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 .
Response to Amendment
This Office Action is responsive to the amendment filed on 2/27/2026. Claims 7-9 are canceled. Claims 1-6, 10, 11 are pending. Applicant’s arguments have been considered. Claims 1-6, 10, 11 are finally rejected for reasons stated herein below.
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 1-6, 10, 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kazama (US 2011/0289790) in view of Fukumura (US 6027835) and Jeong (US 2008/0233476).
Regarding claim 1, Kazama discloses a method for manufacturing a battery electrode, the method comprising steps of:
forming a precursor of the battery electrode including double-sided coating areas in which both sides of a current collector are coated with an electrode material layer [0104],
and pressurizing the precursor of the battery electrode [0098].
the heat treatment is performed, as a non-contact heat treatment, without contact with the current collector located at the boundary portion and the electrode material layer [0050],
the non-contact heat treatment is performed using a high-frequency induction heating device [0050],
the high-frequency induction heating device is driven only when the high-frequency induction heating device faces the current collector located at the boundary portion, it is noted that the high-frequency induction heating device of Kazama operates at the boundary portion between the coated and uncoated regions ([0096, 0092, 0107] and figure 10B).
Regarding claim 1, Kazama does not disclose a single-sided coating area adjacent to the double-sided coating area, wherein the single-sided coating area includes a main side of the current collector that is coated with the electrode material layer. Kazama discloses double-sided coating areas [0104], and pressing the active material layer [0098]. Fukumura teaches an electrode assembly having one end of an electrode active material layer 24a displaced from one end of the lower electrode active material layer 24b, see Fig. 1C (3:30-35). When the electrode sheet is transported in the direction indicated by an arrow 26 to press it with press rollers in the thickness direction of the electrode sheet. A portion 31 of the electrode sheet not covered with both the electrode depolarizing mix layers 24a and 24b is pressed first, a portion 32 of the electrode sheet covered only with the electrode depolarizing mix layer 24b is pressed next, and a portion 33 of the electrode sheet covered with both the electrode depolarizing mix layers 24a and 24b is pressed last. Since the electrode sheet changes its thickness gradually at the three portions 31, 32 and 33, an impact force to be caused by the thickness change can be alleviated. With an alleviated impact force, accidents of breakage of an electrode sheet during the press process can be reduced (3:35-50).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to offset the boundaries of the double-coated areas of Kazama, as taught by Fukumura, for the benefit of alleviating the force applied to the current collector at the boundaries.
Regarding claim 1, Kazama does not disclose a whole of a boundary portion, which is between the double-sided coating area and the single-sided coating area in a width direction of the current collector which is perpendicular to a movement direction of the precursor of the battery electrode, to a heat treatment locally. Kazama discloses a heat treatment at an entire edge of the double-layer active material layer that evaporates the solvent in the electrode material and dries the active material (see [0097] and fig. 10A), but does not disclose a heat treatment at the whole of a boundary portion between the double-sided coating area and the single-sided coating area in a width direction of the current collector.
Jeong teaches annealing an edge of a current collector so that an uncoated current collector part may have greater elongation ratio than that of the coated current collector part [0011-0012]. An edge of the current collector 15 is heated by the heating member 110 installed at the extreme end (of the apparatus), and subsequently, the current collector 15 is transferred toward the coating member 130 by the rollers 121 and 123. Since the heated part of the current collector 15 is slowly cooled while being transferred toward the coating member 130, the edge of the current collector 15 is annealed and thus yield stress and residual stress thereof decrease while an elongation ratio thereof increases [0037]. The elongation ratio of the uncoated current collector part 15a becomes greater than that of the coated current collector part 15b. In addition, the yield stress of the uncoated current collector part 15a becomes smaller than that of the coated current collector part 15b. When the yield stress of the coated current collector part 15b is s 1 and the yield stress of the uncoated current collector part 15a is s 2, the condition of 1.5< s1/ s 2<7 is satisfied. When s 1/ s 2 is less than 1.5, the uncoated current collector part 15a is not sufficiently elongated during the pressing process and thus the electrode 10 may be bent. When s 1/ s 2 is greater than 7, the uncoated current collector part 15a is heated to an excessively high temperature, such that the structure of the uncoated current collector part 15a may be damaged [0047].
Regarding claim 2, the current collector located at the boundary portion is locally softened by the heat treatment [0037].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to heat treat the edge of any uncoated portions of the current collector of Kazama modified by Fukumura, as taught by Jeong, so as to form less stiff portion for the uncoated portion of the current collector than the coated portion of the current collector for the benefit of preventing the boundary from bending during the manufacturing process.
