DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55 for Application No. KR10-2023-0140344 filed on 10/19/2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references cited in the information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 04/17/2024 and 03/11/2025 have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) 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.
Claim 15 is 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 15 recites “obtaining a thickness measured for the sheet and a thickness measured for an electrode plate having a substrate” in lines 3-4. It is unclear what Applicant means by the “sheet”, as the thickness measured for the sheet is not used elsewhere in the claim 15. It is also unclear what the difference is between the “sheet” and the “electrode plate having a substrate”. The “sheet” described in many ways in the specification, where the “electrode plate having a substrate” is also a sheet.
Appropriate clarification through claim amendment is respectfully requested. For purposes of examination, the “sheet” and the “electrode plate having a substrate” are interpreted as being one of the same.
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 1-5, 8-10, 13 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TERASAWA et al. (US 2021/0394246 A1) (“Terasawa”), in view of MATSUMOTO et al. (JP 2014145724 A) (“Matsumoto”). Terasawa is a reference cited in the information disclosure statement submitted on 03/11/2025.
Regarding independent claim 1, Terasawa teaches:
A method for controlling a sheet thickness in an electrode plate manufacturing process, the method comprising: (Terasawa: [0001] “The present invention relates to a roll press device for rolling an electrode plate of a secondary battery and a control device.”)
obtaining a thickness measured for each of a plurality of portions of a sheet rolled through a plurality of rollers; (Terasawa: [0027] “FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the roll press device 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. An unwinder 13 is installed on the entry side of the pair of the first and second pressure rollers 11 and 12, and a winder 14 is installed on the exit side. The unwinder 13 unwinds the sheet-like electrode plate 2 wound in a coil shape toward the pair of the first and second pressure rollers 11 and 12. The winder 14 winds up the electrode plate 2 compressed by the pair of the first and second pressure rollers 11 and 12.”) (Terasawa: [0118] “a thickness meter (70) that is provided on the exit side of the first and second pressure rollers (11) and (12) and that detects the thickness of the electrode plate (2) of the secondary battery at three or more points in the width direction of the electrode plate (2)”) [The three or more points in the width direction reads on “a plurality of portions”. The sheet-like electrode plate 2 reads on “a sheet”. See the rollers as illustrated in FIG. 2.]
calculating, based on the obtained thickness for each of the plurality of portions, a dispersion for the sheet thickness; (Terasawa: [0121] “the calculation unit (814-816) calculates three feature amounts: the deviation between a thickness measurement value at the central point among the three or more points and the thickness target value, the quadratic component of the thickness profile of the electrode plate (2), and the linear component of the thickness profile of the electrode plate (2), and adaptively changes the respective pressure setting values of the first press mechanism (41), the second press mechanism (42), the first bend mechanism (51), and the second bend mechanism (52) based on the three feature amounts. This allows for the improvement in the accuracy of thickness control on the electrode plate (2) by the roll press device (1).”) [The deviation reads on “a dispersion for the sheet thickness”.]
determining, based on the calculated dispersion, … information of at least one target roller from the plurality of rollers; and (Terasawa: [0121] as discussed above) (Terasawa: [0024] “A roll gap between the first pressure roller 11 and the second pressure roller 12 is controlled by pressure change in the first press mechanism 41 and/or the second bend mechanism 52 caused by a pressure control unit 819 (see FIG. 3) described later. The roll deflection also changes as the roll gap changes. The amount of roll deflection can be corrected by pressure change in the first bend mechanism 51 and/or the second bend mechanism 52 caused by the pressure control unit 819. At that time, the roll gap also changes, which has the opposite effect of the pressure change caused by the first press mechanism 41 and/or the second bend mechanism 52.”) [Changing the pressure setting values that leads to roll gap changes based on the deviation read on “determining, based on the calculated dispersion, … information”. The pressure rollers read on “at least one target roller”.]
controlling the at least one target roller to be moved based on the determined … information. (Terasawa: [0024] as discussed above) [The changing the roll gap between the first pressure roller 11 and the second pressure roller 12 reads on “to be moved …”.]
Terasawa does not expressly teach: determining, based on the calculated dispersion, movement information of at least one target roller from the plurality of rollers; and controlling the at least one target roller to be moved based on the determined movement information.
