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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. JP2020-181551, filed on 10/29/2020.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 4/28/2023 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings submitted on 4/28/2023 are acceptable.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because of unnecessary language. For instance, "according to one aspect of the present invention is an electrode" should be deleted. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: ELECTRODE, ENERGY STORAGE DEVICE, AND ENERGY STORAGE APPARATUS WITH AN ACTIVE MATERIAL CONTAINING FIBROUS CARBON, A BINDER MAINLY CONTAINING AN ACRYLIC RESIN, AND A POLYSACCHARIDE POLYMER.
Claim Objections
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: Because it is unclear if the carbon material in the claim is a carbon element in the molecular structure or a carbon fiber in the electrode. For examination purposes the claim is interpreted as the presence of a carbon atom. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-5, and 9-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 20170331115 A1, SAITO et al.
Regarding claim 1. [0016] An electrode for an energy storage device,
the electrode comprising
[0016] an active material layer containing an active material,
[0070] fibrous carbon,
[0017] a binder mainly containing
[0017] an acrylic resin, and
[0062] a polysaccharide polymer, wherein
[0064] a content ratio of the polysaccharide polymer to the acrylic resin on a mass basis is 0.01 or more and 0.40 or less.
Regarding claim 2. The electrode according to claim 1, wherein tables 1 thru 15 of SAITO disclose a content ratio of the polysaccharide polymer to the fibrous carbon in the claimed range of a mass basis is 1 or more and 20 or less.
Regarding claim 3. The electrode according to claim 1, wherein [0062] a content of the acrylic resin in [0064] the binder is 90% by mass or more.
Regarding claim 4. The electrode according to claim 1, wherein a content of [0062] a styrene-butadiene rubber in [0064] the binder is 3% by mass or less.
Regarding claim 5. The electrode according to claim 1, wherein [0070] the fibrous carbon includes a carbon nanotube.
Regarding claim 9. The electrode according to claim 1, wherein [0062] the polysaccharide polymer includes a cellulose derivative.
Regarding claim 10. The electrode according to claim 1, wherein the active material includes an active material containing [0063] a silicon element.
Regarding claim 11. The electrode according to claim 10, wherein the active material further includes a carbon material [0065] as a carbon element and [0070] as a carbon fiber.
Regarding claim 12. [0016] An energy storage device comprising the electrode according to claim 1.
Regarding claim 13. [0097] An energy storage apparatus comprising a plurality of energy storage devices which is called a plurality of batteries, and one or more of the energy storage devices according to claim 12.
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.
Claims 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20170331115 A1, SAITO et al. in view of US 20010018150 A1, MORITA et al.
Regarding claims 6-8. SAITO discloses the electrode according to claim 1,
SAITO does not disclose the fibrous carbon has an average aspect ratio of 10 or more and 200 or less as per claim 6, or the fibrous carbon has an average diameter of 1 nm or more and 100 nm or less as per claim 7 or the fibrous carbon has an average length of 1 µm or more and 20 µm or less as per claim 8.
MORITA [title] discloses A Nonaqueous Electrolyte Secondary Battery, Carbon Material For Negative Electrode, And Method For Manufacturing Carbon Material For Negative Electrode where it is further disclosed that
MORITA [0124] discloses that “It is possible for the carbon material to be spherical, fibrous, or a granular. In other words, it is possible for the negative electrode included in the secondary battery of the present invention to contain at least one kind of a carbon material selected from the group consisting of a fibrous carbon material, a spherical carbon material and a granular carbon material.”
MORITA [0125] further discloses that “It is desirable for the average fiber length of the fibrous carbon material to fall within a range of between 5 µm and 100 µm, more desirably between 10 µm and 60 µm.” meeting the limitations of claim 8
MORITA [0126] then discloses “It is desirable for the average fiber diameter of the fibrous carbon material to fall within a range of between 0.1 µm and 30 µm.” Thereby meeting the limitation of claim 7 and,
MORITA [0127] continues that “it is desirable for the average aspect ratio of the fibrous carbon material to fall within a range of between 1 and 50, more desirably between 1.5 and 20. Incidentally, the term "aspect ratio" represents a ratio of the fiber length to the fiber diameter (a ratio of fiber length/fiber diameter)” meeting the limitation of claim 6.
MORITA [0123] discloses that the carbon fiber “permits improving the lithium absorption-desorption site of the negative electrode and also permits improving the affinity between the carbon material and the nonaqueous electrolyte. It follows that it is possible to markedly improve the discharge capacity and the cycle characteristics of the secondary battery.”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have used the dimensions of the fibrous carbon disclosed by MORITA in the electrode disclosed by SAITO in order to improve the lithium absorption-desorption site of the negative electrode, and thereby improve the discharge capacity and the cycle characteristics of the secondary battery.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20060172196 A1, FUKUNAGA where A .
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAWRENCE LA RAIA III whose telephone number is (703)756-5441. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thur 6:00am-4:00pm.
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LAWRENCE LA RAIA III
Examiner
Art Unit 1727
/L.L./Examiner, Art Unit 1727
/BARBARA L GILLIAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1727