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 .
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.
Claims 1-4 and 7-10, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ademe (US 20210231635) in view of Humphrey (US 20180024053) and Jung (US 20220112368).
Regarding claim 1, Ademe teaches an apparatus for inspecting paper bobbins, the apparatus comprising:
a second inspector configured to inspect porosity of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis ("The apparatus of any preceding example embodiment, or any combination of any preceding example embodiments, further comprising a second testing device disposed along the paper web path and arranged to nondestructively measure a porosity"; Para. [0008]);
a marker configured to mark the result inspected by the first inspector, the second inspector, or a combination thereof on one end surface of the work piece ("In some embodiments, the error algorithm may include removing the defective section(s) of the paper web 200 such that the remainder of the paper web 200 may be sent to production… The other end of the defective section is then cut at the remainder of the paper web 200 is spliced together with the defective section wound on the other bobbin"; Para. [0082]); and
a cutting machine configured to ("Alternatively, one end of the defective section may be positioned at the second capstan 295 to allow for cutting of the paper web 200"; Para. [0082]):
cut the diffusion layer for water electrolysis based on a result of inspecting at least one of the thickness, the porosity, the pore uniformity, or a combination thereof ("In some embodiments, the error algorithm may include removing the defective section(s) of the paper web 200 such that the remainder of the paper web 200 may be sent to production… The other end of the defective section is then cut at the remainder of the paper web 200 is spliced together with the defective section wound on the other bobbin"; Para. [0082]).
Regarding claim 1, Ademe does not teach a first inspector configured to inspect a thickness of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis.
Humphrey teaches a first inspector configured to inspect a thickness of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis "There is provided an in-situ method of measuring properties of a moving porous film such as true thickness, porosity and density"; Para. [0016] and "There is shown a NIR-MIR light engine, or transmitter, producing a nominally collimated beam of infrared light which is shone on a moving battery film web. The transmitted light is then detected by a receiver"; Para. [0053];
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Ademe with the thickness sensor as taught by Humphrey in order to measure multiple properties such as thickness, porosity, or density (Para. [0016] of Humphrey).
Regarding claim 1, Ademe does not teach a way to inspect pore uniformity of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis.
Jung teaches a way to inspect pore uniformity of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis ("In order to measure the pore distribution of the separators according to Comparative Example 1 and Example 1, a porometer (Porolux 1000) was used"; Para. [0081]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Ademe with a pore distribution measurement sensor taught by Jung in order to ensure the pore uniformity is within a desired range (Para. [0071] of Jung).
Regarding claim 2, modified Ademe teaches the apparatus of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above) and wherein the diffusion layer for water electrolysis is a porous transport layer (PTL) with a titanium material.
MPEP 2115 teaches "[i]nclusion of the material or article worked upon by a structure being claimed does not impart patentability to the claims." In re Otto, 312 F.2d 937, 136 USPQ 458, 459 (CCPA 1963); see also In re Young, 75 F.2d 996, 25 USPQ 69 (CCPA 1935). The preamble is directed to an apparatus, not the workpiece.
Regarding claim 3, modified Ademe teaches the apparatus of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above), however, Ademe does not teach wherein the first inspector includes:
a radiation device configured to radiate visible light or infrared light at a predetermined spacing; and
an optical receiver configured to receive the visible light or the infrared light, and
wherein the first inspector is configured to measure a location where the visible light or the infrared light is received by the optical receiver.
Humphrey teaches an apparatus wherein the first inspector includes:
a radiation device configured to radiate visible light or infrared light at a predetermined spacing; and ("There is shown a NIR-MIR light engine, or transmitter, producing a nominally collimated beam of infrared light which is shone on a moving battery film web. The transmitted light is then detected by a receiver"; Para. [0053])
an optical receiver configured to receive the visible light or the infrared light ("There is shown a NIR-MIR light engine, or transmitter, producing a nominally collimated beam of infrared light which is shone on a moving battery film web. The transmitted light is then detected by a receiver"; Para. [0053]), and
wherein the first inspector is configured to measure a location where the visible light or the infrared light is received by the optical receiver ("There is shown a NIR-MIR light engine, or transmitter, producing a nominally collimated beam of infrared light which is shone on a moving battery film web. The transmitted light is then detected by a receiver"; Para. [0053]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Ademe with the sensor taught by Humphrey in order to measure the thickness of a workpiece.
Regarding claim 7, modified Ademe teaches the apparatus of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above). Ademe further teaches an apparatus that further processes material if the material meets a desired specification and not further processing the material if the material does not meet the specification (“In some embodiments, the error algorithm may include removing the defective section(s) of the paper web 200 such that the remainder of the paper web 200 may be sent to production”; Para. [0082]).