Matsumoto teaches:
determining, based on the calculated dispersion, movement information of at least one target roller from the plurality of rollers; and controlling the at least one target roller to be moved based on the determined movement information. (Matsumoto: [0018] “The sheet thickness adjusting apparatus according to the present invention is measured by the sheet thickness measuring apparatus described above, a press roller pair disposed upstream of the upstream displacement roller to adjust the thickness of the sheet-like member, and the displacement amount measuring unit When the displacement amount of the displacement roller for measurement is larger than a predetermined upper limit threshold, the nip width of the press roller pair is reduced, and the displacement amount of the displacement roller for measurement measured by the displacement amount measurement unit is lower than a predetermined lower threshold And a press roller control unit that enlarges the nip width of the press roller pair when the distance is too small.”) (Matsumoto: [0052] “The press roller 102 is movable in a direction (up and down direction in FIG. 8) approaching or separating from the opposing roller 103 by a moving mechanism including a drive source (not shown) (see arrow A4). Therefore, in the press apparatus 100, by moving the press roller 102, the distance between the outer circumferential surface 103a of the opposing roller 103 and the pressing surface 102a (hereinafter referred to as "nip width") can be changed. If the press roller 102 is moved upward in FIG. 8 to reduce the nip width, the force with which the press roller 102 presses the sheet electrode 7 against the opposing roller 103 can be strengthened. Conversely, if the press roller 102 is moved downward in FIG. 8 to increase the nip width, the force with which the press roller 102 presses the sheet electrode 7 against the opposing roller 103 can be weakened. By adjusting the nip width of the press roller pair 101, the thickness of the sheet electrode 7 (specifically, the thickness of the coated layer 3) is adjusted.”) (Matsumoto: [0057] “Further, an electric motor 30, a speaker 96, and a press roller control unit 105 are connected to the CPU 90 via an I / O board 95. The press roller control unit 105 includes a CPU, a memory, and the like to control the operation of the above-described press device 100. The speaker 96 is for notifying that it is an error at the time of an error of the sheet thickness measuring device 10 described later.”) [The reducing or increasing amount of the nip width of the press roller pair reads on “movement information”.]
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Terasawa and Matsumoto before them, to modify pressure setting values for the press rollers, to incorporate pressure roller movement information to reduce or increase the amount of the nip width between the press rollers.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to do this modification because it would allow for a sheet thickness control based on the nip width between the two press rollers in addition to the pressure. (Matsumoto: [0052])
Regarding claim 2, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claim 1. Matsumoto further teaches:
wherein: the movement information includes an amount of movement and a direction of movement of the at least one target roller, and controlling the at least one target roller to be moved includes controlling the at least one target roller to be moved by the amount of movement in the direction of movement that are included in the movement information. (Matsumoto: [0052] as discussed in claim 1) [The movable press roller 102 reads on “the at least one target roller”. The up or down direction and the distance to reduce or increase the nip width reads on “the amount of movement in the direction of movement …”.]
The motivation to combine Terasawa and Matsumoto as described in claim 1 is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 3, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claims 1-2. Matsumoto further teaches:
wherein determining the movement information includes: determining the direction of movement of the at least one target roller to be a first direction in response to a case where the calculated dispersion falls in a first range, and determining the direction of movement of the at least one target roller to be a second direction in response to a case where the calculated dispersion falls in a second range. (Matsumoto: [0018] as discussed in claim 1) [The displacement amount being larger than a predetermined upper limit threshold reads on “… falls in a first range”, and the direction to reduce the nip width reads on “a first direction”. The displacement amount being lower than a predetermined lower threshold reads on “… falls in a second range”, and the direction to increase the nip width reads on “a second direction”.]
The motivation to combine Terasawa and Matsumoto as described in claim 1 is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 4, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claims 1-3. Matsumoto further teaches:
wherein the first direction is a direction toward a position where a fixed roller among the plurality of rollers is located, and the second direction is a direction away from the position where the fixed roller is located. (Matsumoto: [0018] and [0052] as discussed in claim 1) [The opposing roller 103 reads on “a fixed roller”. The direction to reduce the nip width reads on “a direction toward a position where a fixed roller … is located”, and the direction to increase the nip width reads on “a direction away from the position where the fixed roller is located”.]
