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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 9/30/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
This Office Action is responsive to the amendment filed on 9/30/20205. Claims 15-20 are newly added. Claims 1-20 are pending. Claims 1-20 are non-finally rejected for reasons stated herein below.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed 10/15/2025 has been placed in the application file and the information referred to therein has been considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
In claim 15, the limitation “free of water” is not supported by the disclosure as originally filed. Although Applicant points to the Specification page 26 for support, it does not support the limitation as newly claimed.
Any negative limitation or exclusionary proviso must have basis in the original disclosure. If alternative elements are positively recited in the specification, they may be explicitly excluded in the claims. See In re Johnson, 558 F.2d 1008, 1019, 194 USPQ 187, 196 (CCPA 1977) (“[the] specification, having described the whole, necessarily described the part remaining.”). See also Ex parte Grasselli, 231 USPQ 393 (Bd. App. 1983), aff ’d mem., 738 F.2d 453 (Fed. Cir. 1984). The mere absence of a positive recitation is not basis for an exclusion. Any claim containing a negative limitation which does not have basis in the original disclosure should be rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. See MPEP 2173.05 (i). (emphasis added)
Applicant is required to cancel the new matter in reply to this Office Action.
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 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Park (WO 2019/151833, using US 2020/0373558 as translation) in view of Motoda (US 2014/0242296), or Park (WO 2019/151833, using US 2020/0373558 as translation) in view of Lee (US 2010/0159327) and Motoda (US 2014/0242296).
Regarding claim 1, a method of manufacturing an electrode for a secondary battery, comprising:
applying an electrode slurry including an electrode active material, a conductive material, and a non-aqueous binder onto one surface or both surfaces of a current collector [0038, 0039, 0044, 0049];
applying an insulating composition including an aqueous binder substituted with a non-aqueous solvent so that the insulating composition covers from a portion of the non-coating part of the current collector to a portion of the electrode slurry applied onto the current collector [0051, 0052]; and
drying the electrode slurry and insulating composition applied onto the current collector [0078],
wherein the electrode slurry and the insulating composition include the same or same type of anon-aqueous organic solvent [0084, 0096].
Regarding claim 3, the application of an insulating composition is performed in a state in which the electrode slurry applied onto the current collector is not dried [0078].
Regarding claim 4, the non-aqueous organic solvent is one or more selected from the group consisting of N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP), dimethyl formamide (DMF) and dimethyl acetamide (DMAc), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), ethylene carbonate (EC), diethyl carbonate (DEC), ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC), dimethyl carbonate (DMC), propylene carbonate (PC), dipropyl carbonate (DPC), butylene carbonate (BC), methy! propyl carbonate (MPC), ethyl propyl carbonate (EPC), acetonitrile, dimethoxyethane, tetrahydrofuran (THF), y-butyrolactone, methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, and isopropy! Alcohol [0109].
Regarding claim 8, the non-aqueous binder is one or more selected from the group consisting of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyvinylidene fluoride-co- hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-co-HFP), polyethylene oxide (PEO), polyacrylic acid (PAA), polyimide (PI), polyamideimide (PAI), and a polyimide-polyamideimide copolymer (PI-PAI) [0047].
Regarding claim 9, the aqueous binder is one or more selected from the group consisting of styrene-butadiene rubber, acrylate styrene-butadiene rubber, acrylonitrile-__ butadiene rubber, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene rubber, acrylic rubber, butyl rubber, fluoro rubber, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyethylene, polypropylene, an ethylene-propylene copolymer, polyethylene oxide, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyepichlorohydrin, polyphosphazene, polyacrylonitrile, polystyrene, an ethylene-propylene-diene copolymer, polyvinylpyridine, chlorosulphonated polyethylene, latex, polyester resin, an acrylic resin, phenolic resin, an epoxy resin, polyvinyl alcohol, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, hydroxypropyll cellulose, and diacetyl cellulose [0054].
Regarding claim 11, the non-aqueous organic solvent is N-methyl- pyrrolidone (NMP), and the aqueous binder is styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) [0054, 0058].