Regarding claim 3, the current collector located at the boundary portion has a curved area increased by the heat treatment to be larger than the current collector that is not subjected to the heat treatment, the instant Specification states:
[0153]
First, using a coating device, one main side of a metal foil as a current collector 10 was intermittently coated with an electrode material, and another main side was intermittently coated with an electrode material. At this time, the interval of the electrode material applied to one main side of the metal foil and the interval of the electrode material applied to another main side of the metal foil were provided so as not to overlap each other. As a result, a precursor of the electrode 100 was formed that included a double-sided coating area in which both sides of the current collector 10 were coated with electrode material layers 20 and 30 and included a single-sided coating area adjacent to the double-sided coating area, the single-sided coating area in which one side of the current collector 10 was coated with the electrode material layer 20.
[0154]
In Example 1, in a different manner from in Comparative Example described above, after forming the precursor of the electrode body 100, the current collector 10 located at the boundary portion 70 between the double-sided coating area and the single-sided coating area was subjected to a heat treatment using a high-frequency induction heating device 80(heat treatment temperature: 200 degrees) before pressurizing the precursor. By such a heat treatment, the local portion of the current collector 10 located at the boundary portion 70 was softened because the thermal energy was applied to the portion. The Young's modulus of the softened portion of the current collector was 66 Gpa. That is, the rigidity of the current collector 10 located at the boundary portion 70 was relatively low. Therefore, because the electrode material layer 20 was located on the upper side of the current collector 10 in the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion 70, and the weight of the electrode material layer 20 acted on the current collector 10, the heat-treated current collector 10 in the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion 70 was curved downward to a greater extent than in Comparative Example.
It is noted that the heat-treatment of the current collector of Kazama modified by Furukawa and Jeong meets the limitation of claim 3.
Regarding claim 4, the precursor of the battery electrode is pressurized using a pair of press rolls positioned to sandwich the precursor, and
a spatial area formed between the current collector of the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion and the press roll directly facing the current collector has a size reduced by the heat treatment to be smaller than a spatial area formed between the current collector of the single-sided coating area that is not subjected to the heat treatment and also that is located at the boundary portion and the press roll, the instant Specification states:
[0018]
As described above, the present inventors focused on the technical problem that in the case of a battery electrode including a single-sided coating area and a double-sided coating area adjacent to the single-sided coating area each other, the volume density of the electrode material layer is reduced in the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion between the single-sided coating area and the double-sided coating area. Specifically, the present inventors focused on the technical problem that the reduction in the volume density of the electrode material layer is directly caused by the fact that "the current collector in the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion is not easy to suitably bring into contact with a press roll owing to the presence of the electrode material layer located at the end of the double-sided coating area".
As a result, in order to suitably solve such a technical problem, the present inventors have come up with a method for manufacturing a battery based on the following technical concept.
[0019]
The method for manufacturing a battery electrode according to the present invention is based on a technical concept of "subjecting a current collector 10 to a heat treatment locally at a boundary portion 70 between the double-sided coating area and the single-sided coating area and thereafter pressurizing a precursor of an electrode 100". According to the technical concept of the present invention, the timing of the local heat treatment of the current collector 10 located at the boundary portion 70 may be after the main side of the current collector 10 is coated with an electrode material layer 20 (that is, after the precursor of the electrode 100 is formed), or may be before the main side of the current collector 10 is coated with the electrode material layer 20. In the latter aspect, the state before the main side of the current collector 10 is coated with the electrode material layer 20 can be a state in which the current collector 10 is present and no electrode material layer is present. Therefore, in the latter aspect, from the viewpoint of an efficient heat treatment, it is preferable that the portion to be the boundary portion 70 be previously grasped and then the current collector 10 located at the boundary portion 70 be subjected to the local heat treatment. The term "boundary portion" used in the present description refers to a portion in which the change from the double-sided coating area to the single-sided coating area occurs, or the change from the single-sided coating area to the double-sided coating area occurs. The term "heat treatment" used in the present description refers to a treatment of applying thermal energy to a current collector in a broad sense. The term "heat treatment" used in the present description refers to, in a narrow sense, a treatment to improve ductility by applying thermal energy to a current collector to remove the strain inside the current collector and soften the current collector. From this point of view, the "heat treatment" can also be referred to as "annealing treatment". The term "precursor of an electrode" used in the present description refers to a precursor including a double-sided coating area in which both sides of a current collector are coated with an electrode material layer and including a single-sided coating area adjacent to the double-sided coating area each other, the single-sided coating area in which one main side of the current collector is coated with the electrode material layer.
