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.
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, 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito et al. (JPH01124727 A) in view of Tachibana (JP 2008267858 A).
Saito et al. discloses an electrode sheet drying device that dries an electrode sheet 13 transferred along a transfer path 12 (Fig. 1), comprising: an infrared heater 10 disposed on one side of the electrode sheet 13 (Fig. 1, heater 10 within conveyor 12, abstract); and a radiation temperature sensor 15, 16 disposed on the other side of the electrode sheet 13 (Fig. 1), wherein the radiation temperature sensor 15, 16 is disposed to be able to measure a temperature of a back surface of the electrode sheet 13 corresponding to a back side of a front surface portion of the electrode sheet that is closest to the infrared heater 10 (Fig. 1, surface of substrate 13 facing to the radiation thermometer 15, 16 is considered as a back surface). However, Saito et al. does not disclose the radiation temperature sensor is configured such that a peak wavelength of infrared light radiated to a surface of the electrode sheet by the infrared heater is not included in a detectable wavelength range of the infrared light detected by the radiation temperature sensor. Tachibana discloses a sheet-like film ( drying device translation, page 3, TECH-SOLUTION, lines 1-2) comprising an infrared heater 12a and a radiation temperature sensor 13a (Fig. 1), wherein the radiation temperature sensor is configured such that a peak wavelength of infrared light radiated to a surface of the film by the infrared heater is not included in a detectable wavelength range of the infrared light detected by the radiation temperature sensor (translation, page 4, 1st paragraph, infrared heating apparatus having a peak wavelength of 1.5 to 3.0 µm, radiation temperature sensor having a measurement wavelength of 8 to 14 µm). Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the drying device of Saito et al. to configure the radiation temperature sensor such that a peak wavelength of infrared light radiated to a surface of the electrode sheet by the infrared heater is not included in a detectable wavelength range of the infrared light detected by the radiation temperature sensor as taught by Tachibana in order to reduce the influence of infrared light from the infrared heater and thus improve the temperature measurement accuracy.
Regarding claim 2, Saito et al. discloses wherein the infrared heater 10 and the radiation temperature sensor 16 are disposed on the same vertical line that is perpendicular to the surface of the electrode sheet (Fig. 1, while conveyor 12 moves the thermometer 16 under the infrared heater 10).
Regarding claim 3, Tachibana discloses wherein the peak wavelength of the infrared light radiated from the infrared heater is 4 µm or less, and the detectable wavelength range of the infrared light detected by the radiation temperature sensor is 8 µm to 14 µm (Tachibana, translation, page 4, 1st paragraph, infrared heating apparatus having a peak wavelength of 1.5 to 3.0 µm, radiation temperature sensor having a measurement wavelength of 8 to 14 µm)..
Regard claim 10, the limitations recited in claim 10 are viewed as functional or intended use limitations. As MPEP 2114 states, “[a] claim containing a “recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus” if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim”. In this case, the limitations above do not add any structural limitations to the claim and the drying device of Saito et al. as modified by Tachibana discloses all the structural limitations. Additionally while not disclosed, the radiation temperature sensor of Saito et al. is capable of being used for detecting various temperatures including a temperature of a structure around the radiation temperature sensor that affects a value measured by the radiation temperature sensor and the temperature of the back surface of the electrode sheet corresponding to the back side of the front surface portion of the electrode sheet that is the closest to the infrared heater is capable of being estimated based on detected values of the various temperatures including the temperature of the structure around the radiation temperature sensor.
Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito et al. (JPH01124727 A) in view of Tachibana (JP 2008267858 A) as applied to claim 1 as above, and further in view of Takashi (JPH0630132 U).
