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 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) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masahiki (JP2006216461, see Machine Translation for citations) (Provided in Applicant’s IDs filed on September 18 th , 2023) in view of Iwase (US201 50099158 ) FILLIN "Insert the prior art relied upon." \d "[ 2 ]" . Regarding Claim 1, Masahiki discloses a lithium-ion rechargeable battery ([001]), comprising: A negative electrode plate including a negative electrode substrate and a negative electrode mixture layer applied to each of two surfaces of the negative electrode substrate (negative electrode sheet, [0011], active material layer is formed on surfaces of negative electrode sheet, [0013]); A positive electrode plate including a positive electrode substrate and appositive electrode mixture layer applied to each of two surfaces of the negative electrode substrate (positive electrode sheet, [0011], active material layer is formed on surfaces of positive electrode sheet, [0013]); and A separator arranged between the negative electrode plate and the positive electrode plate (seapatror-30, [0027]); and A nonaqueous electrolyte ([0031]), wherein The negative electrode substrate includes a negative electrode connection portion that projects form the negative electrode mixture layer in a first width direction and is electrically connected to a negative electrode external terminal (negative electrode collector tab-12 acts as external terminal, [0038], Fig. 1), The positive electrode substrate includes a positive electrode connection portion that projects form the positive electrode mixture layer in a first width direction and is electrically connected to a positive electrode external terminal (positive electrode collector tab-11 acts as external terminal, [0038], Fig. 1), The negative electrode plate has a thickness that increases in the first width direction ( Fig. 4 shows negative electrode sheet ), The positive electrode plate has a thickness that inc reases in a second width direction (Fig. 3 shows positive electrode sheet), Masahiki discloses wherein the separator can be a porous polypropylene resin sheet ([0027]). However, Masahiki does not directly disclose wherein the separator has a porosity that increases in the second width direction . Iwase discloses nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery ([003]). Iwase further discloses wherein the separator substrate can be a porous polyolefin porous resin ([0018]). Iwase further discloses wherein the separator is formed of porous heat resistance layers ([0049]). Iwase further discloses wherein the porous heat resistance layer can have adjusted porosity ([0049]). Iwase teaches that this structure provides improved mechanical strength and ion permeability. Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Masahiki with the teachings of Iwase to have wherein the separator has a porosity that increases in the second width direction. This modification would yield the expected result of improved mechanical strength and ion permeability. Regarding Claim 2, Masahiki in view of Iwase discloses the limitations as set forth above. Masahiki further discloses wherein in the negative electrode plate, the negative electrode mixture layer has at thickness that increases in the first width direction ( negative electrode mixture layer includes the negative electrode sheet-26 and negative active material in paste-27, negative electrode sheet has an increasing thickness in a first width direction, Fig. 4, [0022]) , and In the positive electrode plate, the positive electrode mixture layer had a thickness that increases in the second width direction ( positive electrode mixture layer includes the positive electrode sheet-21 and positive active material in paste-22, negative electrode sheet has an increasing thickness in a second width direction, Fig. 3, [0022] ). Regarding Claim 3, Masahiki in view of Iwase discloses the limitations as set forth above. Masahiki does not directly disclose wherein the porosity of the separator is such that the porosity at an end in the second width direction is 102% or greater with respect to the porosity at an end in the first width direction. Iwase discloses nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery ([003]). Iwase further discloses wherein the separator substrate can be a porous polyolefin porous resin ([0018]). Iwase further discloses wherein the separator is formed of porous heat resistance layers ([0049]). Iwase further discloses wherein the porous heat resistance layer can have adjusted porosity ([0049]). Iwase teaches that this structure provides improved mechanical strength and ion permeability. Therefore, absent a showing of criticality, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Masahiki with the teachings of Iwase to have w wherein the porosity of the separator is such that the porosity at an end in the second width direction is 102% or greater with respect to the porosity at an end in the first width direction.. This modification would yield the expected result of improved mechanical strength and ion permeability. Regarding Claim 4, Masahiki in view of Iwase discloses the limitations as set forth above. Masahiki further discloses wherein the negative electrode plate and the positive electrode plate, when stacked, entirely has a thickness that is constant in a width direction (Fig. 5. shows that positive electrode plate and negative electrode plate when stacked have a constant overall thickness in width direction). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT ANKITH R SRIPATHI whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-2370 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday - Friday: 7:30 am - 5:00pm . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Matthew Martin can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-270-7871 . 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. /ANKITH R SRIPATHI/ Examiner, Art Unit 1728 /MATTHEW T MARTIN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1728