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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 01/13/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-11 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.
Lee (US-20190393474-A1) (previously referred to as “Lee 2”) is newly applied to claim 1 in combination with Koishikawa.
The examiner notes that the instant specification does not mention an “edge of an uncoated portion” as described in the amendment to claim 1. The figures, for example fig. 5 of the instant application, shows an insulating layer away from the end edge of the current collector, however the instant specifications does not point out or further describe this element. Nor is motivation for moving the insulating away from the end edge of the current collector specifically provided. The instant specification submits under advantageous effects that “an insulating layer having a predetermined pattern is coated on an exposed region of an electrode current collector to which an active material is not coated, so that rigidity of the exposed region of the electrode current collector may be increased by the pattern of the insulating layer,” wherein this advantageous effect may be particularly achieved by having a first coating spaced apart from the end of the active material layer and a second coating spaced apart from the first coating (see “Technical Solution”). However, the element of having the second coating spaced a distance away from an edge of the current collector is not specifically emphasized as improving rigidity, or otherwise providing a structural improvement.
Yamahira (JP-2008097964-A) is newly applied to claims 4 and 10.
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-9, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koishikawa (JP-2016012499-A), and further in view of Lee (US-20190393474-A1).
Regarding claim 1, Koishikawa discloses a secondary battery electrode, comprising: an electrode current collector 41a (see e.g., Koishikawa; [0027]-[0028]) including first and second regions; an active material layer 42b (see e.g., Koishikawa; [0032]) positioned on the first region of the electrode current collector (see e.g., Koishikawa; fig. 4b); and an insulating layer resin-containing layer 45 positioned on the second region of the electrode current collector, wherein the insulating layer includes a first line portion, one section of layer 45, and a second line portion, another section of layer 45, offset from one another along a lateral dimension (see e.g., Koishikawa; [0032], fig. 4a-b, regarding the sections of insulating layer 45 distanced from each other).
Line portions are interpreted as sections of a resin insulating layer on the electrode configured in a line or stripe shape based on the instant specifications description of insulating layer 230 comprising line portions 231 and 235. Sections of layer 45 are interpreted to meet the claimed first and second line portions because fig. 4a shows the sections of layer 45 configured in a stripe shape extending vertically across.
Koishikawa discloses that one section of insulating layer 45 corresponding to a first line portion is positioned a distance from an edge of an uncoated portion of the electrode current collector along the lateral dimension (see e.g., Koishikawa; figs. 4a-b).
Koishikawa does not explicitly disclose wherein the second line portion is positioned a distance from an edge of an uncoated portion of the electrode current collector along the lateral dimension. However, Lee discloses similar insulating layers wherein the layers are positioned a distance from an edge of an uncoated portion of the electrode current collector along the lateral dimension (see e.g., Lee; figs. 6A, 6B, [0102]-[0105], regarding insulating layer 380 which are positioned away from the end of the current collector). Lee is further analogous art because Lee discloses the active material and insulating layer may be coated on both sides of the current collector, and Lee is also in the context of a lithium ion secondary battery. Lee is further combinable because Lee similarly discloses that the insulating layers may be spaced apart a predetermined distance from the active material layer (see e.g., Lee; [0102]). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the second line portion, the portion of layer 45, of Koishikawa to be a distance from an edge of an uncoated portion of the electrode current collector along the lateral dimension as disclosed by Lee in order to position the insulating layer to predetermined areas such that the electrode are not electrically short-circuited even if the separator is punched by bent regions of the current collector (see e.g., Lee; [0103], [0011]). Lee discloses the current collector may be bent to connected to the electrode terminal (see e.g., Lee; [0011]). This modification is further applicable because Lee similarly discloses a battery structure comprising wound electrodes in a flat and rectangular shape (see e.g., Lee; fig. 1A-B), which is the same structure of Koishikawa. While Koishikawa does not disclose the same exact connection method of the current collectors as in Lee, Koishikawa does disclose that the current collectors are connected to board parts 41d and 42d (see e.g., Koishikawa; fig. 2, [0019]), which may similarly require bending regions in the current collector. Therefore, the motivation of preventing short circuits at portions along the current collector next to the separator as disclosed by Lee is applicable to Koishikawa.