The electrode sheet drying device of Saito et al. as modified by Tachibana as above includes all that is recited in claims 4-5 except for wherein the infrared heater includes a hollow cylindrical quartz glass tube that extends in a width direction of the electrode sheet, and a filament disposed in the quartz glass tube to radiate infrared light, a window member in a flat plate shape or a curved shape is disposed between the infrared heater and the electrode sheet to cut infrared light with a wavelength longer than the peak wavelength of the infrared light radiated from the infrared heater, and the window member extends for a certain width in a transfer direction of the electrode sheet and an opposite direction from the infrared heater. Takashi discloses an infrared heater 18 includes a hollow cylindrical quartz glass tube 19 that extends in a width direction of the material 6 to be heated, and a filament 20 disposed in the quartz glass tube 19 to radiate infrared light, a window member 12 in a flat plate shape or a curved shape is disposed between the infrared heater 18 and the material 6 to cut infrared light with a wavelength longer than the peak wavelength of the infrared light radiated from the infrared heater 18, and the window member 12 extends for a certain width in a transfer direction of the material 6 and an opposite direction from the infrared heater 18 (Figs. 1-2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the drying device of Saito et al. to include infrared heater includes a hollow cylindrical quartz glass tube that extends in a width direction of the electrode sheet, and a filament disposed in the quartz glass tube to radiate infrared light, a window member in a flat plate shape or a curved shape is disposed between the infrared heater and the electrode sheet to cut infrared light with a wavelength longer than the peak wavelength of the infrared light radiated from the infrared heater, and the window member extends for a certain width in a transfer direction of the electrode sheet and an opposite direction from the infrared heater as taught by Takashi in order to efficiently heat the electrode sheet. As for the limitations, “a window member … to cut infrared light with a wavelength longer than the peak wavelength of the infrared light radiated from the infrared heater” in claim 4, it is viewed as functional or intended use limitations. As MPEP 2114 states, “[a] claim containing a “recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus” if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim”. In this case, the limitation above does not add any structural limitations to the claim and the drying device of Saito as modified by Tachibana and Takashi discloses all the structural limitations. Since there is no structural difference between the claimed window and the window of Takashi, therefore the window of Takashi would perform the claimed function of cut infrared light with a wavelength longer than the peak wavelength of the infrared light radiated from the infrared heater as well. Regarding claim 5, Saito discloses an air blowing device 11 that blows dry air along the surface of the electrode sheet 13 and is capable of being used to cool the window member with the dry air.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito et al. (JPH01124727 A) in view of Tachibana (JP 2008267858 A) as applied to claim 1 as above, and further in view of Okado (JPS 63319152 A).
Regarding claim 9, Saito et al. further discloses wherein a plurality of infrared heaters 10 is disposed on both sides of the electrode sheet 13 at intervals along the transfer path for the electrode sheet (Fig. 1). However, Saito et al. does not disclose infrared heaters disposed on one side of the electrode sheet are disposed between infrared heaters disposed on the other side of the electrode sheet in a transfer direction of the electrode sheet. Okado discloses a drying device comprising a plurality of infrared heaters 7 disposed on both sides of the sheet P at intervals along the transfer path for the sheet (Fig. 1). The infrared heaters 7 disposed on one side of the sheet are disposed between infrared heaters 7 disposed on the other side of the sheet in a transfer direction of the sheet (Fig. 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to further modify the drying device of Saito to dispose infrared heaters disposed on one side of the electrode sheet between infrared heaters disposed on the other side of the electrode sheet in a transfer direction of the electrode sheet as taught by Okado in order to uniformly heat the electrode sheet.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-8 are 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the primary reason for allowance of claims 6-8 is the inclusion of the limitations “the radiation temperature sensor is disposed in a housing that includes a peripheral wall that does not transmit the infrared light, and the housing has an opening that allows infrared light radiated from the back surface of the electrode sheet corresponding to the back side of the front surface portion of the electrode sheet that is the closest to the infrared heater to be incident on the radiation temperature sensor” in claim 6 in combination with the remaining claimed elements.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Takashi (JPH0630132 U) discloses an infrared heater 18 includes a hollow cylindrical quartz glass tube 19 that extends in a width direction of the material 6 to be heated, and a filament 20 disposed in the quartz glass tube 19 to radiate infrared light, a window member 12 in a flat plate shape or a curved shape is disposed between the infrared heater 18 and the material 6.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSICA J YUEN whose telephone number is (571)272-4878. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
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/Jessica Yuen/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3762
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