DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of group I, and species b, which corresponds to claims 1-4 and 9-10 in the reply filed on February 12, 2026 is acknowledged.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Tanaka et al. (JP01-183436 as provided for by applicant). Tanaka teaches a method for manufacturing a silica glass body comprising preheating a porous silica glass body (“preheat the preform” in example 1 on page 6), and placing the preheated porous silica glass body in a resonator (2nd passage on page 6) that resonates a microwave having a frequency band of 2GHz-4GHz (bottom of page 5), which falls within the claimed range of 1GHz to 30 GHz, to heat the porous silica glass body with the microwave (example 1 on page 6), wherein at least a part of the porous silica glass body contains an additive other than silicon and oxygen (top of page 6), wherein the porous silica body is preheated to a temperature equal to or higher than a glass transition temperature of the additive-added portion of the porous silica glass body in the preheating (i.e. 1500°C top passage on page 5), and wherein the porous silica glass with the additive is heated with the microwave in the heating with the microwave (example 1 on page 6).
Regarding claim 10, Tanaka teaches the porous silica glass body is made with additives, such as fluorine (top of page 6) and inserting the doped porous silica glass body into the furnace for preheating (example 1 on page 6).
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 1-3 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Toko et al. (JP 2005-053740 as provided for by applicant) in view of Hu et al. (CN 104817264 as provided for by applicant). Toko discloses a method for manufacturing a silica glass body comprising preheating a porous silica glass body (second heat treatment [0027], [0045]), and placing the preheated porous silica glass body in microwave heating apparatus a microwave operating at a frequency band of 28GHz, which falls within the claimed range of 1GHz to 30 GHz ([0043]) to heat the porous silica glass body with the microwave (third heat treatment [0022], [0030]), wherein at least a part of the porous silica glass body contains an additive (i.e. fluorine) other than silicon and oxygen, wherein the porous silica body is preheated to a temperature equal to or higher than a glass transition temperature of the additive-added portion of the porous silica glass body in the preheating ([0028]), and wherein the porous silica glass with the additive is heated with the microwave in the heating with the microwave ([0030], [0046]). As mentioned, Toko teaches using microwave heating, but doesn’t specify a microwave resonator. Like Toko, Hu also teaches a method for heating a porous silica glass body in a microwave heating apparatus ([0011]). Hu teaches the microwave heating apparatus comprises a resonator that resonates microwaves ([0019], [0025]) at a frequency in the range of 0.3-300 GHz ([0015]), i.e. 2.4GHz ([0033]). Hu teaches such an arrangement of microwave heating can save energy and improve efficiency ([0014]), and allow for the power of the microwave generator be controlled ([0017]). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have employed a resonator for resonating microwave for the microwave heater of Toko, as it an efficient and controllable means of heating for porous silica glass bodies, as taught by Hu.
Regarding claim 2, Toko teaches the additive is fluorine ([0027]), which is a halogen element.
Regarding claim 3, Toko teaches the halogen element is added to the porous silica glass body as the additive in the preheating (i.e. fluoride gas [0027]).
Regarding claim 9, Toko teaches the glass transition temperature is within the range of 800°C-1100°C ([0028]).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Toko et al. (JP 2005-053740 as provided for by applicant) and Hu et al. (CN 104817264 as provided for by applicant) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Toko et al. (JP 2004115299 machine translation provided, which be referred to as Toko ‘299). Toko teaches the halogen element is added to the porous silica glass body as the additive by supplying a halogen compound gas into microwave heating apparatus in the preheating ([0045]). Hu further teaches the microwave heating apparatus comprises a core tube 3 including the resonator ([0025]) and supplying a gas into the core tube. Thus, in adopting a similar microwave heating apparatus for the method of Toko, the halogen element would be supplied into a core tube including the resonator. However Toko doesn’t specify supplying the halogen compound gas during heating with microwave. Toko ‘299 teaches in another reference a method for producing a silica glass body comprising heating a porous silica glass body with microwave energy while flowing a dopant gas during heating and vitrification ([0010]-[0011], [0027]-[0028]). Toko ‘299 teaches this provides for a homogenous silica glass body due to uniform heating ([0023]) with a uniform refractive index distribution ([0025]). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have supplied the halogen element (dopant) in the preheating and heating steps, when microwave heating is being used, so as to provide for uniform doping and heating of the porous glass body.
Conclusion
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/QUEENIE S DEHGHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1741