The motivation to combine Terasawa and Matsumoto as described in claim 1 is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 5, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claim 1. Matsumoto further teaches:
determining at least one roller of the plurality of rollers as the at least one target roller, such that the at least one roller excludes a fixed roller among the plurality of rollers. (Matsumoto: [0018] and [0052] as discussed in claim 1) [The movable press roller 102 reads on “the at least one target roller”, and the opposing roller 103 reads on “a fixed roller”.]
The motivation to combine Terasawa and Matsumoto as described in claim 1 is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 8, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claim 1. Terasawa further teaches:
after controlling the at least one target roller to be moved: re-obtaining a thickness measured for each of the plurality of portions of the sheet rolled through the plurality of rollers; recalculating, based on the re-obtained thickness for each of the plurality of portions, a dispersion for the sheet thickness; identifying a pair of rollers that have the most influence on generating a difference in thickness between a first portion of the sheet and a second portion of the sheet in response to a case where the dispersion falls outside a threshold range; and controlling movement of at least one of the identified pair of rollers. (Terasawa: [0024] as discussed in claim 1) (Terasawa: Abstract “In a roll press device, a thickness meter is provided on the exit side of first and second pressure rollers and detects the thickness of an electrode plate of a secondary battery at three or more points in the width direction of the electrode plate. From thickness measurement values at the three or more points and a thickness target value, a calculation unit calculates three feature amounts: the deviation between a thickness measurement value at the central point among the three or more points and the thickness target value, the quadratic component of the thickness profile of the electrode plate, and the linear component of the thickness profile of the electrode plate, and adaptively changes the respective pressure setting values of the first press mechanism, the second press mechanism, the first bend mechanism, and the second bend mechanism based on the three feature amounts.”) (Terasawa: [0031] “The thickness meter 70 may extract the thicknesses on the driving side, the thickness at the central part, and the thickness on the operating side by causing one thickness detection sensor to scan the electrode plate 2 in the width direction so as to continuously detect the thickness of the electrode plate 2.”) (Terasawa: [0085] “Further, in the above method, the driving side thickness, the operating side thickness, and the target thickness are compared, and when the threshold value is exceeded, the position of the press cylinder is reset so as to correct this, and the pressure of the bend cylinder is calculated and set in order to maintain the deflection correction amount that changes due to the position change of the press cylinder. When the threshold is not exceeded, the central part thickness is compared with the threshold value, and when the threshold is exceeded, only the pressure of the bend cylinder is changed on the assumption that the roll deformation of the central part is large, and the position of the press cylinder is not changed. These control flows are repeatedly executed.”) [The continuous measurements and dynamic pressure setting changes read on “recalculating …”. Using the pressure roller pair 11 and 12 to change pressure based on the threshold reads on “identifying a pair of rollers that have the most influence”.]
Regarding claim 9, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claims 1 and 8. Terasawa further teaches:
determining the at least one target roller to include at least one of the identified pair of rollers. (Terasawa: [0024] as discussed in claim 1) [The pressure roller 11 and the pressure roller 12 reads on “the at least one of the identified pair of rollers”.]
Regarding claim 10, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claims 1 and 8-9. Matsumoto further teaches:
wherein determining the at least one target roller includes determining the at least one target roller to include at least one roller located in a second direction relative to a space between the identified pair of rollers. (Matsumoto: [0052] as discussed in claim 1) [The movable press roller 102 reads on “at least one roller located in a second direction …”, and the gap between the rollers reads on “a space …”.]
