RESPONSE TO AMENDMENT
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 .
Amendments to the specification and the claims, filed 29 July 2026, have been entered in the above-identified application.
Claims 1-2 remain pending in the application.
Claim 3 is cancelled in the application.
Newly added claim 4 is pending in the application.
Withdrawn Objections/Rejections
The 35 U.S.C. §103 rejections of claims 1-3 as unpatentable over Kamo (WIPO Patent Application Publication No. 2020/184502) in view of Nakashima (US Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0208070) made of record in the office action mailed on 04 May 2026, pages 2-3, have been withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendment in the response filed 29 July 2026.
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.
Claims 1-2 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Miyazaki (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006/286427). For prior art discussion see English translation for JP-2006286427-A.
Regarding claims 1 and 2, Miyazaki teaches a lithium-ion secondary battery ([0070]) including a positive electrode having a positive electrode active material layer and a positive electrode current collector (positive electrode plate, [0070], which includes a positive electrode active material layer and a positive electrode current collector, [0039]) and a negative electrode having a negative electrode active material layer and a negative electrode current collector (negative electrode plate, [0039], which includes a positive electrode active material layer and a positive electrode current collector, [0076]). The positive electrode and negative electrode are laminated with a separator therebetween ([0070]). The separator includes a conductive layer on a surface of the separator ([0054]-[0055], the conductive component in the conductive passage fig. 5 ref. #5. As the conductive component is along the top of the active material layer, and the separator is placed on the active material layer, the conductive component will be a layer on the separator).
The positive electrode active material layer has a groove in a thickness direction (conductive through-passage, [0054] and fig. 5 ref. #5, which is in the positive electrode active material, [0048]), and a surface of the positive electrode active material layer and a surface of the negative electrode active material layer each contact a surface of the separator ([0070], as the separator is between the positive electrode active material layer and the negative electrode active material layer, it must contact both surfaces). The surface of the positive electrode active material layer which has the groove does not contact the surface of the separator at locations of the groove (fig. 5, see below. As the separator will be placed on the top of the positive electrode active material, the surface of the positive electrode active material layer with the groove will not contact the surface of the separator at the location of the groove, as there is no positive electrode active material in the groove). The conductive layer (conductive component) is located on the surface of the separator only at portions of the surface of the separator that are in alignment with the locations of the groove (as the conductive component is only in the groove, it can only contact the separator in the groove).
PNG
media_image1.png
421
801
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 4, Miyazaki further teaches the separator comprises a porous sheet ([0070]), and portions of the surface of the positive electrode active material layer which has the groove directly contact the porous sheet at locations other than at locations of the groove (fig. 5 ref. #3b, see above. As the separator is placed on the positive electrode between the positive electrode and negative electrode, [0070], the surface of the positive electrode layer that contains the groove will directly contact the porous sheet at locations where there is no groove).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments in the response filed on 29 July 2026 regarding the prior art rejections made of record in the office action mailed on 04 May 2026 have been considered but are moot due to the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Myles Alan Lovasz whose telephone number is (571)272-0214. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30 am - 5:00 pm.
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, Alicia Chevalier can be reached at (571) 272-1490. 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.
/MAL/
Myles Alan LovaszExaminer, Art Unit 1788 10/08/2026
/Alicia Chevalier/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1788