Regarding claim 2, modified Koishikawa teaches the elements of claim 1 as described above. Koishikawa also discloses the first line portion and the second line portion are spaced apart from each other at the same interval (see e.g., Koishikawa; fig. 4a-b). That is, the first line portion of layer 45 which may be the left vertical stripe shown in fig. 4a and the second line portion of layer 45 which may be the right vertical strip shown in fig. 4a are spaced equally, or spaced at the same interval, apart from each other. Or in other words, there is only one interval shown between the portions such that they are of equal distance apart from each other.
Regarding claim 3, modified Koishikawa teaches the elements of claim 1 as described above. Koishikawa also discloses the second line portion has the same straight line shaped pattern as the first line portion (see e.g., Koishikawa; fig. 4a-b).
Regarding claim 5, modified Koishikawa teaches the elements of claim 1 as described above. Koishikawa also discloses that the electrode tab, terminal portion 32 of current collector plates 30A and 30B, is attached to at least a portion of the second region (see e.g., [0019], fig. 2).
Regarding claim 6, modified Koishikawa teaches the elements of claim 1 as described above. Koishikawa also discloses the insulating layer has the same height as or a smaller height than that of the active material layer (see e.g., Koishikawa; [0028], fig. 4b).
Regarding claim 7, modified Koishikawa teaches the elements of claim 1 as described above. Koishikawa does not specifically teach the insulating layer further includes a third line portion, and the third line portion crosses at least one of the line portions.
However, Lee discloses insulating layers 280 (see e.g., Lee; [0089], figs. 5a-b), or in another embodiment, insulating layers 380 (see e.g., Lee; [0102], figs. 6a-b). Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the electrode current collector disclosed by Koishikawa by providing an additional insulating layer from Lee to form a third line portion that crosses at least one of the first or second line portions. The third line portion may be on either side of the current collector as shown in Lee (see e.g., Lee; fig. 6A-B), the third line portion crossing the first or second line portion by being on the opposite side of the current collector such that they are overlapped and therefore crossing. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to suppress multi-tab short circuits by increasing the insulation level of multi-tabs (see e.g., Lee; [0010]).
Regarding claim 8, modified Koishikawa teach the elements of claim 7 as described above. Koishikawa does not specifically teach at least one or more third line portions are spaced apart from each other at the same intervals.
However, Lee teaches insulating layers 280 (see e.g., Lee; [0089], figs. 5a-b), or in another embodiment, insulating layers 380 (see e.g., Lee; [0102], figs. 6a-b). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the electrode current collector disclosed by Koishikawa by providing an additional insulating layer from Lee to form a third line portion such that at least one or more third line portions are spaced apart from each other at the same intervals. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to suppress multi-tab short circuits by increasing the insulation level of multi-tabs (see e.g., Lee; [0010]).
Regarding claim 9, modified Koishikawa teach the elements of claim 7 as described above. Koishikawa does not specifically teach a third line portion wherein the third line portion has the same pattern as the first line portion.
However, Lee teaches insulating layers 280 (see e.g., Lee; [0089], figs. 5a-b), or in another embodiment, insulating layers 380 (see e.g., Lee; [0102], figs. 6a-b) which have the same straight line pattern as the first line portion. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the electrode current collector disclosed by Koishikawa by providing an additional insulating layer from Lee to form a third line portion such that the third line portion has the same pattern as the first line portion. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to suppress multi-tab short circuits by increasing the insulation level of multi-tabs (see e.g., Lee; [0010]).
Regarding claim 11, modified Koishikawa teaches the elements of claim 7 as described above. Koishikawa does not specifically teach a third line portion having different thicknesses compared to the second line portion.