In re claim 8, Ademe teaches a method for inspecting and punching a diffusion layer for water electrolysis, the method comprising inspecting, by a second inspector, porosity of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis ("The apparatus of any preceding example embodiment, or any combination of any preceding example embodiments, further comprising a second testing device disposed along the paper web path and arranged to nondestructively measure a porosity"; Para. [0008]);
marking, by a marker, a result inspected by the first inspector, the second inspector, or a combination thereof on one end surface of the work piece ("In some embodiments, the error algorithm may include removing the defective section(s) of the paper web 200 such that the remainder of the paper web 200 may be sent to production… The other end of the defective section is then cut at the remainder of the paper web 200 is spliced together with the defective section wound on the other bobbin"; Para. [0082]); and
cutting, by the cutting machine, the diffusion layer for water electrolysis based on the result of inspecting at least one of the thickness, the porosity, the pore uniformity, or a combination thereof ("In some embodiments, the error algorithm may include removing the defective section(s) of the paper web 200 such that the remainder of the paper web 200 may be sent to production… The other end of the defective section is then cut at the remainder of the paper web 200 is spliced together with the defective section wound on the other bobbin"; Para. [0082]).
Regarding claim 8, Ademe does not teach inspecting, by a first inspector, a thickness of a diffusion layer for water electrolysis.
Humphrey teaches a first inspector configured to inspect a thickness of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis "There is provided an in-situ method of measuring properties of a moving porous film such as true thickness, porosity and density"; Para. [0016] and "There is shown a NIR-MIR light engine, or transmitter, producing a nominally collimated beam of infrared light which is shone on a moving battery film web. The transmitted light is then detected by a receiver"; Para. [0053];
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Ademe with the thickness sensor as taught by Humphrey in order to measure multiple properties such as thickness, porosity, or density (Para. [0016] of Humphrey).
Regarding claim 8, Ademe does not teach a way to inspecting, by a cutting machine, pore uniformity of a diffusion layer for water electrolysis.
Jung teaches a way to inspect pore uniformity of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis ("In order to measure the pore distribution of the separators according to Comparative Example 1 and Example 1, a porometer (Porolux 1000) was used"; Para. [0081]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Ademe with a pore distribution measurement sensor taught by Jung in order to ensure the pore uniformity is within a desired range (Para. [0071] of Jung).
Regarding claim 9, modified Ademe teaches the method of claim 8 (see rejection of claim 8 above), but does not teach a method wherein the diffusion layer for water electrolysis is a porous transport layer (PTL) with a titanium material.
Humphrey teaches a sensor whose wavelengths can be varied in order to work with any material ("In embodiments, the wavelengths projected by the gauge are chosen based on the material of interest. In embodiments, wavelengths are chosen at which the material exhibits different optical behavior"; Para. [0047]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Ademe with the sensor taught by Humphrey in order to be able to measure the thickness of multiple materials.
Regarding claim 10, Ademe teaches the method of claim 8 (see rejection of claim 8 above), but does not teach a method wherein inspecting includes: radiating, by a radiation device, visible light or infrared light at a predetermined spacing; and
measuring, by the first inspector, a location where the visible light or the infrared light is received by an optical receiver.
Humphrey teaches a method wherein inspecting includes: radiating visible light or infrared light at a predetermined spacing ("There is shown a NIR-MIR light engine, or transmitter, producing a nominally collimated beam of infrared light which is shone on a moving battery film web. The transmitted light is then detected by a receiver"; Para. [0053]); and
measuring a location where the visible light or the infrared light is received ("There is shown a NIR-MIR light engine, or transmitter, producing a nominally collimated beam of infrared light which is shone on a moving battery film web. The transmitted light is then detected by a receiver"; Para. [0053]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Ademe with the thickness sensor taught by Humphrey to in order to measure multiple properties such as thickness, porosity, or density (Para. [0016] of Humphrey).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ademe (US 20210231635) in view of Humphrey (US 20180024053) and Jung (US 20220112368), as applied to the above claims, and further in view of Frano Barbir 2013.
In re claim 4, modified Ademe teaches the apparatus of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above), but does not teach wherein the second inspector is configured to:
measure a weight of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis;
calculate a weight of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis based on an area of a weighing surface, the thickness, and a density of material of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis; and
calculate the porosity using the calculated weight and the measured weight.
Ademe teaches using a sensor to measure the porosity of a workpiece (“The first testing device 520 may include a testing head 525 configured to measure a porosity”; Para. [0071]), however Ademe is silent regarding how the porosity is measured.
Barbir teaches a method of calculating porosity using weight, area, density and thickness (Section 4.4.2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to measure the porosity of Ademe as taught by Barbir in order to easily calculate porosity (Section 4.4.2 of Barbir).
Claims 6 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ademe (US 20210231635) in view of Humphrey (US 20180024053) and Jung (US 20220112368), as applied to the above claims, and further in view of Zhang (US 20210106426).
