DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on (3/19/2024), is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claims (1-20) were pending. There was a telephonic restriction requirement on 10/07/2025, in response to which claims 11-20 were elected for prosecution. Therefore claims 11-20 are being examined.
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 19 and 20 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
The limitation relating to precursor source intake with respect to plasma generation system is not clearly defined through drawing and is therefore unclear.
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 11, 13-17 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Jian Zong (US 20190276933).
A coating system comprising (Fig 1):
a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) chamber (101);
a plasma generation system coupled with the PECVD chamber (104); and a
precursor source (107), the precursor source comprising a monomer, the monomer configured to polymerize into a coating (Para 19).
Regarding claim 13 RF may be is applied to electrode 107 capacitively (Para 142).
Regarding claim 14 pulse DC power is applied to plasma generation system 104 (Para 142).
Regarding claim 15 and 17 plasma generation system is remotely but directly connected to PECVD chamber 101.
Regarding claim 16, it is noted that particular monomer is a functional limitation. However, monomer para-xylene is disclosed (Para 145).
Regarding claim 19 and 20 as best understood precursor intake (110) can be one same side as the plasma generation system (104) and can be on opposite side or other plasma generation systems (Fig 1).
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 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.
Claims 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jian Zong (US 20190276933) in view of Dunbar et al (US 20060068519).
Regarding claim 12 Jian Zong does not disclose but Dunbar, discloses for plasma-based deposition, the material to be deposited is vaporized by a carrier gas used to transport the deposition material from its reservoir to the vacuum chamber by bubbling the gas through the liquid deposition material (that is, liquid monomer)" (paragraph 87, lines 1-8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have further comprising bubbling argon through a saturation bottle to move the monomer into the PECVD chamber in the process of ZONG in order to allow for polymerization to cause deposition.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jian Zong (US 20190276933) in view of Zheng et al (US 20180258243).
Regarding claim 18, Zong does not disclose monomer polymerizations by step-growth polymerization. It is noted that Zong discloses an apparatus capable of this functional limitation.
However, Zheng teaches "The invention provides a composition for adhering one or more polymers to a substrate" (abstract, lines 1-2) and "The next step will be the reacting of the composition-coated surface with one or more monomers 52, such as p-xylylene, to thereby graft one or more Parylene polymers at the one or more grafter sites, but not at the one or more diluters 32. This reacting step can be conducted by any known polymerization or graft polymerization techniques, such as but not limited to, free radical chain-growth polymerization, for example, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of Parylene. However, a person skilled in the art would understand that any other manner of polymerization technique such as but not limited to, bulk, solution, suspension, and/or emulsion polymerizations, and free radical chain-growth polymerization, ionic chain- growth polymerization, ring opening polymerization and/or step-growth polymerization, may also be applicable" (paragraph 44)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of this application to have monomer polymerizes by step-growth polymerization in Zong as being well known.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Lang et al (US 6709715) discloses, a coating system (Fig 1); a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) chamber (60); a plasma generation system coupled with the PECVD chamber (30 A); and a precursor source (107), the precursor source comprising a monomer, the monomer configured to polymerize into a coating (Fig 4).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAM N KACKAR whose telephone number is (571)272-1436. The examiner can normally be reached 09:00 AM-05:00 PM.
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RAM N. KACKAR
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1716
/RAM N KACKAR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1716
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