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 .
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/12/2025 and 7/7/2025 was in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nagaraj (JP 2004332113 A; see translation).
With regards to claim 1. Nagaraj disclose(s):
A structural member comprising:
a base material (112; figs 6-7), and
a protective film (142) covering a surface of the base material (112),
wherein a roughness of the surface is a roughness with an average length RSm of 70 um or more (lines 23-25 in page 10).
Claim(s) 1, 3, and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Isshiki (US 20200363571 A1).
With regards to claim 1. Isshiki disclose(s):
A structural member comprising:
a base material (11, 11a, and portion of 14 below 13; fig 1), and
a protective film (12) covering a surface of the base material (portion of 14 below 13),
wherein a roughness of the surface is a roughness with an average length RSm of 70 um or more ([0089]).
With regards to claim 3. Isshiki disclose(s):
The structural member according to claim 1, wherein the roughness of the surface is a roughness with an arithmetic average roughness Ra of more than 0.1 µum ([0089]).
With regards to claim 5. Isshiki disclose(s):
The structural member according to claim 1, wherein the base material is formed of a material containing aluminum oxide [0067].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 of this title, 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.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Isshiki (US 20200363571 A1) in view of Tian (CN 108461390 A).
With regards to claim 6. Isshiki disclose(s):
The structural member according to claim 1,
wherein the protective film is formed of a material containing aluminum oxide within a transparent substrate (portion of 14; [0067])
Isshiki does not disclose(s):
the protective film is formed of a material containing yttrium oxide
Tian teaches:
the protective film is formed of a material containing aluminum oxide or yttrium oxide within a transparent substrate [last paragraph in page 5 of translation]
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the device/method/system of Isshiki by implementing the protective film is formed of a material containing yttrium oxide as disclosed by Tian in order to produce a transparent substrate as taught/suggested by Tian ([last paragraph in page 5 of translation]).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Isshiki (US 20200363571 A1) in view of Liu (US 20160312351 A1)
With regards to claim 7. Isshiki disclose(s):
The structural member according to claim 1,
wherein the protective film is formed by different types of
Isshiki does not disclose(s):
the protective film is formed by an aerosol deposition method.
Liu teaches:
the protective film is formed by an aerosol deposition method [0020].
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the device/method/system of Isshiki by implementing the protective film is formed by an aerosol deposition method as disclosed by Liu in order to apply a uniform layer or material onto another layer as taught/suggested by Liu ([0020]).
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply the known technique of apply a uniform layer or material onto another layer of Liu to the know device using a technique of apply a uniform layer or material onto another layer of Isshiki yielding the predictable result of produce highly uniform layers.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 2 and 4 is/are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Renan Luque whose telephone number is (571)270-1044. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30AM-5:30PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alexander Taningco can be reached at (571) 272-8048. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RENAN LUQUE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2844
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