Detailed Correspondence
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 07/26/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicants’ submission, filed on 07/26/2026, addressing rejection of claims 1-14 and 21 from the final office action (01/28/2026), by amending claim 1 and adding new claim 22 is entered and will be addressed below.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 15-20 remain withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention Group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claim Interpretation
The newly amended claim 1 reads “a system … an unwinder … a rewinder, a PVD apparatus … a vacuum chamber … a coating durm … and in which a cryo-condensation trap is configured to be maintained at a temperature of less than -20°C while the substrate is treated“, “which” can refer to any of the structure, this is considered broad but not indefinite. Note Applicants’ Specification disclose cyro-condensation trap associated with cover, trolly, and pre-treatment chamber ([0141], [0060]). Note also “while the substrate is treated”, the timing of the operation is an intended use of the apparatus.
The newly added limitation “wherein the cryo-condensation trap is configured to maintain a desired vapour pressure within the system” of claim 22 is a design purpose. A cryo-condensation trap intrinsically affects the vapor pressure in the system.
The “further comprising a cooling system configured to capture degassed contaminants” of claim 13, although newly add limitation “a cryo-condensation trap“ of claim 1 and “ the textile 1 will typically release residual gas (such as water vapour) from the textile 1 structure which can be captured by a cooling system, such as a cryo-condensation trap or other device” ([0060]), because “While the system 10 as shown includes a cooling system 106 and a further cooling system 134” ([0056]), there is no 112(a) or 112(b) issues.
The previously added limitation “a roll of porous substrate”, similar to the “a textile” of claim 2, the substrate used in the apparatus is not part of the apparatus.
The “a coating drum of the PVD apparatus is in communication with a heating device configured to raise a temperature of the coating drum to between 0°C and 10°C, and said coating drum is configured to increase a desorption rate of the substrate” of claim 1, the operation temperature and the purpose of the operation is not part of the apparatus. A drum that is capable of operating at this temperature range is considered read into the claim.
The “the vacuum chamber comprises a winding chamber configured to be pressurized at a first pressure, and a PVD chamber is configured to be pressurized to a second pressure that is different than the first pressure” of claim 3, the pressure in each chamber is an operation parameter and an intended use of the apparatus.
The “wherein the system is configured to pass the substrate between the unwinder and winder a plurality of times, while maintaining a vacuum in the vacuum chamber” of claim 11, the bold face portion is an intended use of the apparatus.
The previously added limitation “wherein the physical vapour deposition (PVD) apparatus is configured to apply an aluminium deposition to the substrate” of claim 21.
It has been held that claim language that simply specifies an intended use or field of use for the invention generally will not limit the scope of a claim (Walter, 618 F.2d at 769, 205 USPQ at 409; MPEP 2106). Additionally, in apparatus claims, intended use must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim (In re Casey, 152 USPQ 235 (CCPA 1967); In re Otto, 136 USPQ 458, 459 (CCPA 1963); MPEP2111.02). When the structure recited in the reference is substantially identical to that of the claims, claimed properties or functions are presumed to be inherent (In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977); MPEP 2112.01).
The “wherein the unwinder is configured to operate as a rewinder” of claim 4 and “wherein the rewinder is configured to operate as an unwinder” of claim 5, this is considered as reversible direction of the winder and rewinder ([0020]).
The “a measuring roller” of claim 9 including various properties being measured by the roller or by a device in or near the roller, or the roller or substrate on it is being measured. This is considered a broad claim but not indefinite.
The “a thickness measurement unit” of claim 10 includes a thickness measurement unit anywhere in the system, on the substrate or not on the substrate. A thickness measurement unit on the roller reads into both claims 9 and 10.
The “further comprising a first feeder provided at the unwinder and a second feeder i-provided at the rewinder, each feeder being configured to retain a portion of the substrate to reverse the direction of treatment of the substrate” of claim 12, the unwinder and winder itself is a feeder of the substrate. It does not require a separate component. Note also the feeder is feeding the substrate, not feeding a material to be deposited or attached to the substrate.
The “a cooling system configured to capture degassed contaminants” of claim 13 can be a cooling system inside the vacuum chamber or downstream of the vacuum chamber.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1, 3, 6-8, 14, and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hirono et al. (US 20130168243, hereafter ‘243).
