Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 19/206,850

COATING DEVIATION CORRECTION METHOD AND APPARATUS

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
May 13, 2025
Priority
Aug 07, 2023 — CN 202310985483.4 +1 more
Examiner
PROCTOR, CACHET I
Art Unit
1712
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
77%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 7m
Est. Remaining
83%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 77% — above average
77%
Career Allowance Rate
831 granted / 1078 resolved
+12.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+5.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 0m
Avg Prosecution
42 currently pending
Career history
1124
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.3%
-39.7% vs TC avg
§103
52.0%
+12.0% vs TC avg
§102
20.1%
-19.9% vs TC avg
§112
21.1%
-18.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1078 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 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) 1-4 and 11-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ma et al. (WO 2023141971) in view of Lu et al. (WO 2023133765). Ma et al. teaches a double sided coating deviation correction method for an electrode plate substrate where a first distance is obtained between an edge of a coating region on a first surface of the electrode plate and a reference edge of the substrate, and a second distance is obtained between an edge of a corresponding coating region on a second surface of the electrode plate and the reference edge (see Fig. 1, steps 101-102). Ma et al. further teaches determining coating misalignment from the first and second distances and determining a deviation correction quantity for correcting the relative positions of the coating regions (See Fig. 1, steps 103-105). Ma et al. fails to teach that a plurality of first distances and a plurality of second distances are obtained by sampling a plurality of times within one sampling period as required by claim 1. Lu et al. teaches an electrode sheet deviation correction technique where positional information is provided multiple times during a preset period and the measurements are used in determining correction displacement (see page 8 of the translation). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the measurement technique of Ma et al. to include obtaining multiple measurement during the sampling period as taught by Lu et al. One would have been motivated to do so since both are directed to obtaining positional data for correcting displacement where Lu et al. further teaches providing multiple observations is more representative and provides a stable deviation correction. As to claims 2-4 and 13-15, Ma et al. discloses determining a deviation correction quantity by taking an average of deviation adjustment ranges. Ma et al. teaches an acquisition module for obtaining first and second coating edge distances and processing module for determining coating edge deviation information and the correction amount. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to set the initial deviation correction quantity to a conventional value method and determining a target deviation correction quantity by means of the average value. As to claim 11, Ma et al. teaches predetermined deviation correction range -0.8 to 0.8 mm (see page 9 of the translation). As to claim 12, Lu et al. teaches an electrode correction device comprising a processor, memory and program stored in the memory. It would have been obvious to implement the combined double sided coating correction method of Ma et al. and Lu et al. using the processor, memory, and stored program taught by Lu et al. because such modification constitutes predictable use of a known programable controller to perform the disclosed measurement and correction calculations. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 5-9 and 16-20 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. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the cited prior art fails to teach or suggest determining the correction directly from a detected coating deviation and evaluate the results that would be produced by application of respective correction amounts as use those resulting misalignment values in determining the correction to be applied. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Cachet I Proctor whose telephone number is (571)272-0691. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7-3 pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Cleveland can be reached at 571-272-1418. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /CACHET I. PROCTOR/ Examiner Art Unit 1712 /CACHET I PROCTOR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1712
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Prosecution Timeline

May 13, 2025
Application Filed
Aug 26, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
77%
Grant Probability
83%
With Interview (+5.9%)
3y 0m (~1y 7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1078 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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