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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 November 24, 2025 has been entered.
The amendment filed November 24, 2025 with the RCE submission has been received and entered. With the entry of amendment, claims 2, 4-5, 7, 11 and 13 are canceled, and claims 1, 3, 6, 8-10, 12 and 14-15 are pending for examination.
Drawings
The drawings were received on August 6, 2024. These drawings are approved.
The objections to figures 1, 3, 5a and 5b are withdrawn due to the corrected drawings filed August 6, 2024.
Specification
The objection to the disclosure because in the specification reference to figures 5a and 5b should be replaced with reference to figures 5A and 5B, respectively is withdrawn due to the correction figured August 6, 2024.
The objection to the amendment filed December 15, 2022 to under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) because it introduces new matter into the disclosure is withdrawn due to applicant’s arguments as to its support provided January 22, 2025.
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 10 and 12 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.
Claim 10, last line, “the substate supplier”, “the heater” and “the coater” lack antecedent basis. In claim 10, there is no previous reference to a “substrate supplier” or anything acting as a substrate supplier. In claim 10, there is previous reference (in (S1)) to providing heat using roller members, so for the purpose of examination, these are considered to be “the heater”, but applicant should clarify what is intended, without adding new matter. In claim 10, there is previous reference (in (S2)) to “applying a slurry”, so further the purpose of examination, a coater to providing such applying a slurry is understood to be referred to, but applicant should clarify what is intended, without adding new matter.
The dependent claim 12 does not cure the defects of the claim from which it depends and is therefore also rejected.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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, 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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.
Claims 1, 3, 6, 8-10, 12 and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR 10-2001-0095623 (hereinafter ‘623) in view of Ogawa et al (US 2005/0233082), WO 2007/007819 (hereinafter ‘819) and Matthews (US 2004/0159075).
*** Please note ‘623 is used as provided with the IDS of December 15, 2022, including the provided translation. ***
Claim 1: ‘623 describes an apparatus for manufacturing a separator for a secondary battery (note figure 2, 0009,0027). The apparatus includes a substrate supplier configured to move a porous polymer substrate along after unwinding and into a coater (note figure 2, rolls 26, 0027, 0018). There is a further coater configured to apply a slurry for forming a porous coating layer onto at least one surface of the substate to form the porous coating layer (note figure 2, nozzle 22, 0027, 0020, 0025-0026, where the mixture of materials can be considered a slurry). There is a further dryer configured to dry the slurry for forming the porous coating layer to form the separator (note figure 2, 0027, 0028, 0033, with dryer 24).
‘623 does not specifically provide the heater with a plurality of roller members, with each roller member comprising end portions configured to contact corresponding end portions of the porous polymer substrate and a central portion connected to and extending between the end portions, a diameter of the central portion being less than a diameter of the end portions, where the plurality of roller members comprise upper roller members and lower roller members, and upper rollers members heat an upper surface of the substrate and lower roller members heat a lower surface of the substrate, and both heat and pressure are applied to both end portions of the substrate at the same time, and the substrate supplier located between the heater and the coater,
However, Ogawa describes a coating method and apparatus (note figure 1, 0002) where a polymer substrate (note web 16, 0034, 0056) is provided and unwound (note figure 1, 0034, note feeder 66, roller 68), then moved through a heater (note figure 1, edge heater 15, 0034), then passed through a substrate supplier configured to move the substrate from the heater to a coater (note figure 1, 0034, 0043, note roller 68 after the heater and roller 17), then passes through a coater configured to form a coating onto at least one surface of the substrate (note figure 1, 0035, coating apparatus 10, so the substrate supplier located between the heater and the coater), then the coated substrate passes through a dryer configured to dry the applied coating to form a coating layer on the substrate (note figure 1, 0036, note dryer 76 and heater 78). As to the edge heater 15, it is configured to provide heat to a least one surface of the polymer substrate on the edges/ends of the substrate (note figures 1, 2, 0037), where the heater can be provided in the form of roller members on the edges/ends of the substrate (note figures 1, 2, 0037). The heating of the edges/ends of the substrate provides for locally heating the edges of the web/substrate so a middle portion is not heated, and eliminates irregular coating caused by elongation or wrinkles at the edge of the web 16 (note 0173).