The motivation to combine Terasawa and Matsumoto as described in claim 1 is incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 13, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claim 1. Terasawa further teaches:
wherein calculating the dispersion for the sheet thickness includes: calculating an average thickness of the obtained thicknesses of the plurality of portions; calculating a difference in thickness between a first portion and a second portion among the obtained thicknesses of the plurality of portions; and calculating the dispersion for the sheet thickness based on the calculated average thickness, the difference in thickness, and a predetermined target thickness. (Terasawa: [0052] “The feature amount calculation unit 814 calculates three deviation feature amounts defined by the following (Equation 1) to (Equation 3) as the thickness feature amounts to be controlled based on the driving side thickness measurement value T.sub.m, the center thickness measurement value T.sub.c, the operating side thickness measurement value T.sub.s, and the thickness target value T.sub.t. A first feature amount T.sub.t-c is defined by the difference between the thickness target value T.sub.t and the center thickness measurement value T.sub.c. A second feature amount T.sub.drop is defined by the difference between the center thickness measurement value T.sub.c and the average value of the driving side thickness measurement value T.sub.m and the operating side thickness measurement value T.sub.s. That is, the second feature amount T.sub.drop is defined by the sum of a value obtained by subtracting the driving side thickness measurement value T.sub.m from the center thickness measurement value T.sub.c and a value obtained by subtracting the operating side thickness measurement value T.sub.s from the center thickness measurement value T.sub.c. A third feature amount T.sub.m-s is defined by the difference between the driving side thickness measurement value T.sub.m and the operating side thickness measurement value T.sub.s.”) (Terasawa: [0053] “When the first feature amount T.sub.t-c is equal to 0, the second feature amount T.sub.drop is equal to 0, and the third feature amount T.sub.m-s is equal to 0, the driving side thickness measurement value T.sub.m is equal to the thickness target value T.sub.t, the center thickness measurement value T.sub.c is equal to the thickness target value T.sub.t, and the operating side measurement value T.sub.s is equal to the target thickness value T.sub.t. The second feature amount T.sub.drop represents a quadratic component of the thickness profile (an upwardly convex parabolic shape when the numerical value is large). The third feature amount T.sub.m-s represents a linear component of the thickness profile (linear inclination). The second feature amount T.sub.drop being equal to 0 and the third feature amount T.sub.m-s being equal to 0 mean that the thickness of the electrode plate 2 is flat in the width direction.”) [The thickness target value reads on “a predetermined target thickness”.]
Regarding claim 16, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claim 1. Matsumoto further teaches:
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores therein instructions that, if executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as claimed in claim 1. (Matsumoto: [0057] as discussed in claim 1)
The motivation to combine Terasawa and Matsumoto as described in claim 1 is incorporated herein.
Regarding independent claim 17:
The claim recites similar limitations as corresponding claim 1 and is rejected using the same teachings and rationale.
Regarding claim 18, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claim 17.
The claim recites similar limitations as corresponding claim 2 and is rejected using the same teachings and rationale.
Regarding claim 19, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claims 17-18.
The claim recites similar limitations as corresponding claim 3 and is rejected using the same teachings and rationale.
Regarding claim 20, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claim 17.
The claim recites similar limitations as corresponding claim 13 and is rejected using the same teachings and rationale.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Terasawa, in view of Matsumoto, further in view of DERSCH et al. (EP 3996164 A1) (“Dersch”). Dersch is a reference cited in the information disclosure statement submitted on 03/11/2025.
Regarding claim 6, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claims 1 and 5. Terasawa and Matsumoto do not expressly teach the recitations of claim 6.
Dersch teaches:
wherein: the at least one roller determined as the at least one target roller includes a first roller spaced apart from the fixed roller by a first distance and a second roller spaced apart from the fixed roller by a second distance that is greater than the first distance, and the controlling the at least one target roller to be moved includes controlling the first roller to be moved first, and controlling the second roller to be moved subsequently based on the determined movement information. (Dersch: FIG. 1) (Dersch: Abstract “The invention relates to a method for processing an electrode strip (4) using a calender (2) which has a first roll (6), a second roll (8) and a third roll (10), the first roll (6) , the second roll (8) and the third roll (10) are arranged one above the other, and wherein for a first calendering process a first gap (12) between the first roll (6) and the second roll (8) and for a second calendering process a second nip (14) is formed between the second roll (8) and the third roll (10). According to the method, during the first calendering process, the electrode band (4) is compressed according to a specified target thickness (d<sub>Soll</sub>), and the second gap (14) is set in such a way that an unevenness in the thickness of the electrode band (4 ) is compensated. The invention also relates to such a calender (2).”) [The first roller (10) reads on “the fixed roller”, the second roller (8) reads on “a first roller”, and the third roller (10) reads on “a second roller”. The forming the first gap and the second gap reads on “… the first roller to be moved first” and “… the second roller to be moved subsequently”, respectively.]
