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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Claims 1-9 in the reply filed on 04/14/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 10 – 11 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 04/14/2026.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 07/18/2023 and 09/19/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings received on 07/18/2023 were received and are acceptable.
Specification
The specification received on 07/18/2023 was received and is acceptable.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Senoue (US20200243897A1, as provided in IDS received 07/18/2023) in view of Sakamoto (US20110274971A1).
Regarding claim 1, Senoue teaches all of the following elements:
A battery comprising: (“The present application discloses a secondary battery” Senoue, [0001])
a negative electrode composite material containing a negative electrode active material; (“When being an anode, the first electrode 10 can contain an anode active material.” Senoue, [0035])
a separator layer; (“a first separator layer that is laminated to inner wall of the through holes of the first electrode” Senoue, [0004])
a positive electrode composite material containing a positive electrode active material; (“When the first electrode 10 is an anode, the second electrode 30 may be a cathode” Senoue, [0061]) (That is, when being a cathode, the second electrode 30 can contain a cathode active material, Senoue, [0061])
a positive electrode current collector, wherein (“For example, the secondary battery 100 may include a first current collector 40 that is connected to the first electrode 10, and a second current collector 50 that is connected to the second electrode 30.” Senoue, [0065])
the negative electrode composite material forms a honeycomb structure, (“10a, 10b, 10c” Senoue, Fig. 2A show below)
the honeycomb structure includes a first end surface, a second end surface, and a side wall, (“a first electrode having one face, an opposite face, a side face” Senoue, [0004])
the second end surface is a surface opposite to the first end surface, (“10a, 10b, 10c” Senoue, Fig. 2A show below)
the side wall connects the first end surface and the second end surface, (“10a, 10b, 10c” Senoue, Fig. 2A show below)
a plurality of through holes extending from the first end surface to the second end surface is provided, (“a first electrode having one face, an opposite face, a side face, and a plurality of through holes that penetrate from the one face to the opposite face.” Senoue, [0004])
each of the through holes includes a first opening portion that is open to the first end surface, and a second opening portion that is open to the second end surface, (“10a, 10b, 10c” Senoue, Fig. 2A show below)
the separator layer covers at least a portion of an inner wall of the through hole, (“laminating a separator layer and a second electrode to inner walls of a plurality of through holes of a first electrode.” Senoue, [0003])
the separator layer separates the positive electrode composite material form the negative electrode composite material, (“The first separator layer 20 a prevents the first electrode 10 and the second electrode 30 from short-circuiting in the through holes 10 d. Senoue, [0043])
the positive electrode composite material is disposed on an inside of the through hole, (“the cathode paste was injected into the through holes of the first electrode by pressure by the syringe.” Senoue, [0103])
the positive electrode current collector is disposed outside the through hole, (“the second current collector 50 may be provided for the surface of the second electrode 30 present on the side of the one face 10 a or the opposite face 10 b of the first electrode 10.” Senoue, [0065])
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Senoue does not teach a conductive layer between the positive electrode composite material and the positive electrode current collector. Senoue does disclose that the positive electrode composite material may contain a conductive material in combination with the positive electrode active material. Sakamoto teaches a positive electrode comprising a conductive layer in between a positive electrode collector and a positive electrode active material (Sakamoto, [0001]). Sakamoto also teaches that this layering allows the positive electrode to have excellent conductivity and to be less prone to delamination between layers (Sakamoto, [0010]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to combine the honeycomb battery of Senoue with the conductive layer of Sakamoto to further increase the conductivity of the of the positive electrode and safeguard against delamination.
Regarding Claim 2, Modified Senoue teaches all of the elements of claim 1, as shown above. gModifed Senoue does not directly teach a conductive layer disposed as to close at least one of the openings of the negative electrode. Modified Senoue teaches that the positive electrode current collector may be provided on both faces of the negative electrode (Senoue, Fig 6, 50, shown below). For the conductive layer of modified Senoue to connect both the positive electrode current collector and the positive electrode active material it must be disposed in both of the openings of the negative electrode.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to dispose the conductive layer of modified Senoue in both openings of the negative electrode.
