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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (Claims 1-5) in the reply filed on 01/21/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 6-7 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 01/21/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 3 & 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 is indefinite because of the recitation “a preparing step of preparing an electrode sheet including one separator” in line 3. It is unclear whether the electrode sheet includes the separator or the preparing step includes preparing a separator. Further, the recitation “the separator placed on a side surface of each of the first electrodes” in lines 17-18 renders the claim indefinite as there is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. This limitation is unclear because line 3 recites “one separator” on which the first and second electrodes are placed whereas “the separator” in line 17 does not refer to the entire separator described in line 3 but rather to a portion of the separator that is placed on a side surface of each of the first electrodes. For the purpose of this office action, the claim is interpreted as “a portion of the separator placed on a side surface of each of the first electrodes”.
Further, Claim 1 is indefinite because of the recitation “a wall portion” in line 18 as it does not specify what it is a portion of. Suggested correction is “a wall portion of a storage member”.
Claim 2 is indefinite because of the recitations “a length of the corresponding first electrode” (line 9) and “a length of the corresponding second electrode” (line 11). It is unclear if “a length of the corresponding first electrode” refers to a portion of the length of the corresponding first electrode or the total length of the corresponding first electrode. It is unclear if “a length of the corresponding second electrode” refers to a portion of the length of the corresponding second electrode or the total length of the corresponding second electrode. Suggested corrections are “the length of the corresponding first electrode”, “the length of the corresponding second electrode”.
Claim 3 is indefinite because of the recitations “a length of the corresponding first electrode” (line 3), “a length of the corresponding second electrode” (line 4), “a length of a first blank portion” (line 5) and “a thickness of the first electrode” (line 6). It is unclear if “a length of the corresponding first electrode” refers to a portion of the length of the corresponding first electrode or the total length of the corresponding first electrode. It is unclear if “a length of the corresponding second electrode” refers to a portion of the length of the corresponding second electrode or the total length of the corresponding second electrode. It is unclear if “a length of a first blank portion” refers to a portion of the length of the first blank portion or the entire length of the first blank portion. It is unclear if “a thickness of the first electrode” refers to a portion of the thickness of the first electrode or the entire thickness of the first electrode. Suggested corrections are “the length of the corresponding first electrode”, “the length of the corresponding second electrode”, “the length of a first blank portion” and “the thickness of the first electrode”.
Claim 4 is indefinite because of the recitation “each surface of the first current collection layer” (line 3) and “each surface of the second current collection layer” (line 5). There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Suggested correction is “the top and the bottom surfaces of the first current collection layer” and “the top and the bottom surfaces of the second current collection layer”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 1-3 & 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over He (CN108736033A, see machine translation) in view of Zhao (CN 212366027U; see machine translation)
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Regarding Claim 1, He discloses a manufacturing method (a flexible hinge-type stacking process, [0046]) for an electrode body (stacked battery, [0048] & annotated Figure 4), the manufacturing method (a flexible hinge-type stacking process, [0046]) comprising: a preparing step (step 1, [0047]-[0048]) of preparing an electrode sheet (see annotated Figure 4; wherein electrode sheet comprises positive electrode 2, negative electrode 3 and separator 1) including one separator (separator 1, [0048] & Figure 3), a plurality of first electrodes (negative electrode 3, [0048] & Figure 4) placed on a first surface (see annotated Figure 4) of the separator (separator 1) and a plurality of second electrodes (positive electrode 2, [0048] & Figure 4) placed on a second surface opposite from the first surface (see annotated Figure 4) of the separator (separator 1) (wherein step 1 includes the attachment and fixing of positive electrode 2 and negative electrode 3 to two sides of the separator 1, see [0047]-[0048]); and a laminating step (step 2, [0052] & Figure 2) of laminating the first electrodes (negative electrode 3, [0048] & Figure 4) and the second electrodes (positive electrode 2, [0048] & Figure 4) in the electrode sheet (see annotated Figure 4, wherein electrode sheet comprises positive electrode 2, negative electrode 3 and separator 1) alternately via the separator (separator 1 - [0048] & Figure 4) (wherein laminating process involves a pressure roller pressing the separator with the positive electrode and negative electrode, see [0052]).
