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 without traverse of Group I (claims 1-13) in the reply filed on December 11, 2025 is acknowledged.
Specification
A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the ELECTED invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: METHOD OF APPLYING COPPER NANOPLATES TO A SUBSTRATE--.
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.
Regarding claim 13, the phrase "for example" (line 2) renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1, 6-9 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent 11,246,247 to Choi et al.
Regarding claim 1, Choi et al disclose a method of applying an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shield to a substrate (10, see Fig. 1), comprising: depositing a layer of ink (100) onto the substrate (10), the ink comprising copper (Cu) nanoplates (20) and a solvent (see Col. 2, lines 14-16); evaporating the solvent from the deposited layer (see Col. 2, lines 55-58); and sintering the deposited layer to form an EMI shield (see Col. 2, lines 23-27).
Regarding claim 6, Choi et al disclose depositing the layer comprises:
extruding the ink through a nozzle; and spreading the ink on the substrate (see Col. 6, lines 55-58).
Regarding claims 6 and 13, Choi et al disclose the deposited layer has a thickness of at least 50 µm and the EMI shield has a thickness of at least 2 µm, for example, between 2 µm and 10 µm, inclusive (see Col. 2, lines 33-35).
Regarding claim 8, Choi et al disclose the substrate is flexible (see Col. 7, line 23-30).
Regarding claim 9, Choi et al disclose the sintering uses a forming gas (see Col. 16, lines 36-41).
Regarding claim 12, Choi et al disclose the ink composition is such that the resulting EMI shield has a conductivity of at least 1 MS/m (inherent because Choice disclosed all the processing steps and material as claimed).
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.
Claims 2-5 and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi et al.
Choi et al disclose the solvent (see Col. 6, lines 30-33), ink having nickel (see Col. 5, line 49) and using copper nanoparticles, copper nanowires (see Col. 11, lines 40-42) except for the solvent is water (claim 2), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC, claim 3), a nickel formate solution (claim 4), ethylenediamine (EDA) and water (claim 5) and having copper nanoparticles, copper nanowires, or both (claim 10) and the copper nanoplates make up between 1 and 30 wt %, inclusive. It would have been obvious matter of desire choice to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the ink of the invention by choosing any desire material as a solvent such as is water, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, a nickel formate solution or ethylenediamine (EDA) and to include copper nanoparticles, copper nanowires, since Applicant have not disclose the specific material, solve any stated problem or is for any particular purposes and it appears the invention would perform equally well with the ink of Choi et al.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Prior art references cited for their general teachings of forming an electromagnetic shield on a substrate.
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/DN/ /DONGHAI D NGUYEN/February 21, 2026 Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
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