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 .
Status of Claims
The Applicant’s amendment and arguments, filed 06/10/2026, has been entered. Claim 1 is amended; claim 3 stands as originally or previously presented; claim 2 is canceled; and claims 4-5 are new. Support for the amendments is found in the original filing, and there is no new matter.
Upon considered said amendments and arguments, the previous 35 U.S.C.102(a)(1) rejection set forth in Office Action mailed 03/24/2026 regarding claim 1 has been withdrawn. Amended and new grounds of rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) regarding Claim 3 and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) regarding claims 4-5 citing to the originally cited art are set forth below as necessitated by the claim amendments.
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.
Claim(s) 3 is/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 3 recites the limitation “The lithium-ion rechargeable battery according to claim 2….” However, claim 2 is cancelled.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Anami et al. (JP 2016110886 A, hereinafter Anami).
Regarding Claim 4, Anami discloses the limitations regarding a lithium-ion rechargeable battery (Anami, lithium ion secondary battery, [0017]), comprising:
a negative electrode plate including a negative electrode substrate and a negative electrode mixture layer applied to a surface of the negative electrode substrate (Anami, the negative electrode 4 includes a negative electrode current collector 41 made of copper foil and a negative electrode mixture layer 42 on both sides of the negative electrode current collector, [0019]);
a positive electrode plate including a positive electrode substrate and a positive electrode mixture layer applied to a surface of the positive electrode substrate (Anami, the positive electrode 3 includes a positive electrode current collector 31 made of aluminum foil or aluminum alloy foil, and a positive electrode mixture layer 32 on both sides of the positive electrode current collector 31, [0018]);
a separator arranged between the negative electrode plate and the positive electrode plate (Anami, the separator 5 is positioned between the positive electrode 3 and the negative electrode 4, [0021]); and
a non-aqueous electrolyte (Anami, electrolyte, [0017]), wherein
the negative electrode substrate includes a negative electrode connection portion that projects from the negative electrode mixture layer in a first width direction and is electrically connected to a negative electrode external terminal (Anami, negative electrode current collector includes a negative electrode connection portion that projects from the negative electrode mixture layer in a first width direction and is electrically connected to a negative electrode external terminal 10, Annotated Figure 1 below, [0017]),
the positive electrode substrate includes a positive electrode connection portion that projects from the positive electrode mixture layer in a second width direction opposite to the first width direction and is electrically connected to a positive electrode external terminal (Anami, positive electrode current collector includes a positive electrode connection portion that projects from the positive electrode mixture layer in a second width direction and is electrically connected to a positive electrode external terminal 11, Annotated Figure 1 below, [0017]),
the separator includes a first portion facing an end of the positive electrode mixture layer in the first width direction and a second portion facing an end of the positive electrode mixture layer in the second width direction
the separator has a gas permeability that is greater at the second portion facing the end of the positive electrode mixture layer in the second width direction than the first portion facing the end of the positive electrode mixture layer in the first width direction (Anami, the air permeability of the heat-treated portion 51 of the separator is 30 times or more compared to the non-heat-treated portion of the separator 52, [0009], Annotated Figure 1 below),
each of the first portion (Anami, the porosity of the non-heat-treated portion is 45% to 50%, [0043]) and the second portion of the separator has a porous structure in which pores are not closed (Anami, it is not necessary to completely seal the voids in the heat treatment section, [0068]; the Examiner notes that the heat-treated portion still has pores that are not closed, as claimed), and
the gas permeability of the separator increases in stages toward the second width direction (Anami, the air permeability of the heat-treated portion 51, or second stage, of the separator is 30 times or more compared to the non-heat-treated portion 52, or first stage, of the separator, [0009], Annotated Figure 1 below)
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Regarding Claim 5, Anami discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Anami discloses the limitations regarding a lithium-ion rechargeable battery (Anami, lithium ion secondary battery, [0017]), wherein the gas permeability of the separator at the end in the second width direction is 105% or greater with respect to the gas permeability at the end in the first width direction (Anami, the air permeability of the heat-treated portion 51 of the separator is 30 times or more, or 3000% or more, compared to the non-heat-treated portion of the separator 52, [0009], Annotated Figure 1 below; the disclosed range of 3000% or more falls within the claimed range of 30 times or more).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 is allowed.
Claim 3 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The present invention is related to a lithium-ion rechargeable battery comprising:
a negative electrode plate including a negative electrode substrate and a negative electrode mixture layer applied to a surface of the negative electrode substrate
a positive electrode plate including a positive electrode substrate and a positive electrode mixture layer applied to a surface of the positive electrode substrate
a separator arranged between the negative electrode plate and the positive electrode plate;
the separator has a gas permeability that is greater at the second portion facing the end of the positive electrode mixture layer in the second width direction than the first portion facing the end of the positive electrode mixture layer in the first width direction,
each of the first portion and the second portion of the separator has a porous structure in which pores are not closed, and
the gas permeability of the separator continuously increases toward the second width direction.
Kia teaches that separator layers having variable porosity as may be produced by this or other exemplary processes can help alleviate some of the potentially undesirable effects described earlier that may be caused by non-uniform current densities within electrochemical battery cells. Such separator layers having variable porosity can help alleviate these potentially undesirable effects by helping to eliminate the actual cause of the effects; namely, the non-uniform current density along a given electrode and within its corresponding battery cell or cell ([0060]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6-7, filed 06/10/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-3 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection of claims 4-5 is made in view of Anami et al. (JP 2016110886 A, hereinafter Anami).
Applicant argues that Anami discloses the pores of the heat-treated portion 51 are closed (shut down).
The Examiner respectfully disagrees and submits that Anami discloses that it is not necessary to completely seal the voids in the heat treatment section, (Anami, [0068]) Thus, the heat-treated portion still has pores that are not closed, as claimed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20120156569 A1 discloses a battery separator, wherein the terminal end of each separator has a lower porosity than its corresponding opposite end, so the resulting current distribution within the cells while the battery is in operation is more uniform. This more uniform current distribution is due to the higher porosity portion of the separator near the bottom of battery allowing a higher level of ionic transport between electrodes, while the lower porosity portion of the separator near the top of the battery is more restrictive of ion transport between electrodes, thus evening out the tendency for the top portions of the electrodes to experience higher current density due to their proximity to the common terminals. Uniformly distributing the current density within the battery cells thus alleviates the uneven temperature distributions within battery cells and the uneven or preferential use and cycling of certain portions of the electrodes over others ([0060]).
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/K.N./Examiner, Art Unit 1752
/OSEI K AMPONSAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
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