‘819 further describes providing a membrane (substrate, web) of polymer forming a running substrate (abstract, page 9, figure 2). It is noted that in the system there can be a problem of curling of side edges of the substrate/membrane (pages 64-65), where to correct curling a curling correcting device can be provided, where both membrane side edges are heated, where the heating can be using indirect heating such as radiation or using heating rollers, where the membrane is interposed between a pair of heating roller, where the roller would be nip rollers for the heating rollers to connect the membrane side edges, that can soften the edges of the membrane after heating (pages 65-66), where since the rollers would be nip rollers it is understood that pressure would be applied with the rollers as well as heat.
Additionally, Matthews describes how heat can be applied to edges of a running substrate made from a folded sheet by feeding the substrate (folded sheet 16) between two sets of heated drive rolls 70 (roller members) (or in the form of a layer of two sheets, note figure 7), where each roller member 70 comprises ends portions configured to contact corresponding end portions of the substate and a central portion connected to and extending between the end portions, a diameter of the central portion being less than a diameter of the end portions, and the roller members would be in the form of an upper roller member and a lower roller member (note figures 1, 7, 0033, 0047-0049, noting the use of plastic (polymer) film material), where since both roller members 70 are described as heated drive rolls, they are understood to each be heated, where the upper roller member would heat an upper surface of the substrate and the lower roller member heat a lower surface of the substrate, and heat would be applied to both end portions of the substrate at the same time, and since the rollers are drive rollers to move the sheets it is understood that pressure will be provided to both end portions at the same time to heat and more the substrate (note figures 1, 7, 0033, 0047-0049)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify ‘623 to provide a heater comprising a plurality of roller members and each one roller member comprising end portions configured to contact corresponding end portions of the porous polymer substrate and a central portion connected to a extending between the end portion, a diameter of the central portion being less than a diameter of the end portion and where the plurality of roller members comprise upper roller members and lower roller members, where the upper roller member would heat the upper surface of the substrate and lower roller members heat a lower surface of the substrate, and both heat and pressure applied to both end portions of the substrate at the same time, and where the supplier would be configured to move the substrate from the heater, and where the substrate supplier is located between the heater and the coater as suggested by Ogawa, ‘819 and Matthews in order to provide desirable heating to the web to eliminate wrinkles and elongation and prevent curling, since ‘623 provides unwinding a polymer substrate and passing to a coater and dryer using a substrate supplier placed before the coater, and Ogawa teaches how in a similar process of unwinding a polymer substrate and passing to a coater and dryer using a substrate supplier located before the coater, the supplier can also move the substrate to and from a heater located before the supplier and coater, so that the supplier would be located between the heater and the coater, giving a suggested placement of the heater before the supplier, so the substrate supplier located between the heater and the coater, in the process of ‘623, where the heater of Ogawa can heat the edges/ends of the substrate and be in roller form, to remove wrinkles and elongation to give a better coating, where the heating of both end portions would occur at the same time and ‘819 indicates that in a similar process, the side surfaces can pass through heated nip rollers to the point of softening the surface, which would at least suggest that both rollers of the nip can be heated with heat from the upper roller passing to the upper surface of the substrate and heat from the lower roller passing to the lower surface of the substrate, with an expectation of predictably acceptable results, since ‘819 indicates using ‘heating rollers” in the plural and also provides for softening of the substrate, which would indicate heat passing into the substrate, inclusive of this entire surface portion, and also that with nip rollers both heat and pressure would be applied at the end portions by the rollers, and Matthews teaches how heating roller members can be provided to heat the edges/end portions of running sheet form substrates in the form where each roller member comprises ends portions configured to contact corresponding end portions of the substate and a central portion connected to and extending between the end portions, a diameter of the central portion being less than a diameter of the end portions, and the roller members would be in the form of an upper roller member and a lower roller member where since both roller members are described as heated drive rolls, they are understood to each be heated, where the upper roller member would heat an upper surface of the substrate and the lower roller member heat a lower surface of the substrate, and heat would be applied to both end portions of the substrate at the same time, and since the rollers are drive rollers to move the sheets it is understood that pressure will be provided to both end portions at the same time to heat and more the substrate, thus giving the suggestion of using the roller member form as claimed as a way to provide the desired edge heating of a running substrate.
Claim 3: Matthews would suggest how each roller member can be provided as a pair of rollers which would be spaced apart, where there would be what can be considered rollers on edge end that are spaced apart by the connection axis (note drive rolls 70, figures 1, 7).
Claim 6: Matthews would indicate how the upper and lower roller members (note rolls 70) can be the same size (note figures 1, 7), or would at least suggest that the roller members can be the same size with an expectation of predictably acceptable results, given the sizes shown in the figures.
