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 .
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, 9, 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Thomas Deppisch et al (WO 2018/228683, here after Deppisch).
Claim 1 is rejected. Deppisch teaches a flexible substrate coating system [abstract lines 1-2], comprising:
a processing module [fig. 5], comprising:
a plurality of chambers (121) arranged in sequence, each configured to perform one or more processing operations to a continuous sheet of flexible material; and a coating drum (122) capable of guiding the continuous sheet of flexible material past the plurality of chambers along a travel direction, wherein the chambers are radially disposed about the coating drum [fig. 5]; and
a metrology module [00114], comprising:
a plurality of non-contact sensors positioned side-by-side along a transverse direction, wherein the transverse direction is perpendicular to the travel direction [00102-00103].
Claim 9 is rejected as Deppisch teaches an unwinding module housing a feed reel capable of providing the continuous sheet of flexible material; and
a winding module housing a take-up reel capable of storing the continuous sheet of flexible material [fig. 5, 0022, 0046].
Claim 12 is rejected as Deppisch teaches the plurality of chambers comprises sputtering source [0049].
Claim 13 is rejected as Deppisch teaches a flexible substrate coating system[abstract], comprising:
a processing module [fig. 5], comprising:
a plurality of chambers (121) arranged in sequence, each configured to perform one or more processing operations to a continuous sheet of flexible material; and a coating drum (122) capable of guiding the continuous sheet of flexible material past the plurality of chambers along a travel direction, wherein the chambers are radially disposed about the coating drum [fig. 5];
a metrology module, comprising: a plurality of non-contact sensors positioned side-by-side along a transverse direction [00102-00103];
an unwinding module housing a feed reel capable of providing the continuous sheet of flexible material [0022, fig. 5]; and
a winding module housing a take-up reel capable of storing the continuous sheet of flexible material [0046, fig. 5].
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 10-11, and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thomas Deppisch et al (WO 2018/228683, here after Deppisch, further in view of Girish Kumar Golpalakrishnan Nair et al (U. S. Patent Application: 2019/0140267, here after Nair).
Claim 10 is rejected. Deppisch teaches the limitation of claim 1, and teaches the flexible substrate is for battery formation [0001, 0003] comprising chambers on radial direction of rotating drum [fig. 11]. Deppisch does not teach the substrate is lithium metal layer formed on copper. Nair teaches a coating system for coating metal electrode(anode) for lithium batteries and also teaches the substrate is lithium coated copper substrate [0006, 0007]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have a system of Deppisch and form a lithium battery as Nair teaches and form a lithium battery as Nair teaches, and flexible substrate is lithium coated on copper, because the system is suitable for making batteries.
Claim 11 is rejected as Nair teaches the continuous sheet of flexible material comprises a copper substrate having a lithiated anode film formed on the copper substrate, and wherein the lithiated anode film comprises a graphite anode film, a or a silicon film [0042].
Claim 16 is rejected. Deppisch teaches the limitation of claim 13, and teaches the flexible substrate is for battery formation [0001, 0003] comprising chambers on radial direction of rotating drum [fig. 11]. Deppisch does not teach the substrate is lithium metal layer formed on copper. Nair teaches a coating system for coating metal electrode(anode) for lithium batteries and also teaches the substrate is lithium coated copper substrate [0006, 0007]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have a system of Deppisch and form a lithium battery as Nair teaches, and flexible substrate is lithium coated on copper because the system is suitable for making batteries.
Claims 17-18 are rejected as Nair teaches the continuous sheet of flexible material comprises a copper substrate having a lithiated anode film formed on the copper substrate, and wherein the lithiated anode film comprises a graphite anode film, a or a silicon film [0042].
Claim 19 is rejected as Deppisch teaches the plurality of chambers comprises sputtering source [0049], Nair also teaches sputtering the anode layer [0042].
