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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 02/27/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
This is a non-final Office action in response to Applicant’s remarks and amendments filed on 02/27/2026. Claim 1 is amended. Claim 8, 10, and 18 are canceled. Claims 1 – 7, 9, and 11 – 20 are pending in the current Office action.
The 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections set forth in the previous Office action are withdrawn. A new grounds of rejection is established below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 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. Specifically, the examiner relies on the prior art Honda (US PG Pub. 2018/0366785 A1) to address the limitation regarding the bending segments only including insulating substrate rather than the previously relied upon art: Naoi (US PG Pub. 2012/0288747 A1).
Claim Objections
Claims 11 – 13 and 19 – 20 objected to because of the following informalities: The claims have improper claim status identifiers. Based on the non-final rejection mailed 05/29/25 and the prosecution history since, the claims marked as “withdrawn” have already been rejoined and examined. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claim(s) 1 – 7, 9, 11 – 17, and 19 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shibata (WO2019073914A1, cited in the previous Office action mailed 11/28/2025) in view of Nishinaka (US PG Pub. 20130022865 A1, cited in the previous Office action mailed 11/28/2025), Ido (JP2019057422A, cited in the previous Office action mailed 11/28/2025), and Honda (US PG Pub. 2018/0366785 A1) .
Regarding Claims 1 and 11, Shibata discloses an electrode assembly for a battery (Fig. 2, 200; [0042];[0052]), the electrode assembly comprising: a first electrode sheet (negative electrode; Fig. 2, 10B; [0042];[0052]) comprising active material layers with a first polarity (Refer to negative electrode active material layers 12B in Fig. 2; [0042 – 0043];[0052]); and a battery cell comprising the electrode assembly ([0015]) (Claim 11).
In Fig. 2, Shibata shows the negative electrode active material layers included on the two surfaces of the current collector that are opposite to each other in a thickness direction of the first electrode sheet; therefore, Shibata necessarily teaches a first electrode sheet comprising one electricity-conducting layer {i.e. the current collector} and the one electricity conducting layer coated by both active material layers. Shibata further teaches using metal foils selected from copper, stainless steel, and nickel for the negative electrode current collector ([0025]).
Shibata does not explicitly disclose a first electrode sheet comprising an insulating substrate and two electricity-conducting layers, wherein the insulating substrate has two surfaces opposite to each other in a thickness direction of the first electrode sheet and the two electricity-conductors are arranged on the two surfaces respectively.
Nishinaka teaches a current collector, for the electrodes of a nonaqueous secondary cell, having a multi-layered structure comprising an insulation layer sandwiched by electrically conductive layers (Fig. 4; [0013 – 0014]). The electrically conductive layers are metal foil layer and Nishinaka further teaches that the multi-layered structure is applicable to both negative electrode and positive electrode current collectors ([0019];[0160 – 0161]). The use of the multi-layered current collector is taught by Nishinaka to improve the safety of the cell when implemented in an electrode, because the resin material of the insulation layer of current collector readily melts when abnormal overheating occurs ([0023 – 0024]).
Since Shibata already teaches using metal foil current collectors, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to utilize the current collectors taught in Nishinaka as the current collectors for Shibata’s electrode assembly with a reasonable expectation of success in achieving a battery with improved safety and reliability.
By including Nishinaka’s current collector as the negative electrode current collector 11B in Fig. 2 of Shibata, modified Shibata’s first electrode comprises the claimed configuration of an insulating substrate (Nishinaka: Fig. 4, 13; [0048 – 0049];[0160 – 0161]), two electricity-conducting layers (Nishinaka; Fig. 4, 14; [0048 – 0049];[0160 – 0161]), and active material layers (Refer to Fig. 5 in Nishinaka and the negative electrode 10B configuration shown in Fig. 2 in Shibata), wherein the insulating substrate has two surfaces opposite to each other in a thickness direction of the first electrode sheet (Refer to Fig. 4 in Nishinaka), the two electricity conducting layers are arranged on the two surfaces respectively (Refer to Fig. 4 in Nishinaka), and the two electricity-conducting layers are each coated with one of the active material layers, that is the modified electrode collector would include active material layers on each surface of the two electricity-conducting layers based on configuration of the negative electrode active material layers 12B and the current collector 11B shown in Fig. 2 of Shibata.
In modified Shibata the first electrode sheet is a continuous structure and is bent to form a multi-layer structure (Shibata: Figs. 2 and 5; [0052];[0064]) and comprises a plurality of bending segments (Refer to correspond bending segments included in curved portions 101 of the electrode assembly in annotated Fig. 2 below and Shibata: [0043];[0052]) and a plurality of first layer-stacking segments (Refer to correspond first layer-stacking segments included in non-curved portions 102 of the electrode assembly shown in annotated Fig. 2 below and Shibata: [0043];[0052]), and each of the bending segments is configured to connect two adjacent first layer-stacking segments, that is the bending segments and stacking segments are connected (Refer to annotated Fig. 2 below).
