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 statement s (IDS) were submitted on 09/19/2023 . 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 § 102 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 1-5, 7, 9, 10-11 and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by US Patent Application Publication 2021/0002496 to Kory . With respect to claims 1 and 2, Kory teaches a binder forming an electrode of a secondary battery, the electrode comprising: a SBR ( a binder particle ) ; and a thermoresponsive additive or a poly-N-isop ropylacrylamide ( a temperature-sensitive polymer ) mixed with ( grafted on a surface of ) the SBR ( the binder particle ) (Kory: Sections [0026] and [0041]-[0046]) . With respect to claim 3, Kory teaches the same binder, therefor, lacking of any clear distinction between the claimed binder and those disclosed by Kory, it would be inherent for the binder of Kory to have at a lower critical solution temperature (LCST), hydrophilicity of the temperature-sensitive polymer becomes lower and a shape of a polymer chain of the temperature-sensitive polymer shrinks (Kory: Sections [0026] and [0041]-[0046]) . With respect to claim 4, Kory teaches the same binder, therefor, lacking of any clear distinction between the claimed binder and those disclosed by Kory, it would be inherent for the binder of Kory to have the LCST of the temperature-sensitive polymer is a temperature in a range of 30° C. to 80° C. With respect to claim 5, Kory teaches the same binder, therefor, lacking of any clear distinction between the claimed binder and those disclosed by Kory, it would be inherent for the binder of Kory to have the LCST of the temperature-sensitive polymer is a temperature in a range of 30° C. to 40° C. With respect to claims 7 and 9, Kory teaches a negative electrode for a secondary battery, the negative electrode comprising: a negative electrode base material; and an active material layer coated on at least one surface of the negative electrode base material, wherein the active material layer comprises a binder comprising: a SBR ( a binder particle ) ; and a thermoresponsive additive or a poly-N-isop ropylacrylamide ( a temperature-sensitive polymer ) mixed with ( grafted on a surface of ) the SBR ( the binder particle ) (Kory: Sections [0026] and [0041]-[0046]) . With respect to claim 10, Kory teaches the same binder, therefor, lacking of any clear distinction between the claimed binder and those disclosed by Kory, it would be inherent for the binder of Kory to have at a lower critical solution temperature (LCST): a shape of a polymer chain of the temperature-sensitive polymer shrinks; a bonding force between the negative electrode active material of the active material layer and a conductive material of the active material layer increases; and a bonding force between the active material layer and the negative electrode base material increases. With respect to claims 11 and 13, Kory teaches a secondary battery comprising: a positive electrode; a separator; an electrolyte; and a negative electrode comprising: a negative electrode base material; and an active material layer coated on at least one surface of the negative electrode base material, wherein the active material layer comprises a binder comprising: a SBR ( a binder particle ) ; and a thermoresponsive additive or a poly-N-isop ropylacrylamide ( a temperature-sensitive polymer ) mixed with ( grafted on a surface of ) the SBR ( the binder particle ) (Kory: Sections [0026] and [0041]-[0046]) . With respect to claim 14, Kory teaches the same binder, therefor, lacking of any clear distinction between the claimed binder and those disclosed by Kory, it would be inherent for the binder of Kory to have at a lower critical solution temperature (LCST): a shape of a polymer chain of the temperature-sensitive polymer shrinks; a bonding force between the negative electrode active material of the active material layer and a conductive material of the active material layer increases; and a bonding force between the active material layer and the negative electrode base material increases. 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 6, 8 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication 2021/0002496 to Kory in view of US Patent Application Publication 2012/0064415 to Satow et al. With respect to claim 6, Kory does not specifically teach but Satow et al. teach a binder (SBR) , wherein a particle size of the binder particle is 150 nm ( in a range of 100 nm to 300 nm ) (Satow et al.: Section [0099]) . It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Kory with the teaching above from Satow et al. with the motivation of having a means such SBR is a common material for using as a binder for negative electrode. With respect to claim 8, Kory does not specifically teach but Satow et al. teach the negative electrode , wherein the active material layer further comprises a negative electrode active material, a conductive material, and a functional additive, and the binder is contained at 3.0 parts by weight ( 0.5 to 5 wt % with respect to a total weight of the active material layer ) (Satow et al.: Section [0099]) . It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Kory with the teaching above from Satow et al. with the motivation of having a means such SBR is a common material for using as a binder for negative electrode. With respect to claim 12, Kory does not specifically teach but Satow et al. teach t he secondary battery, wherein the active material layer further comprises a negative electrode active material, a conductive material, and a functional additive, and the binder is contained 3.0 parts by weight ( 0.5 to 5 wt % with respect to a total weight of the active material layer ) (Satow et al.: Section [0099]) . It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Kory with the teaching above from Satow et al. with the motivation of having a means such SBR is a common material for using as a binder for negative electrode. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT LINGWEN R ZENG whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-6649 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT 8am-5pm . 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, Tiffany Legette can be reached on (571) 270-7078 . 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. /LINGWEN R ZENG/ Examiner, Art Unit 1723 DATE \* MERGEFORMAT 3/31/2026