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 in the reply filed on 11/14/25 is acknowledged.
Claim 8 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/14/25.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Nishino et al (UD 2003/0170391 A1).
As to claim 1, Nishino et al teaches (see Fig 3) a coating device for coating a web that is traveling with coating liquid, the coating device comprising: a coating bar (2) extending in a web width direction; a partition (fulcrum) disposed below an axial center of the coating bar in a vertical direction (see annotated Fig 3 below), the partition (fulcrum) extending in the web width direction; and an upstream container (reservoir 18) and a downstream container (reservoir 14) disposed on an upstream side and a downstream side in a web conveyance direction (see Fig 3 for the arrow c), respectively, with the partition interposed between the upstream container and the downstream container, the upstream container (18) and the downstream container (14) including side plates (see Fig 3 for part of the weir member 8) disposed inward (section directing toward inside in the web width direction with respect to both ends of the partition on a web width direction side, the upstream container and the downstream container being configured to store the coating liquid (see wherein liquid is supplied through 20E and 20B), wherein the partition (fulcrum) is a portion that separates the upstream container (18) and the downstream container (14) from each other, and has a flow path for discharging the coating liquid from a position within a range of a web width and outside the side plates in the web width direction (see for the flow path discharging the coating liquid from a position within the web width and outside of the side plates).
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As to claim 2, Nishino et al teaches the flow path for discharging the coating liquid is a flat surface that is inclined downward in the vertical direction from a position below the coating bar in the vertical direction toward either the upstream side or the downstream side in the web conveyance direction (see Fig 3 for section of flat surface inclined downward in vertical direction below the coating bar).
Regarding claim 3, Nishino et al teaches (see Fig 2) the flow path for discharging the coating liquid is at least one groove (8B) having a bottom surface that is inclined downward in the vertical direction from a position below the coating bar in the vertical direction (see section of 8B below the bar 2) toward in the the upstream side in the web conveyance direction.
Regarding claim 6, in Nishino et al the partition is configured to support the coating bar from below (see Fig 3).
As to claim 7, Nishino et al teaches supports (the two section of the groove 2A of the fulcrum) configured to support the coating bar from below are spaced apart in the web width direction (see Fig 3).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nishino et al (UD 2003/0170391 A1) in view of Ichikawa (US 2005/0166839A1).
Nishino et al lacks teaching the side plates slidable in the web width direction. However, Ichikawa teaches side plates movable in the web width direction (side dams 6 moving away from the support-stand 4, see para [0043] and [0080]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to slide/move the side plates in Nishino et al to form a uniform and continuous flow of the liquid in forming a layer as taught by Ichikawa (see para [0080]).
Claim 4 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art of record Nishino et al, Ichikawa, Ichikawa et al (US 6,815,008 and 2004/0043154A1) or JP-references cited in written opinion of the International Searching Authority, PCT/JP2023/004046 teaches or suggests a coating device for coating a web comprising, among others, a coating bar, a partition, an upstream container and a downstream container, the partition interposed between the upstream container and the downstream container, and the upstream container and a the downstream container including side plates disposed inward, wherein the partition is a portion that separates the upstream container and the downstream container from each other, and has a flow path for discharging the coating liquid from a position within a range of a web width and outside the side plates in the web width direction as claimed wherein the flow path for discharging the coating liquid is at least one hole extending from a position below the coating bar in the vertical direction to a side surface of the partition on either the upstream side or the downstream side in the web conveyance direction through an inside of the partition.
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YEWEBDAR T. TADESSE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1717
/YEWEBDAR T TADESSE/