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 .
The pending claims are claims 1, 2, 4, 5.
The rejection posted on 10/8/2025 is withdrawn and a new Office Action is presented below.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sawa et al., US 2013/0266834 in view of Park et al., US 20160177136
Regarding claim 1, Sawa et al., teaches a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery (abstract; 0014-0015), comprising: a wound electrode assembly (0001; 0045; 0059) in which a band-shaped (“strip shape”) (0065) positive electrode and a band-shaped negative electrode (“strip shape”) (0065) are wound with a separator interposed therebetween (0005; 0015); and a metallic exterior housing body (0053) that houses the electrode assembly (abstract; 0015), wherein the positive electrode or the negative electrode is exposed on an outermost circumference surface (0040) of the electrode assembly (0015-0018; 0048), and a fixing tape (0079) having a substrate layer and an adhesive layer is attached to the positive electrode or the negative electrode (0017; 0109) by means of the adhesive layer (0017; 0102); a surface of the substrate layer opposite to the adhesive layer has a surface roughness (Sa) (0063; 0109) from the end part the positive electrode has a positive electrode current collector and a positive electrode mixture layer formed on a surface of the positive electrode current collector (0015): the negative electrode has a negative electrode current collector and a negative electrode mixture layer (0019) formed on a surface of the negative electrode current collector (0015-0019); and the positive electrode current collector or the negative electrode current collector is exposed on the outermost circumference surface (0048) of the electrode assembly (0015; 0018-0019).
Sawa does not teach a surface roughness of 40 um or more and does not teach a region having a width of at least 1 mm from the end part..
However, regarding the surface roughness and the width of at least 1 mm from the end part, "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 2, Sawa et al., teaches wherein the exterior housing body is in cylindrical form (Fig. 1 and 5) (0046; 0077-0078).
Regarding claim 4, Sawa et al., teaches wherein the negative electrode current collector is exposed on an entire surface of the outermost circumference surface of the electrode assembly (0015; 0017-0019).
Regarding claim 5, Sawa et al., does not teach wherein a surface roughness (Sa) of an entire surface of the substrate layer is 40 um or more.
However, "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Response to Arguments
The Applicant argues that Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 5 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANGELA J MARTIN whose telephone number is (571)272-1288. The examiner can normally be reached 7am-4pm.
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ANGELA J. MARTIN
Examiner
Art Unit 1727
/ANGELA J MARTIN/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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