DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Response to Amendments
This is a final office action in response to applicant's arguments and remarks filed on 01/23/2026.
Status of Rejections
All previous rejections are maintained.
Claims 1-20 are pending and under consideration for this Office Action.
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.
Claim(s) 15, 16, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakaya et al (CN 112064066 A).
Claim 15: Nakaya discloses a positive electrode plate (see e.g. #4 on Fig 1) for an apparatus for manufacturing a copper foil (see e.g. abstract and page 1), comprising:
a base unit (see e.g. #10 on Fig 4); and
a first connecting unit disposed to overlap a portion of the base unit (see e.g. #4a on Fig 4),
wherein the first connecting unit includes a first covering member disposed to overlap the base unit (see e.g. #4a on Fig 4) and a first inclined member extending to be inclined with respect to the first covering member (see e.g. right side #11a on Fig 4), and
the first covering member is disposed to cover a base fastening unit coupled to the base unit (see e.g. #4a and #17 on Fig 4) such that the base fastening unit is not exposed to the outside (see e.g. #10 covered by #4a on Fig 4).
Claim 16: Nakaya discloses a second connecting unit coupled to the positive electrode body to overlap a portion of the first connecting unit (see e.g. #6 on Fig 4 of Nakaya), wherein the second connecting unit is disposed to cover the first inclined member (see e.g. #6 on Fig 4 of Nakaya).
Claim 20: Nakaya discloses second connecting unit disposed to overlap a portion of the first connecting unit (see e.g. #6 on Fig 4 of Nakaya), wherein the base unit includes a first base member covered by the first connecting unit (see e.g. leftmost #10 on Fig 3 of Nakaya) and a second base member (see e.g. rightmost #10 on Fig 3 of Nakaya) connected to the first base member (via #17 and #5 on Fig 3 of Nakaya), and, and the second connecting unit is disposed to cover the base fastening unit coupled to the second base member (see e.g. rightmost #11 on Fig 3 of Nakaya).
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.
Claim(s) 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakaya in view of Kawashima et al (US 5628892 A).
Claim 17: Nakaya does not explicitly teach that the base unit includes a first base member, a second base member, and a protruding member connected to protrude upward from the first base member, wherein the first base member is connected to the second base member.
Kawashima teaches a juxtaposed (see e.g. col 6, lines 37-40) base unit includes a first base member (see e.g. #17 on Fig 6), a second base member (see e.g. #1 on Fig 6), and a protruding member connected to protrude upward from the first base member (see e.g. #15 of Fig 6), wherein the first base member is connected to the second base member (see e.g. Fig 6). This configuration allows “for ease of maintenance and repair of the anode and an increased life of the anode itself” (see e.g. col 7, lines 32-42). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modifying the apparatus of Nakaya so that the base unit includes a first base member, a second base member, and a protruding member connected to protrude upward from the first base member, wherein the first base member is connected to the second base member as taught in Kawashima because the configuration allows for ease of maintenance and repair of the anode and an increased life of the anode itself.
The first connecting unit of Kawashima covers the base member. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that the second base member would be covered by the first connecting unit when Nakaya is combined with Kawashima
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that the first covering member is disposed to cover the second base member and disposed at the same height as the protruding member (see e.g. #11 on Fig 4 of Nakaya).
Claim 18: Nakaya in view of Kawashima teaches that the second base member is formed to have a smaller thickness in a height direction as the second base member extends in a direction opposite to the first base member (see e.g. #15 on Fig 6 of Kawashima).
Claim 19: Nakaya in view of Kawashima does not explicitly that the first covering member has a smaller thickness as the first covering member extends in a direction opposite to the direction in which the second base member extends, and the first covering member is disposed to overlap the second base member to cover the base fastening unit. However, the invention of Nakaya is centered around generating a metal foil with a uniform thickness (see e.g. abstract). Therefore, would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modifying the apparatus of Nakaya in view of Wen and Kawashima to adjust the thickness of first covering member with respect to the first and second base members to ensure a uniform thickness in the metal foil is maintained.
Claim(s) 1-5, 9, 10, 12, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakaya in view of Wen et al (CN 110785515 A).