Claim 8: As to the slurry material, ‘623 describes inorganic particles (filler), solvent and adhesive polymer resin which can be considered binder (adhesive) polymer (note 0025-0026,0032).
Claim 9: as to the use of a winder configured to wind the polymer substrate with applied coating layer, this would be provided by ‘623 (note figure 2, take up roll 27, 0008, 0027).
Claim 10: With the features as discussed for claim 1 above, ‘623 further describes a method for manufacturing a separator for a secondary battery (note figure 2, 0009,0027). A substrate supplier moves along a porous polymer substrate along after unwinding and into a coater (note figure 2, rolls 26, 0027, 0018, so the supplier located before the coater). The coater is used to apply a slurry to form a porous coating layer onto at least one surface of the substate (note figure 2, nozzle 22, 0027, 0020, 0025-0026, where the mixture of materials can be considered a slurry). There is a further drying with a dryer to dry the slurry to form the porous coating layer on the surface of the substrate (note figure 2, 0027, 0033, with dryer 24).
‘623 does not specifically provide the heater with a plurality of roller members, with each roller member comprising end portions configured to contact corresponding end portions of the porous polymer substrate and a central portion connected to and extending between the end portions, a diameter of the central portion being less than a diameter of the end portions, where the plurality of roller members comprise upper roller members and lower roller members, and upper rollers members heat an upper surface of the substrate and lower roller members heat a lower surface of the substrate, and both heat and pressure are applied to both end portions of the substrate at the same time, and the substrate supplier located between the heater and the coater,
However, Ogawa describes a coating method and apparatus (note figure 1, 0002) where a polymer substrate (note web 16, 0034, 0056) is provided and unwound (note figure 1, 0034, note feeder 66, roller 68), then moved through a heater (note figure 1, edge heater 15, 0034), then passed through a substrate supplier configured to move the substrate from the heater to a coater (note figure 1, 0034, 0043, note roller 68 after the heater and roller 17), then passes through a coater configured to form a coating onto at least one surface of the substrate (note figure 1, 0035, coating apparatus 10, so the substrate supplier located between the heater and the coater), then the coated substrate passes through a dryer configured to dry the applied coating to form a coating layer on the substrate (note figure 1, 0036, note dryer 76 and heater 78). As to the edge heater 15, it is configured to provide heat to a least one surface of the polymer substrate on the edges/ends of the substrate (note figures 1, 2, 0037), where the heater can be provided in the form of roller members on the edges/ends of the substrate (note figures 1, 2, 0037). The heating of the edges/ends of the substrate provides for locally heating the edges of the web/substrate so a middle portion is not heated, and eliminates irregular coating caused by elongation or wrinkles at the edge of the web 16 (note 0173).
‘819 further describes providing a membrane (substrate, web) of polymer forming a running substrate (abstract, page 9, figure 2). It is noted that in the system there can be a problem of curling of side edges of the substrate/membrane (pages 64-65), where to correct curling a curling correcting device can be provided, where both membrane side edges are heated, where the heating can be using indirect heating such as radiation or using heating rollers, where the membrane is interposed between a pair of heating roller, where the roller would be nip rollers for the heating rollers to connect the membrane side edges, that can soften the edges of the membrane after heating (pages 65-66), where since the rollers would be nip rollers it is understood that pressure would be applied with the rollers as well as heat.
