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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) were submitted on 06/06/2025 and 06/09/2023. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-4, 9, 10, 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Publication 5,688,615 to Mrotek et al.
With respect to claim 1, Mrotek et al. teach a bipolar storage battery, comprising: a bipolar electrode including a positive electrode 34, a negative electrode 36, and a bipolar plate 18 provided with the positive electrode 34 on one surface and the negative electrode 36 on another surface (Mrotek et al.: Column 3, Line 56 – Column 4, Line 15).
Mrotek et al. further teach forming a bipolar element by adhering a positive material to a first side of a planar foil element of electrically conducting material and adhering a negative active material to a second side of the foil element; mounting the bipolar element in a cutout portion of a frame member with edges of the substrate lying on an outer surface of the projection; and affixing the bipolar element to the outer surface of said projection frame (Mrotek et al.: Column 2, Lines 26-33).
Mrotek does not specifically teach an adhesive is provided between the one surface of the bipolar plate 18 and the positive electrode 34 to bond the positive electrode 34 to the bipolar plate 12, and the adhesive 40 is a liquid gasket.
However, Mrotek et al. teach using an adhesive resin 40 in liquid or semi-liquid form to apply between the surface of the shoulder 30 of the frame member and the bipolar element 14 (Mrotek et al.: Column 5, Lines 5-59).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Mrotek et al. to have a liquid adhesive form between the electrodes and the bipolar element with the motivation of having a means such the electrodes would be attached to the bipolar element firmly.
With respect to claim 2, Mrotek et al. teach the bipolar storage battery, wherein the positive electrode 34 includes a positive current collector 72, the negative electrode 36 includes a negative current collector 72a, and the positive current collector 18 and the negative current collector are made of lead (Mrotek et al.: Column 7, Lines 4-24).
With respect to claim 3, Mrotek et al. teach the bipolar storage battery, wherein the bipolar electrode 14 includes a covering member 16 configured to cover a peripheral edge end portion of the positive electrode 34, and the covering member 16 is a liquid gasket.
Mrotek does not specifically teach the covering member is a liquid gasket.
However, Mrotek et al. teach using an adhesive resin 40 in liquid or semi-liquid form to apply between the surface of the shoulder 30 of the frame member and the bipolar element 14 and a retainer 16 form at the gap within the bipolar element (Mrotek et al.: Column 5, Lines 5-59; Column 3, Lines 26-32).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Mrotek et al. to have the covering member is a liquid gasket with the motivation of having a means such the retainer would fill the gap within the bipolar electrode 14 in order to make the positive electrode in place.
With respect to claim 4, Mrotek et al. teach the bipolar storage battery, wherein the positive electrode 34 includes a positive current collector 72, the negative electrode 36 includes a negative current collector 72a, and the positive current collector 18 and the negative current collector are made of lead (Mrotek et al.: Column 7, Lines 4-24).
With respect to claim 9, Mrotek et al. do not specifically teach the bipolar storage battery, wherein the adhesive is extended in a direction orthogonal to the one surface from a peripheral edge portion of the bipolar plate on the one surface of the bipolar plate.
However, Mrotek et al. teach using an adhesive resin 40 in liquid or semi-liquid form to apply between the surface of the shoulder 30 of the frame member and the bipolar element 14 and a retainer form at the gap within the bipolar element (Mrotek et al.: Column 5, Lines 5-59; Column 3, Lines 26-32).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Mrotek et al. to have a liquid adhesive resin form at the gap within the bipolar element with the motivation of having a means such the retainer would fill the gap within the bipolar electrode 14 in order to make the positive electrode in place.
With respect to claim 10, Mrotek et al. teach the bipolar storage battery, wherein the positive electrode 34 includes a positive current collector 72, the negative electrode 36 includes a negative current collector 72a, and the positive current collector 18 and the negative current collector are made of lead (Mrotek et al.: Column 7, Lines 4-24).
With respect to claim 13, Mrotek et al. does not specifically teach the bipolar storage battery, wherein the bipolar electrode includes a covering member configured to cover a peripheral edge end portion of the positive electrode, and the covering member is a liquid gasket and is joined to the adhesive.
