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 statement (IDS) submitted on 6/23/23 has been considered by the examiner.
The information disclosure statement filed 11/2025 fails to comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609 because the “Office Action dated August 26, 2025, issued in counterpart JP Application No. 20022-571639” is not translated into English and no statement of relevance has been provided. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered as to the merits. Applicant is advised that the date of any re-submission of any item of information contained in this information disclosure statement or the submission of any missing element(s) will be the date of submission for purposes of determining compliance with the requirements based on the time of filing the statement, including all certification requirements for statements under 37 CFR 1.97(e). See MPEP § 609.05(a).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 4-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2015/0093649 hereinafter Arai.
Regarding claim 1, Arai teaches a positive electrode (paragraph [0092]) for secondary batteries (paragraph [0093]), comprising: a positive electrode current collector (paragraphs [0033]-[0034], [0106]); and a positive electrode mixture layer (paragraphs [0090]-[0093]) provided on a surface of the positive electrode current collector (paragraph [0109]), wherein the positive electrode mixture layer contains a positive electrode active material, a conductive agent (paragraph [0091]), a polysaccharide (paragraph [0106]), and a resin other than the polysaccharide (paragraph [0099]), and at least part of surfaces of the positive electrode active material, the conductive agent, and the resin is coated with the polysaccharide (paragraph [0109]).
Regarding claim 4, Arai teaches the positive electrode for secondary batteries according claim 1, wherein the polysaccharide includes guar gum (paragraph [0106]).
Regarding claim 5, Arai teaches the positive electrode for secondary batteries according to claim 1, wherein the resin includes polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) (paragraph [0099]).
Regarding claim 6, Arai teaches the secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein the positive electrode active material includes a lithium-containing composite oxide which has a layered structure and in which 80 atm% or more of metals other than lithium is nickel (paragraph [0093]).
Regarding claim 7, Arai teaches the positive electrode for secondary batteries according to claim 1, wherein the positive electrode active material includes a lithium-transition metal composite oxide having a layered rock-salt structure as a basic structure, and in the lithium-transition metal composite oxide, an atomic ratio Li/M of lithium to transition metal M is 1 or greater (paragraph [0093]).
Regarding claim 8, Arai teaches, a secondary battery (paragraph [0093]), comprising: the positive electrode for secondary batteries (see citations in claim 1 above) of claim 1; a separator (paragraph [0111], [0120]-[0122]); a negative electrode facing the positive electrode for secondary batteries with the separator interposed between the negative electrode and the positive electrode (paragraph [0111]); and a liquid electrolyte (paragraphs [0115]-[0119]).
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.
Claim(s) 2 and 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Arai.
Arai discloses the claimed invention except for the distribution and amount of polysaccharide present in the layering process. The instant specification does not show criticality for the distribution and amount of the polysaccharide. It would have been prima facie obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to optimize the distribution and amount of polysaccharide present in the layer process as disclosed by Arai, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art, in the absence of unexpected results. See MPEP 2144.05.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 2020/0295403 teaches a positive electrode for a secondary battery, wherein at least part of surfaces of the positive electrode active material, the conductive agent, and the resin is coated with a polysaccharide.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT W HODGE whose telephone number is (571)272-2097. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Boveja Namrata can be reached at (571) 272-8105. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ROBERT W HODGE/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3645