Additionally, Matthews describes how heat can be applied to edges of a running substrate made from a folded sheet by feeding the substrate (folded sheet 16) between two sets of heated drive rolls 70 (roller members) (or in the form of a layer of two sheets, note figure 7), where each roller member 70 comprises ends portions configured to contact corresponding end portions of the substate and a central portion connected to and extending between the end portions, a diameter of the central portion being less than a diameter of the end portions, and the roller members would be in the form of an upper roller member and a lower roller member (note figures 1, 7, 0033, 0047-0049, noting the use of plastic (polymer) film material), where since both roller members 70 are described as heated drive rolls, they are understood to each be heated, where the upper roller member would heat an upper surface of the substrate and the lower roller member heat a lower surface of the substrate, and heat would be applied to both end portions of the substrate at the same time, and since the rollers are drive rollers to move the sheets it is understood that pressure will be provided to both end portions at the same time to heat and more the substrate (note figures 1, 7, 0033, 0047-0049)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify ‘623 to provide a heater comprising a plurality of roller members and each one roller member comprising end portions configured to contact corresponding end portions of the porous polymer substrate and a central portion connected to a extending between the end portion, a diameter of the central portion being less than a diameter of the end portion and where the plurality of roller members comprise upper roller members and lower roller members, where the upper roller member would heat the upper surface of the substrate and lower roller members heat a lower surface of the substrate, and both heat and pressure applied to both end portions of the substrate at the same time, and where a supplier would be configured to move the substrate from the heater, and be located so that the supplier is located between the heater and coater as suggested by Ogawa, ‘819 and Matthews in order to provide desirable heating to the web to eliminate wrinkles and elongation and prevent curling, since ‘623 provides unwinding a polymer substrate and passing to a coater and dryer using a substrate supplier located before the coater, and Ogawa teaches how in a similar process of unwinding a polymer substrate and passing to a coater and dryer using a substrate supplier, the supplier can also move the substrate to and from a heater, where the heater is located before the supplier and the supplier located before the heater such that the supplier is located between the heater and coater, and giving a suggested placement for the heater, so the substrate supplier located between the heater and the coater, in the process of ‘623, where Ogawa provides that the heater can heat the edges/ends of the substrate and be in roller form, to remove wrinkles and elongation to give a better coating, where the heating of both end portions would occur at the same time and ‘819 indicates that in a similar process, the side surfaces can pass through heated nip rollers to the point of softening the surface, which would at least suggest that both rollers of the nip can be heated with heat from the upper roller passing to the upper surface of the substrate and heat from the lower roller passing to the lower surface of the substrate, with an expectation of predictably acceptable results, since ‘819 indicates using ‘heating rollers” in the plural and also provides for softening of the substrate, which would indicate heat passing into the substrate, inclusive of this entire surface portion, and also that with nip rollers both heat and pressure would be applied at the end portions by the rollers, and Matthews teaches how heating roller members can be provided to heat the edges of running sheet form substrates in the form where each roller member comprises ends portions configured to contact corresponding end portions of the substate and a central portion connected to and extending between the end portions, a diameter of the central portion being less than a diameter of the end portions, and the roller members would be in the form of an upper roller member and a lower roller member where since both roller members are described as heated drive rolls, they are understood to each be heated, where the upper roller member would heat an upper surface of the substrate and the lower roller member heat a lower surface of the substrate, and heat would be applied to both end portions of the substrate at the same time, and since the rollers are drive rollers to move the sheets it is understood that pressure will be provided to both end portions at the same time to heat and more the substrate, thus giving the suggestion of using the roller member form as claimed as a way to provide the desired edge heating of a running substrate.
Claim 12: as to the use of a winder configured to wind the polymer substrate with applied coating layer, this would be provided by ‘623 (note figure 2, take up roll 27, 0008, 0027).
Claims 14-15: as to the sum of lengths of the end portions of the at least one roller member being in a range of 1-40% (claim 14) or a length of each end portion is 0.5-20 % (claim 15) of a total width of the substrate, since as discussed for claim 1, the purpose of the end portions/contacting part of the rollers is to heat the substrate edges to remove wrinkling, prevent curling, etc. Ogawa shows in figure 2 that the heated edge portion is a relatively small part of the web, and describes that the heated portion width W can be amounts such as 20 mm or 100 mm (notes 0196-0200), indicating that the heating area can be adjusted. It would have been obvious to optimize the heating area (end portions of roll contacting the substrate) to provide the desired treatment, giving a value in the claimed ranges. Note "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed November 24, 2025 have been fully considered.
Note the adjustments to the rejections due to the amendments to the claims, noting the new 35 USC 112 rejection to claim 10 due to the amendments to the claims.
As to the 35 USC 103 rejections, it is argued that the combination of references adds a heater to the device of ‘623 and no prior art discloses both a substrate supplier and heater before a coater and therefore does not disclose the order of these elements.
The Examiner notes this argument, however, the rejections above are maintained. As to the placement of the heater when added to the process of ‘623, Ogawa provides the suggestion of a heater, and also that the heater would be located before the substrate supplier, and the supplier located before the coater, as discussed in the rejection above, thus suggesting the claimed substate supplier be located between the heater and the coater. Therefore, the features as claimed would be provided.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KATHERINE A BAREFORD whose telephone number is (571)272-1413. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 6:00 am -3:30 pm, 2nd F 6:00 am -2:30 pm.
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, GORDON BALDWIN can be reached at 571-272-5166. 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.
/KATHERINE A BAREFORD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1718