Regarding claim 12, the drying of the electrode slurry and insulating composition applied onto the current collector is performed at an average temperature of 50 °C to 300 °C [0102].
Regarding claim 1, applying an insulating composition including an aqueous binder dispersed in a second non-aqueous solvent, and regarding claim 11, the non-aqueous organic solvent is N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP), and the aqueous binder is styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), Park discloses the aqueous binder is, out of a list of 20 polymers, a styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) [0054]. Park discloses the non-aqueous organic solvent N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP) [0058].
Park discloses the non-aqueous organic solvent N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP) [0058], but does not necessarily disclose that the non-aqueous organic solvent N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP) is particularly for SBR. Should it not be anticipatory, Park discloses that the solvent may be suitability selected in consideration of the solubility and viscosity of the binder for an insulating layer [0058]. Lee teaches a battery electrode comprising a styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) using N-methyl-pyrrolidone (NMP) as a solvent [0041].
It would have been obvious to use the NMP as the solvent for SBR binder, as taught by Lee, for the benefit of dissolving the SBR binder in the insulating layer slurry of Park.
The selection of a known material, which is based upon its suitability for the intended use, is within the ambit of one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960). See MPEP § 2144.07.
Regarding claim 1, Park, or Park modified by Lee, discloses the insulating composition including the aqueous binder with the second-nonaqueous organic solvent, but does not disclose that the insulating composition is obtained by adding the second non-aqueous organic solvent to aqueous binder that is dispersed in an aqueous solvent to obtain a mixture, and removing water from the mixture. Matoda teaches a battery insulating layer made from an aqueous binder by a step of producing a polymer aqueous dispersion by polymerizing a monomer in an aqueous medium to give a polymer aqueous dispersion containing a polymer with a polymerization conversion rate of 90 to 100%, a step of obtaining a mixed solution by mixing N-methylpyrrolidone and the polymer aqueous dispersion, a step of obtaining a binder composition by removing an unreacted monomer and the aqueous medium from the mixed solution, and a step of obtaining a slurry by dispersing non-conductive microparticles in the binder composition, wherein the step of obtaining the binder composition includes removing the aqueous medium and the unreacted monomer by using a distillation column under a reduced pressure so that the binder composition contains the unreacted monomer and a water content in predetermined amounts. See Abstract. The aqueous polymer can be a styrene-butadiene copolymer (SBR) [0025]. When a slurry for a heat-resistant layer for a lithium ion secondary battery for forming the heat-resistant layer contains much water content, the dispersibility of the slurry is deteriorated, whereas when the slurry contains much impurities such as an unreacted monomer, bubbling occurs when the slurry is applied. Therefore, it is required to decrease impurities such as the water content and unreacted monomer in the slurry [0006].
Regarding claim 16, Motoda teaches removing water from the mixture includes evaporating water from the mixture [0014].
Regarding claim 17, Motoda teaches evaporating water from the mixture includes heating the mixture [0061].
Regarding claim 19, Motoda teaches the mixture is stirred while evaporating water from the mixture [0061].
Regarding claim 20, Motoda teaches adding the second non-aqueous solvent to the aqueous binder that is dispersed in the aqueous solvent includes stirring to obtain the mixture [0061].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art at the time the invention was made to use the method of making the aqueous binder and the insulating layer of Park, or Park in view of Lee, as taught by Motoda, for the benefit of minimizing impurities and residual water that follow aqueous polymer binders.
Regarding claim 15, after removing water from the mixture, the obtained insulating composition including the aqueous binder mixed in the second non-aqueous organic solvent is free of water, and regarding claim 18, evaporating water from the mixture includes completely evaporating water from the mixture, Motoda teaches when a slurry for a heat-resistant layer for a lithium ion secondary battery for forming the heat-resistant layer contains much water content, the dispersibility of the slurry is deteriorated, whereas when the slurry contains much impurities such as an unreacted monomer, bubbling occurs when the slurry is applied. Therefore, it is required to decrease impurities such as the water content and unreacted monomer in the slurry [0006]. The amount of the water content in the solution in the substitution tank 4 becomes 5,000 ppm or less, preferably 3,000 ppm or less, more preferably 1500 ppm or less [0070]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art at the time the invention was made to minimize the water content as close to zero as possible for the benefit of having good dispersion of the insulating layer slurry.