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Terasawa, Matsumoto and Dersch before them, to modify the roll press system for rolling an electrode plate, to incorporate using a calender with multiple rolls.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to do this modification because it would allow for a graduated thickness reduction through a sequence of calendering. (Dersch: Abstract)
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Terasawa, in view of Matsumoto, further in view of MASHIMO et al. (US 2022/0293904 A1) (“Mashimo”). Mashimo is a reference cited in the information disclosure statement submitted on 04/17/2024. Examiner submitted
Regarding claim 7, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claims 1 and 5. Terasawa and Matsumoto do not expressly teach the recitations of claim 7.
Mashimo teaches:
wherein: the at least one roller determined as the at least one target roller includes a first roller spaced apart from the fixed roller by a first distance and a second roller spaced apart from the fixed roller by a second distance that is greater than the first distance, and (Mashimo: [0061] “In the film forming part 120, the outer circumferential surface of the supply roller 121 and the outer circumferential surface of the first transfer roller 122 face each other, and this pair of the supply roller 121 and the first transfer roller 122 rotate in directions opposite to each other as indicated by the arrows as shown in FIG. 2. In addition, the supply roller 121 and the first transfer roller 122 have a gap G1 with a predetermined width (thickness) according to a desired thickness of the coating film 32 formed on the electrode current collector 12, and it is possible to control the thickness of the coating film 32 composed of the electrode material 30 to be adhered to the surface of the first transfer roller 122 according to the size of the gap G1. In addition, by adjusting the size of the gap G1, it is possible to adjust a force with which the electrode material 30 that passes between the supply roller 121 and the first transfer roller 122 is compressed. Therefore, by making the gap size relatively large, it is possible to form a film when the gas phase of the electrode material 30 (specifically, each agglomerated particle) is maintained.”) (Mashimo: [0063] “The backup roller 125 has a function of transporting the electrode current collector 12 to the third transfer roller 124. The third transfer roller 124 and the backup roller 125 rotate in directions opposite to each other as indicated by the arrows shown in FIG. 2. In addition, the fourth gap G4 with a predetermined width (thickness) is provided between the third transfer roller 124 and the backup roller 125, and it is possible to control the thickness of the coating film 32 formed on the electrode current collector 12 depending on the size of the gap G4.”) [The backup roller 125 reads on “the fixed roller”, the any one of the rollers 124, 123 and 122 reads on “a first roller”, and any one of the rollers 123, 122 and 121, respectively, reads on “a second roller”.]
controlling the at least one target roller to be moved includes controlling the first roller and the second roller to be moved together based on the determined movement information. (Mashimo: [0062] “For the electrode material 30 compressed by the supply roller 121 and the first transfer roller 122, the second transfer roller 123 and the third transfer roller 124 form a film while adjusting the gas phase state of the electrode material 30. The second transfer roller 123 and the third transfer roller 124 rotate in directions opposite to each other as indicated by the arrows shown in FIG. 2. In addition, the second gap G2 is provided between the first transfer roller 122 and the second transfer roller 123, the third gap G3 is provided between the second transfer roller 123 and the third transfer roller 124, and when the gaps G2 and G3 are adjusted, the coating film 32 having a desired thickness and in a gas phase state can be produced.”) [Adjusting the gaps G2 and G3 reads on “… to be moved together …”.]
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Terasawa, Matsumoto and Mashimo before them, to modify the roll press system for rolling an electrode plate, to incorporate using multiple rolls to reduce thickness of the electrode plate.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to do this modification because it would allow for a graduated thickness reduction through a sequence of thickness reduction. (Mashimo: [0061]-[0062])
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Terasawa, in view of Matsumoto, further in view of ICHIKAWA (US 2021/0025687 A1) (“Ichikawa”).
Regarding claim 11, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claim 1. Terasawa and Matsumoto do not expressly teach the recitations of claim 11.
Ichikawa teaches:
wherein obtaining the thickness measured for each of the plurality of portions of the sheet includes: measuring a third distance between a distance measurement sensor and a roller serving as a distance measurement target through the distance measurement sensor; measuring a fourth distance between the distance measurement sensor and a particular portion of the sheet placed on a surface of the roller serving as the distance measurement target through the distance measurement sensor; and obtaining a thickness of the particular portion of the sheet based on the third distance and the fourth distance. (Ichikawa: FIG. 2) (Ichikawa: [0080] “Then, data of the magnetic sensor 32 and data of the optical sensor 33 stored in the memory 42 are stored in the memory in association with the position of the surface of the backup roll 12.”) (Ichikawa: [0081] “As above, the movement of the thickness sensor 16 above the backup roll 12 in the measurement setup operation is accurately tracked or monitored.”) (Ichikawa: [0082] “The stored data corresponds to the thickness t of the sheet S expressed by the aforementioned formula 1) (Lm−Lo=t).”) [The Lm, as illustrated in FIG. 2, reads on “a third distance”, and the Lo, as illustrated in FIG. 2, reads on “a fourth distance”. The thickness t reads on “a thickness of the particular portion of the sheet”.]