Claim 1: Nakaya discloses an apparatus for manufacturing a copper foil (see e.g. abstract and page 1), comprising:
a negative electrode drum (see e.g. #1 on Fig 1) on which a copper foil is electrodeposited in an electroplating method (see e.g. abstract) using an electrolyte (see e.g. #3 on Fig 1);
a positive electrode plate (see e.g. #4 on Fig 1) electrically connected with the negative electrode drum through the electrolyte (see e.g. abstract);
a positive electrode body configured to support the positive electrode plate (see e.g. #5 on Fig 1); and
wherein the positive electrode plate includes:
a base unit coupled to the positive electrode body (see e.g. #10 on Fig 4);
a first connecting unit coupled to the positive electrode body to overlap a portion of the base unit (see e.g. #4a on Fig 4); and
a base fastening unit coupling the base unit to the positive electrode body (see e.g. #17 on Fig 4), the first connecting unit includes a first covering member disposed to overlap the base unit (see e.g. #4a on Fig 4) and a first inclined member extending to be inclined with respect to the first covering member (see e.g. right side #11a on Fig 4), and the first covering member is disposed to cover the base fastening unit between the base fastening unit and the negative electrode drum (see e.g. #4a and #17 on Fig 4) such that the base fastening unit is not exposed to the outside (see e.g. #10 covered by #4a on Fig 4).
Nakaya does not explicitly teach a winding unit configured to wind the copper foil supplied from the negative electrode drum. Wen teaches a device for the electrolytic manufacture of copper foil (see e.g. abstract) comprising a negative electrode drum (see e.g. #10 on Fig 1) on which a copper foil is electrodeposited in an electroplating method (see e.g. abstract) using an electrolyte (see e.g. #22 on Fig 1) and a winding unit configured to wind the copper foil (see e.g. #30 on Fig 1). The winding unit winds the copper foil with a desired tension (see e.g. page 5, paragraph starting with “continuously discharging”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modify the apparatus of Nakaya to include the winding unit configured to wind the copper foil supplied from the negative electrode drum of Wen because the winding unit of Wen winds the copper foil with a desired tension.
Claim 2: Nakaya in view of Wen discloses that the base fastening unit includes a base fastening hole formed to pass through the base unit (see e.g. drill hole #17 is screwed into on Fig 4 of Nakaya) and a base fastening member inserted into the base fastening hole to couple the base unit and the positive electrode body (see e.g. #17 on Fig 4 of Nakaya), and the first covering member overlaps the base unit to cover the base fastening hole and the base fastening member (see e.g. #4a on Fig 4 of Nakaya).
Claim 3: Nakaya in view of Wen discloses that the first inclined member is coupled to the positive electrode body by a connection fastening unit (see e.g. #7a on Fig 4 of Nakaya), and the connection fastening unit is not formed on the first covering member so that the base fastening unit is not exposed to the negative electrode drum (see e.g. #7a on Fig 4 of Nakaya).
Claim 4: Nakaya in view of Wen discloses a second connecting unit coupled to the positive electrode body to overlap a portion of the first connecting unit (see e.g. #6 on Fig 4 of Nakaya), wherein the second connecting unit is disposed to cover the first inclined member (see e.g. #6 on Fig 4 of Nakaya).
Claim 5: Nakaya in view of Wen discloses that the second connecting unit includes a second covering member disposed to overlap the first inclined member (see e.g. #6 on Fig 4 of Nakaya) and a second inclined member extending to be inclined from the second covering member (the right most #11 would have a portion similar to #11a on Fig 4 of Nakaya), the first inclined member is coupled to the positive electrode body by a connection fastening unit (see e.g. #7a on Fig 4 of Nakaya), and the second covering member is disposed to cover the connection fastening unit (see e.g. #6 on Fig 4 of Nakaya).