Regarding claim 6, modified Ademe teaches the apparatus of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above), but does not teach wherein the cutting machine is configured to inspect a uniform degree of a pore size of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis using light where light radiated to the diffusion layer for water electrolysis passes through the diffusion layer for water electrolysis.
Jung teaches using the Porolux 1000 porometer which measures pore size using a liquid gas displacement method but is silent regarding measuring pore size with light.
Zhang teaches measuring pore size using emitted light ("Because of titanium has metal artifacts for Micro-CT, light microscopy method was used to measure strut thickness and pore size"; Para. [0107]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to measure the pore size of Adema using light as taught by Zhang which is advantageous for rapid results with minimal preparation.
Regarding claim 13, modified Ademe teaches the apparatus of claim 8 (see rejection of claim 8 above), which allows for cutting (of the web, Para 0082); however, Ademe but does not teach wherein inspecting includes: radiating, light to the diffusion layer for water electrolysis.
Humphrey teaches a method wherein inspecting includes: radiating visible light or infrared light at a predetermined spacing ("There is shown a NIR-MIR light engine, or transmitter, producing a nominally collimated beam of infrared light which is shone on a moving battery film web. The transmitted light is then detected by a receiver"; Para. [0053]); and
measuring a location where the visible light or the infrared light is received ("There is shown a NIR-MIR light engine, or transmitter, producing a nominally collimated beam of infrared light which is shone on a moving battery film web. The transmitted light is then detected by a receiver"; Para. [0053]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide Ademe with the thickness sensor taught by Humphrey to in order to measure multiple properties such as thickness, porosity, or density (Para. [0016] of Humphrey). The modification would lead to the apparatus of Adema, which permits cutting, to radiate light.
Regarding claim 13, modified Ademe teaches the apparatus of claim 8 (see rejection of claim 8 above), however, Ademe but does not teach inspecting, by the cutting machine, a uniform degree of a pore size of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis using light passing through the diffusion layer for water electrolysis.
Jung teaches using the Porolux 1000 porometer which measures pore size using a liquid gas displacement method but is silent regarding measuring pore size with light.
Zhang teaches measuring pore size using emitted light ("Because of titanium has metal artifacts for Micro-CT, light microscopy method was used to measure strut thickness and pore size"; Para. [0107]).
Zhang shows that it is well known in the art to inspect the size of pores using light rather than other methods.
would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date, to measure the pore size using light rather than using a liquid gas displacement method.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to measure the pore size of Adema using light as taught by Zhang which is advantageous for rapid results with minimal preparation. The modification would lead to the apparatus of Adema, which permits cutting, to inspect a uniform degree of pores.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ademe (US 20210231635) in view of Humphrey (US 20180024053) and Jung (US 20220112368), as applied to the above claims, and further in view of Frano Barbir 2013.
In re claim 11, modified Ademe teaches the apparatus of claim 8 (see rejection of claim 8 above), but does not teach wherein inspecting includes: measuring, by the second inspector, a weight of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis;
Calculating, by the second inspector, a weight of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis based on an area of a weighing surface, the thickness, a density of material of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis; and
calculating the porosity using the calculated weight and the measured weight.
Ademe teaches using a sensor to measure the porosity of a workpiece (“The first testing device 520 may include a testing head 525 configured to measure a porosity”; Para. [0071]), however Ademe is silent regarding how the porosity is measured.
Barbir teaches a method of calculating porosity using weight, area, density and thickness (Section 4.4.2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before to the effective filing date of the invention to measure the porosity of modified Ademe as taught by Barbir in order to easily calculate porosity (Section 4.4.2 of Barbir).
Response to Arguments
The 101 rejection has been overcome by the amendments filed September 23, 2025.
Applicant's arguments filed September 23, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues the application discloses a technical feature of a marker configured to mark the result inspected by the first inspector, the second inspector, or a combination thereof on one end surface of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis. Specifically, Applicant argues Ademe teaches cutting and removing defective portions of a paper web and does not disclose a marker configured to mark, on one end surface of the diffusion layer for water electrolysis, the result inspected by at least one of the first inspector, the second inspector, or a combination thereof.
Ademe teaches the marker, is the error algorithm which may include removing defective sections of the paper web, in order to, send the remaining web to production. The defective sections of the web are detected by an inspector, which is an optical sensor. Per Merriam Webster the term “marker” is defined as condition of being correct or accurate. Ademe teaches a marker (error algorithm) is configured to mark (determine the condition of being correct or accurate), based on the results of the inspector. The Examiner is not precluded from this interpretation based on the claim language.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 JENNIFER S MATTHEWS whose telephone number is (571)270-5843. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8am-4pm.
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/JENNIFER S MATTHEWS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3724
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