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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 7-8 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 7 recites “wherein the layered body contain” which appears as if it should instead recite “wherein the layered body contains”.
Claim 8 recites “wherein the layered body contain” which appears as if it should instead recite “wherein the layered body contains”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, a broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.05(c). In the present instance, claim 1 recites the broad recitation “wherein at least one layer contains one or more elements having a function of coloring zirconia”, and the claim also recites “wherein at least a first layer and a second layer contain an element having a function of coloring zirconia and the content or the type of the element having a function of coloring zirconia in the first layer is different from the element having a function of coloring zirconia in the second layer” which is the narrower statement of the range/limitation. The claim(s) are considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims.
Regarding claim 7, Claim 7 recites the limitation "the color pigment having a function of coloring zirconia in yellowish color" in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
All claims not specifically addressed are rejected due to their dependence on a rejected claim.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aiba et al. (US20190380815, hereinafter referred to as Aiba).
Regarding claim 1, Aiba discloses a layered body having a structure in which two or more layers containing zirconia containing a stabilizer are layered, the layered body comprising at least (see Aiba at the Abstract, disclosing a dental zirconia blank ... having a plurality of layers ... containing 91.6 to 96.5 mol% of zirconium oxide and 3.5 to 8.4 mol% of yttrium oxide. Examiner notes yttrium oxide is a stabilizer per instant claim 12.): a first layer containing zirconia having a stabilizer content of higher than or equal to 4 mol% (see Aiba at the Abstract, disclosing a second layer consisting of ... 1.5 to 4.4 mol% of yttrium oxide, which overlaps with the claimed range.) In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists (see MPEP 2144.05); and a second layer containing zirconia having a stabilizer content different from that of the zirconia contained in the first layer (see Aiba at the Abstract, disclosing a first layer consisting of ... 3.5 to 8.4 mol% of yttrium oxide), wherein a difference between the stabilizer content in the first layer and the stabilizer content in the second layer is greater than or equal to 0.5 mol% (see Aiba at the Abstract, disclosing one layer with 1.5-4.4 mol% yttria, and another layer with 3.5-8.4 mol% yttria, which is a difference of 0.5 or greater), wherein at least one layer contains one or more elements having a function of coloring zirconia (see Aiba at [0042], disclosing at least one high permeability layered area contained in the first layer includes 0.0001 to 0.30 mol% of erbium oxide ... [creating] an effect of reddish coloring.), wherein at least a first layer and a second layer contain an element having a function of coloring zirconia and the content or the type of the element having a function of coloring zirconia in the first layer is different from the element having a function of coloring zirconia in the second layer (see Aiba at [0043], disclosing the second layer may consist of a plurality of low permeability layered areas having different compositions with each other ... forming a gradiation of color tone.) and (see Aiba at [0045] disclosing the high permeability ceramic may be a temporary calcined body of a plurality of powders having different compositions with each other. By such a constitution, an effect that a prosthesis device having difference color tones.) and the layered body is a calcined body (see Aiba at [0020], disclosing a calcined body.).
Regarding claim 2, Aiba discloses the element is one or more selected from the group consisting of iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), erbium (Er), and ytterbium (Yb) (see Aiba at [0050], disclosing examples of the coloring material include an iron compound, a cobalt compound, a chromium compound, a praseodymium compound and a vanadium compound.).
Regarding claim 3, Aiba discloses the first layer and the second layer contain at least one or more same type of the color pigment in different content (see Aiba at [0042], disclosing the first layer includes 0.0001 to 0.30 mol % of erbium oxide. See also Aiba at [0044] disclosing the second layer includes 0.0001 to 0.30 mol% of erbium oxide. Additionally, see Aiba at [0043], disclosing the second layer may consist of a plurality of low permeability layered areas having different compositions with each other ... forming a gradiation of color tone.).
Regarding claim 4, Aiba discloses the layered body has a structure in which the color pigment content in a zirconia layer having higher stabilizer content is lower than that in a zirconia layer having lower stabilizer content (see Aiba at the Abstract, disclosing one layer with 1.5-4.4 mol% yttria, and another layer with 3.5-8.4 mol% yttria, which is a difference of 0.5 or greater. see Aiba at [0042], disclosing the first layer includes 0.0001 to 0.30 mol % of erbium oxide. See also Aiba at [0044] disclosing the second layer includes 0.0001 to 0.30 mol% of erbium oxide. Additionally, see Aiba at [0043], disclosing the second layer may consist of a plurality of low permeability layered areas having different compositions with each other ... forming a gradiation of color tone. Therefore, it would be obvious to have a color pigment in the higher stabilizer layer to be lower than the color pigment content in the lower stabilizer content layer.).
Regarding claim 5, Aiba discloses the layered body contains at least a color pigment having a function of coloring zirconia in yellowish color (see Aiba at [0050], disclosing examples of the coloring material include an iron compound. Examiner notes iron is a yellow colorant as evidenced by the instant application PGPub at [0106] disclosing the yellow pigment may be ... iron.).
Regarding claim 6, Aiba discloses the layered body contains one or more selected from the group consisting of iron, terbium, vanadium, praseodymium and nickel (see Aiba at [0050], disclosing examples of the coloring material include an iron compound, a cobalt compound, a chromium compound, a praseodymium compound and a vanadium compound.).