Claim 9: Nakaya in view of Wen discloses that the positive electrode plate includes a second connecting unit coupled to the positive electrode body to cover a portion of the base unit (see e.g. rightmost #11 on Fig 3 of Nakaya), the base unit includes a first base member covered by the first connecting unit (see e.g. leftmost #10 on Fig 3 of Nakaya) and a second base member (see e.g. rightmost #10 on Fig 3 of Nakaya) connected to the first base member (via #17 and #5 on Fig 3 of Nakaya), and the second connecting unit is disposed to cover the second base member (see e.g. rightmost #11 on Fig 3 of Nakaya).
Claim 10: Nakaya in view of Wen discloses that the positive electrode plate includes a plurality of base fastening units (see e.g. #17 on Fig 3 of Nakaya), the base fastening units couple the first base member and the second base member to the positive electrode body at positions spaced apart from each other (see e.g. #17 on Fig 3 of Nakaya, the first connecting unit is disposed to cover the base fastening unit coupling the first base member to the positive electrode body, and the second connecting unit is disposed to cover the base fastening unit coupling the second base member to the positive electrode body (See e.g. #11 on Fig 3 and Fig 5 of Nakaya).
Claim 12: Nakaya in view of Wen discloses that the base unit is coupled to the positive electrode body at any one position of a left end of the positive electrode body and a right end of the positive electrode body, and the positive electrode plate includes a plurality of connecting units consecutively disposed to partially overlap each other in a direction in which the first connecting unit and the second connecting unit are disposed with respect to the base unit (see e.g. Fig 2 of Nakaya).
Claim 13: Nakaya in view of Wen discloses that the base unit is coupled to the positive electrode body between a left end of the positive electrode body and a right end of the positive electrode body (see e.g. #4a Fig 2 of Nakaya), the positive electrode plate includes a plurality of connecting units (see e.g. #4a Fig 2 of Nakaya), some of the connecting units are consecutively disposed to partially overlap each other in a direction in which the first connecting unit is disposed with respect to the base unit, and some of the connecting units are consecutively disposed to partially overlap each other in a direction in which the second connecting unit is disposed with respect to the base unit (see e.g. Fig 4 of Nakaya).
Claim(s) 6-8, 11, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakaya in view of Wen as applied to claim 1 above, and in further view of Kawashima.
Claim 6: Nakaya in view of Wen does not explicitly teach that the base unit includes a first base member, a second base member, and a protruding member connected to protrude upward from the first base member, wherein the first base member is connected to the second base member.
Kawashima teaches a juxtaposed (see e.g. col 6, lines 37-40) base unit includes a first base member (see e.g. #17 on Fig 6), a second base member (see e.g. #1 on Fig 6), and a protruding member connected to protrude upward from the first base member (see e.g. #15 of Fig 6), wherein the first base member is connected to the second base member (see e.g. Fig 6). This configuration allows “for ease of maintenance and repair of the anode and an increased life of the anode itself” (see e.g. col 7, lines 32-42). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modifying the apparatus of Nakaya so that the base unit includes a first base member, a second base member, and a protruding member connected to protrude upward from the first base member, wherein the first base member is connected to the second base member as taught in Kawashima because the configuration allows for ease of maintenance and repair of the anode and an increased life of the anode itself.
The first connecting unit of Kawashima covers the base member. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that the second base member would be covered by the first connecting unit when Nakaya is combined with Kawashima
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that the first covering member is disposed to cover the second base member and disposed at the same height as the protruding member (see e.g. #11 on Fig 4 of Nakaya).
Claim 7: Nakaya in view of Wen does not explicitly teach that the base unit includes a first base member and a second base member, the first base member is connected to the second base member, and the second base member is formed to have a smaller thickness in a height direction as the second base member extends in a direction opposite to the first base member.
Kawashima teaches a juxtaposed (see e.g. col 6, lines 37-40) base unit includes a first base member (see e.g. #17 on Fig 6), a second base member (see e.g. #1 on Fig 6), the first base member is connected to the second base member (see e.g. Fig 6), and the second base member is formed to have a smaller thickness in a height direction as the second base member extends in a direction opposite to the first base member (see e.g. #15 on Fig 6). This configuration allows “for ease of maintenance and repair of the anode and an increased life of the anode itself” (see e.g. col 7, lines 32-42). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modifying the apparatus of Nakaya so that the base unit includes a first base member and a second base member, the first base member is connected to the second base member, and the second base member is formed to have a smaller thickness in a height direction as the second base member extends in a direction opposite to the first base member as taught in Kawashima because the configuration allows for ease of maintenance and repair of the anode and an increased life of the anode itself.