[0020]
According to such a technical concept, a local portion of the current collector 10 can be softened because thermal energy is applied to the portion that is located at the boundary portion 70 between the double-sided coating area and the single-sided coating area and is subjected to the heat treatment. Therefore, by the heat treatment, the Young's modulus of the current collector 10 located at the boundary portion 70 can be reduced to be lower than the Young's modulus of the current collector 10 located at the portion other than the boundary portion 70. Particularly because the electrode material layer 20 is located on the upper side of the current collector 10 in the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion 70, the weight of the electrode material layer 20 can act on the current collector 10. Therefore, the heat-treated current collector 10 in the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion 70 can be gently curved downward.
[0021]
As a result, when the precursor of the electrode 100 is pressurized using a pair of press rolls 40 later, the current collector 10 in the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion 70 and the press roll 40 can come into contact with each other in a range increased to be larger than in the conventional case that the heat treatment is not performed. From the viewpoint of suitably increasing the range in which the current collector 10 in the single- sided coating area located at the boundary portion 70 and the press roll 40 can come into contact with each other, the Young's modulus of the current collector 10 located at the boundary portion 70 is preferably reduced to be 50% or more lower than the Young's modulus of the current collector located at the portion other than the boundary portion 70.
Hence, the precursor of the electrode of Kazama that is heat treated and pressurized by a pair of press rolls, as modified by Furukawa and Jeong, reads on Applicant’s claim 4.
Regarding claim 5, a Young's modulus of the current collector located at the boundary portion by the heat treatment is lower than a Young's modulus of the current collector located at a portion other than the boundary portion, and regarding claim 6, the Young's modulus of the current collector located at the boundary portion is 50% or more lower than the Young's modulus of the current collector located at the portion other than the boundary portion, Jeong teaches the elongation ratio of the uncoated current collector part 15a becomes greater than that of the coated current collector part 15b. In addition, the yield stress of the uncoated current collector part 15a becomes smaller than that of the coated current collector part 15b. When the yield stress of the coated current collector part 15b is s 1 and the yield stress of the uncoated current collector part 15a is s 2, the condition of 1.5< s1/ s 2<7 is satisfied. When s 1/ s 2 is less than 1.5, the uncoated current collector part 15a is not sufficiently elongated during the pressing process and thus the electrode 10 may be bent. When s 1/ s 2 is greater than 7, the uncoated current collector part 15a is heated to an excessively high temperature, such that the structure of the uncoated current collector part 15a may be damaged [0047].
Jeong shows that an uncoated portion of the current collector has a higher elongation than the coated portion of the current collector, hence the yield load of the uncoated portion of the current collector is lower than the yield load of the coated portion of the current collector (Table 1).
It is noted that yield load and Young’s modulus are both a measure of stiffness. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to adjust the Young’s modules of the uncoated portion of the current collector of Kazama modified by Fukumura, as taught by Jeong, for the benefit of preventing the boundary from bending during the manufacturing process.
Regarding claim 10, after pressurizing the precursor of the battery electrode, a ratio of a volume density of the electrode material layer located at the boundary portion (A) to a volume density of the electrode material layer located at the portion other than the boundary portion (B) is from 0.9 to 1.0, and regarding claim 11, after pressurizing the precursor of the battery electrode, the electrode material layer located at the boundary portion has a low volume density area with a size lower than the current collector that is not subjected to the heat treatment, the instant Specification states:
[0018]
As described above, the present inventors focused on the technical problem that in the case of a battery electrode including a single-sided coating area and a double-sided coating area adjacent to the single-sided coating area each other, the volume density of the electrode material layer is reduced in the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion between the single-sided coating area and the double-sided coating area. Specifically, the present inventors focused on the technical problem that the reduction in the volume density of the electrode material layer is directly caused by the fact that "the current collector in the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion is not easy to suitably bring into contact with a press roll owing to the presence of the electrode material layer located at the end of the double-sided coating area".
As a result, in order to suitably solve such a technical problem, the present inventors have come up with a method for manufacturing a battery based on the following technical concept.