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Regarding Claim 3, Modified Senoue teaches all of the elements of claim 1, as shown above. Modified Senoue does not explicitly teach a recessed portion of the positive electrode composite material and that the recessed potion is recessed towards the inside of the through hole. Modified Senoue does teach the drying of the cathode paste inside of the honeycombs at 120 degrees Celsius for 30 mins (Senoue, [0103]). The instant application mentions the same method of drying ([0087]) at 120 degrees Celsius for 30 mins. Modified Senoue and the instant application both disclose the same positive electrode active materials (Senoue, [0037]) (Instant, [0052]) and the use of a binder (Senoue, [0061]) (Instant, [0051]). Both modified Senoue and the instant application disclose a drying step of a positive electrode active material paste in a honeycomb structure at the same temperature over the same time. The examiner is taking the position that the positive electrode active material of modified Senoue would form the recess as once the paste loses solvent from drying it would shrink, due to interactions with the walls and similar formation steps of Senoue.
Regarding Claim 8, Modified Senoue teaches all of the elements of claim 1, as shown above. Modifed Senoue does not directly teach a conductive layer disposed as to close the first or second opening portion of the negative electrode. Modified Senoue teaches that the positive electrode current collector may be provided on both faces of the negative electrode (Senoue, Fig 6, 50, shown above). For the conductive layer of modified Senoue to connect both the positive electrode current collector and the positive electrode active material it must be disposed in both of the openings of the negative electrode. Both of the opening portions disposed with the conductive layer fulfills the claim language of “or”.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to dispose the conductive layer of modified Senoue in both openings of the negative electrode.
Regarding Claim 9, Modified Senoue teaches all of the elements of claim 1, as shown above. Modifed Senoue does not directly teach a conductive layer disposed as to close at least one of the openings of the negative electrode. Modified Senoue teaches that the positive electrode current collector may be provided on both faces of the negative electrode (Senoue, Fig 6, 50, shown above). For the conductive layer of modified Senoue to connect both the positive electrode current collector and the positive electrode active material it must be disposed in both of the openings of the negative electrode.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to dispose the conductive layer of modified Senoue in both openings of the negative electrode.
Claim(s) 4-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Senoue (US20200243897A1) in view of Sakamoto (US20110274971A1, as provided in IDS received 07/18/2023) and further in view of Ishii et al. (JP2001089118A, hereinafter Ishii).
Regarding Claim 4, Modified Senoue teaches all of the elements of claim 1, as shown above. Modified Senoue does not teach a conductive material from the group listed. Ishii teaches a graphite particles for usage in a lithium secondary battery that has excellent charge/discharge and safety characteristics (Ishii, [0001]). These graphite particles are discotic, shaped like a disc (Ishii, [0003]). They can also be used as a conductive agent (Ishii, [0034]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the conductive layer of modified Senoue with the graphite particles of Ishii because the substituted components were known, their functions were known in the art, one of ordinary skill in the art could have substituted one known component for another and that the results of the substitution would have been predictable. See MPEP 2143 I (B).
Regarding Claim 5, Modified Senou teaches all of the elements of claim 1, as shown above. Modified Senoue does not teach a conductive material with a sphere equivalent diameter of 10 micrometers or more. Ishii teaches that the graphite particles can have a diameter ranging from 10 to 100 micrometer (Ishii, [0008]). In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to combine the honeycomb battery of modified Senoue with the graphite particles of Ishii having a diameter of 10 micrometers.
Regarding Claim 6, Modified Senoue teaches all of the elements of claim 1, as shown above. Modified Senoue does not teach a conductive layer containing a binder the binder to conductive material mass ratio of 0.2 or less. Ishii teaches that the graphite particles are mixed with a binder (Ishii, [0002]). And that the ratio by weight of binder to conductive material is 10-100 to 100 or more simply 0.1 to 1 (Ishii, [0020]). In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to combine the honeycomb battery of modified Senoue with the graphite particles of Ishii including a binder and with mass ratio of 0.2 or less.
Regarding Claim 7, Modified Senoue teaches all of the elements of claim 1, as shown above. Modified Senoue does not teach a conductive layer not containing the positive electrode active material. Modified Senoue teaches the positive electrode active material being any known cathode active material, for example lithium cobaltate or lithium nickelate (Senoue, [0037]). Ishii teaches the graphite particles can be mixed with an organic binder (Ishii, [0002]). These two compositions of graphite mixed with binder from Ishii and cathode active material from modified Senoue do not overlap.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to combine the honeycomb battery of modified Senoue with the graphite particles and organic binder of Ishii.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSHUA P BISTANY-RIEBMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-9591. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 7:30am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicholas A Smith can be reached at 5712728760. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOSHUA P BISTANY-RIEBMAN/Examiner, Art Unit 1752
/ALLISON BOURKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1721
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