However, Mrotek et al. teach using an adhesive resin 40 in liquid or semi-liquid form to apply between the surface of the shoulder 30 of the frame member and the bipolar element 14 and a retainer form at the gap within the bipolar element (Mrotek et al.: Column 5, Lines 5-59; Column 3, Lines 26-32).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Mrotek et al. to have a covering member includes a liquid adhesive resin form at the gap within the bipolar element and between the electrodes and bipolar plate with the motivation of having a means such the retainer would fill the gap within the bipolar electrode 14 in order to make the positive electrode in place.
With respect to claim 14, Mrotek et al. teach the bipolar storage battery, wherein the positive electrode 34 includes a positive current collector 72, the negative electrode 36 includes a negative current collector 72a, and the positive current collector 18 and the negative current collector are made of lead (Mrotek et al.: Column 7, Lines 4-24).
Claims 5-8, 11, 12, 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Publication 5,688,615 to Mrotek et al. in view of US Patent Publication 6,468,698 to Hamano et al.
With respect to claim 5, Mrotek et al. does not specifically teach the bipolar storage battery, wherein the liquid gasket uses a fluorine-based resin or a special synthetic rubber as a main component.
However, Hamano et al. teach a adhesive resin layer being use to connect electrodes with separator, wherein the adhesive resin comprising a polyvinylidene fluoride and an ionically conducting polymer compound (Hamano et al.: Abstract).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Mrotek et al. with the teaching above from Hamano et al. with the motivation of having a means such the adhesive resin holds the components in place.
With respect to claim 6, Mrotek et al. teach the bipolar storage battery, wherein the positive electrode 34 includes a positive current collector 72, the negative electrode 36 includes a negative current collector 72a, and the positive current collector 18 and the negative current collector are made of lead (Mrotek et al.: Column 7, Lines 4-24).
With respect to claim 7, Mrotek et al. does not specifically teach the bipolar storage battery, wherein the liquid gasket uses a fluorine-based resin or a special synthetic rubber as a main component.
However, Hamano et al. teach a adhesive resin layer being use to connect electrodes with separator, wherein the adhesive resin comprising a polyvinylidene fluoride and an ionically conducting polymer compound (Hamano et al.: Abstract).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Mrotek et al. with the teaching above from Hamano et al. with the motivation of having a means such the adhesive resin holds the components in place.
With respect to claim 8, Mrotek et al. teach the bipolar storage battery, wherein the positive electrode 34 includes a positive current collector 72, the negative electrode 36 includes a negative current collector 72a, and the positive current collector 18 and the negative current collector are made of lead (Mrotek et al.: Column 7, Lines 4-24).
With respect to claim 11, Mrotek et al. does not specifically teach the bipolar storage battery, wherein the liquid gasket uses a fluorine-based resin or a special synthetic rubber as a main component.
However, Hamano et al. teach a adhesive resin layer being use to connect electrodes with separator, wherein the adhesive resin comprising a polyvinylidene fluoride and an ionically conducting polymer compound (Hamano et al.: Abstract).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Mrotek et al. with the teaching above from Hamano et al. with the motivation of having a means such the adhesive resin holds the components in place.
With respect to claim 12, Mrotek et al. teach the bipolar storage battery, wherein the positive electrode 34 includes a positive current collector 72, the negative electrode 36 includes a negative current collector 72a, and the positive current collector 18 and the negative current collector are made of lead (Mrotek et al.: Column 7, Lines 4-24).
With respect to claim 15, Mrotek et al. does not specifically teach the bipolar storage battery, wherein the liquid gasket uses a fluorine-based resin or a special synthetic rubber as a main component.
However, Hamano et al. teach a adhesive resin layer being use to connect electrodes with separator, wherein the adhesive resin comprising a polyvinylidene fluoride and an ionically conducting polymer compound (Hamano et al.: Abstract).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Mrotek et al. with the teaching above from Hamano et al. with the motivation of having a means such the adhesive resin holds the components in place.
With respect to claim 16, Mrotek et al. teach the bipolar storage battery, wherein the positive electrode 34 includes a positive current collector 72, the negative electrode 36 includes a negative current collector 72a, and the positive current collector 18 and the negative current collector are made of lead (Mrotek et al.: Column 7, Lines 4-24).
Conclusion
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/LINGWEN R ZENG/Examiner, Art Unit 1723 1/5/2026