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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, the limitation “a main crystal phase formed of Al2O3” is unclear. It is not clear how much Al2O3 crystal phase must be present in order to be the “main” phase, and the instant specification does not appear to define “main” in regard to crystal phase. For example, main could be reasonably interpreted to mean that the crystal phase must be greater than 50%, or instead main could be reasonably interpreted to mean Al2O3 could be any value, as long as that value is higher than any other crystal phase value.
All claims not specifically addressed are rejected due to their dependence on a rejected claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The closest prior art is Hiroshi et al. (WO2020085148 with reference to the machine translation, hereinafter referred to as Hiroshi). Hiroshi is directed towards a ceramic substrate which includes Al2O3, SiO2, and MnO as essential components (see Hiroshi at [0008]). Hiroshi discloses in the ceramic substrate, the Al2O3 content is 82.0% by mass or more and 95.0% by mass or less (see Hiroshi at [0009]). Hiroshi discloses a glassy phase (see Hiroshi at [0022]). However, per instant claim 1, Hiroshi fails to disclose or make obvious a content ratio of SiO2 to a sum of SiO2 and MnO in the first glassy phase is larger than a content ratio of SiO2 to a sum of SiO2 and MnO in the second glass phase.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CAMERON K MILLER whose telephone number is (571)272-4616. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm EST.
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, Amber Orlando can be reached at (571) 270-3149. 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.
CAMERON K MILLER
Examiner
Art Unit 1731
/CAMERON K MILLER/Examiner, Art Unit 1731
