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
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ueda et al. (JP 2015-185443 A, hereinafter Ueda, cited by applicant) in view of Kusakawa (JP 2013-171758 A, cited by applicant).
Re Claim 1. Ueda teaches a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery (para. 10) comprising:
a positive electrode (para. 10):
a negative electrode (para. 10); and
a nonaqueous electrolyte (para. 10), wherein
the negative electrode includes a negative electrode active material layer containing a negative electrode active material (para. 10),
the negative electrode active material includes first negative electrode active material particles each having an aspect ratio of 1 to 2 (para 38) and second negative electrode active material particles each having an aspect ratio exceeding 4 (para. 52),
a mass ratio between the first negative electrode active material particles and the second negative electrode active material particles is 5 : 95 to 95 : 5/90 : 10 (para. 115 & 116, Table 2),
50% or more of the second negative electrode active material particles are aligned such that an angle between a plane direction of the negative electrode active material layer and a major axis of the second negative electrode active material particle is 30° or more,
the nonaqueous electrolyte contains a nonaqueous solvent and an electrolyte salt (para. 139), and
the nonaqueous solvent contains a carboxylate ester having 4 or less carbon atoms (methyl acetate, para. 139).
Regarding “50% or more of the second negative electrode active material particles are aligned such that an angle between a plane direction of the negative electrode active material layer and a major axis of the second negative electrode active material particle is 30° or more”: Ueda does not expressly disclose that limitation. However, the specification of the instant application discloses that an angle between a plane direction of the negative electrode active material layer and a major axis of the second negative electrode active material particle is result of a ratio of the first negative electrode active material particles and the second negative electrode active material particles (para. 46).
Since Ueda and the claimed battery employ substantially similar materials and amount, it is reasonable to believe that the claimed properties (50% or more of the second negative electrode active material particles are aligned such that an angle between a plane direction of the negative electrode active material layer and a major axis of the second negative electrode active material particle is 30° or more) would have naturally flowed following the teachings of Ueda. See MPEP 2112.01 & In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977). MPEP 2145 & Ex parte Obiaya, 227 USPQ 58, 60 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1985)
In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990). "[A] prior art reference that discloses a range encompassing a somewhat narrower claimed range is sufficient to establish a prima facie case of obviousness." In re Peterson, 315 F.3d 1325, 1330, 65 USPQ2d 1379, 1382-83 (Fed. Cir. 2003). See MPEP § 2144.05, I.
Ueda fails to specifically teach that the nonaqueous solvent contains 1 to 30% by volume of a carboxylate ester having 4 or less carbon atoms.
The invention of Kusakawa encompasses nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery. Kusakawa teaches that the nonaqueous solvent contains 10 to 50% by volume of a carboxylate ester having 4 or less carbon atoms (para. 10 & 16).
In view of Kusakawa, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the invention of Ueda to have the nonaqueous solvent contains 10 to 50% by volume of a carboxylate ester having 4 or less carbon atoms; since Kusakawa teaches the advantage of doing it, which is to improve low temperature performance (para. 11).
Re Claim 2. The combination teaches an average aspect ratio of the first negative electrode active material particles is 1.0 to 2 (Ueda, para. 38), and an average aspect ratio of the second negative electrode active material particles is 4 to 20 (para. 52).
Re Claim 3. The combination teaches wherein the first negative electrode active material particles are spheroidized natural graphite particles (Ueda, para. 40), and the second negative electrode active material particles are scaly natural graphite particles (para. 45).
Re Claim 4. The combination teaches a mass ratio between the first negative electrode active material particles and the second negative electrode active material particles is 5 : 95 to 95 : 5 (Ueda, para. 115 & 116).
Re Claim 5. The combination teaches wherein the carboxylate ester is methyl acetate (Ueda, para. 139).
Re Claim 6. The combination teaches wherein the nonaqueous solvent contains 10% by volume to 50% by volume of the carboxylate ester (Kusakawa, para. 16).
Re Claim 7. The combination teaches wherein the nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery is a battery of a vehicle driving power supply (Ueda, para. 149) for hybrid vehicles.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892.
The rejections above rely on the references for all the teachings expressed in the text of the references and/or one of ordinary skill in the art would have reasonably understood from the texts. Only specific portions of the texts have been pointed out to emphasize certain aspects of the prior art, however, each reference as a whole should be reviewed in responding to the rejection, since other sections of the same reference and/or various combinations of the cited references may be relied on in future rejections in view of amendments.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN E YOON whose telephone number is (571)270-5932. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9 AM- 5 PM.
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/KEVIN E YOON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1735
6/23/2026
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