‘243 teaches all limitations of:
Claim 1: Vacuum Processing Apparatus (title), An elongated sheet base material is transported through a vacuum processing chamber, and predetermined processing is performed on the sheet base material in this vacuum processing chamber (abstract, includes the claimed “A system for treating a substrate, the system comprising”);
a feed roller 6 provided with a drive source (not illustrated) and a take-up roller 7 provided with a drive source (not illustrated) are provided. On the upstream side of the take-up roller 7, a measuring instrument 8 for measuring the tension in the sheet base material S is provided so that the numbers of revolutions of the feed roller 6 and the take-up roller 7 may be appropriately controlled according to the result of measurement by the measuring instrument 8 (Fig. 1, [0021], 2nd sentence, is capable of processing a porous sheet material, includes the claimed “an unwinder configured to receive and unwind a roll of porous substrate; a rewinder configured to rewind the substrate from the unwinder”);
The cathode unit may be a cathode unit including a resistance-heated evaporation source ([0030], 2nd sentence, includes the claimed “a physical vapour deposition (PVD) apparatus”);
This vacuum processing apparatus SM includes a vacuum processing chamber 1 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape evacuated to a vacuum by a vacuum pump (not illustrated), and an auxiliary vacuum chamber 2 provided in continuation with one side surface of the vacuum processing chamber 1. A sheet base material S is transported from the auxiliary vacuum chamber 2 through the vacuum processing chamber 1, and a film can be formed on the sheet base material S in the vacuum processing chamber 1. A single cathode unit 3 is mounted on that another side surface of the vacuum processing chamber 1 which is opposite to the auxiliary vacuum chamber 2 ([0017], includes the claimed “a vacuum chamber in which the unwinder, PVD apparatus and rewinder are disposed”);
The first roller units 4u and 4d have the same constitution, and each include a first shaft body 41 and four first rollers 42 rotatably mounted on the first shaft body 41 at regular intervals ([0019], 3rd sentence), the following may be performed depending on the use of the sheet base material S: heating means (not illustrated) is provided on the downstream side of the feed roller 6, the sheet base material S is heated to a predetermined temperature prior to deposition ([0027], as deposition occurs between the rollers 42, it is capable of raising the temperature of the rollers 42 to the claimed “and wherein a coating drum of the PVD apparatus is in communication with a heating device configured to raise a temperature of the coating drum to between 0°C and 10°C, and said coating drum is configured to increase a desorption rate of the substrate”),
The cryopanel 9 includes a refrigeration unit 9a having a publicly-known structure, e.g., a closed-cycle helium refrigerator or the like, and is maintained at an extremely low temperature (e.g., several tens of K) by a coolant from the refrigeration unit 9a ([0028], 2nd sentence, includes the claimed “and in which a cryo-condensation trap is configured to be maintained at a temperature of less than -20°C while the substrate is treated“).
Claim 3: This vacuum processing apparatus SM includes a vacuum processing chamber 1 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape evacuated to a vacuum by a vacuum pump (not illustrated) ([0017], 2nd sentence), The auxiliary vacuum chamber 2 is evacuated to a vacuum by a vacuum pump (not illustrated) ([0021], as two separate pumps, it is capable of performing the claimed “wherein the vacuum chamber comprises a winding chamber configured to be pressurized at a first pressure, and a PVD chamber is configured to be pressurized to a second pressure that is different than the first pressure”).
Claim 6: when predetermined power having a negative potential is supplied to the target 3 from a power supply (not illustrated) with a noble gas introduced into a space in front of the target 31, plasma is formed in a space in front of the sputtering surface 31a of the target 31, and the target 31 is sputtered ([0025], 2nd sentence), Moreover, this invention can also be applied to processing units for performing surface processing by providing plasma gas other than deposition sources ([0030], last sentence, includes the claimed “wherein system comprises at least one plasma treatment module positioned configured to generate a plasma”).
Clam 7: the heating means intrinsically has a switch, by pulsing the switch the heating means is capable of the claimed “wherein the temperature of the drum is dynamically adjustable”, as the substrate temperature affects the drum.
