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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1/6/26 has been entered.
Claim Objections
Claims 17, 31 objected to because of the following informalities: claims 17 and 31 contain words that are capitalized and should not be. Appropriate correction is required.
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 17-33 are rejected for lack of antecedent basis for limitations in the claims. There are numerous instances of this problem in the claims and the examiner has attempted to list them all below. If any additional antecedent basis problems are identified, they should be corrected also.
Claim 17: “the coating thickness profile”
Claim 18: “the simulated coating” “the possible spray pattern data”
Claim 20: “the framework” “the operator side” “the coating installation operator”
Claim 21: “the framework” “the operator side” “the coating installation operator” “the manufacturer’s side”
Claim 22: “the desired coating thickness” “the coating agent layer” “the target layer thickness” “the solids content” “the application efficiency”
Claim 25: “the coating thickness homogeneity”
Claim 26: “the path distance”
Claim 27: “the simulated coating result”
Claim 30: “the operator side” “the coating installation operator”
Claim 33: “the service provider”
Allowable Subject Matter
The claims are otherwise allowable assuming the above claim objections and 112 rejections are overcome in a manner that does not broaden the claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Previously cited prior art reference Sadovoy, newly added references Sasaki and Pathre, are collectively the closest prior art. Although these references teach incorporating spray parameters one way or another into simulation work and output of a coating onto a substrate, none of the prior art references teach forming a characteristic diagram that links width of the coating thickness profile, shaping air flow of the application device, and coating agent flow of the application device for use in determining the suitable application parameters from the spray pattern data. An example of a characteristic diagram is shown in Fig. 5 and the definition of a characteristic diagram is a graphical representation illustrating the relationship between interdependent variables that define the performance, behavior, or properties of a component, system, or material.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEX A ROLLAND whose telephone number is (571)270-5355. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-6:30.
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/ALEX A ROLLAND/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759