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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/19/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed on 12/19/2025 has been entered. Claims 1-5 remain pending in the application.
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 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 Nakai et al. (WO 2012042830, referencing previously-provided translation thereof, hereinafter "Nakai") in view of Mihashi et al. (JP 2013235795, referencing previously-provided translation thereof, hereinafter "Mihashi").
Regarding claim 1, Nakai teaches a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery [page 2, lines 70-71], comprising:
a wound electrode assembly in which a band-shaped positive electrode and a band-shaped negative electrode are wound with a separator interposed therebetween [page 2, lines 71-72, “in which a positive electrode and a negative electrode are wound with a separator interposed therebetween”]; and
an exterior housing can that houses the wound electrode assembly [page 2, lines 72-72, “is housed in a battery case”], wherein
the band-shaped positive electrode has a positive electrode mixture layer formed on a surface of a sheet-shaped positive electrode current collector [page 2, lines 73-74, “the positive electrode having a positive electrode mixture layer formed on the surface of a sheet-shaped positive electrode current collector”];
the band-shaped negative electrode has a negative electrode mixture layer formed on a surface of a sheet-shaped negative electrode current collector [page 2, lines 74-76, “the negative electrode having a negative electrode mixture layer formed on the surface of a sheet-shaped negative electrode current collector”],
the negative electrode mixture layer includes a rechargeable active material and a binder [page 6, lines 237-241, “the negative electrode mixture layer 21 may contain a conductive agent, a binder, a thickener, and the like in addition to the negative electrode active material. Examples of the negative electrode active material include carbon materials such as natural graphite…”],
the band-shaped negative electrode has a both-surface coated portion in which the negative electrode mixture layer is formed on both surfaces of the sheet-shaped negative electrode current collector, and a one-surface coated portion in which the negative electrode mixture layer is formed on one surface of the sheet-shaped negative electrode current collector [page 2, lines 76-79, “the negative electrode having a double-sided coated portion in which the negative electrode mixture layer is formed on both sides of the negative electrode current collector and a single-sided coated portion in which the negative electrode mixture layer is formed on one side of the negative electrode current collector”],
at least a part of the one-surface coated portion is disposed on an outermost circumference of the wound electrode assembly [page 2, lines 79-81, “the single-sided coated portion being formed in a portion located at the outermost periphery of the electrode group”], and
at least a part of an exposed surface of the sheet-shaped negative electrode current collector in the one-surface coated portion is contacted with an inner face of the exterior housing can [page 2, lines 81-82, “the exposed surface of the negative electrode current collector in the single-sided coated portion being in contact with the inner surface of the battery case”].
While Nakai does not specifically describe the electrodes as “band-shaped”, Nakai teaches that the electrodes are cut into strips having a length much larger than their width, making them band-shaped [page 7, lines 293-294, “The positive electrode was cut into a strip having a size (width: 56 mm, length: 800 mm)”, page 8, lines 318-319, “The negative electrode was cut into a strip having a size (58 mm in the width direction and 900 mm in the longitudinal direction Z)”].
The carbon material, such as the graphite, taught by Nakai as the negative electrode active material, may constitute the “rechargeable active material”. Since the battery taught by Nakai is a secondary battery, meaning that it is rechargeable, the negative electrode active material must also be rechargeable.
Nakai does not teach a degree of swelling of the binder by an electrolyte liquid in the one-surface coated portion being larger than a degree of swelling of the binder in the both-surface coated portion.
Mihashi teaches analogous art of a non-aqueous secondary battery comprising a wound electrode assembly with a positive electrode active material layer coated on a positive electrode current collector, a negative electrode active material layer coated on a negative electrode current collector and a separator interposed between the electrodes [0011]. Mihashi also teaches that the electrode active material layers may include a binder in the edge portions that has a higher degree of swelling by the non-aqueous electrolyte than a binder in the intermediate portion (on the inside of the electrode assembly) of the electrode layers [0015, lines 156-160]. The edge portions, which include parts of the outer periphery of the electrode assembly facing a battery container body, with the higher degree of swelling become thicker than the intermediate portion with the lower degree of swelling, preventing the nonaqueous electrolyte from being pushed outside of the electrode assembly [0057, “the edge portions E1a and E2a of the negative electrode active material layer 243 become thicker than the middle portion Ca”, “For this reason, the nonaqueous electrolyte that has soaked into the intermediate portion C of the wound electrode body 200 is unlikely to be pushed out to the outside of the wound electrode body”].