Claim 14: This vacuum processing apparatus SM includes a vacuum processing chamber 1 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape evacuated to a vacuum by a vacuum pump (not illustrated) ([0017], 2nd sentence, the pump system connected to the vacuum chamber is considered the claimed “further comprising a vacuum storage configured to store at least a portion of the vacuum from the vacuum chamber”).
Claims 8 and 21: a resistance-heated evaporation source ([0030], 2nd sentence, includes the claimed “wherein the system is configured to at least partly degas the substrate by exposing the substrate to a heated boat of the PVD apparatus” of claim 8 and “wherein the physical vapour deposition (PVD) apparatus is configured to apply an aluminium deposition to the substrate“ of claim 21, by evaporating aluminum, see claim interpretation above).
Claim 22: the cryopanel intrinsically affects the pressure of the vacuum chamber (includes the claimed “wherein the cryo-condensation trap is configured to maintain a desired vapour pressure within the system”, see claim interpretation above).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 2, 4-5, 11-12, and alternatively claims 1, 6-8, and 21-22, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘243, as being applied to claim 1 rejection above, in view of Yan et al. (US 20200199742, hereafter ‘742).
‘243 does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 2: wherein in a first mode: the unwinder is configured to unwind a textile and the rewinder is configured to wind the textile, and in a second mode: the rewinder is configured to unwind the textile, and the unwinder is configured to wind the textile.
Claim 4: wherein the unwinder is configured to operate as a rewinder.
Claim 5: wherein the rewinder is configured to operate as an unwinder.
Claim 11: wherein the system is configured to pass the substrate between the unwinder and winder a plurality of times, while maintaining a vacuum in the vacuum chamber.
Claim 12: further comprising a first feeder provided at the unwinder and a second feeder provided at the rewinder, each feeder being configured to retain a portion of the substrate to reverse the direction of treatment of the substrate.
Claim 13: further comprising a cooling system configured to capture degassed contaminants.
‘742 is analogous art in the field of Double-Sided Vacuum Coating Device For Continuously Coating A Film Back And Forth (title), The coating assembly is selected from one of a group consisting of a resistance vaporizing apparatus ([0013]). ’742 teaches that A particular device is necessary for coating an extremely thin film with a relatively thicker metallic conductive layer to meet requirements for flexible electric conduction and shielding material. The so-called “extremely thin film” has a thickness of 2-12 μm, and is made of … polyester cloth ([0003]), The vacuum coating device is configured that a film to be coated can start from the upper winding and unwinding mechanism 2 and pass through the upper delivery mechanism 3 and the lower delivery mechanism 4 to the lower winding and unwinding mechanism 5, or start from the lower winding and unwinding mechanism 5 and pass through the lower delivery mechanism 4 and the upper delivery mechanism 3 to the upper winding and unwinding mechanism 2 ([0022], 2nd last sentence), As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the upper delivery mechanism 3 and the lower delivery mechanism 4 includes a pulley assembly 31, 41 ([0023]) Each pulley assembly 31, 41 further includes a cooling drum 314, 414 and smoothing rollers 315, 415, 316, 416 ([0025] i.e. multiple cooling systems of claim 13).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have adopted the roller coating starting from either winding or unwinding mechanism including cooling mechanism of ‘742 to rollers of ‘243, for the purpose of Double-Sided Vacuum Coating, as taught by ‘742 (title). See also claim interpretation above for “feeder”.
In case Applicants argue that the porous substrate is not an intended use of the apparatus, and/or the rollers 42 is not a coating drum of claim 1, ‘742 teaches coating cloth and coating drum, i.e., coating occurring at the drum 3 or 314.
In case Applicants argue that ‘243 does not teaches “a heated boat of the PVD apparatus” of claim 8, ‘742 teaches The coating assembly 6 is selected from one of a group consisting of a resistance vaporizing apparatus ([0027]).
In case Applicants argue that the cooling drum is not a cooling system of claim 13, it is also obvious to duplicate the cryopanel 9 of ‘243 and a second cooling system.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘243 (optionally with ‘742), as being applied to claim 1 rejection above, in view of Okazaki et al. (US 20130189424, hereafter ‘424).
‘243 (optionally with ‘742) does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 9: wherein the system further comprises a measuring roller.
