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 § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nishio Tsutomu (JP 6847560 B1) (hereinafter Tsutomu) in view of Ueno Koichi (JP 2004063620A) (hereinafter Koichi).
Regarding claim 1, Tsutomu discloses A coating apparatus in which a coating solution supplied to a coating solution housing in a coating nozzle is discharged onto a coating object through a slit-shaped outlet at a distal end of the coating nozzle and in which the coating nozzle and the coating object are moved relative to each other in a coating direction in which the coating solution is applied onto the coating object to apply the coating solution onto a surface of the coating object, the coating apparatus comprising: a coating width adjuster (14) that adjusts a width of application of the coating solution (P) in the coating solution housing onto the coating object through the slit-shaped outlet (14a) (¶0029-¶0030; Fig.1-4). Tsutomu further discloses the object to be coated and coating nozzle are moved relative to each other to apply the coating liquid to the surface of the object to be coated through the slit-shaped discharge port (¶0025). Tsutomu is silent about an intersection direction mover that moves the coating nozzle and the coating object relative to each other in a direction intersecting the coating direction.
Koichi also discloses the use of motor and rails (corresponding to coating width adjuster) to move the coating nozzle (41) and the coating object relative to each other in a direction intersecting the coating direction (¶0014; Fig. 1-5). The benefit of doing so would have been to prevent unevenness in concentration viscosity, and to allow the coating liquid to be easily applied to the surface of the object to be coated in various shapes.
Given the wealth of knowledge, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to utilize a coating width adjuster as taught by Koichi within the coating apparatus as taught by Tsutomu. The benefit of doing so would have been to prevent unevenness in concentration viscosity, and to allow the coating liquid to be easily applied to the surface of the object to be coated in various shapes.
Regarding claim 2, Tsutomu discloses wherein the coating width adjuster is a columnar coating solution supplier (14) whose outer peripheral surface includes a guide recess (14a) with a predetermined pattern shape for guiding the coating solution (P) in the coating solution housing to the slit-shaped outlet (14a), the coating solution supplier being rotatably located above the slit-shaped outlet and being rotated above the slit-shaped outlet so that the coating solution in the coating solution housing is thereby guided to the slit-shaped outlet through the guide recess (Fig. 4a-c).
Regarding claims 4 and 5, Tsutomu discloses comprising applying a coating solution onto a surface of a coating object by using the coating apparatus (Abstract).
Claim(s) 3 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsutomu and Koichi as applied to claims 1, 2, 4 and 5 above, and further in view of Nishio Tsutomu (JP 2021109156 A) (hereinafter Tsutomu ‘156).
Regarding claims 3 and 6 the limitations of claim 1 are taught by the combined teaching of Tsutomu and Koichi as cited above. They are both silent about a slit width adjusting member. Tsutomu ‘156 also discloses a coating apparatus, the apparatus comprising coating width adjusting means (13) for coating the coating liquid in the coating liquid storage part onto the surface of the coated body form the slit-like discharge port, and adjusting the coating width of coating liquid.
Given the wealth of knowledge, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to utilize width adjusting means (13) as taught by Tsutomu ‘156 within the apparatus as taught by the combined teaching of Tsutomu and Koichi. The benefit of doing so would have been to allow the coating liquid to be applied in various designs and pattern.
Conclusion
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/VISHAL I PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1746
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