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 Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 5 recites “a second air volume regulating valve” The Office take an assumption that it shall be “a third … valve”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
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, 2, 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent 10,199,635 to Ho.
In Reference to Claim 1
Ho discloses an electrode sheet oven drying apparatus, comprising: an oven (Col. 2, Line 19, a drying chamber) with an oven drying chamber; an oven drying assembly (Col. 2, Line 19, electrode assembly) positioned in the oven drying chamber; an air discharge pipe (Col. 10, Line 5-8) connected to the oven drying chamber; a first air volume regulating valve (Col. 2, Line 7, a gas outlet valve) installed in the air discharge pipe; a humidity detection module (Col. 11, Line 60-65, since the drying process is controlled by moisture level of the electrode assembly, it is obvious that a humidity detection module is required in order to positively control the process) installed in the oven drying chamber, and configured to detect a humidity in the oven drying chamber; and a control module (Col. 11, Line 60-65, since the process is repeated based on the moisture level, it is obvious that a control model is required to control the supply the heated air as well as the discharge valve.) communicatively connected to the humidity detection module, and configured to regulate the first air volume regulating valve according to the humidity in the oven drying chamber (Col. 11, Line 60-65, since the system cycle is determined based on the moisture level in the chamber, it is obvious that the controller will also open the discharge valve once the moisture level meets the predetermined level).
In Reference to Claim 2
Ho discloses the oven drying assembly comprises an upper compartment and a lower compartment arranged apart, (Col. 12. Line 20-24) a plurality of first air nozzles being arranged on one side of the upper compartment facing the lower compartment, a plurality of second air nozzles being arranged on one side of the lower compartment facing the upper compartment; (The Office considers that nozzle is inherent since hot air needs to be ejected to the electrode)
Ho does not teach the humidity detection module is positioned between the first air nozzles and the second air nozzles. ) It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to position the humidity detection module at any effective position since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art.
In Reference to Claim 10
Ho discloses a coating apparatus positioned upstream of the electrode sheet oven drying apparatus. (Col. 1, Line 22-29)
In Reference to Claim 11
Ho discloses an electrode sheet oven drying method, comprising: detecting a humidity (Col. 11, Line 60-65, since the drying process is controlled by moisture level of the electrode assembly, it is obvious that a humidity detection module is required in order to positively control the process) in an accommodating cavity (Cole. 2, Line 19); and regulating a volume of steam discharged from the accommodating cavity according to the humidity in the accommodating cavity (Col. 10, Line 5-10).
Claims 3-6, 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ho in view of US Patent Publication 2005/0048861 to Kifune.
In Reference to Claims 3, 5 and 8-9
Ho discloses the dryer oven having air exhaust pipe with valve.
Ho does not teach the details of the supplying which is obviously required.
Kifune teaches a circulating air pipe (Fig. 3, 12) with one end connected to the oven drying chamber (Fig. 3, 11) and another end connected to the oven drying assembly; and a fresh air pipe (Fig. 3, 17) with one end connected to the circulating air pipe and another end communicated to outside.
a third air volume regulating valve installed in the fresh air pipe (Fig. 9, 116)
a circulating fan (Fig. 9, 111) installed on the circulating air pipe.
a heating module (Fig. 9, 110) installed on the circulating air pipe.
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate teachings from Kifune into the design of Ho. Doing so, would result in the air circulation and supply system of Kifune being integrated into the design of Ho. Both inventions of Kifune and Ho are for a drying chamber, Kifune teaches a method of improving energy efficiency with circulating a portion of residue heat energy.
In Reference to Claim 4
The combination of Ho and Kifune as applied to Claim 4 teaches the claimed invention except for a second air volume regulating valve installed in the circulating air pipe. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to a flow control valve in pipe system, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art.
In Reference to Claim 6
Ho discloses a pressure difference detection module (Col. 11, Line 10-18, Ho discloses the process is performed with different pressure level. It is obviously that a pressure detection module is required to determine the pressure in the process in order to actively control the process) communicatively connected to the control module, the pressure difference detection module being configured to detect an air pressure in the oven drying chamber to control the second air volume regulating valve (Since the pressure in the chamber is controlled, the operation of discharge valve is obviously controlled in order to keep the pressure at certain level).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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DEMING . WAN
Examiner
Art Unit 3762
/DEMING WAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762 1/16/26