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 .
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 of this title, 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.
1. Claims 1-4 and 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugiyo et al. (US 20210280843, PCT Filed 7/1102019) in view of Nishimura et al. (US20210075054, PCT filed 5/31/2018).
2. Regarding claims 1-4 and 7-10, Sugiyo teaches a method for manufacturing an all-solid-state battery (manufacturing an all-solid secondary battery (abstract)), the method comprising the steps of: pressurizing an all-solid-state battery element with the all-solid-state battery element covered with a process film (a pressure device for pressurizing the powder films formed by the electrostatic film-forming device [0018]); peeling the process film from the all-solid-state battery element (wherein the cutting-removing device cuts the powder films [0024]); and sealing the all-solid-state battery element with a packaging material (and a laminator 80 for sealing the electrodes body 2 to 4 into a laminated pack 8 [0073]), the process film including a laminate including at least a base material layer and a layer in this order from the outside (The electrostatic film-forming device 30 also forms the powder laminate 3 by stacking the formed powder films, that is, forming another powder film on the formed powder film [0056]).
3. Sugiyo is silent about a heat-sealable resin.
4. Nishimura teaches protective material 15 may be any material that can be easily peeled off…; the protective material 15 is preferably a nonpolar resin film such as polyethylene, polypropylene [0150] for the benefit of high safety in addition to high input/output characteristics and high energy density [0003].
5. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Sugiyo with Nishimura’s teachings for the benefit of high safety in addition to high input/output characteristics and high energy density. Sugiyo’s film necessarily meets the characteristics of claims 4 and 7.
6. Regarding claims 8 and 9, Sugiyo teaches the hydrogen sulfide absorbent 9 may be disposed at the central portion of the powder laminate 3 [0150], Figure 13); prevents hydrogen sulfide from leaking to the outside even if moisture enters the battery [0147].
7. Claims 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugiyo et al. (US 20210280843, PCT Filed 7/1102019) in view of Nishimura et al. (US20210075054, PCT filed 5/31/2018) as applied to claim 1 in view of Huang et al. (US20140265915).
8. Huang teaches a buffer layer (Depending upon application, base layer 32 may also be removed, for example when using a sacrificial release material [0051]), and a water vapor barrier layer (For example, suitable materials for encapsulation layer 38 include ceramics and other high temperature or refractory materials [0047]) for the benefit of utilizing encapsulation techniques to provide improved energy storage and performance [0002].
9. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Sugiyo with the teachings of Huang for the benefit of utilizing encapsulation techniques to provide improved energy storage and performance.
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.
10. Claims 1, 2, 4-7, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Huang et al. (US20140265915).
11. Regarding claims 1, 2, 4, 7, and 10, Huang teaches a process film for use in a step of pressurizing an all-solid state battery element in manufacture of an all-solid-state battery (see Fig. below), the process film being used for an application in which the all-solid-state battery element is pressurized with the all-solid-state battery element covered with the process film, and the process film is then peeled from the all-solid-state battery element, the process film comprising a laminate including at least a base material layer and a heat-sealable resin layer in this order from the outside (see Fig. below).
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12. Regarding claims 4 and 7, "Products of identical chemical composition cannot have mutually exclusive properties." In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
13. Regarding claims 5 and 6, Huang teaches a buffer layer (Depending upon application, base layer 32 may also be removed, for example when using a sacrificial release material [0051]), and a water vapor barrier layer (For example, suitable materials for encapsulation layer 38 include ceramics and other high temperature or refractory materials [0047]).
Conclusion
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/OLATUNJI A GODO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
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