Mihashi discloses that nonaqueous secondary batteries may have deteriorated battery performance such as increasing resistance and reduced output when the battery is rapidly charged and discharged repeatedly [0051, lines 656-660]. This reduced performance is likely due to the leaking of the electrolyte from inside the electrode assembly, thereby reducing the amount of electrolyte inside the assembly [0051]. Mihashi discloses that this happens because the amount of lithium ions when the electrolyte is pushed out of the electrode assembly becomes insufficient for charging and discharging [0053, “When the nonaqueous electrolyte is pushed out from the inside of the wound electrode body 200, the lithium ions required for charging and discharging inside the wound electrode body 200 become insufficient”]. Mihashi discloses that by preventing the electrolyte from being pushed out using the different degrees of swelling of the binder in the edge portions versus the intermediate portions, a shortage of lithium ions can be prevented, and increase in resistance and decreased inputs/outputs can be suppressed [0059, lines 777-782].
A person having ordinary skill in the art would understand that providing a binder with increased swelling at any outer periphery where electrolyte loss could pose a problem, either in the width direction or longitudinal direction of the electrode assembly, would be beneficial in retaining the electrolyte in the interior of the electrode assembly, as taught by Mihashi. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the band-shaped negative electrode taught by Nakai to have a higher degree of swelling of the binder in the one-surface coated portion than the degree of swelling in the both-surface coated portion, being that the one-surface coated portion is disposed on the outer periphery of the wound electrode assembly, and that making the outer periphery thicker than the inside, or the both-surface coated portion, would keep the nonaqueous electrolyte from being pushed out, as taught by Mihashi. The motivation for doing so would be to suppress an increase in resistance and decrease in inputs/outputs as taught by Mihashi.
Additionally, Mihashi teaches that the regions of the negative electrode active material layer having a binder with a high degree of swelling expand within the cell [0111, “for the edge portions E1a and E2a of the negative electrode active material layer 243, SBR, which is the binder component of the negative electrode active material layer 243, is SBR that has a high degree of swelling in a non-aqueous electrolyte solution. This causes the edge portions E1a and E2a of the negative electrode active material layer 243 to expand within the cell”]. Nakai teaches that by bringing the exposed surface of the one-surface coated portion disposed on the outer periphery of the elect rode assembly in contact with the inner surface of the exterior housing, the battery has reduced internal resistance and little loss of battery capacity [page 3, lines 91-95]. Therefore, applying the teaching of the high degree of swelling of the binder in Mihashi to the one-surface coated portion disposed on the outer periphery (in the radial direction) of the wound electrode assembly of Nakai would naturally result in the one-surface coated portion expanding radially to facilitate contact between the exposed surface of the one-surface coated portion and the inner face of the exterior housing can. See the case law established in Persion Pharms. LLC v. Alvogen Malta Operations LTD., where the court stated that a proper finding of inherency does not require that all limitations are taught in a single reference, and that inherency may meet a missing claim limitation when the limitation is “the natural result of the combination of prior art elements.” (emphasis in original) (Persion Pharms. LLC v. Alvogen Malta Operations LTD., 945 F.3d 1184, 1191, 2019 USPQ2d 494084 (Fed. Cir. 2019)) [MPEP 2112(IV)].
Further regarding claim 2, modified Nakai teaches the non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery as described in the rejection for instant claim 1. Nakai does not teach a degree of swelling of the binder in the one-surface coated portion being 1.2 to 2.1 times larger than the degree of swelling in the both-surface coated portion.
Mihashi teaches an example (sample B) of a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery wherein the edge portions of the negative electrode active material layer comprise a binder made of SBR (styrene-butadiene rubber) having a swelling degree of 300% in the non-aqueous electrolyte, and the central portion of the negative electrode active material comprises a binder made of SBR having a swelling degree of 150% in the non-aqueous electrolyte [0081, “In this example, the binders used were SBR(a) (SP value: about 9) having a swelling degree of about 300% in the non-aqueous electrolyte, and SBR(b) (SP value: about 12) having a swelling degree of about 150% in the non-aqueous electrolyte”]. The degree of swelling of the edge portions is 2 times larger than the degree of swelling of the central portions, which is within the recited range.