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Terasawa, Matsumoto and Ichikawa before them, to modify measuring of thickness of a sheet in a roll press process, to incorporate using a difference of the distance between the sensor and the surface of the sheet and the distance between the sensor and the roll.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to do this modification because it would allow for increasing measurement density without impairing measurement accuracy over the entirety of the sheet. (Ichikawa: [0010])
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Terasawa, in view of Matsumoto, further in view of KATO et al. (US 2014/0307262 A1) (“Kato”).
Regarding claim 12, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claim 1. Terasawa and Matsumoto do not expressly teach the recitations of claim 12.
Kato teaches:
wherein obtaining the thickness measured for each of the plurality of portions of the sheet includes: measuring a fifth distance between a distance measurement sensor and a substrate serving as a distance measurement target through the distance measurement sensor; measuring a sixth distance between the distance measurement sensor and a particular portion of the sheet placed on a surface of the substrate through the distance measurement sensor; and obtaining a thickness of the particular portion of the sheet based on the fifth distance and the sixth distance. (Kato: FIG. 2) (Kato: [0011] “where .lamda. is the wavelength of measurement light, t is time, R.sub.r(.lamda.) is the intensity of the light reflected on the surface of the substrate, .alpha..sub.1 is the coefficient corresponding to the intensity of the light reflected on the surface of the substrate and the intensity of the light reflected on the surface of the resist layer, .alpha..sub.2 is the coefficient corresponding to the intensity of the interference light, T(t) is the layer thickness of the resist layer at time t, and n(.lamda.) is the refractive index of the material of the resist layer at the wavelength .lamda.. Among these parameters, .alpha..sub.1 and .alpha..sub.2 change depending on the surface state of the resist layer or the layer thickness T(t) of the resist layer. R.sub.r(.lamda.) is obtained in advance by measuring the light reflected on the surface of the substrate with no resist layer thereon.”) (Kato: [0046] “A light 62 reflected on the surface of the resist layer 52, and a light 61 passing through the resist layer 52 and reflected on the surface of the substrate 51 pass through the collimator lens 24 in the direction opposite to the previous direction of the light cast onto the sample 50, enter the optical fiber 23, pass through the fiber coupler 22, and reach the light-dispersing unit 30. While passing through the optical fiber 23, the lights 61 and 62 interfere with each other, to be interference light before reaching the light-dispersing unit 30.”) ([0047] “In the light-dispersing unit 30, the interference light is wavelength-dispersed by a diffraction grating 31, and the components of light having different wavelengths are simultaneously detected by a CCD line sensor 32. The CCD line sensor 32 produces detection signals respectively corresponding to the different wavelengths and noises are eliminated from the signals by a noise filter (not shown), and the obtained signals are sent to the data processor 40.”) ([0048] “The data processor 40 includes, as its functional blocks, a memory 41, a spectrum obtaining section 42, an index assigning section 43, a layer thickness wide-range estimating section 44, an index selector 45, a layer thickness wide-range estimation result determining section 46, and a layer thickness determining section 47. The data processor 40 is actually a personal computer with a previously-installed data processing software program. Executing this program enables the computer to function as the data processor 40. An input unit 48 and a display unit 49 are also connected to the computer.”) [The layer thickness of the resist layer reads on “a thickness”. The distance of the light 61, as illustrated in FIG. 2, reads on “a fifth distance”, and the distance of the light 62, as illustrated in FIG. 2, reads on “a sixth distance”.]