‘424 is an analogous art in the field of a vaporization source in the deposition apparatus (Figs. 1-2, [0097]). ‘424 teaches that the conveying section includes first and second rolls 3 and 8 that hold the substrate 4 wound around themselves, and a guide section that guides the substrate 4. The guide section has conveying rollers 5a and 5b, and the cooling can 6, which define a route for conveying the substrate 4 so that the substrate 4 passes through the region (deposition region) on the cooling can 6 that the deposition material vaporized from the vaporization surface 9S reaches. A length measuring device (not shown) measures the rotation amount of a conveying roller (which herein is the conveying roller 5a) rotating to convey the substrate 4, and calculates the moving distance of the substrate 4 ([0129]).
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added a length measuring device of ‘424 to measure the length of the base material S on the rollers of ‘243, for the purpose of calculating the moving distance of the substrate, as taught by ‘424 ([0042]).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘243 (optionally with ‘742), as being applied to claim 1 rejection above, in view of Kim et al. (US 20110300290, hereafter ‘290).
‘243 (optionally with ‘742) does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 10: wherein the system further comprises a thickness measurement unit.
‘290 is an analogous art in the field of Device For Fabricating Electrode By Roll To Roll Process (TITLE), including an evaporation unit (abstract). ‘290 teaches that a measuring unit measuring a thickness of the deposited lithium thin film ([0013]), The lithium thin film forming device 1 may include a measuring unit 350 measuring a deposited amount of lithium. Actually, an amount required to perform the lithium doping is very small. Therefore, in order control the deposited amount of lithium, the lithium thin film forming device 1 may further include the measuring unit 350 measures the deposited amount of lithium and a controller (not shown) controlling the deposited amount of lithium according to the measured deposited amount ([0042], Fig. 1 shows the measurement is aiming at the web on the film forming roll 320).
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added a measuring unit 350 of ‘290 facing the base material S between the rollers 42 of ‘243, for the purpose of controlling the deposited amount, as taught by ‘290 ([0042]).
Alternatively, claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘243 (optionally with ‘742), as being applied to claim 1 rejection above, in view of Brody et al. (US 20050031783, hereafter ‘783).
In case Applicants argue that a vacuum storage cannot be not part of the pump system in claim 14.
‘783 is an analogous art in the field of the vapor deposition (abstract), substrate 312 will be described as being a continuous flexible sheet, which is initially disposed on a dispensing reel 314 that dispenses substrate 312 into the first deposition vacuum vessel 214. However, production system 300 can be configured to continuously process a plurality of individual substrates 312. Dispensing reel 314 is positioned in a preload vacuum vessel, which is connected to a source of vacuum (not shown) used for establishing a suitable vacuum therein (Fig. 2, [0046]). ‘783 teaches that each portion of substrate 312 exiting the final deposition vacuum vessel 214 in the series is received on a take-up reel 316 which is positioned in a storage vacuum vessel ([0047], note Fig. 2 shows the storage vacuum vessel is larger than the deposition vacuum vessel 214n, same as Applicants vacuum storage, [00114]).
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have rearranged one of the upper winding and unwinding mechanism 2 and the lower winding and unwinding mechanism 5 of ‘742 to a storage vacuum vessel, as taught by ‘783. It has been held that rearranging parts of an invention only involves routine skill in the art. MPEP 2144.04 VI C.
Claims 1-8, 11-14, and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘742, in view of TAKAHASHI et al. (JP 2861450, hereafter ‘450).
