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 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.
Claims 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lewis (US7721844) in view of Walters (US4960631).
With respect to claim 1 Lewis discloses an aircraft window configured to reduce the intensity of vibrations transmitted from outside the aircraft to inside the aircraft cabin comprising:
A first element of transparent material (310) arranged , in use, facing the outside of the aircraft;
A second element (312) of transparent material arranged, in use, facing the cabin;
A gap (324) that separates the first and second elements of transparent material which are arranged facing and spaced apart from one another,
Characterized in that it comprises:
At least a first transparent sheet element (318) applied to a first face of the first element facing the gap;
At least one second transparent sheet element (319) applied to a second face of the second element facing the gap;
The first and second transparent sheet elements being made of transparent viscoelastic material and The second transparent sheet element covers a central area of the second face.
Lewis does not disclose the first transparent sheet element covers a central area of the first face
and is spaced from the edges of the first face so that the perimeter edges of the first transparent sheet element are free of said first sheet element the second transparent sheet element covers a central area of the second face an is spaced from the perimeter edges of the second face so that the perimeter edges of the second transparent sheet element are free of said second sheet element.
Walters discloses (see figure 1) wherein a film interlayer (20) is spaced from the outer perimeter edge (40) of the window so as to allow direct connection to the sealing member (36).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of Walters to provide such a direct contract between the sealing members and window by spacing the sheet elements so as to provide for enhanced sealing through direct connection.
2 Claims 2-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lewis (US7721844) in view of Walters (US4960631) as applied to claim1 above, and further in view of EP0869057 hereinafter PPG.
With respect to claim 2 Lewis as modified discloses the invention as claimed except expressly wherein a plurality of first sheet elements of viscoelastic material are provided superimposed over one another so as to obtain a layered structure applied to the first face of the first element facing the gap, ad a second plurality of transparent sheet elements of transparent viscoelastic material superimposed over one another so as to obtain a layered structure applied to a first face of the second element facing the gap.
PPG discloses a sound dampening multilayer laminate (element 44 see figure 2 and column 7 lines 38-44).
It would have been an obvious smatter to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of PPG to use a multilayer laminate structure with the viscoelastic film structure of the window of Lewis as modified so as to gain the benefits of the additional layers providing additional damping.
With respect to claim 3 Lewis as modified further discloses wherein the transparent sheet elements belonging to the first layered structure have different thicknesses from one another (see Column 7 of PPG).
With respect to claim 4 Lewis as modified further discloses wherein the transparent sheet elements belonging to the second layered structure have different thicknesses from one another (see Column 7 of PPG).
With respect to claim 5 Lewis as modified further discloses wherein the viscoelastic material belongs to the family of acrylic polymer materials and is provided with a silicone coating film (Lewis teaches the use of acrylic polymers as transparent materials as it applies to the windows of the plane, the use of the same polymeric material for the viscoelastic damping film would have been obvious to provide similar visibility; as it regards the application of a silicone film the use of such a material for scratch resistance would have been easily understood by one of skill in the art as being a well known material for such uses on windows. )
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Adachi (US20200298273) discloses the use of a silicone film to protect glass from scratching; Watanabe (US20060057312) discloses a laminate for controlling sounds; Schwartz (US6995339) discloses a windshield including film; and Barth (US6294233) discloses an edge sealed window and film member.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FORREST M PHILLIPS whose telephone number is (571)272-9020. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday from 9:00-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dedei Hammond can be reached at (571) 272-3985. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FORREST M PHILLIPS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837