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 .
Status of the Claims
This is a final office action in response to the applicant’s arguments and remarks filed on 06/02/2026. Claims 1-3, 5, and 7 are pending in the current office action. Claim 1 has been amended by the applicant.
Status of the Rejection
All 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections from the previous office action are withdrawn in view of the Applicant’s amendment.
New grounds of rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103 of claims 1-3, 5, and 7 are necessitated by the amendments.
Claim Interpretation
Examiner note: Claim 1 recites wherein the first layer faces an inner side and the second layer faces an outer side. It is noted that claim 3 depends from claim 1 that includes these limitations. Claim 3 recites where separator is folded in a zigzag shape, which may appear to be in contrast to the limitations of claim 1 because the zigzag pattern would suggest the first layer is facing both directions (one direction in the zig, the other direction in the zag). However, claim 1 does not require that the first layer faces only an inner side and the second layer faces only an outer side, thus by broadest reasonable interpretation claim 1 is interpreted wherein the first layer is required to face an inner side (but may also face an outer side) and the second layer faces an outer side (but may also face an inner side).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-3 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shinyashiki et al. (US 20110244304 A1) in view of Kojima et al. (US 20170110703 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Shinyashiki discloses a secondary battery (high capacity lithium-ion battery [Para. 0002]), comprising:
an electrode assembly in which a positive electrode and negative electrode are stacked with a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode (electrode assembly is formed in which positive electrode plate 1 and negative electrode 2 are stacked with separator 3/30 interposed between them [Paras. 0044, 0062-0069; Figs. 5-7, 11-12, and 15]),
wherein the separator includes a first layer and a second layer having a thermal shrinkage rate smaller than a thermal shrinkage rate of the first layer (separator 3/30 includes a polyethylene heat-melting “first” layer 30M and a aramid resin heat-resistant “second” layer 30R wherein polyethylene has a thermal shrinkage rate smaller than aramid resin [Paras. 0067-0068; inherent property of thermal shrinkage discussed in Paras. 0058-0060]), and has a tubular portion that is formed into a tubular shape to form outermost surfaces of the electrode assembly (see Figs. 1, 5-8, 10-13 and 15 that show the tubular shape that forms outermost surfaces of the electrode assembly),
in the tubular portion of the separator, a tape is attached (the entirety of the stack unit was fixed with tape [Para. 0065]),
the first layer is a resin layer (the heat-melting “first” layer 30M is formed of a polyolefin resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene with a melting point of less than 200°C [Para. 0029]),
the second layer comprises a resin having a higher melting point or softening point than a melting point or softening point of a resin forming the first layer, the second layer containing no inorganic particles (the heat-resistant “second” layer 30R is formed of an aramid resin with a melting point higher than polyethylene (i.e., heat resistant) wherein the decomposition temperature point is 500°C [Paras. 0043, 0058, 0065])); and
the separator is provided so that in the tubular portion, the first layer faces an inner side, and the second layer faces an outer side (the first layer 30M faces both the inner side and outer side while the second layer 30R faces both the outer side and the inner side [see Figs. 5-7,11-12, and 15 as well as the claim interpretation section above]).
Although Shinyashiki does teach the use of tape to fix the entirety of the stack, as outlined above, Shinyashiki does not provide any description of the location or orientation of the tape with regards to the electrode assembly.
Shinyashiki therefore fails to expressly teach wherein the tape “is attached to at least one end in an axial direction of the tubular portion, the tape extending across the electrode assembly in a stacking direction of the electrode assembly and fastening the at least one end in the axial direction together”, as required by claim 1.
