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 .
Examiner’s Comments
Regarding the limitation(s) "adjacent" in the claims, the Examiner has given the term(s) the broadest reasonable interpretation(s) consistent with the written description in Applicants' specification as it would be interpreted by one of ordinary skill in the art. In re Morris, 127 F.3d 1048, 1054-55, 44 USPQ2d 1023, 1027 (Fed. Cir. 1997); In re Donaldson Co., Inc., 16 F.3d 1190, 1192-95, 29 USPQ2d 1845, 1848-50 (Fed. Cir. 1994). See MPEP 2111. Specifically, the Examiner notes that “adjacent” still allows for other component(s) to be therebetween (i.e. “adjacent” is taken to be synonymous with “near”). Should Applicants desire to exclude other component(s) from being located therebetween, the Examiner suggests using “in contact with”.
Response to Amendment
Examiner acknowledges the amended Drawings, Specification, and Claim 1 and withdrawn Claims 8-11 in the response filed on 1/23/2026.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/23/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Mitsuta criticizes electrode assemblies that have the negative electrode sheet having a larger area than the positive electrode sheet. Mitsuta further states that “the positive electrode layer 13 and the negative electrode layer 15 have the same shape and area”. Therefore, Mitsuta does not teach the negative electrode sheet has a larger area than the positive electrode sheet as claimed (Page 7 of Applicant’s response).
Applicant’s arguments are unpersuasive. The Examiner acknowledges that Mitsuta teaches the positive electrode layer 13 and the negative electrode layer 15 have the same shape and area [0026]. However, Mitsuta’s positive and negative electrode layers (13 and 15) are only a portion of its respective electrode sheet (2 or 3 in Figs. 4-5). Mitsuta teaches that its negative electrode sheet includes a negative electrode layer extension portion (24) and negative electrode layer protruding portion (22), wherein the negative electrode layer extension portion (24) has a larger area than the positive electrode layer protrusion portion (21) [0026]. In combination with the negative electrode layer (15), negative electrode layer extension portion (24), and negative electrode layer protruding portion (22), the overall negative electrode sheet of Mitsuta has a larger area than the positive electrode sheet (2: 13 and 21 in Fig. 4).
Examiner further notes that such interpretation is consistent with Applicant’s Claim 1 in that the negative electrode sheet has a plurality of components. Claim 1 recites a negative electrode sheet comprising a negative electrode tab, a negative current collector, a negative electrode mixture layer, and a shoulder portion extending from the negative current collector thereof. Claim 5 further recites that the shoulder portion of the negative electrode sheet has a width greater than a width of the positive electrode tab.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 4-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2009123752 (“Mitsuta et al.”).
With regards to Claims 1 and 5, Mitsuta et al. teaches an electrode assembly (1) comprising a positive electrode sheet (2) having a positive electrode tab (5) protruding from a peripheral edge of one side of a current collector thereof and a positive electrode mixture layer comprising a positive electrode active material applied to a lower part of the positive electrode tab adjacent to the current collector and to the current collector (Figs. 1, 3, 4, and 6, [0018], [0022], [0028], and [0031] - translation document provided by Applicant)).
Mitsuta et al. teaches a negative electrode sheet (3) having a negative electrode tab (6) protruding from a peripheral edge of one side of a current collector thereof and a negative electrode mixture layer comprising a negative electrode active material applied to a lower part of the negative electrode tab adjacent to the current collector and to the current collector (Figs. 1, 3, 5, and 7, [0018], [0024], [0029], and [0031]).
Mitsuta et al. teaches a separator (4) located between the positive electrode sheet (2) and the negative electrode sheet (3), wherein the negative electrode sheet (3) has a shoulder portion (24) extending from the current collector thereof in a horizontal direction by a predetermined length, the negative electrode active material being applied to the shoulder portion (24), and the shoulder portion (24) is wrapped with a coating portion (i.e. part of the separator (4)) (Figs. 1, 3, 5, and 7, [0020], [0025], [0026], and [0029]).
Mitsuta et al. further teaches the shoulder portion (24) of the negative electrode sheet (3) has a width greater than a width of the positive electrode tab (5) (Figs. 1 and 5-7, [0026]). Due to having such structure, Mitsuta et al.’s overall negative electrode sheet (3) has a larger area than the overall positive electrode sheet (2) (Figs. 4 and 5, [0026]).
With regards to Claim 4, Mitsuta et al. teaches the shoulder portion (24) of the negative electrode sheet (3) underlies the positive electrode tab (5) (Figs. 3 and 5).
With regards to Claim 5, Mitsuta et al. teaches the shoulder portion (24) of the negative electrode sheet (3) has a width greater than a width of the positive electrode tab (5) (Figs. 1 and 5-7, [0026]).
With regards to Claims 6 and 7, please see paragraphs [0001] and [0002].
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.
Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2009123752 (“Mitsuta et al.”) as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of WO 2015140912 (“Matsuno et al.”).
While Mitsuta et al. teaches that a coating portion comprising an insulative material on the shoulder portion of the negative electrode (i.e. part of the separator) (Figs. 1 and 3, [0025], and [0026]), Mitsuta et al. does not explicitly teach a vertical portion extending in a vertical direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction connecting corresponding edges of a pair of horizontal portions to each other.
However, Matsuno et al. teaches an insulating coating portion (13) that coats the outer periphery of the negative electrode sheet (3), such that the coating portion comprises a pair of horizontal portions each extending in a horizontal direction and a vertical portion extending in a vertical direction perpendicular to the horizontal direction and connecting corresponding edges of the pair of horizontal portions to each other (Abstract, Figs. 1 and 2, Page 3: Line 70 bridging over to Page 4: Line 2, and Page 4: Lines 50-51 – translation document provided by Applicant). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate an insulating coating portion as claimed onto Mitsuta et al.’s shoulder portion of the negative electrode in order to prevent warpage and to prevent an internal short circuit of the battery using the negative electrode (Page 5: Lines 19-23).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LISA CHAU whose telephone number is (571)270-5496. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 11 AM-730 PM.
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/LC/
Lisa Chau
Art Unit 1785
/Holly Rickman/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785
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