PNG
media_image1.png
381
874
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Annotated Fig. 2 showing corresponding first electrode stacking and bending segments in Shibata.
Shibata further teaches excluding active material on the portion of the negative electrode that is curved to prevent tensile stress from being generated in the electrode material layer at the curved portion ([0069]).
Modified Shibata does not explicitly disclose each of the bending segments comprising a guiding portion for guiding the bending segment to be bent during production.
Ido teaches a folded electrode structure where the bent portions of the electrode, portions of the collector that do not include active material, include a slit {i.e. Fig. 3, 28a} or a plurality of perforations/notches to make the current collector plate easier to bend at the desired region {i.e. Fig. 3(b – c), 28b /28c} ([0039 – 0041];[0057];[0064]). The bent portions are taught to be provided between adjacent electrode portions to allow the current collector plate to be bent efficiently ([0015]).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the current collector of modified Shibata to include a groove or plurality of perforations/notches at the bent portions, as taught by Ido, with a reasonable expectation of success in making the electrode easier to bend at the desired regions of the current collector and furthering Shibata’s goal of avoiding generating tensile stress at the curved portion of the electrode.
By including a slit or plurality of notches/perforations on the portion of the negative electrode collector that are meant to be bent, modified Shibata includes the claimed structure of wherein each of the bending segments {i.e. the bent portions of the collector are included in the bending segments} comprises a guiding portion for guiding the bending segment to be bent during production.
PNG
media_image2.png
381
788
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Annotated Fig.2 showing corresponding first and second layer-stacking segments in Shibata.
Shibata further discloses a second electrode sheet (positive electrode; Fig. 2, 10A; [0042];[0052]) having a second polarity opposite to the first polarity ([0042];[0052]), and the second electrode sheet comprising a plurality of second layer-stacking segments (Refer to corresponding second layer-stacking segments shown in annotated Fig. 2 above) and wherein the plurality of second layer-stacking segments and the plurality of first layer-stacking segments are alternately arranged (Refer to alternate stacking configuration of the corresponding first and second layer-stacking segments shown in annotated Fig. 2 above).
As established above, the current collector of modified Shibata is formed of three layers, specifically an insulation layer sandwiched by electrically conductive layers (Nishinaka: Fig. 4; [0013 – 0014]). Furthermore, in Fig. 2 of Shibata, the bent portion of the electrode is shown without active material 12B; therefore, in modified Shibata, the active material layers on the bending segments are removed and only the multi-layer current collector is included in the corresponding bending segment of the electrode assembly and the active
Modified Shibata does not; however, particularly disclose wherein the electricity conductive layers on the bending segments are also removed so that only insulating substrate is arranged on each of the bending segments.
Honda teaches a battery electrode assembly including a current collector plate 101 for the electrode that is a continuous extended structure (Fig. 1; [0070 – 0072]). The first current collector us further explicitly taught to include bent portions only comprised of insulating material {i.e. 122 and 121 in Fig. 1} ([0083];[0093]). Honda further teaches including the insulating portions for the purpose of suppressing short circuiting by preventing mutual contact between members that may exist outside of the battery (e.g., another battery, etc.), and the side face of the battery where the insulating portion is situated ([0087];[0096];[0152]).
Since Shibata is concerned with preventing short circuiting and already teaches removing active material at the corresponding bending segments of the electrode ([0007];[0026]) and modified Shibata includes an insulating layer as a middle layer of the collector, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the negative electrode current collector of modified Shibata by also removing the electrically conductive layers of the collector at the bending segments of the negative electrode, and thus only include insulating material at the bent portions of the collector, as suggested by Honda, with a reasonable expectation of success in further suppressing the risk of short circuiting within the battery of Shibata by preventing mutual contact between members that may exist outside of the battery (e.g., another battery, etc.), and the side face of the battery where the insulating portion is situated.
Further, by including only the insulating layer portion of the collector at the bending segment, modified Shibata as established above provides the claimed structure of wherein active material layers and electricity-conductive layers on the bending segments are all removed so that only the insulating substrate is arranged on each of the bending segments.
Regarding Claims 2 and 12, modified Shibata discloses all limitations as set forth above. Modified Shibata further includes the claimed structure of wherein the guiding portion is arranged in a first direction, and the first direction is perpendicular to a bending direction of the bending segment, that is in modified Shibata the bending direction is vertical (Refer to Fig. 5 in Shibata) and the guiding portion {i.e. the groove or through hole(s)} are arranged along the width of the collector (Refer to Ido: Fig. 3 and how the guiding portion 28a – 28c are shown to be formed along the width of the collector) and the width direction of the collector {i.e. into the page} is perpendicular to the vertical folding direction in Shibata.
