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 .
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 5-11 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.
Regarding claim 5, the phrase "such as" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Regarding claim 7, the phrase "such as" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
A broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.05(c). In the present instance, claim 6 recites the broad recitation “between -20 and 20”, and the claim also recites "between -15 and 15", "between -10 and 10" and "between -5 and 5" all of which are narrower statements of the range/limitation. The claim(s) are considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4 were allowed.
It is not known in the prior art to provide a patterning method for manufacturing of a desired pattern of an electrically conducting, semiconducting or insulating material on a substrate, the method comprising:- providing a semi-dry polymer ink film on top of a polydimethylsiloxane surface of a roller, wherein the polymer ink comprises a polymer dissolved in at least one organic solvent;- producing a patterned polymer ink film having form of a negative of the desired pattern defined by first portions of the semi-dry polymer ink film remaining on top of the polydimethylsiloxane surface of the roller, wherein the patterned polymer ink film is produced by bringing a three-dimensional relief pattern with a positive image of the desired pattern temporarily into contact with the semi-dry polymer ink film so that second portions of the semi-dry polymer ink film are transferred to the three-dimensional relief pattern, and wherein the patterned polymer ink film has vertical sidewalls caused by fracturing of the semi-dry polymer ink film at the edges of the three-dimensional relief pattern, wherein said fracturing is caused by cohesion of the semi-dry polymer ink film and adhesion between the second portions of the semi-dry polymer ink film and the three- dimensional relief pattern;- transferring the patterned polymer ink film from the polydimethylsiloxane surface of the roller onto a substrate to produce a negative of the desired pattern on the substrate, wherein the negative of the desired pattern on the substrate has said vertical sidewalls; depositing a conductive, semi-conductive or insulating material layer onto the face of the substrate with the negative of the desired pattern, using physical vapor deposition or chemical vapor deposition; and- dissolving the negative of the desired pattern using an organic solvent to yield the desired pattern formed by the deposited conductive, semi-conductive or insulating material on the substrate as in claim 1.
The most pertinent prior art (Jiang et al., USPGPub 2009/0218311, cited as a “Y” reference in the international search report of the parent application of the current claims” teaches a method of negative pattern transfer using PDMS stamps. However, the method of the prior art is not a roller method and would not be expected to provide the vertical sidewall fracturing claimed herein.
Conclusion
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/ANDREW J BOWMAN/Examiner, Art Unit 1717
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