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, 5-7, 10, 13, 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (WO 2019/151833, using US 2020/0373558 as translation) in view of Motoda (US 2014/0242296), or Park (WO 2019/151833, using US 2020/0373558 as translation) in view of Lee (US 2010/0159327) and Motoda (US 2014/0242296) as applied to claim 1, in view of Yoshida (JP 2017-212097).
Park does not disclose the limitations of claims 2, 12-14. Park discloses a wet-on-wet coating method, wherein an undried electrode active material layer is applied on a current collector. An undried insulating layer is applied onto the undried active material layer. The active material layer and an insulating layer are dried simultaneously [0079].
Yoshida teaches wherein an undried electrode active material layer is applied on a current collector using a die coater. An undried insulating layer is applied onto the undried active material layer. The active material layer and an insulating layer are dried simultaneously [0013, 0084].
Regarding claim 2, the applying the electrode slurry and the applying the insulating composition satisfy the following Expression 1:
[Expression 1] 0 < T2-T1 < 100 (sec) wherein,
T1 is time (sec) when the electrode slurry is discharged onto a current collector from a slot-die coater in the application of an electrode slurry, and T2 is time (sec) when the insulating composition is discharged onto a current collector from a slot-die coater in the application of an insulating composition, Yoshida teaches by applying insulating layer 112 a predetermined time after the tip of active material layer 111 reaches a position opposite to discharge outlet 212a of second die head 212, active material layer 111 can be exposed at the upstream end in the feed direction A of current collector 110 [0089].
Regarding claim 13, the applying the electrode slurry and the applying the insulating composition are performed using a single die coater including two slots. Figure 7.
Regarding claim 14, the applying the electrode slurry and the application of an insulating composition are performed using two separate die coaters. Figure 6.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art at the time the invention was made to use the die coating method of Yoshida and adjust the predetermined time when the insulating layer is applied after the active material layer, as taught by Yoshida, for the benefit of adjusting the location of Park’s insulating layer.
Regarding claim 5, Park does not disclose the insulating composition further includes inorganic particles. Regarding claim 10, Park discloses the insulating composition includes: an aqueous binder dispersed in a non-aqueous solvent; but does not disclose inorganic particles dispersed in the aqueous binder matrix dispersed in a non-aqueous solvent, a weight ratio of the inorganic particle and the aqueous binder ranges from 1:99 to 95:5. Regarding claim 10, Park discloses a viscosity at 25 °C ranges from 50 cP to 50,000 cP [0098].
Yoshida teaches an insulating layer on an electrode. The insulating layer comprises an inorganic oxide and a binder [0052, 0053].
Regarding claim 5, the insulating composition further includes inorganic particles [0054].
Regarding claim 6, the inorganic particles are one or more of AIOOH, Al2O3, y-AIOOH, Al(OH)3, Mg(OH)2, Ti(OH)4, MgO, CaO, Cr2O3, MnO2, Fe2O3, Co3O4, NiO, ZrO2, BaTiO3, SnO2, CeO2, Y2O3, SiO2, silicon carbide (SIC), or boron nitride (BN) [0054].
Regarding claim 7, a weight ratio of the inorganic particle to the aqueous binder in the insulating composition ranges from 1:99 to 95:5 [0065].
Regarding claim 10, inorganic particles dispersed in the aqueous binder matrix dispersed in a non-aqueous solvent,
a weight ratio of the inorganic particle and the aqueous binder ranges from 1:99 to 95:5 [0054, 0065].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art at the time the invention was made to add inorganic oxide particles to the insulating layer of Park, as taught by Yoshida, for the benefit of strengthening the insulating layer.
Response to Arguments
Arguments dated 9/30/2025 are moot in view of the new grounds of rejections.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CYNTHIA KYUNG SOO WALLS whose telephone number is (571)272-8699. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F until 5pm.
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.
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/CYNTHIA K WALLS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1751