wherein: the electrode sheet (see annotated Figure 4, wherein electrode sheet comprises positive electrode 2, negative electrode 3 and separator 1) satisfies the following conditions (i) to (iii) in a plan view in a thickness direction of the electrode sheet (see annotated Figure 4)
(i) the first electrodes (negative electrode 3, [0048] & Figure 4) and the second electrodes (positive electrode 3, [0048] & Figure 4) are placed alternately in a first direction (positive electrode 2 and negative electrode 3 of the stacked battery are attached and fixed to the two sides of the separator 1 in pairs, see [0048] & annotated Figure 4)
(ii) the first electrodes (negative electrode 3, [0048] & Figure 4) and the second electrodes (positive electrode 2, [0048] & Figure 4) are placed not to overlap with each other (positive electrode and negative electrode are placed on the two sides of the separator with a spacing between each other, see [0048])
and (iii) the first electrodes (negative electrode 3, [0048] & Figure 4) have an area larger than an area of the second electrodes (positive electrode 2, [0048]) (see [0015] which describes that there is a width difference between the negative electrode and the positive electrode wherein the negative electrode is usually wider than the positive electrode which would thus result in the negative electrode 3 having a larger area than the positive electrode 2);
While He discloses that in the laminating step (step 2), the first electrodes (negative electrode 3) and the second electrodes (positive electrodes 2) are laminated alternately via the separator (separator 1), and a portion of the separator is placed on a side surface of each of the first electrodes (see [0018] – [0022], He is silent on a portion of the separator placed on a side surface of each of the first electrodes is brought into contact with a wall portion inclined from a vertical direction.
Zhao teaches a lithium battery cell forming equipment for making a lithium battery cell (see [0041] & Figure 1, an electrode sheet (electrode sheet 1020, [0041]), plurality of first electrodes (negative electrode sheet 1030, [0041]), plurality of second electrodes (positive electrode sheet 1020, [0041]), separator (separator 1010, line 20 of [0042]) wherein the positive electrode sheet 1020 is pressed onto one side of the separator and the negative electrode sheet 1030 is pressed onto the other side of the separator during the lamination process (see [0043]).
Zhao further teaches a stacking device 400 comprising of a wall portion (first baffle 410 & second baffle 420, see [0047] & Figures 5-8) which receives the laminated battery cell stack. Zhao teaches that the laminated electrode sheet is fed into the receiving cavity of the stacking device 400 thus requiring a deflection at a certain angle to complete one layer of stacking (see [0046]. Zhao further teaches that when the stacking device 400 is tilted at a certain angle to receive the laminated electrode sheet, a smaller deflection angle is required (see [0046]). Zhao further teaches that the forming quality of the battery cell stacking can be effectively improved and further discloses that users can adjust the tilting angle to meet the production needs of different cell stacking materials (see [0046]).
He and Zhao are analogous art to the claimed invention as both references are in the same field of lithium-ion batteries. It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included the tilted stacking device of Zhao which comprises of wall portion (first baffle 410 & second baffle 420) to receive the laminated battery cell stack which would require a smaller deflection angle for the stacking process and thus improve the forming quality of the battery cell stacking while allowing users the flexibility to accommodate production needs of different cell stacking materials.
Regarding Claim 2, modified He discloses all of the limitations as stated above and further teaches wherein: the separator (separator 1) in the electrode body (stacked battery) includes, in a sectional view of the electrode body (stacked battery) in a lamination direction, unit structures (see annotated Figure 4 (zoomed)) each including a first facing portion (see annotated figure 4 (zoomed)), a second facing portion (see annotated figure 4 (zoomed)), and a first connecting portion (see annotated figure 4 (zoomed)), and a second connecting portion (see annotated figure 4 (zoomed)) connecting adjacent unit structures (see annotated Figure 4 (zoomed)) to each other (see annotated figure 4 (zoomed)); the first facing portion (see annotated figure 4 (zoomed)) faces a corresponding first electrode (negative electrode 3) and has a length corresponding to a length of the corresponding first electrode (negative electrode 3) in a width direction (see annotated figure 4 (zoomed)); the second facing portion (see annotated figure 4 (zoomed)) faces a corresponding second electrode (positive electrode 2) and has a length corresponding to a length of the corresponding second electrode (positive electrode 2) in the width direction (see annotated figure 4 (zoomed)); the first connecting portion (see annotated Figure 4) connects the first facing portion and the second facing portion to each other (see annotated figure 4 (zoomed)) and covers a side surface of the corresponding first electrode (negative electrode 3) (see annotated figure 4 (zoomed)); and the second connecting portion (see annotated figure 4 (zoomed)) connects the first facing portion in a first unit structure (see annotated Figure 4 (zoomed)) out of the adjacent unit structures (see annotated Figure 4 (zoomed)) to the second facing portion in a second unit structure (see annotated Figure 4 (zoomed)) out of the adjacent unit structures (see annotated figure 4 (zoomed)).