‘742 teaches some limitations of:
Claim 1: Double-Sided Vacuum Coating Device For Continuously Coating A Film Back And Forth (title, includes the claimed “A system for treating a substrate, the system comprising”);
The coating assembly 6 is selected from one of a group consisting of a resistance vaporizing apparatus, an intermediate frequency induction vaporizing crucible apparatus, a magnetron sputtering apparatus and an electron gun apparatus (Fig. 1, [0027], last sentence, includes the claimed “a physical vapour deposition (PVD) apparatus”);
The vacuum coating device includes a vacuum chamber 1 provided with an upper winding and unwinding mechanism 2, an upper delivery mechanism 3, a lower delivery mechanism 4 and a lower winding and unwinding mechanism 5 therein … The vacuum coating device is configured that a film to be coated can start from the upper winding and unwinding mechanism 2 and pass through the upper delivery mechanism 3 and the lower delivery mechanism 4 to the lower winding and unwinding mechanism 5, or start from the lower winding and unwinding mechanism 5 and pass through the lower delivery mechanism 4 and the upper delivery mechanism 3 to the upper winding and unwinding mechanism 2 ([0022], 2nd sentence, includes the claimed “an unwinder configured to receive and unwind a roll of porous substrate; a rewinder configured to rewind the substrate from the unwinder” and the claimed “a vacuum chamber in which the unwinder, PVD apparatus and rewinder are disposed”, note the type of substrate is an intended use of the apparatus, and the coating assembly is capable of processing a porous substrate).
‘742 does not teach the other limitations of:
Claim 1: wherein a coating drum of the PVD apparatus is in communication with a heating device configured to raise a temperature of the coating drum to between 0°C and 10°C, and said coating drum is configured to increase a desorption rate of the substrate, and in which a cryo-condensation trap is configured to be maintained at a temperature of less than -20°C while the substrate is treated.
Claim 13: further comprising a cooling system configured to capture degassed contaminants.
Claim 22: wherein the cryo-condensation trap is configured to maintain a desired vapour pressure within the system.
‘742 further teaches that the film starts from the upper winding and unwinding mechanism 2 and passes through the smoothing roller 315, the cooling drum 314, the smoothing roller 316, the transitional rollers 7, the smoothing roller 416, the cooling drum 414 and the smoothing roller 415 in sequence to the lower winding and unwinding mechanism 5. The cooling drum 314, 414 utilize coolant circulation to perform cooling, with a cooling temperature of −25° C (Fig. 2, [0029], 5th – 6th sentences). However, ‘742 is silent of the chamber temperature.
‘450 is analogous art in the field of Polymer films such as polyester, polyimide, etc. are formed by depositing Co, Ni, Fe or an alloy containing them as a main component in a vacuum such as a vacuum evaporation method ([0002]), The non-magnetic substrate 0a is wound around a feeding roller 21, and is fed with controlled tension. Reference numerals 22 and 24 denote pass rollers, which rotate in contact with the magnetic recording medium 20 on which the nonmagnetic substrate 20a magnetic layer and the protective film 4 are formed. Reference numeral 23 denotes a main roller (page 3, 2nd last paragraph). ’450 teaches that the temperature of the cryogenic panel 27 is set to −50. C (top of page 5), when electricity is supplied to a halogen lamp, a heater, or the like constituting the heating device 26, the light is condensed by the reflector and irradiates the surface of the non-magnetic substrate 20a to increase the surface temperature (middle of page 4, a heating device capable of raising the temperature of the coating drum), the output of the heating device is set so that the temperature of the surface of the nonmagnetic substrate 20a becomes 80 ° C (top of page 5), Since the released outgas is adsorbed by the cryogenic panel, the moisture in the outgas hardly adheres to the ferromagnetic metal thin film immediately after the formation ([0007]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have adopted a cryopanel and a heater of ‘450, to the coating apparatus of ‘742, for the purpose of desorbing moisture from the substrate during degassing when forming magnetic coating, as taught by ‘450 ([0007]). Note the imported heater is capable of “to raise a temperature of the coating drum to between 0°C and 10°C”, at least at the beginning of the processing run when there is no or little condensation, as it has the capability of raising the temperature to raising to 80° C. Note claim 22 is a purpose of design, see claim interpretation above.
