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 .
Response to Amendment
Upon consideration, the previous rejection of record was withdrawn in light of new amendments. However new rejection is applied to the amended claims. All changes made in the rejection are necessitated by the amendment.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-2 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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03-26-2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Terminal Disclaimer
The terminal disclaimer filed on 02-27-2026 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of Application No. 18/038,616 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2012/0196185 hereinafter Kono in view of JP 2013-037955 A hereinafter Tamaki [cited in IDS filed 03-26-2026].
Regarding Claim 1, Kono teaches a positive electrode for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery (paragraph 73), the positive electrode comprising: a positive electrode current collector (paragraph 83); and a positive electrode slurry (mixture layer) containing an active material formed on the current collector (paragraphs 37-38), wherein the positive electrode mixture layer has an oil absorption of preferably 10 to 20 mL/100 g (paragraph 51).
With regards to the difference in oil absorption between the upper half and lower half of the electrode mixture layer, Tamaki teaches a lithium-ion secondary battery comprising an electrode assembly including a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator (para 20) wherein a positive electrode comprising electrode active material mixture (paragraph 6). Tamaki further teaches that the DBP (reads on dibutyl phthalate oil) absorption amount becomes greater, as the particle size becomes larger (the surface area becomes larger (paragraphs 12-14)). Therefore, one skilled in the art would conclude that a dibutyl phthalate oil absorption of the positive electrode active material contained in the positive electrode mixture layer disposed in an upper half region is higher than a dibutyl phthalate oil absorption of the positive electrode active material contained in the positive electrode mixture layer disposed in a lower half region based on disclosure of Tamaki. In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges and prior art ranges do not overlap but are close enough that one skilled in the art would have expected them to have the same properties. See MPEP § 2144.05
Regarding Claim 2, Kono teaches a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery comprising the positive electrode as described above, a negative electrode, and a non-aqueous electrolyte (paragraphs 73-76).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 OSEI K AMPONSAH whose telephone number is (571)270-3446. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NICHOLAS A SMITH can be reached at (571)272-8760. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/OSEI K AMPONSAH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
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