Kojima discloses a secondary lithium ion battery electrode stack [abstract] wherein the electrode stack is secured through the use of fixing members 5 (i.e., tape). Kojima teaches that the fixing members 5 are attached to one end in an axial direction and extend across the electrode assembly and are fastened to the other end in the axial direction (see Figs. 2 and 7). Kojima further teaches that this arrangement is provided to prevent the positive and negative electrodes housed in the stack from shifting [Para. 0039].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the electrode stack of Shinyashiki to further include the fixing members 5 taught by Kojima as such modification would provide the benefit of preventing the positive electrode and negative electrodes within the stack from shifting [Para. 0039]. Furthermore, the claimed limitations are obvious because all the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination yielded nothing more than predictable results (MPEP 2143(A)).
Regarding claim 2, modified Shinyashiki further discloses wherein:
the electrode assembly includes a plurality of positive electrodes and a plurality of negative electrodes, each of which has a substantially rectangular shape in a front view (the plurality of first electrodes 1 and negative electrodes 2 have a substantially rectangular shape in a front view [Paras. 0041-0042; Figs. 1-2]), and
the tape is attached to a position overlapping with a center in a long side direction of each of the plurality of positive and the plurality of negative electrodes (Shinyashiki as modified by Kojima above teaches wherein the tape overlaps each positive and negative electrode and thus would overlap with “a center in a long side direction” as shown in annotated Kojima Fig. 2 below where the “a center” is the center thickness in the long side direction ).
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Alternative to the broad interpretation of “a center” outlined above, it would have been further obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to apply the fixing member 5 disclose by Kajima to any and all edges of the electrode stack including the location between the two fixing members 5 shown in annotated Fig. 2 abfove as such modification would be considered a mere duplication of parts that would result in the obvious and predictable outcome of further securing the positive and negative electrodes within the electrode stack to prevent them from shifting [Kojima Para. 0039]).
Regarding claim 3, Shinyashiki further discloses wherein the electrode assembly includes a plurality of positive electrodes and a plurality of negative electrodes, and has a stacking structure in which one sheet of the separator folded in a zigzag shape is interposed between the plurality of positive electrodes and the plurality of negative electrodes, and the tubular portion is formed by the one sheet of the separator (the electrode stack comprises plural positive electrodes 1 and plural negative electrodes 2 and the separator 3 is formed as a tubular portion from one sheet of separator that winds in a zigzag pattern and is interposed between the electrode layers [Paras. 0044; Fig. 5]).
Regarding claim 5, Shinyashiki further discloses wherein the separator is provided so that the second layer faces the positive electrode side (the heat-resistant “second” layer 30R faces the positive electrode 1 [Fig. 15]).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shinyashiki and Kojima, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hamano et al. (US 20020018930 A1).
Regarding claim 7, modified Shinyashiki discloses the limitations of claim 1 as outlined previously.
Shinyashiki and Kojima are silent on bonding of the positive or negative electrode to the separator and thus fail to expressly teach “an adhesive layer to be bonded to the positive electrode or the negative electrode is formed on at least one surface of the separator”, as required by instant claim 7.
Hamano discloses a lithium ion secondary battery that includes an electrode stack [abstract; Fig. 7] wherein the positive electrode and negative electrode are closely adhered to one another by bonding the positive electrode and negative electrode to the separator using a porous adhesive resin layer [abstract]. Hamano further teaches that when an adhesive resin layer is used to bond the positive electrode and the negative electrode to the separator, a thin and light battery is able to be formed that has excellent charge and discharge characteristics and does not require external pressurization, namely which does not require a strong armor case [Para. 0066].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the structure of Shinyashiki to include an adhesive resin layer that bonds either or both of the positive electrode and/or negative electrode to the separator because Hamano teaches that such structure provides various benefits including the ability to form a thin and light battery with excellent charge and discharge characteristics that does not require a strong armor case [Para. 0066].
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks Pgs. 4-11, filed 06/02/2026, with respect to the 35 U.S.C. § 103 rejection have been fully considered but are moot in light of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSHUA ALLEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3176. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am-4:30pm ET Mon-Thurs, 7:30am-11:30pm Fri.
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/JOSHUA L ALLEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1713
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