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 .
Response to Amendment
1. Applicant’s amendments with respect to claims filed on 09/15/2025 have been entered. Claims 3-5 remain pending in this application and are currently under consideration for patentability under 37 CFR 1.104.
The amendments and remarks filed are sufficient to cure the previous 35 USC 112 and 35 USC 103 rejections set forth in the Non-Final office action mailed on 06/16/2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
2. 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.
3. Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka et al. (Pub. No. US 20200295353 A1) in view of Yao et al. (Pub. No. US 20220271279 A1) and further in view of Abe et al. (Pub. No. US 20180301758 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Tanaka teaches a manufacturing method for a negative electrode plate (10, Fig. 1, [0017], the electrode sheet is analogous to an electrode plate), the negative electrode plate (10, Fig. 1, [0017]) comprising: a current collecting foil (20, Fig. 1, [0017]); and an active material layer (30, Fig. 1, [0017], further see [0020] the electrode mixture layer 30 is made of an active material making it the active material layer) formed on the current collecting foil (20, Fig. 1, [0017]) the active material layer 30 is formed on the first surface 21 of the current collecting foil) and including graphite particles (41, Fig. 2, [0021]) and a binder resin (42/PVdF, Fig. 2, [0021]), the graphite particles (41, Fig. 2, [0021]) being bound to one another (see [0021] mutual binding) and the graphite particles (41, Fig. 2, [0021]) and the current collecting foil (20, Fig. 1, [0017]) being bound (see [0021] electrode mixture layer 30 which includes the active material binding to the current collector) by the binder resin (42/PVdF, Fig. 2, [0021]), which has been heat-melted (see [0041], heating the minder to melt, causing the binding action in the binder), wherein the manufacturing method includes: uncompressed layer forming of depositing (see [0032]) composite active material particles (40, Fig. 2, [0020]), in which binder particles (42, Fig. 2, see [0027] the binder is in powder form) made of the binder resin (42/PVdF, Fig. 2, [0021]) are attached to the graphite particles (41, Fig. 2, [0021]), on the current collecting foil (20, Fig. 1, [0017], further see [0037] van der Waals forces binding particles to the current collector) to form an uncompressed (Fig. 2, see forming step A come before pressing step C) active material layer (30, see [0023], further see [0020] the electrode mixture layer 30 is made of an active material making it the active material layer) which has not yet been compressed (Fig. 2, see forming step A come before pressing step C); and pressing (position C, Fig. 3, see [0038]) of heating and pressing (see [0038]) the uncompressed (Fig. 2, see forming step A come before pressing step C) active material layer (30, see [0023], further see [0020] the electrode mixture layer 30 is made of an active material making it the active material layer) and the current collecting foil (20, Fig. 1, [0017]) so that the graphite particles (41, Fig. 2, [0021]) are bound to one another (see [0021] mutual binding) and the graphite particles (41, Fig. 2, [0021]) and the current collecting foil (20, Fig. 1, [0017]) are bound by the binder resin (42/PVdF, Fig. 2, [0021]) which has been heat-melted (see [0041], heating the minder to melt, causing the binding action in the binder). However, Tanaka fails to teach using flake graphite particles and a peak intensity ratio obtained by an X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis being set to be 23-130 and graphite particles are oriented at the peak intensity ratio of 23-130 to form the active material layer.
In a similar field of invention, Yao teaches flake graphite (see [0045]) as an electrode active material (see [0045]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Tanaka to substitute the graphite as taught by Tanaka for the flake graphite as taught by Yao as an art effective equivalent for the benefit of packing better with higher efficiency. Further Tanaka teaches that modifications can be made (see [0065] of Tanaka).
Tanaka in view of Yao fails to teach a peak intensity ratio obtained by an X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis being set to be 23-130 and graphite particles are oriented at the peak intensity ratio of 23 to 130 to form the active material layer.