Claims 2-4, 6-7, 14, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thomas Deppisch et al (WO 2018/228683, here after Deppisch, further in view of John F. Shakespeare (U. S. Patent Application: 2008/0013818, here after Shakespeare).
Claims 2-4 are rejected. Deppisch teaches forming coated pattern on flexible web [0013] and reduce in wrinkle generation in substrate [00116], but does not teach measuring the wrinkle. Shakespeare teaches measuring crepe pattern on a moving web by light Source and CCD array [0048, 0060] in width direction [0083]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have a system of Deppisch, where a light Source and CCD array in width direction of moving web is inserted, because it helps measuring wrinkle and crepe.
Claims 6-7 and 14 are rejected. Deppisch teaches forming coated pattern (coated and uncoated) on flexible web [0013] and reduce in wrinkle generation in substrate [00116], but does not teach measuring the wrinkle(roughness). Shakespeare teaches measuring crepe pattern on a moving web by laser light Source and CMOS array camera [0048, 0060] in width direction [0083]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have a system of Deppisch, where a light Source and CMOS array camera in width direction of moving web is inserted to measure roughness of uncoated portion of the continuous sheet of flexible material, because it helps measuring roughness (wrinkle, flutter, and crepe). Shakespeare also teaches measuring pattern profile of flatter(profilometer) [0099].
Claim 20 is rejected. Deppisch teaches a flexible substrate coating system, comprising:
a processing module, comprising:
a plurality of chambers (301) arranged in sequence, each configured to perform one or more processing operations to a continuous sheet of flexible material [fig. 5]; and
a coating drum (122) capable of guiding the continuous sheet of flexible material past the plurality of chambers along a travel direction, wherein the chambers are radially disposed about the coating drum [fig. 5]; and
a metrology module [00114], comprising:
a plurality of non-contact sensors positioned side-by-side along a transverse direction wherein the plurality of non-contact sensors [00102-00103]. Deppisch teaches forming coated pattern (coated and uncoated) on flexible web [0013] and reduce in wrinkle generation in substrate [00116], but does not teach measuring the wrinkle(roughness). Shakespeare teaches measuring crepe pattern on a moving web by laser light Source and CMOS array camera [0048, 0060] in width direction [0083]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have a system of Deppisch, where a light Source and CMOS array camera in width direction of moving web is inserted to measure roughness of uncoated portion of the continuous sheet of flexible material, because it helps measuring roughness (wrinkle, and crepe).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thomas Deppisch et al (WO 2018/228683, here after Deppisch), further in view of Wilmert De Bosscher et al (WO 2018/215274, here after De Bosscher).
Claim 5 is rejected. Deppisch teaches the substrate is patterned (coated and uncoated), but does not teach the non-contact sensors are eddy current sensors. De Bosscher teaches measuring thickness along width direction by multiple first and second eddy current sensors (221, 222) [fig. 2]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have a system of Deppisch where the thickness sensors are eddy current sensor because they are suitable to measure thickness along width of a continuous web. The first or second sensors can be used for measuring thickness of coated or uncoated area by skill in art.
Claims 8 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thomas Deppisch et al (WO 2018/228683, here after Deppisch, John F. Shakespeare (U. S. Patent Application: 2008/0013818, here after Shakespeare), further in view of Dov Furman et al (U. S. Patent Application: 2009/0201494, here after Furman).
Claim 8 is rejected for the same reason claim 7 is rejected above. Shakespeare teaches inspecting surface with CMOS array cameras and laser beam, but does not teach the laser beam is argon laser beam. Furman teaches inspecting surface with CMOS cameras [0119] where the laser light is argon laser light [0121]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have a system of Deppisch, and Shakespeare, where the laser light is argon laser light, because it is suitable laser light source in combination with CMOS cameras to inspect surface.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TABASSOM TADAYYON ESLAMI whose telephone number is (571)270-1885. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6.
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/TABASSOM TADAYYON ESLAMI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1718