‘742 further teaches the limitations of:
Claims 2, 4-5, and 11-12: A particular device is necessary for coating an extremely thin film with a relatively thicker metallic conductive layer to meet requirements for flexible electric conduction and shielding material. The so-called “extremely thin film” has a thickness of 2-12 μm, and is made of … polyester cloth ([0003]), The vacuum coating device is configured that a film to be coated can start from the upper winding and unwinding mechanism 2 and pass through the upper delivery mechanism 3 and the lower delivery mechanism 4 to the lower winding and unwinding mechanism 5, or start from the lower winding and unwinding mechanism 5 and pass through the lower delivery mechanism 4 and the upper delivery mechanism 3 to the upper winding and unwinding mechanism 2 ([0022], 2nd last sentence, includes the claimed “wherein in a first mode: the unwinder is configured to unwind a textile and the rewinder is configured to wind the textile, and in a second mode: the rewinder is configured to unwind the textile, and the unwinder is configured to wind the textile” of claim 2, “wherein the unwinder is configured to operate as a rewinder” of claim 4, “wherein the rewinder is configured to operate as an unwinder” of claim 5, “wherein the system is configured to pass the substrate between the unwinder and winder a plurality of times, while maintaining a vacuum in the vacuum chamber” of claim 11, and “further comprising a first feeder provided at the unwinder and a second feeder provided at the rewinder, each feeder being configured to retain a portion of the substrate to reverse the direction of treatment of the substrate” of claim 12, see also claim interpretation above for “feeder”).
Claims 3 and 8: The coating assembly 6 is selected from one of a group consisting of a resistance vaporizing apparatus, an intermediate frequency induction vaporizing crucible apparatus, a magnetron sputtering apparatus and an electron gun apparatus ([0027], these physical vapor sources has to be operated at a higher pressure than the vacuum chamber so that the vapor can flow from the source to the substrate, includes the claimed “wherein the vacuum chamber comprises a winding chamber configured to be pressurized at a first pressure, and a PVD chamber is configured to be pressurized to a second pressure that is different than the first pressure” of claim 3 and “wherein the system is configured to at least partly degas the substrate by exposing the substrate to a heated boat of the PVD apparatus” of claim 8, note this is also taught by ‘450).
Claim 6: The vacuum coating device further includes a plasma-source cleaning unit 8 provided beside the film to be coated for cleaning the film ([0027], 2nd sentence, includes the claimed “wherein system comprises at least one plasma treatment module positioned configured to generate a plasma”).
Claim 7: The cooling drum 314, 414 utilize coolant circulation to perform cooling, with a cooling temperature of −25° C ([0029], 6th sentence, coolant circulation is “wherein the temperature of the drum is dynamically adjustable” at least between −25° C and room temperature, this is also taught by ‘450 by radiation heater 7).
Claim 14: the pump system connected to the vacuum chamber is considered the claimed “further comprising a vacuum storage configured to store at least a portion of the vacuum from the vacuum chamber”.
Claim 21: The so-called “relatively thicker metallic conductive layer” has a thickness of 200-2000 nm, and is made of conductive and shielding materials such as … aluminum ([0003], includes the claimed “wherein the physical vapour deposition (PVD) apparatus is configured to apply an aluminium deposition to the substrate”, note this is an intended use of the apparatus).
Alternatively, claims 1-8, 11-14, and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘742, in view of ‘450 and Lyons et al. (US 6045864, hereafter ‘864).
Applicants argue various intended use of various claimed terms. In case Applicants argue that “a textile” of claim 2 and “a roll of porous substrate” of claim 1 are not an intended use of the apparatus.
‘846 is analogous art in the field of Vapor Coating Method (title), vaporization of substantially all of the atomized fluid composition occurs so as to form a vapor having a condensation temperature (abstract), FIG. 3 shows one specific embodiment of an apparatus 200 of the present invention useful for forming a coating (not shown for purposes of clarity) on a flexible web 204 that moves across chilled support member 206 from supply roll 208 to take-up roll 210 (col. 15, lines 60-64). ’864 teaches that Flexible web 204 may be formed from a variety of flexible materials including polymers, paper, fibrous material and cloth formed from natural and/or synthetic fibers (col. 16, lines 1-4).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have applied the vacuum coating device of ‘742 to cloth, as taught by ‘864, for its suitability with predictable results. The selection of something based on its known suitability for its intended use has been held to support a prima facie case of obviousness. MPEP 2144.07.
Claims 3-8, 11-14, and 21 rejection are discussed above.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘742 and ‘450 (optionally with ‘864), as being applied to claim 1 rejection above, further in view of ‘424.
The combination of ‘742 and ‘450 (optionally with ‘864) does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 9: wherein the system further comprises a measuring roller.
‘424 is an analogous art as discussed above.