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Terasawa, Matsumoto and Ichikawa before them, to modify measuring of thickness of a sheet in a roll press process, to incorporate using a difference of the distance between the sheet and the surface of the sheet and the sensor and the distance between the surface of the substrate.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to do this modification because it would allow for measuring the thickness of a particular layer of the sheet in real time. (Kato: [0005] and [0046])
Claims 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Terasawa, in view of Matsumoto, further in view of Wisspeintner et al. (US 5,485,082) (“Wisspeintner”)
Regarding claim 14, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claim 1. Terasawa and Matsumoto do not expressly teach the recitations of claim 14.
Kato teaches:
before obtaining the thickness measured for each of the plurality of portions: obtaining a thickness measured for the sheet; calculating a difference between the obtained thickness of the sheet and a predetermined reference thickness of the sheet; and determining a thickness correction value based on the calculated difference, wherein obtaining the thickness measured for each of the plurality of portions includes correcting at least one of the thicknesses measured for the plurality of portions based on the thickness correction value. (Wisspeintner: Column 1 lines 14-19 “Furthermore, the present invention relates to a device for measuring or monitoring the thickness of layers, tapes, foils, and the like, having at least two noncontacting or scanning displacement measuring sensors arranged side by side or opposite to one another, in particular for carrying out the method of the invention.”) (Wisspeintner: Column 2 lines 37-56 “The method of the invention, which solves the above described problem, involves the calibration of a thickness measuring device with preferably two noncontacting or scanning displacement measuring sensors. More particularly, the following procedural steps are carried out: A reference object with a predetermined thickness is arranged in the measuring field of the displacement measuring sensors of the thickness measuring device. Subsequently, the reference object is moved within the measuring field of the displacement measuring sensors. In so doing, the distance is measured between the displacement measuring sensors and the reference object in as many relative positions of the reference object as are desired. For each relative position, the deviation of the values measured by the sensors from the predetermined thickness of the reference object, which results from the nonlinearity of the displacement measuring sensors, is stored as measuring error associated to the respective value measured by the sensor, so that the nonlinearities of the sensors can be compensated in the thickness measurement.”)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Terasawa, Matsumoto and Wisspeintner before them, to modify measuring of thickness of a sheet in a roll press process, to incorporate automatic calibration process of the sensor measuring the thickness.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to do this modification because it would allow for improving measuring accuracy of the sensor. (Wisspeintner: Column 2 lines 29-36)
Regarding claim 15, Terasawa and Matsumoto teach all the claimed features of claim 1. Terasawa and Matsumoto do not expressly teach the recitations of claim 15.
Wisspeintner teaches:
before obtaining the thickness measured for each of the plurality of portions: obtaining a thickness measured for the sheet and a thickness measured for an electrode plate having a substrate; calculating a difference between the obtained thickness of the electrode plate and a predetermined reference thickness of the electrode plate; and determining a thickness correction value based on the calculated difference, wherein obtaining the thickness measured for each of the plurality of portions includes correcting at least one of the thicknesses measured for the plurality of portions based on the thickness correction value. (Wisspeintner: Column 1 lines 14-19 “Furthermore, the present invention relates to a device for measuring or monitoring the thickness of layers, tapes, foils, and the like, having at least two noncontacting or scanning displacement measuring sensors arranged side by side or opposite to one another, in particular for carrying out the method of the invention.”) (Wisspeintner: Column 2 lines 37-56 “The method of the invention, which solves the above described problem, involves the calibration of a thickness measuring device with preferably two noncontacting or scanning displacement measuring sensors. More particularly, the following procedural steps are carried out: A reference object with a predetermined thickness is arranged in the measuring field of the displacement measuring sensors of the thickness measuring device. Subsequently, the reference object is moved within the measuring field of the displacement measuring sensors. In so doing, the distance is measured between the displacement measuring sensors and the reference object in as many relative positions of the reference object as are desired. For each relative position, the deviation of the values measured by the sensors from the predetermined thickness of the reference object, which results from the nonlinearity of the displacement measuring sensors, is stored as measuring error associated to the respective value measured by the sensor, so that the nonlinearities of the sensors can be compensated in the thickness measurement.”)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Terasawa, Matsumoto and Wisspeintner before them, to modify measuring of thickness of a sheet in a roll press process, to incorporate automatic calibration process of the sensor measuring the thickness.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to do this modification because it would allow for improving measuring accuracy of the sensor. (Wisspeintner: Column 2 lines 29-36)
It is noted that any citations to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the reference should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2123.
Conclusion
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/MICHAEL W CHOI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2116
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