Mihashi teaches that the reaction resistance in a cell with a uniform degree of swelling of the binder (sample A) was much higher than that of the sample B [0093, “in sample B, in which the degree of swelling at the edge of the negative electrode active material layer is higher than that at the middle portion, the reaction resistance after high-rate charge-discharge cycling is slightly higher than that before the charge-discharge cycling, but is not as high as that of sample A”]. Mihashi further discloses that the rate of increase in reaction resistance after cycling in sample B is much lower than the rate of increase in reaction resistance after cycling in sample A [0095, lines 1287-1292].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the band-shaped negative electrode taught by modified Nakai to have a degree of swelling of the binder in the one-surface coated portion 2 times larger than the degree of swelling of the binder in the both-surface coated portion in order to suppress the increase in reaction resistance of the battery after cycling.
Further regarding claim 3, modified Nakai teaches the non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery as described in the rejection for instant claim 1, wherein the binder is a styrene-butadiene rubber [page 7, lines 297-300, “The negative electrode plate was prepared by the following method … 75g of an aqueous dispersion containing 40% by weight of styrene-butadiene copolymer (rubber particles) as a binder”].
Further regarding claim 5, modified Nakai teaches the non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery as described in the rejection for instant claim 1. Nakai teaches that the exposed surface of the sheet-shaped negative electrode current collector in the one-surface coated portion is disposed on an outer surface of the sheet-shaped negative electrode current collector which contacts the exterior housing can [page 2, lines 79-82, “the single-sided coated portion being formed in a portion located at the outermost periphery of the electrode group, and the exposed surface of the negative electrode current collector in the single-sided coated portion being in contact with the inner surface of the battery case”]. Nakai further teaches that a coated surface in the one-surface coated portion is disposed opposite to the exposed surface of the sheet-shaped negative electrode current collector, meaning that the coated surface must be disposed on an inner surface of the sheet-shaped negative electrode current collector [page 4, lines 146-148, “since the negative electrode mixture layer 21 is formed on the surface opposite to the exposed surface 20a of the negative electrode current collector 20 in the single-sided coated portion 2b”, Fig. 2(b)].
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakai (WO 2012042830) in view of Mihashi (JP 2013235795) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Sugimori et al. (US 20160329557, hereinafter "Sugimori").
Regarding claim 4, modified Nakai teaches the non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery as described in the rejection for instant claim 1. Modified Nakai does not teach a silicon material in the negative electrode mixture layer.
Sugimori teaches analogous art of a negative electrode for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery with a negative electrode mixture layer placed on a negative electrode current collector [Abstract; entire disclosure relied upon]. Sugimori teaches a negative electrode active material in the negative electrode mixture layer preferably includes silicon [0027, “The negative electrode active material preferably contains silicon”].
Sugimori discloses that when the negative electrode active material includes silicon, the change in volume of the active material while charging and discharging is larger than when only a carbon material is used, which reduces the amount of cavities in the electrode [0027, “he amount of cavities in the electrode is significantly reduced because the negative electrode active material, which contains silicon, expands in association with charge and discharge”]. Sugimori also teaches that the presence of silicon in the active material leads to higher capacity [0027, “Furthermore, when the negative electrode active material contains silicon, higher capacity can be achieved as compared to when the negative electrode active material used is the carbon material only”]. The presence of silicon also helps further suppress the increase of resistance as opposed to when the active material only contains carbon [0029, “The effect of suppressing the increase of resistance is further exhibited when the negative electrode active material contains silicon as compared to when the negative electrode active material is the carbon material only”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the band-shaped negative electrode taught by modified Nakai by adding silicon to the negative electrode active material in the negative electrode mixture layer as taught by Sugimori, in order to reduce the amount of cavities in the electrode, increase capacity, and suppress an increase in resistance.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 12/19/2025 have been considered but are moot because the arguments are directed towards Okada et al. (JP 2013171806) and do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection in light of the amendment.
Conclusion
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/M.F.O./Examiner, Art Unit 1729
/ULA C RUDDOCK/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1729