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 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshida et al. (JPH10204566, also see The Espacenet English Machine Translation Version “EEMTV”).
Regarding claims 1-4 and 8, Yoshida et al. teaches an aluminum alloy for casting (see abstract and EEMTV: para [0024]), containing: 6-12% by mass Si (which overlaps with claimed range of 5.0-8.0 by mass of Si), 0.1 -1.0% by mass Fe (which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.2% to 0.6% by mass of Fe), 0.1-1.0% by mass Mn (which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.1% to 0.3% by mass of Mn), 0.3% or less by mass Cr (which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.1% to 0.3% by mass of Cr), 0.3% or less by mass V (which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.05% to 0.2% by mass of V), 1.0-5.0% by mass Cu ( which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.2 to 1.0% by mass of Cu), 0.4-2.0% by mass of Mg (which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.2 -0.6% by mass of Mg), 0.01-0.3% by mass Ti ( which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.005 to 0.25% by mass of Ti), 0.005-0.2% by mass Sr (which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.005 to 0.05% by mass of Sr), with the balance being Al and inevitable impurities (see The English abstract, EEMTV: para [0009]-[0011] and [0024]). Though Yoshida et al. does not teach the exact mass % ranges of the elemental components of the aluminum alloy as claimed, however with reference to MPEP 2144.05 I. which pertains to the obviousness of Overlapping ranges, similar to the instantly -claimed aluminum alloy composition and that taught by Yoshida et al. , the Court held that In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists.
Regarding claim 3, Yoshida et al. teaches an aluminum alloy for casting (see abstract and EEMTV: para [0024]), containing: 6-12% by mass Si (which meets the claimed limitation more than 3.0% by mass and not more than 12.0% by mass of Si), 0.1 -1.0% by mass Fe (which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.2% to 0.8% by mass of Fe), 0.1-1.0% by mass Mn (which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.1% to 0.7% by mass of Mn), 0.3% or less by mass Cr (which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.05% to 0.4% by mass of Cr), 0.3% or less by mass V (which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.05% to 0.3% by mass of V), 1.0-5.0% by mass Cu ( which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.2 to 2.0% by mass of Cu), 0.4-2.0% by mass of Mg (which overlaps
with the claimed range of not more than 1.0% by mass of Mg), 0.01-0.3% by mass Ti ( which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.005 to 0.25% by mass of Ti), 0.005-0.2% by mass Sr (which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.005 to 0.05% by mass of Sr), with the balance being Al and inevitable impurities (see The English abstract, EEMTV: para [0009]-[0011] and [0024]). Though Yoshida et al. does not teach the exact mass % ranges of the elemental components of the aluminum alloy as claimed, however with reference to MPEP 2144.05 I. which pertains to the obviousness of Overlapping ranges, similar to the instantly -claimed aluminum alloy composition and that taught by Yoshida et al. , the Court held that In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists.
Regarding claims 5-7 and 9-11, Yoshida et al. teaches an aluminum alloy castings comprising an aluminum alloy for casting (see English abstract, EEMTV: para [0009]-[0011] and [0024]) that comprises an iron-based compound Al-Mn-Fe, Al-Mn-Fe-Si (see EEMTV: para [0013]) that contains V (see EEMTV: para [0009]-[0011], [0019], [0024]) with improved processability or ductility (see EEMTV: para [0013]). Yoshida et al. fails to particularly teach the mode of length of the iron-based compound as being 12.5 μm or less and a tensile elongation of 4% or more as claimed, however because Yoshida et al. teaches an aluminum alloy casting of substantially the same composition and microstructure as that being claimed, it would, therefore reasonably be expected, absent any evidence to the contrary to show substantially the same properties and attributes as claimed, particularly since ductility of the aluminum alloy casting is said to be related to the claimed mode of length of iron-based compound as pointed out in Applicant’s specification para [0027]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Suzuki et al. (US 11,603,582), Ueno et al. (US2002/0197506)
and Kuramoto et al. (US11,591,674) are also cited in PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL ABOAGYE whose telephone number is (571)272-8165. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30AM-5:00PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith Hendricks can be reached at 571-272-1401. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/M.A/Examiner, Art Unit 1733
/JESSEE R ROE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759
Prosecution Insights