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Regarding Claim 3, modified He discloses all of the limitations as stated above and further teaches wherein, in a plan view of the electrode sheet (see annotated Figure 4) from the thickness direction, Wγ satisfies Wγ = T1 + ε(Wα - Wβ)/2 (0.9 ≤ ε ≤ 1.1), where Wα indicates a length of the corresponding first electrode (negative electrode 3) in the first direction, Wβ indicates a length of the corresponding second electrode (positive electrode 2) in the first direction, Wγ indicates a length of a first blank portion (spacing between adjacent positive and negative electrodes) corresponding to the first connecting portion (see annotated Figure 4 (zoomed) in the first direction, and T1 indicates a thickness of the first electrode (negative electrode 3). (He discloses that the spacing between adjacent positive and negative electrodes is the sum of the thickness of a single-layer electrode and half the difference between the width of the negative electrode and the positive electrode which satisfies the above equation; wherein the thickness of the positive electrode sheet and the negative electrode sheet are the same and ε is 1, see [0013] - [0014]).
Regarding Claim 5, modified He discloses all of the limitations as stated above and further teaches wherein the first electrodes (negative electrode 3) are negative electrodes (see [0048]), and the second electrodes (positive electrode 2) are positive electrodes (see [0048]).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over He (CN108736033A, see machine translation) in view of in view of Zhao (CN 212366027U; see machine translation) as applied to claims 1-3 and 5 above, as evidenced by Fujii (JP2010199281A; see machine translation).
Regarding Claim 4, modified He discloses all of the limitations as stated above. While He discloses positive and negative electrode sheets ([0018]) , He is silent on wherein: the first electrodes each include a first current collection layer, and a first active material layer placed on each surface of the first current collection layer; and the second electrodes each includes a second current collection layer, and a second active material layer placed on each surface of the second current collection layer.
Fujii teaches an electrode body (electrode laminate unit 12, [0014] & Figure 2), separator (separator 17, [0014] & Figure 2), plurality of first electrodes (negative electrodes 14 & 15, [0014] & Figure 2), plurality of second electrodes (positive electrode 13, [0014] & Figure 2). Fujii further teaches that the positive electrodes 13 and negative electrodes 14 & 15 are alternately laminated on each side of the separator 17 which is folded back so as to thread between the positive electrode 13 and negative electrodes 14 & 15 (see [0014] & Figure 2). Fuji further teaches that the first electrodes (negative electrodes 14 & 15) each includes a first current collection layer (negative electrode current collector 23, [0016]) and a first active material layer (negative active material layer 24, [0016]) placed on each surface of the first current collection layer (negative electrode current collector 23; see [0016] which discloses that the negative electrode mixture layer 24 is provided on both sides of a negative electrode current collector 23). Fuji further teaches that the second electrodes (positive electrode 13) each includes a second current collection layer (positive electrode current collector 20, [0015]), and a second active material layer (positive electrode mixture layer 21) placed on each surface of the second current collection layer (positive electrode current collector 20; see [0025] which discloses that the positive electrode composite layer 21 is present on both sides of the positive electrode which includes the positive electrode current collector 20).
He discloses method of laminating positive and negative electrodes onto a separator sheet, but said method is not specific to any particular type of electrodes (or does not explicitly recite the first electrodes each include a first current collection layer, and a first active material layer placed on each surface of the first current collection layer; and the second electrodes each includes a second current collection layer, and a second active material layer placed on each surface of the second current collection layer ). But it is well known in the art that this type of laminating method is well suited for laminating electrodes wherein each electrode comprises of a current collector and a mixture layer (as shown by Fuji). He and Fujii are analogous art to the claimed invention as both references are in the same field of lithium-ion batteries. It therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the method of He to laminate electrodes wherein each electrode comprises of a current collector and a mixture layer (as shown by Fuji) as doing so would amount to nothing more than a use of a known process for its intended use in a known environment to accomplish entirely expected result.
Conclusion
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/F.V.O./Examiner, Art Unit 1725
/BASIA A RIDLEY/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1725