However, Abe teaches a peak intensity ratio (ratio of I(004)/I(110), see [0102]) obtained by an X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis (X-ray diffractometry, see [0102]) being set to be 23-130 (3.33 to 100, see [0102] where the ratio is 0.01 or more and 0.3 or less, and this ratio is an inverse of the claimed ratio so the ratio is 3.33 to 100) and graphite particles (graphite crystal, see [0102]), are oriented at the peak intensity ratio (ratio of I(004)/I(110), see [0102]) of 23 to 130 (3.33 to 100, see [0102] where the ratio is 0.01 or more and 0.3 or less, and this ratio is an inverse of the claimed ratio so the ratio is 3.33 to 100) to form the active material layer (negative electrode active material, see [0099], see [0102] where the ratio is measured from the negative electrode sheet not including the collector).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Tanaka in view of Yao such that the flake graphite particles are oriented at a peak intensity ratio of 3.33 to 100 as taught by Abe to improve the metal elution amount and charging storage properties (see [0102] of Abe) and further obvious to modify the range to stay within the claimed range as the peak intensity ratio is a result effective variable of metal elution amount and discharge capacity (see [0102] of Abe). Further Tanaka in view of Yao teaches that modifications can be made (see [0065] of Tanaka).
Regarding claim 4, Tanaka in view of Yao and further in view of Abe teaches wherein the uncompressed layer forming includes: supplying the composite active material particles (40, Fig. 2, [0020]) to a film-forming region (A, Fig. 2, [0024], see [0027] for composite active material particle feeding); and electrostatic depositing of flying (see [0032], the composite active material jumps) the composite active material particles (40, Fig. 2, [0020]) to the current collecting foil (20, Fig. 2, [0032]) by an electrostatic force (see [0032]) in the film-forming region (A, Fig. 2, [0024]) and depositing (see [0032]) the composite active material particles (40, Fig. 2, [0020]) on the current collecting foil (20, Fig. 2, [0032]) to form the (Fig. 2, see forming step A come before pressing step C) active material layer (30, see [0023], further see [0020] the electrode mixture layer 30 is made of an active material making it the active material layer). See 112 rejection above for interpretation.
Regarding claim 5, Tanaka in view of Yao and further in view of Abe teaches wherein the uncompressed layer forming further includes magnetic adsorbing (see [0028-29]) of magnetically adsorbing (see [0028-29]) the composite carrier particles (mixture of magnetic carrier particles 131 and composite active material 40, see [0029]), in which the composite active material particles (40, Fig. 2, [0020]) have been electrostatically adsorbed (see [0029] van der Waals force is equivalent to electrostatic adsorption) to magnetic carrier particles (131, see [0028]), to a roll surface (surface of 130A, Fig. 2, [0029]) of a magnetic roll (130A, Fig. 2, [0029]), the supplying is carrier supplying (see [0028-29], the supplying is done through the magnetic carrier particles 131) of supplying the composite carrier particles (mixture of magnetic carrier particles 131 and composite active material 40, see [0029]) which have been magnetically adsorbed (see [0028-29]) to the roll surface (surface of 130A, Fig. 2, [0029]) to the film-forming region (A, Fig. 2, [0024]) by rotation of the magnetic roll (130A, Fig. 2, [0029], see [0031] rotation of magnetic roll supplies), and the electrostatic depositing is to fly (see [0032], the composite active material jumps) the composite active material particles (40, Fig. 2, [0020]) of the composite carrier particles (mixture of magnetic carrier particles 131 and composite active material 40, see [0029]) to the current collecting foil (20, Fig. 2, [0032]) in the film-forming region (A, Fig. 2, [0024], further see [0032] for composite active material jumping to the current collecting foil).
Response to Arguments
4. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 3-5 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the same combination of references in the prior rejection of record.
Conclusion
5. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOUGLAS CALEB MARROQUIN whose telephone number is (571)272-0166. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30-5:00 EST.
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/DOUGLAS C MARROQUIN/Examiner, Art Unit 1723 /TIFFANY LEGETTE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1723