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added a length measuring device of ‘424 to measure the length of the film between the winding/unwinding mechanisms 2, 5 of ‘742, for the purpose of calculating the moving distance of the substrate, as taught by ‘424 ([0042]).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘742 and ‘450 (optionally with ‘864), as being applied to claim 1 rejection above, further in view of ‘290.
The combination of ‘742 and ‘450 (optionally with ‘864) does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 10: wherein the system further comprises a thickness measurement unit.
‘290 is an analogous art as discussed above.
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added a measuring unit 350 of ‘290 facing the delivery mechanisms/drums 3 and 4 of ‘742, for the purpose of controlling the deposited amount, as taught by ‘290 ([0042]).
Alternatively, claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘742 and ‘450 (optionally with ‘864), as being applied to claim 1 rejection above, in view of Katsir et al. (US 20090229998, hereafter ‘998).
The combination of ‘742 and ‘450 (optionally with ‘864) does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 13: further comprising a cooling system for capturing degassed contaminants.
‘998 is an analogous art in the field of the thin-layer laminate of the invention, reference to vacuum deposition of substances on a substrate and similar expressions, includes deposition either on one side of a substrate, and, where the context allows (such as in the case of a foil substrate) deposition either on one side cryogenic temperatures, which comprises a metal support (e.g. an Al strip) a composition able to absorb hydrogen, adherent to at least one surface of the support ([0009]), The entire contents of all of the US patents mentioned hereinabove are incorporated by reference herein ([0055]).
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added a cryogenic device for the removal of hydrogen of ‘998 to the vacuum chamber 1 of ‘742, for the purpose of removing hydrogen contaminant, as taught by ‘998 ([0009] and abstract).
Alternatively, claims 3 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘742 and ‘450 (optionally with ‘864), as being applied to claim 1 rejection above, in view of ‘783.
In case Applicants argue that a vacuum storage cannot be not part of the pump system in claim 14 and the two pressures in claim 3 has to be two chambers with separate pressure control.
‘783 is an analogous art as discussed above.
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have rearranged one of the upper winding and unwinding mechanism 2 and the lower winding and unwinding mechanism 5 of ‘742 to a storage vacuum vessel, as taught by ‘783. It has been held that rearranging parts of an invention only involves routine skill in the art. MPEP 2144.04 VI C.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/26/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In regarding to 35 USC 103 rejection over Yan ‘472 in view of Takahasi ‘450, Applicants argue that the examiner’s comment “The main roller is clearly capable of being heated to between 0°C and 10°C, particularly when turning off the cryogenic panel 27” and asserting that turning off the cryogenic panel would release the outgassed products into the chamber, see the top of page 7.
This argument is found not persuasive.
Note the comment had two sections, “The main roller is clearly capable of being heated to between 0°C and 10°C” and “particularly when turning off the cryogenic panel 27”.
In the first section, operating the cryogenic panel at -20°C while heating the substrate up to 80 ° C, the drum would be between 0°C and 10°C.
In the second section, one can turn off the cryogenic panel(s) 27 at the beginning of the run when the cryogenic panel does not contain condensation.
Note Applicants are arguing an operation condition of the apparatus, not the structure of the apparatus.
‘742 was used as the primary reference because previous claim set the reversible roll-to-roll coating were the focus of the prosecution due to numerous dependent claims on this capability. Incidentally, ‘742 used cooling drum and Applicants attack this feature. But the drum operating between 0°C and 10°C is well-known in the art. As Applicants now focus on the operation temperature of the coating drum and the cryo-condensation trap, the examiner applies a new reference ‘243 which “the sheet base material S is heated to a predetermined temperature prior to deposition, and deposition is performed in this state”.
Note also the rejection of claims 1-8, 11-14, and 21-22 by ‘742 in view of ‘450 can be replaced by ‘742 in view of ‘243. This line of rejection is not described in detail for the interest of simplifing this OC.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 7666490 is cited for a length measuring device (col. 7, lines 14-15).
US 20100196624 is cited for coating textile ([0278]).
JP 2002173773 is cited for cryopanel 6 and IR heater 11 (Fig. 1).
US 20010008209 is cited for cryogenic panel in the film forming chamber to discharge moisture (abstract). The examiner also notices four references cited in PCT report in IDS are marked as “X” references.
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/KEATH T CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1716
