Ex Parte Dobbins et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Dec 13, 2016

13218932 (P.T.A.B. Dec. 13, 2016)

United States Patent and Trademark Office
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O.Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www.uspto.gov
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
13/218,932 08/26/2011 Michael Sean Dobbins SPll-162 8857
22928 7590 12/15/2016
rORNTNO TNmRPORATFD
EXAMINER
SP-TI-3-1 AUER, LAURA A
CORNING, NY 14831
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
1783
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
12/15/2016 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address(es):
u sdocket @ corning .com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte MICHAEL SEAN DOBBINS, JAMES ROBERT LIM,
HUNG CHENG LU, WANDA JANINA WALCZAK, LIMING WANG,
and RUCHIREJ YONGSUTHON
Appeal 2015-003774
Application 13/218,932
Technology Center 1700
Before MARK NAGUMO, N. WHITNEY WILSON and
JULIA HEANEY, Administrative Patent Judges.
WILSON, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
Appellants1 appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner’s
April 21, 2014 decision finally rejecting claims 1—4 (“Final Act.”). We have
jurisdiction over the appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We reverse.
1 Appellants identify the real party in interest as Coming Incorporated
(Appeal Br. 2).
Appeal 2015-003774
Application 13/218,932
CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER
Appellants’ invention is directed to glass substrates which are said to
be used in display devices (Spec., 11). The substrates include an A-side
surface on which the structure of the display device will be built, and a B-
side surface which comes into contact with the conveyance and handling
equipment during the display manufacturing process (Spec. 12). The A-side
surface has a roughness suited for the display device, while the B-side has a
different roughness and certain texturing features which are said to minimize
the buildup of electrical charge during the manufacturing process (Appeal
Br. 6). Details of the claimed invention may be seen in sole independent
claim 1, which is reproduced below from the Claims Appendix of the
Appeal Brief (emphasis added):
1. A glass substrate comprising:
a planar A-side surface having a surface roughness Ral
of less than 0.5 nm;
a planar B-side surface opposed to the A-side surface, the
B-side surface comprising:
a surface roughness Ra2 such that a ratio Ra2:Rai is
greater than or equal to about 1.5;
a plurality of texturing features formed in the B-
side surface such that the texturing features extend
from the B-side surface into a thickness S of the
glass substrate without extending through the
thickness S of the glass substrate, the plurality of
texturing features having a peak-to-valley height H
such that 0.05 pm