DETAILED ACTION
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 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Click et al. (US 20200017399).
Click discloses a glass-ceramic article with increased resistance to fracture. Concerning claims 8-10, Click discloses the glass-ceramic is a crystallized glass formed from a composition of 60 to 72 mol% SiO2, 0 to 6 mol% Al2O3, 0.7 to 2.2 mol% P2O5, 20 to 32 mol% Li2O, 0 to 2 mol% Na2O, 0 to 2 mol% K2O, and 1.7 to 4.5 mol% ZrO2, wherein Table 1 shows Compositions 1-13 meet the instant claims (para. 0044-0091). The glass-ceramic article has a compressive stress layer (FIG. 1; para. 0037). Examiner notes that the sum of Na2O and K2O as shown above meets the instant claims.
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 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akiba et al. (WO 2020/261711). US 20220119306, which is the PG-Pub of the WIPO document is used as a translation.
Akiba discloses a chemically strengthened glass that is crystalline. Concerning claims 1, 3, and 7-10, Akiba discloses the glass is a crystalline glass formed from a composition from 40 to 60 mol% SiO2, 0.5 to 10 mol% Al2O3, 0 to 6 mol% P2O5, 10 to 50 mol% Li2O, 0 to 7 mol% Na2O, 0 to 5 mol% K2O, and 0 to 6 mol% ZrO2, wherein the crystalline glass is subsequently chemically strengthened by ion exchange with a Na concentration monotonically decreasing gradient from the outer surface to the inner central portion and has at least lithium metasilicate precipitated and a compression stress layer and the sum of Na2O and K2O would include and encompass the claimed ranges in claims 8 and 9 (abstract; para. 0053-0157). Examiner notes that Akiba discloses the sum is less than 0.5 mol% to 5 mol%, which overlaps and includes the claimed ranges (para. 0124-0126).
Concerning claim 2, the chemically strengthened glass is in a sheet form with a compressive stress layer (or depth of layer) having a thickness of 0.12t to 0.2t, wherein t is the thickness of the sheet and the resulting compressive stress layer thickness is the depth of layer (DOL) and would include and encompass the percentage as claimed (para. 0077). With respect to claim 4, the XRD of the glass would include and encompass the claimed full width at half maximum because the composition of the crystalline glass overlaps and includes the claimed composition. In regards to claim 5, the compressive stress value 150 MPa to 230 MPa (para. 0076).
With respect to claim 6, the chemically strengthened crystalline glass has a thickness of 1 mm or less (para. 0084). Regarding claim 11, as shown above the content of Li2O and ZrO2 overlap and include the claimed ranges, wherein the visible light transmittance of the crystalline glass is 85% or more, wherein 400 nm is the minimum endpoint for visible light transmittance (para. 0026).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PRASHANT J KHATRI whose telephone number is (571)270-3470. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10AM-6:30PM.
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PRASHANT J. KHATRI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1783
/PRASHANT J KHATRI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1783