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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-13 withdrawn
Claims 14-20 elected
Claim 14 pending
Claims 15-20 allowed
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 14-20 in the reply filed on 04/16/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Azuma (JP 2007/083225 A) in view of Bradley (US 3,339,526).
Consider Claim 14, Azuma teaches the coating process using a coating device (Figs 2, 10-13, [0057-0071]) comprising: a coating liquid holding part (holder 70) provided with an upper opening portion and a lower opening portion and holding a coating liquid that is supplied from a coating liquid supply part (supply port 76); and an annular body (upper inner coating liquid holder 75) that is disposed inside the coating liquid holding part, through which a cylindrical body (500) penetrating the upper opening portion and the lower opening portion of the coating liquid holding part penetrates (Fig 13), and in which the coating liquid held by the coating liquid holding part (70) flows in from an upper side and flows out from a lower side with a relative movement to the cylindrical body, the annular body being installed (with the holder 70) so as to be relatively displaceable along an installation surface that intersects a direction of the relative movement with respect to the coating liquid holding part, were Fig 13 shows the directions the cylindrical body (500) moving downward and upward relative to the coating solution holder intersecting the installation in [0031] for the horizontally moveable holder.
Azuma does not teach the solvent vapor concentration.
However, Bradley is in the prior art of dip coating process (Col. 1, lines 10-15), teaches the process of dipping a cylindrical shape substrate (C) into coating system (figure 1) that holds the solvent vapor concentration in zone (9) (fig 1), with a determined value equal to or higher than a determined value until a determined range of an upper portion in an axial direction of the base material passes through the region (Col. 1, lines 55-70).
A person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention would combine Azuma with Bradley to have a solvent vapor with a determined concentration value, as the presence of the vapor, the drying out of the coating cannot occur in this zone and thorough drainage can be achieved with result an even thickness of coating (Col. 2, lines 43-46).
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding Claims 15-17;
None of the prior arts of records, suggest or discloses the claims coating process for forming photoreceptor including; applying a coating liquid to an outer peripheral surface of a base material having a cylindrical shape by using the coating device; where the applying the coating liquid to the base material by causing the base material to penetrate the coating liquid holding part and relatively moving the base material upward in the up-down direction with respect to the coating liquid holding part, wherein in the applying of the coating liquid to the base material, the coating liquid is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the base material in a state where the solvent vapor concentration of the solvent contained in the coating liquid in the region determined from the liquid level in the coating liquid holding part is held at the value equal to or higher than the determined value until the determined range of the upper portion in the axial direction of the base material passes through the region; and
the vapor concentration holding part holds the solvent vapor concentration in the region at 5000 ppm or higher until the determined range of the upper portion in the axial direction of the base material passes through the region, as claimed.
Regarding Claims 18-20;
None of the prior arts of records, suggest or discloses the claims coating process for forming photoreceptor including; applying a coating liquid to an outer peripheral surface of a base material having a cylindrical shape by using the coating device; where the applying the coating liquid to the base material by causing the base material to penetrate the coating liquid holding part and relatively moving the base material upward in the up-down direction with respect to the coating liquid holding part, wherein in the applying of the coating liquid to the base material, the coating liquid is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the base material in a state where the solvent vapor concentration of the solvent contained in the coating liquid in the region determined from the liquid level in the coating liquid holding part is held at the value equal to or higher than the determined value until the determined range of the upper portion in the axial direction of the base material passes through the region; and
wherein the vapor concentration holding part includes a coating liquid supply part that supplies the coating liquid to the coating liquid holding part, a coating liquid receiving part that is provided in the container and receives the coating liquid flowing down from the coating liquid holding part, a sealing unit that seals portions other than the opening of the container, and a releasing unit that releases the sealing, as claimed.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mohammad Mayy whose telephone number is (571)272-9983. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 11:00AM-7:00PM EST.
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, Gordon Baldwin can be reached at 571-272-5166. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Mohammad Mayy/
Art Unit 1718
/GORDON BALDWIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1718
Prosecution Insights