The first connecting unit of Kawashima covers the base member. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that the second base member would be covered by the first connecting unit when Nakaya is combined with Kawashima
Claim 8: Nakaya in view of Wen and Kawashima does not explicitly that the first covering member has a smaller thickness as the first covering member extends in a direction opposite to the direction in which the second base member extends, and the first covering member is disposed to overlap the second base member to cover the base fastening unit. However, the invention of Nakaya is centered around generating a metal foil with a uniform thickness (see e.g. abstract). Therefore, would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modifying the apparatus of Nakaya in view of Wen and Kawashima to adjust the thickness of first covering member with respect to the first and second base members to ensure a uniform thickness in the metal foil is maintained.
Claim 11: Nakaya in view of Wen does not explicitly teach an included angle (θ) between the first covering member and the first inclined member is formed as an obtuse angle, and the included angle (θ) is disposed to face the positive electrode body. Therefore, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention would be motivated to find a suitable included angle (θ) for the first inclined member. Kawashima teach an apparatus for electrolytically forming metal foil on a drum (see e.g. abstract) wherein the anode “having a radius of curvature of about 500 to 2,000 mm and an included angle of about 45o to 120o (e.g., about 90o in FIG. 8)” (see e.g. col 5, lines 5-8). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modifying the apparatus of Nakaya to use an included angle of about 45o to 120o because this is a recognized and suitable included angle for these types of electrodes. MPEP § 2144.05 states ‘In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990)’.
Claim 14: Nakaya in view of Wen does not explicitly teach that the base unit includes a first base member and a second base member connected to the first base member, and the base fastening unit includes a base fastening hole formed to pass through the second base member and a base fastening member inserted into the base fastening hole to couple the second base member and the positive electrode body.
Kawashima teaches a juxtaposed (see e.g. col 6, lines 37-40) base unit includes a first base member (see e.g. #17 on Fig 6) and a second base member connected to the first base member (see e.g. #1 on Fig 6), and the base fastening unit includes a base fastening hole formed to pass through the second base member and a base fastening member inserted into the base fastening hole to couple the second base member and the positive electrode body (see e.g. #55 on Fig 6). This configuration allows “for ease of maintenance and repair of the anode and an increased life of the anode itself” (see e.g. col 7, lines 32-42). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to modifying the apparatus of Nakaya so the base unit includes a first base member and a second base member connected to the first base member, and the base fastening unit includes a base fastening hole formed to pass through the second base member and a base fastening member inserted into the base fastening hole to couple the second base member and the positive electrode body as taught in Kawashima because the configuration allows for ease of maintenance and repair of the anode and an increased life of the anode itself.
The first connecting unit of Kawashima covers the base member. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention that the first base member would be covered by the first connecting unit when Nakaya is combined with Kawashima.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 01/23/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On page(s) 8, the Applicant argues that #17 of Nakaya does not anticipate the claim limitation “base fastening unit” because “the fixed attachment member (17) in Nakaya is utilized to secure a support member (10) to an electrode plate support, rather than securing the electrode plate (4) itself… the component in Nakaya that functionally corresponds to the claimed base fastening unit (i.e., the member that actually secures the electrode plate) is the "fixed attachment member (7)”. This is not considered persuasive. Claim 1 claims “a base fastening unit coupling the base unit to the positive electrode body”. Functionally, #17 fastens the base unit (#10) to the positive electrode body (#5). The claim further requires “the first covering member is disposed to cover the base fastening unit between the base fastening unit and the negative electrode drum”. The first covering member of Nakaya (#4a) covers the base fastening unit (#17). Therefore, #17 of Nakaya satisfies the structure and functional requirements of the claim for the “base fastening unit”.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER W KEELING whose telephone number is (571)272-9961. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 AM - 4:00 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, Luan Van can be reached at 571-272-8521. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALEXANDER W KEELING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1795