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 .
Applicant’s election of Group I, and species 1(curing with heat)
in the reply filed on 01/06/26 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claims 4-5, 10, 12-13, and 18 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 01/06/26.
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 1-3, 7-9,11, 15-17, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwang-Choon Chung et al (Japanese Patent: 2015-126230, here after Chung), further in view of Kiyomi Muro et al (U. S. Patent Application: 2011/0094784, here after Muro).
Claims 1, and 3 are rejected. Chung teaches a manufacturing method of a conductor, comprising:
an ink preparation step of preparing a first ink (for metal layer, 30) containing a
metal salt or metal complex [page 4 last 4 lines, page 5 lines 1-6, page 6 first paragraph] and a second ink (for making conductive adhesion layer 40) containing a metal complex or metal salt [page 7 paragraph 3-5];
a step 1 of forming a first coating film on a substrate using the first ink, and
subjecting the first coating film to at least one first curing treatment selected comprising heating treatment to form a first conductive film (30) [page 6 paragraph 8]; and
a step 2 of forming a second coating film using the second ink, and subjecting the second coating film to second curing treatment comprising a heating treatment to form a second conductive film [page 7 paragraph 7], wherein the thickness of metallic line is 0.05-2 um [page 6 paragraph 6], and thickness of conductive adessive layer is 3-20um [page 7 paragraph 9], considering L1=3 um, L2=1um, T1=200C, T2=200C, t1=1 min, t2=1min, the Expression (1) or is satisfied;
Expression (1) 1.2 ≤ {(T2-23) X t2/L2}/ {(T1-23) X t1/L1}. Chung teaches forming second coating film (40) on the first coating film (30), but does not teach forming a second coating film on the first conductive film, and then heat treating it. However, it is known in the art to form conductive paste layer on patterned metal layer by coating the conductive paste layer on the pattern metal layer as Muro teaches [0027].
Claim 2 is rejected as Chung teaches both of the adhesive layer and metal layer are silver layers [page 4 last 4 lines, page 7 paragraph 7].
Claim 7 is rejected as Chung teaches a step 3 of forming an insulating film (20) on the substrate (11) to produce a substrate with an insulating film, wherein the step 1 is a step of forming the first conductive film on the insulating film of the substrate with an insulating film, which is produced in the step 3[page 3 paragraph 6-10].
Claim 8 is rejected as Chung teaches a step of forming a conductive film on a substrate according to claim 1, and also teaches a manufacturing method of an electromagnetic wave shielding body[abstract].
Claim 9 is rejected as Chung teaches the substrate is an electronic board in which an electronic component is mounted (printed circuit boards) [page 2 paragraphs 1-2].
Claim 11 is rejected as Chung teaches the heating treatment is performed as the first curing treatment in the step 1, and the heating treatment is performed as the second curing treatment in the step 2[see claim 1 rejection above].
Claim 15 is rejected for the same reason claim 7 is rejected above.
Claim 16 is rejected for the same reason claim 8 and 2 are rejected above.
Claim 17 is rejected for the same reason claims 9 and 2 are rejected above.
Claim 19 is rejected. The manufacturing method of a conductor according to claim 3, wherein the thickness of the second coating film formed in the step 2 is smaller
than the thickness of the first coating film formed in the step 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 14, and 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Chung teaches the second coating film is thicker than the first coating. The examiner did not find a reference that can teach limitation of claim 1 and teaches the second coating layer is thinner than the first coating layer.
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