Regarding Claims 3 and 13, modified Shibata discloses all limitations as set forth above. Modified Shibata further discloses wherein each of the first-layer stacking segments comprises two first outer edges opposite to each other; after the bending segment is guided to be bent during production, the first outer edges of the two adjacent first layer-stacking segments connected to the bending segments are consistent; that is, based on Figs. 2, 5 and 6A – 6D in Shibata, the adjacent negative electrode 10B portions including the active material, which correspond to the claimed first-layer stacking segments, appear to be of the same size, have a rectangular/square shape, and are formed on the same continuous current collector; and thus, would necessarily be expected to provide two first outer edges opposite to each other that, when bent, would further provide consistent edges that align.
Regarding Claims 4 and 14, modified Shibata discloses all limitations as set forth above. Modified Shibata includes, as a guide for bending, either a slit or a plurality of perforations/notches in the bent portions of the collector (Refer to slit or perforations/notches shown in Figs. 3(a) – 3(c) of Ido and Ido: [0039 – 0041])). As such, Modified Shibata further has the claimed structure of wherein the guiding portion comprises at least one groove {i.e. a slit as shown in Fig. 3(a) of Ido} or at least one through hole {i.e. plurality of notches/perforations as shown in Fig. 3(b) and 3(c) of Ido}.
PNG
media_image3.png
391
1035
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Annotated Fig. 2 from Shibata and Fig. 3(a) from Ido exemplifying groove configuration.
Regarding Claims 5 and 15, modified Shibata discloses all limitations as set forth above. Modified Shibata includes, as a guide for bending, either a slit or a plurality of perforations/notches in the bent portions of the collector (Refer to slit or perforations/notches shown in Figs. 3(a) – 3(c) of Ido and Ido: [0039 – 0041])). The slit of the bending portion is shown to extend continuously in the width direction of the collector, which would correspond to the direction that goes into the page in Shibata, and further is shown penetrate the current collector in a thickness direction (Refer to annotated Fig. 2 and Fig. 3(a) above).
Therefore, when including the slit as taught by Ido, modified Shibata’s guiding portion structure has the claimed structure of, wherein when the guiding portion comprises only one groove {i.e. slit 28a from Fig. 3(a) in Ido), in a first direction perpendicular to a bending direction of the bending segment {i.e. direction that extends into page is perpendicular to vertical bending direction}, the groove is arranged continuously and penetrates the bending segment (Refer to groove configuration in Fig. 3(a) of Ido).
Regarding Claims 6 and 16, modified Shibata discloses all limitations as set forth above. Modified Shibata includes, as a guide for bending, either a slit or a plurality of perforations/notches in the bent portions of the collector (Refer to slit or perforations/notches shown in Figs. 3(a) – 3(c) of Ido and Ido: [0039 – 0041])). The perforations/notches included in the bent portion are shown to be spaced from one another along the width of the collector (Refer to Ido: Fig 3(b), 28b and Fig 3(c), 28c).
Therefore, when including the perforations/notches as taught by Ido, modified Shibata’s guiding portion structure has the claimed structure of, wherein when the guiding portion comprises a plurality of through holes, the plurality of through holes are arranged to be spaced from one another.
PNG
media_image4.png
381
872
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Annotated Fig. 2 exemplifying modified Shibata’s corresponding groove location.
Regarding Claims 7 and 17, modified Shibata discloses all limitations as set forth above. In modified Shibata, the groove is included in the bent portion {i.e. inner side of bend} (Refer to Ido: Fig. 3(a); [0040];[0064]) and annotated Fig. 2 above), as such, in modified Shibata, the groove is arranged on a surface of the bending segment close to the second layer-stacking segments.
Regarding Claim 9, modified Shibata discloses all limitations as set forth above. Modified Shibata includes, as a guide for bending, either a slit or a plurality of perforations/notches in the bent portions of the collector (Refer to slit or perforations/notches shown in Figs. 3(a) – 3(c) of Ido and Ido: [0039 – 0041])). The protrusions/notches are shown to extend completely through, and thus penetrate the current collector (Refer to Ido: Figs. 3(b) and Figs. 3(c); [0040]); therefore, in modified Shibata, when the guiding portion comprises the at least one through hole, the at least one through hole penetrates the bending segment, that is the current collector which is included in the bending segment.
Regarding Claims 19 – 20, modified Shibata discloses all limitations as set forth above. Shibata teaches using the secondary battery in, for example, mobile devices, home and small industrial devices, large industrial devices, transportation systems, power system applications, etc. ([0088]).
Shibata does not explicitly disclose an embodiment of a battery comprising the battery cell (Claim 19), and further an electricity-consuming device comprising the battery, wherein the battery is configured to supply electrical energy (Claim 20); however, since Shibata teaches applying the battery in larger applications that one with ordinary skill in the art would understand to require a battery including at least one secondary battery {i.e. transportation systems such as electric cars}, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include the battery cell of modified Shibata in an a battery for a larger system, such as a vehicle, with a reasonable expectation of success that such a battery cell would be suitable for the application.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ARYANA Y ORTIZ whose telephone number is (571)270-5986. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00 AM - 5:00 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, Jonathan Leong can be reached at (571) 270-1292. 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.
/A.Y.O./Examiner, Art Unit 1751
/JONATHAN G LEONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1751 5/28/2026
Prosecution Insights