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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 3/31/23 and 3/25/25 have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the dry insulation powder" in lines 5-6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Examiner suggest “the dry insulating powder”.
Claim 2 recites “wherein the forming the dry insulating powder” and “an insulating the inorganic particles” that do not particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "the organic binder" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "a fiberized organic binder" in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "a metal current collector". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "a metal current collector". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "a plurality of rolls". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 11 recites the limitation "a plurality of rolls". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 12 recites “formed on at least one side edge part thereof”, which is indefinite. It is unclear what element “thereof” is referencing. See also claim 13.
Claim 13 recites “on one side or both sides of the powder for dry electrode”, which is indefinite. It is unclear what dry electrode structure is being claimed.
Claim 14 recites the limitation "a fiberized organic binder" in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 15 recites “formed on at least one side edge part thereof”, which is indefinite. It is unclear what element “thereof” is referencing.
Claim 16 recites the limitation "a fiberized organic binder" in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 18 is indefinite and does not appear to further limit claim 15 from which it depends. The claim should be amended to be clearly recite how the claimed dry electrode is being further limited.
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.
Claim(s) 14-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kato US 2021/0159505 A1.
Kato teaches a secondary battery comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a non-aqueous electrolyte. The positive electrode includes a positive electrode current collector, a positive electrode active material layer on a part of a surface of the positive electrode current collector containing a positive electrode active material, and an insulating layer on other parts of the surface of the positive electrode current collector containing an inorganic filler. The negative electrode includes a negative electrode current collector, and a negative electrode active material layer on a part of a surface of the negative electrode current collector containing a negative electrode active material. The insulating layer includes a first insulating layer disposed along an end portion of the positive electrode active material layer, and a second insulating layer formed at a position separated from the first insulating layer and facing an end portion of the negative electrode active material layer (abstract).
See also Figure 3-4 of Kato. The positive electrode 30 includes a positive electrode current collector 32, a positive electrode active material layer 34, and an insulating layer 36 [0026]. In the positive electrode active material layer 34, typically, a powdery positive electrode active material is bonded together with a conductive material by an organic binder (binding agent) and is bonded to the positive electrode current collector 32 [0027]. The insulating layer 36 includes an inorganic filler and an organic binder and has an electrical insulation property. Such an insulating layer 36 is typically formed by binding the inorganic filler to each other and to the positive electrode current collector 32, with the binder [0030].
A method of manufacturing the positive electrode 30 as described above is not limited. In some embodiments, for example, the positive electrode 30 can be produced by a manufacturing method including the following steps:
(S1) preparing positive electrode paste for forming a positive electrode active material layer;
(S2) preparing insulating layer paste for forming an insulating layer;
(S3) coating with the paste and drying the paste; and
(S4) slitting [0048-0053].
Steps (S1) and (S2) are in no particular order, and either step may be performed first or both steps may be performed at the same time. Further, Step (S4) is optional and can be omitted in another embodiment. The paste can be prepared using a stirring or mixing device such as a ball mill, a roll mill, a planetary mixer, a disperser, or a kneader [0055-0056].
Viscosity V1 of the positive electrode active material layer-forming paste may be adjusted to a range of approximately 1,000 to 20,000 mPa-s, typically 5,000 to 10,000 mPa-s. The viscosity V1 can be adjusted by, for example, the kneading time of the paste, and the like. As a result, Step S3 to be described later can be stably and accurately performed. In the present specification, the “viscosity of paste” refers to a value measured at 25° C. with a rheometer at a shear rate of 21.5 s−1 [0057]. The kneading of the paste results in fiberization of the binder, thus, increasing the viscosity.
The viscosity V2 of the insulating layer forming paste may be adjusted to a range of approximately 1000 to 5000 mPa-s, for example 1500 to 4500 mPa-s. The viscosity V2 can be adjusted by, for example, the kneading time of the paste, and the like. As a result, Step S3 to be described later can be stably and accurately performed [0058]. The kneading of the paste results in fiberization of the binder, thus, increasing the viscosity.
The thickness of the insulating layer may be 20 mm or smaller [0039]. The nonaqueous electrolyte is a lithium containing nonaqueous electrolyte [0044].
Kato does not explicitly teach the resistance value of the insulating film is 500 MΩ or more. However, Kato teaches among the materials for the inorganic filler, boehmite, alumina and silica are preferred, with boehmite being more preferred. PVdF is preferred as the binder [0037]. The electrical resistance value of alumina (aluminum oxide) is very high, typically ranging from 1014 to 1016 Ω-cm, making it an excellent electrical insulator. Boehmite is an electrical insulator with a typical electrical resistivity value of approximately 6.2×10¹⁴ Ω·cm. The electrical resistance value of silica is extremely high, making it an excellent insulator, with a volume resistivity greater than 1010 ohm-cm at room temperature. The electrical resistance of PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) is high, with values reaching up to 1018 ohm·cm for volume resistivity and over 1014 ohm sq-1 for surface resistivity. This high resistance, along with its low dielectric loss, makes PVDF an excellent electrical insulator. Thus, the invention as a whole would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made because one of skill would have reasonably expected an insulating layer comprising an inorganic filler of boehmite, alumina or silica (preferably boehmite) and a PVdF binder to have a resistance of 500 ΩM or greater. Boehmite and PVdF are both excellent electrical insulator materials.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-13 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the claims are directed toward a method for manufacturing a dry electrode for an energy storage device comprising dry mixing 30-85% by weight of an insulating particle and 15-70% by weight of a fiberizable organic binder under application of a shearing force to form a dry insulating powder; charging the dry insulating powder between a plurality of rolls and subjecting the dry insulating powder to calender processing to form an insulating film for dry electrode; and laminating the insulating film for dry electrode on a metal current collector.
The prior art does not teach or suggest the claimed method. Specifically, the prior art does not teach charging the dry insulating powder while the dry insulating powder is between a plurality of rolls and forming the insulating film prior to laminating the insulating film on a metal current collector.
Conclusion
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/TRACY M DOVE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725