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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I and subspecies A2 and B1 in the reply filed on 05/28/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claims 2-6, 8, and 10-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention and subspecies, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 05/28/2026.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 09/28/2023. These drawings are accepted.
Status of Claims
Claims 1, 7, and 9 are as originally filed and Claims 2-6, 9, and 10-20 are withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION - The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 7, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the apertured magnetic shield blocking application" in line 7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The specification recites in [0025], “the apertured shield blocks the application of the magnetic field.”
The term “close enough to the edge” in Claim 1 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “close enough” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. It is not clear what is meant by “close enough,” since it is unclear if the blocking by the apertured shield contributes to heating the substrate or if the blocking prevents heating the substrate.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 110621092 A, based on the machine translation.
CN 110621092 A (CN ‘092) teaches a battery electrode heating system and method and applying a magnetic field with the electromagnetic heater as represented below in the annotated drawing:
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The electrode of the battery has a coated area [0005]. Magnetic induction heating is used to heat metals without contacting the electrode [0007]. CN ‘092 teaches the limitation of “an apertured magnetic shield” by the magnetic field port 31 and 1131. The exposed metal edge margin is taught by 301. The coated electrode strip is taught by 302. The electromagnetic heater is arranged below the battery electrode, and a temperature sensor is arranged above the battery electrode [0026]. The heating temperature of the “blank area,” interpreted as uncoated, of the battery electrode and the heating temperature of the coated area are controlled with different temperature ranges [0029]. As the battery electrode is moved forward, the substrate cuts magnetic induction lines and forms eddy currents [0028]. The uncoated portion of the electrode generates a high temperature, and the coated area generates a low temperature [0033]. If the coated area is at a high temperature, it will be detrimental to the stability of the coating [0063].
The battery electrode moves forward. The magnetic field is generated by an electromagnetic heating head [0014] by the heating coil [0031]. CN ‘092 anticipates the claimed invention.
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.
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.
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 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.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN ‘092 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Nishiura et al (US 2022/0093326 A1).
CN ‘092 discloses the invention substantially as claimed. However, CN ‘092 does not teach the protective cover is steel or stainless steel as in Claim 7.
Nishiura et al teaches a stationary induction apparatus. Eddy current is produced by leakage flux from electromagnetic steel plates that constitute the magnetic field [0004] such as stainless teel [0026]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use steel plates for the protective cover in CN ‘092 as taught by Nishiura et al, since Nishiura et al teaches steel plates suppress temperature increases [0005].
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN ‘092 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of EP 0 765 704 A2.
CN ‘092 discloses the invention substantially as claimed. However, CN ‘092 does not teach the protective cover is a metal foam as in Claim 9.
EP 0 765 704 A2 (EP ‘704) teaches an un-sintered metal foam or porous metal plate that can be used for magnetic shield packing (page 9, lines 57-59). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the protective cover in CN ‘092 to be made of metal foam, since EP ‘704 teaches the metal foam has a large degree of freedom and a large specific surface area (page 2, lines 28 and 20).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. AU 2007204999, published as WO 2007/081918 A2, teaches an electromagnetically shielded induction heating apparatus for inductively heating a strip or other workpiece [0005]. The electromagnetic shield material can comprise copper, aluminum, mu metal, and mesh [0025]. CN 110730522 A (CN ‘522), based on the machine translation, teaches an electromagnetic heating device for heating battery electrodes.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tima M. McGuthry-Banks whose telephone number is (571)272-2744. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith D. Hendricks can be reached at (571) 272-1401. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Tima M. McGuthry-Banks
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1733
/Tima M. McGuthry-Banks/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733
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