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 .
Status of Application
Claims 1-10 are pending. Claims 6-9 are withdrawn. Claims 1-5 and 10 are presented for examination.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-5 and 10 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
1. Claims 1-5 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.
Claims 1 and 5 recite an electrode plate inspection method and recites detecting a dark portion as a depression and then determining that the plate is defective based on the detected depression. This language is indefinite as it would indicate that all electrode plates inspected would be found as defective and this is also not consistent with the language of claim 3 which indicates that the plate is only defective if the number of detected dark portions is a predetermined number or more. Claims 1 and 5 are indefinite as the claimed inspection process necessarily finds a depression and then necessarily determines the plate is defective based on that depression and there is no chance for a plate to be found not defective. Claims 2-4 and 10 depend from claim 1 and are indefinite for the same reasons. The Examiner suggests amending claims 1 and 5 to recite “determining that the electrode plate is either good or defective based on results from the inspection method”.
Allowable Subject Matter
2. Claims 1-5 and 10 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record fails to teach or suggest dividing the specular reflection, obtaining a correction value for each of a plurality of regions in the width direction, adding the correction value to each of the plurality of regions and then detecting a dark portion after addition of the correction value. Therefore, claims 1-5 and 10 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection outlined above.
Conclusion
Claims 1-10 are pending.
Claims 6-9 are withdrawn.
Claims 1-5 and 10 are rejected.
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 ROBERT S WALTERS JR whose telephone number is (571)270-5351. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8-5.
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/ROBERT S WALTERS JR/
August 27, 2026Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1717
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