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 § 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.
Claims 1-20 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.
Claims 1, 11, and 20 recites “the binder has a binder add-on percentage of between about 5% and 30%” renders the claim indefinite as there is no unit associated with the claimed amount. For the purpose of this examination, the examiner is taking the position that any units are associated with the claimed amount, such as wt.%, vol.%, etc.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ketzer et al. (US 20106/0315327).
Regarding claims 1, 11, and 20, Ketzer disclose a battery cell and a method of making thereof comprising a wet-laid nonwoven mat or gauntlet defining a chamber, wherein the wet-laid nonwoven gauntlet comprises a plurality of polymeric fibers, wherein the plurality of polymeric fibers have a linear mass density of 2-8 dtex, or 1.8-7.2 denier when converted, the plurality of polymeric fibers have a length of 6-20 mm, and a binder, wherein the binder has a binder add on percentage of 10-30 wt.%, and a positive active material housed in the chamber ([0015], [0023], [0028], ([0042]-[0043], [0046], all Figs).
Ketzer discloses a wet-laid nonwoven mat or gauntlet as set forth above, however, fails to explicitly disclose a basis weight with coefficient of variation between about 1-5%. However, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention would have arrived at the claimed invention by routine experimentation alone, without exercising undue experimentation.
Additionally, a person having ordinary skill in the art has good reason to pursue known option within his or her technical grasp. It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to optimize a basis weight with a CV of the mat or gauntlet to be within the claimed range, since it has been held that, where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not invention to discover optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation. In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). The burden is upon the Applicant to demonstrate that the claimed range is critical and has unexpected results. In the present invention, one would have been motivated to optimize the CV dependent on what the end-use nonwoven gauntlet/mat was used for or obtaining a desired functionality of a battery.
Additionally, it is known in the fiber arts that it is desirable to have non-woven fabric to have consistent weight. Thus, optimization of CV to be close to about 1% would have been obvious in order to have consistency throughout the whole fabric and with reasonable expectation of success. It has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
Regarding claims 2 and 12, Ketzer discloses an acrylic-based bonder [0060].
Regarding claims 3 and 13, Ketzer discloses the materials as claimed [0023-0024].
Regarding claims 4 and 14, please see all figures.
Regarding claims 5-10 and 16-19, please see [0015-0016] and Fig. 1.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LINDA N CHAU whose telephone number is (571)270-5835. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST M-F.
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, Mark Ruthkosky can be reached at (571)272-1291. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Linda Chau
/L.N.C/Examiner, Art Unit 1785
/Holly Rickman/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785
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