chretien et al in view of Allen et al teaches an ink as described above. Chretien et al in view of Allen et al does not teach the Ohnesorge number of the ink.
However, Chretien et al teaches that the ink is deposited by printing (col. 1, lines 15-30; col. 9, lines 43-53). Delrot et al teaches that the Ohnesorge number is a result-effective variable with respect to printing performance of an ink (par. 39). A person of ordinary skill in the art would have determined the optimal Ohnesorge number for printing by routine experimentation. Furthermore, Delrot et al teaches the claimed range of Ohnesorge number of 0.04 to 0.4 (Fig. 11). Therefore, the claimed range of Ohnesorge number would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art. MPEP 2144.05(II).
Response to Arguments
The previous grounds of rejection are withdrawn in light of the applicant’s amendment. New grounds of rejection are presented above. Allen et al teaches a radical scavenger and an amount thereof.
Conclusion
The 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Examiner’s Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to William Young whose telephone number is (571) 270-5078. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Angela Brown-Pettigrew, can be reached at 571-272-2817. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM D YOUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1761 August 10, 2026
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