Koishikawa teaches that the thickness of the insulating resin-containing layer 45 is equal to or smaller than the thickness of the positive electrode mixture layer 41b and the thickness of the electrode mixture layer 41b is, for example, about 90 μm (see e.g., Koishikawa; [0028]).
Lee teaches insulating layers 280 (see e.g., Lee; [0089], figs. 5a-b), or in another embodiment, insulating layers 380 (see e.g., Lee; [0102], figs. 6a-b), wherein the insulating layers may be smaller than the thickness of the active material layer may be in the range of 0.1 μm to about 100 μm, and most preferably 3 μm to about 8 μm (see e.g., Lee; [0090]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the electrode current collector disclosed by Koishikawa by providing a third line insulation layer between 3 μm to 8 μm thickness disclosed by Lee such that the second line portion of Koishikawa is a different thickness than the third line portion disclosed by Lee. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to suppress multi-tab short circuits by increasing the insulation level of multi-tabs (see e.g., Lee; [0010]).
Regarding claim 13, modified Koishikawa teaches the secondary battery electrode of claim 1. Modified Koishikawa with Lee teaches forming the edge of the uncoated portion by shifting the insulating layer away from the edge as described above regarding claim 1. Koishikawa shows in fig. 4a wherein the edge of the current collector is straight, which is parallel to the first boundary (the strip between the insulating layers 45) as claimed.
Claim(s) 4 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koishikawa (JP-2016012499-A) and Lee (US-20190393474-A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yamahira (JP-2008097964-A) (see translation).
Regarding claim 4, Koishikawa teaches the elements of claim 1 as described above. Koishikawa also teaches a line connecting one end and the other end of the second line portion is parallel to the first line portion, shown by the two parallel sections 45 (see e.g., Koishikawa; fig. 4a-b).
Koishikawa does not specifically teach that the first line portion and the second line portion have different patterns. However, Yamahira discloses an insulating tape layer on an uncoated portion of the current collector wherein the insulating tape has a pattern which extends past the top edge of the current collector and extends past the bottom edge of the current collector (see e.g., Yamahira; fig. 2). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the section of insulating layer 45 close to the active material layer of Koishikawa by making the pattern of the layer extend past the current collector on the top and bottom edges as disclosed by Yamahira. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to prevent short circuits and damage during winding of the electrode (see e.g., Yamahira; [0003]). With this modification, the pattern of the first line portion and the second line portion are different. The modification of Yamahira to the layer 45 close to the active material layer of Koishikawa is further reasonable because Yamahira shows the insulating layer close to the active material layer (see e.g., Yamahira; fig. 2).
Regarding claim 10, modified Koishikawa teach the elements of claim 7 as described above.
Koishikawa does not specifically teach a third line portion, and a line connecting one end and the other end of the third line portion is parallel to a second boundary perpendicular to the first boundary partitioning the first region and the second region. However, Lee teaches insulating layers 280 (see e.g., Lee; [0089], figs. 5a-b), or in another embodiment, insulating layers 380 (see e.g., Lee; [0102], figs. 6a-b). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the electrode current collector disclosed by Koishikawa by providing an additional insulating layer from Lee to form a third line portion that is parallel to a second boundary perpendicular to the first boundary partitioning the first region and the second region. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to suppress multi-tab short circuits by increasing the insulation level of multi-tabs (see e.g., Lee; [0010]).
Koishikawa modified by Lee does not specifically teach that the third line portion and the first line portion have different patterns. However, Yamahira discloses an insulating tape layer on an uncoated portion of the current collector wherein the insulating tape has a pattern which extends past the top edge of the current collector and extends past the bottom edge of the current collector (see e.g., Yamahira; fig. 2). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified pattern of the third line portion by making the pattern of the layer extend past the current collector on the top and bottom edges as disclosed by Yamahira. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to prevent short circuits and damage during winding of the electrode (see e.g., Yamahira; [0003]). Thus, the pattern of the third line portion is different from the pattern of the first line portion.
Conclusion
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/KEVIN SONG/Examiner, Art Unit 1728
/MATTHEW T MARTIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1728