Regarding claim 7, Aiba discloses the layered body contain a color pigments having a function of coloring zirconia in reddish color (see Aiba at [0042], disclosing the erbium oxide, a solid solving occurs to obtain an effect of a suppression of a color skip caused by sintering and an effect of reddish coloring.) in addition to the color pigment having a function of coloring zirconia in yellowish color (see Aiba at [0050], disclosing examples of the coloring material include an iron compound, a cobalt compound, a chromium compound, a praseodymium compound and a vanadium compound.).
Regarding claim 8, Aiba discloses the layered body contain one or more selected from the group consisting of manganese and erbium (see Aiba at [0042], disclosing the erbium oxide, a solid solving occurs to obtain an effect of a suppression of a color skip caused by sintering and an effect of reddish coloring.).
Regarding claim 9, Aiba discloses the content of the stabilizer of the stabilizer-containing zirconia contained in the second layer is 1.5 mol% to 7.0 mol% (see Aiba at the Abstract, disclosing one layer with 1.5-4.4 mol% yttria, and another layer with 3.5-8.4 mol% yttria, which is a difference of 0.5 or greater).
Regarding claim 10, Aiba discloses the content of the stabilizer of the stabilizer-containing zirconia contained in the second layer is 5.0 mol% to 7.0 mol% (see Aiba at the Abstract, disclosing one layer with 1.5-4.4 mol% yttria, and another layer with 3.5-8.4 mol% yttria, which is a difference of 0.5 or greater).
Regarding claim 11, Aiba discloses the content of the stabilizer of the stabilizer-containing zirconia contained in the first layer is 4.0 mol% to 6.0 mol% (see Aiba at the Abstract, disclosing one layer with 1.5-4.4 mol% yttria, and another layer with 3.5-8.4 mol% yttria, which is a difference of 0.5 or greater).
Regarding claim 12, Aiba discloses the stabilizer is one or more selected from the group consisting of yttria (Y2O3), calcia (CaO), magnesia (MgO), and ceria (CeO2) (see Aiba at the Abstract, disclosing a dental zirconia blank ... having a plurality of layers ... containing 91.6 to 96.5 mol% of zirconium oxide and 3.5 to 8.4 mol% of yttrium oxide. Examiner notes yttrium oxide is a stabilizer per instant claim 12.).
Regarding claim 13, Aiba discloses at least one of the layers contains alumina (see Aiba at [0051], disclosing the ceramic may contain aluminum oxide as a sintering additive).
Regarding claim 14, while Aiba does not explicitly disclose a warp measured using a thickness gauge according to JIS B 7524:2008 is less than or equal to 1.0 mm, Aiba at [0072] discloses presence or absence of a warp was confirmed for the dental zirconia blank (semi-sintered body) molded by the above described method. The surface deformed in a projecting shape was set at a lower side, the distance from the setting surface to the bottom surface was measured by using the digital microscope VHX-5000 (KEYENCE CORPORATION). Ten places were measured. The rating criteria were as follow: ◯: Maximum distance was 1 mm or less; and x: Maximum distance was more than 1 mm. Examiner notes all inventive examples from Table 3 have a warp rating of 1 mm or less, which is the claimed range.
Regarding claim 15, while Aiba does not explicitly disclose a warp measured using a thickness gauge according to JIS B 7524:2008 is less than or equal to 0.2 mm, Aiba at [0072] discloses presence or absence of a warp was confirmed for the dental zirconia blank (semi-sintered body) molded by the above described method. The surface deformed in a projecting shape was set at a lower side, the distance from the setting surface to the bottom surface was measured by using the digital microscope VHX-5000 (KEYENCE CORPORATION). Ten places were measured. The rating criteria were as follow: ◯: Maximum distance was 1 mm or less; and x: Maximum distance was more than 1 mm. Examiner notes all inventive examples from Table 3 have a warp rating of 1 mm or less, which overlaps with the claimed range.
Regarding claim 16, while Aiba does not explicitly disclose a density is 2.4 g/cm3 to 3.7 g/cm3, the density is a function of the composition as well as the sintering temperature. The composition of Aiba is substantially identical to the instantly claimed composition as detailed by the rejections above. Aiba discloses heating ... to 1000 to 1200°C, which is substantially identical to the instant specification at [0031] of the PGPub disclosing calcining a green body at a temperature of higher than or equal to 800°C and lower than 1,200 °C. Because the composition and heat treatment of Aiba are substantially identical to those of the instant invention, the zirconia body of Aiba would inherently possess the claimed density. Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established (see MPEP 2112.01(I) first paragraph).
Regarding claim 17, Aiba discloses the one or more elements having a function of coloring zirconia is at least any of an oxide or an element doped in zirconia (see Aiba at [0042], disclosing the first layer includes 0.0001 to 0.30 mol % of erbium oxide.).
Regarding claim 18, Aiba discloses a dental material containing the layered body (See Aiba at the Abstract, disclosing a dental zirconia blank.).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CAMERON K MILLER whose telephone number is (571)272-4616. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm EST.
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CAMERON K MILLER
Examiner
Art Unit 1731
/CAMERON K MILLER/Examiner, Art Unit 1731
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