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 § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 6 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hirao et al (Processing Strategy for Producing Highly Anisotropic Silicon Nitride, Journal Am. Ceram. Joc., 78 (6) 1687-90 (1995)) as evidences by Triiso webpage.
Hirao teaches a method for manufacturing a ceramic green sheet using a dispersion comprising such binder as polyvinyl butyral (PVB) (BM-S grade, Sekisui Chemicals, Japan), plasticizer dioctyl adipate (see page 1688, left column), a dispersing agent and an organic solvent (see page 1687, right column).
Hirao discloses that the mixture above is dissolved and ball milling for 48 hours to obtain a final slurry for a tape casting.
Subsequently, the green sheets were punched in rectangular shape and stacked at 130°C under a pressure of 70 MPa (690 atm) aligned in the casting direction (see page 1688, left column).
The latter procedure can be considered as a compartment, because it carries out at the temperature lower that Tm of PVB (which is within the range of 160-210C ) under pressure.
Triiso evidences that BM-S polyvinyl butyral from Sekisui Chemicals has Molecular Weight of 53000 (see Table S-LEC BM-S(Z) Polyvinyl Butyrate Resin (PVB) Physical Properties).
Thus, all limitations of claims 1-3, 6 and 9 are met.
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 4 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hirao as evidenced by Triiso as applied to claims 1-3, 6 and 9 above, and further in view of Kotake et al (JPH04258638).
Hirao teaches mixture by ball milling for 48 h. However, the reference fails to disclose a roller mill and particle size of PVB.
Kotake discloses a granulated polyvinyl acetal resin which is easily soluble in an organic solvent, is convenient for storage and transportation and is lowly dusting.
Kotake teaches that in order to obtain particle diameter of 2 to 5 mm feather mills, cutter mills, roll mills, rotary disk type mills, etc. are preferable (see 0022).
Kotake discloses that granulating polyvinyl acetal resin leads to increasing the bulk specific gravity and lower the content of fine particles (see 0009).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use Kotake’s roller mill in Hirao’s process in order to increase bulk specific gravity and lower a content of fine particles.
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY LISTVOYB whose telephone number is (571)272-6105. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm EST M-F.
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GL
/GREGORY LISTVOYB/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1765
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