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 .
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.
1. Claim(s) 1-5,7-13,15-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable by Oya et al. (JP2017094709).
As to claim 1,9,17; Oya et al. discloses an electronic apparatus (paragraph 0095) comprising a secondary battery (paragraph 0054) comprises a positive electrode, negative electrode and a layered porous film, comprising a substrate film and a polymer coating provided on at least one side of the substrate film (paragraph 0015), wherein the substrate film and the polymer coating satisfy both formula I and formula II :0≤(Tm1 - Tm2)/M1≤ 0.0005 formula I, and 0≤(Tm1 - Tm2)/M2≤0.05 formula II (Tm1 is PP melting point 150C and Tm2 is PE melting point 110-140C and M1 is PP molecular weight (500-1,000,000) and M2 is PE molecular weight (35-700,000) paragraph 0015)); wherein Tm1 is a melting point of the substrate film, and M1 is a weight-average molecular weight of a polymer contained in the substrate film; and Tm2 is a melting point of the polymer coating, and M2 is a weight-average molecular weight of a polymer contained in the polymer coating (Tm1 is PP melting point 150C and Tm2 is PE melting point 110-140C and M1 is PP molecular weight (500-1,000,000) and M2 is PE molecular weight (35-700,000) paragraph 0015)). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time applicant's invention was made to provide Oya et al. with wherein the substrate film and the polymer coating satisfy both formula I and formula II :0≤(Tm1 - Tm2)/M1≤ 0.0005 formula I, and 0≤(Tm1 - Tm2)/M2≤0.05 formula II (Tm1 is PP melting point 150C and Tm2 is PE melting point 110-140C and M1 is PP molecular weight (500-1,000,000) and M2 is PE molecular weight (35-700,000) paragraph 0015)); wherein Tm1 is a melting point of the substrate film, and M1 is a weight-average molecular weight of a polymer contained in the substrate film; and Tm2 is a melting point of the polymer coating, and M2 is a weight-average molecular weight of a polymer contained in the polymer coating (Tm1 is PP melting point 150C and Tm2 is PE melting point 110-140C and M1 is PP molecular weight (500-1,000,000) and M2 is PE molecular weight (35-700,000) paragraph 0015)). MPEP 2144.05 states that in the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists.
As to claim 2, 10 Oya et al. discloses wherein, at least one of the following characteristics is satisfied: the melting point Tm2 of the polymer coating satisfies 90C≤Tm2≤ Tm1 (paragraph 0015).
As to claim 3,11 Oya et al. discloses wherein 100000≤ M1≤ 1000000 (paragraph 0078).
As to claim 4,12 Oya et al. discloses wherein 1000 < M2 < 100000 (paragraph 0078).
As to claim 5,13 Oya et al. discloses wherein, at least one of the following characteristics is satisfied: a thickness of the layered porous film is 5 um to 30um (paragraph 0016).
As to claim 7,15 Oya et al. discloses wherein a material of the substrate film comprises at least one of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, polypropylene, high-density polyethylene, medium-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, 19 linear low-density polyethylene, linear and branched polyethylene, metallocene polyethylene, polyimide, poly(4-methyl-1-pentene), polystyrene, or polyvinylidene fluoride (PP paragraph 0078).
As to claim 8,16 Oya et al. discloses wherein a material of the polymer coating comprises at least one of linear and branched polyethylene, polyethylene wax, polymethyl methacrylate, ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, or ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (PE paragraph 0078).
2. Claim(s) 6,14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oya et al. in view of Terakawa et al. (US20130017430).
Oya et al. discloses the layered porous film described above. Oya et al. fail to disclose wherein, at least one of the following characteristics is satisfied: a pore-closing temperature of the substrate film is less than or equal to 135C; or an inflection resistance of the layered porous film is greater than or equal to 5 WQ.
Terakawa et al. teaches wherein, at least one of the following characteristics is satisfied: a pore-closing temperature of the substrate film is less than or equal to 135C for the purpose of providing a novel polyolefin resin porous film capable of realizing high continuity, excellent dimensional stability (paragraph 0026).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time applicant's invention was made to Oya et al. with wherein, at least one of the following characteristics is satisfied: a pore-closing temperature of the substrate film is less than or equal to 135C for the purpose of providing a novel polyolefin resin porous film capable of realizing high continuity, excellent dimensional stability (paragraph 0026).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JANE J RHEE whose telephone number is (571)272-1499. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday (10-6:30).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Miriam Stagg can be reached at 571-270-5256. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JANE J RHEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1724