[0019]
The method for manufacturing a battery electrode according to the present invention is based on a technical concept of "subjecting a current collector 10 to a heat treatment locally at a boundary portion 70 between the double-sided coating area and the single-sided coating area and thereafter pressurizing a precursor of an electrode 100". According to the technical concept of the present invention, the timing of the local heat treatment of the current collector 10 located at the boundary portion 70 may be after the main side of the current collector 10 is coated with an electrode material layer 20 (that is, after the precursor of the electrode 100 is formed), or may be before the main side of the current collector 10 is coated with the electrode material layer 20. In the latter aspect, the state before the main side of the current collector 10 is coated with the electrode material layer 20 can be a state in which the current collector 10 is present and no electrode material layer is present. Therefore, in the latter aspect, from the viewpoint of an efficient heat treatment, it is preferable that the portion to be the boundary portion 70 be previously grasped and then the current collector 10 located at the boundary portion 70 be subjected to the local heat treatment. The term "boundary portion" used in the present description refers to a portion in which the change from the double-sided coating area to the single-sided coating area occurs, or the change from the single-sided coating area to the double-sided coating area occurs. The term "heat treatment" used in the present description refers to a treatment of applying thermal energy to a current collector in a broad sense. The term "heat treatment" used in the present description refers to, in a narrow sense, a treatment to improve ductility by applying thermal energy to a current collector to remove the strain inside the current collector and soften the current collector. From this point of view, the "heat treatment" can also be referred to as "annealing treatment". The term "precursor of an electrode" used in the present description refers to a precursor including a double-sided coating area in which both sides of a current collector are coated with an electrode material layer and including a single-sided coating area adjacent to the double-sided coating area each other, the single-sided coating area in which one main side of the current collector is coated with the electrode material layer.
[0020]
According to such a technical concept, a local portion of the current collector 10 can be softened because thermal energy is applied to the portion that is located at the boundary portion 70 between the double-sided coating area and the single-sided coating area and is subjected to the heat treatment. Therefore, by the heat treatment, the Young's modulus of the current collector 10 located at the boundary portion 70 can be reduced to be lower than the Young's modulus of the current collector 10 located at the portion other than the boundary portion 70. Particularly because the electrode material layer 20 is located on the upper side of the current collector 10 in the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion 70, the weight of the electrode material layer 20 can act on the current collector 10. Therefore, the heat-treated current collector 10 in the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion 70 can be gently curved downward.
[0021]
As a result, when the precursor of the electrode 100 is pressurized using a pair of press rolls 40 later, the current collector 10 in the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion 70 and the press roll 40 can come into contact with each other in a range increased to be larger than in the conventional case that the heat treatment is not performed. From the viewpoint of suitably increasing the range in which the current collector 10 in the single- sided coating area located at the boundary portion 70 and the press roll 40 can come into contact with each other, the Young's modulus of the current collector 10 located at the boundary portion 70 is preferably reduced to be 50% or more lower than the Young's modulus of the current collector located at the portion other than the boundary portion 70.
[0022]
As a result, it is possible to increase the range in which the pair of press rolls 40 facing each other can suitably pressurize the current collector 10 and the electrode material layer 20 in the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion 70. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the range of a low volume density area 23 of the electrode material layer 20 in the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion 70. In other words, it is possible to increase the range of the electrode material layer 20 having a high volume density in the single-sided coating area located at the boundary portion 70.
[0023]
As a result, it is possible to reduce the difference between the volume density of the electrode material layer in the coating area located at the boundary portion 70 and the volume density of the electrode material layer located at the portion other than the boundary portion. Specifically, the ratio of the volume density of the electrode material layer located at the boundary portion (A) to the volume density of the electrode material layer located at the portion other than the boundary portion (B) (A/B) can be 0.9 or more and 1.0 or less. Therefore, even in the case that the electrode includes the single-sided coating area and the double-sided coating area adjacent to the single-sided coating area each other, the electrode material layer having a reduced range of the low volume density area 23 can be suitably formed as a whole. As a result, the electrode can suitably function as a constituent element of a battery.
It appears that the heat treatment of Kazama modified by Furukawa and Jeong that heat treats the edge of the single-sided coating of the active material to reduce the stress meets the limitations of claims 10 and 11.
Response to Arguments
Arguments dated 2/27/2026 are addressed below:
The Examiner notes that the high-frequency induction heating device of Kazama is driven only when the high-frequency induction heating device faces the current collector located at the boundary portion. See paragraph [0092]. Hence, the rejection is maintained.
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 CYNTHIA KYUNG SOO WALLS whose telephone number is (571)272-8699. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F until 5pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jonathan Leong can be reached at 571-270-1292. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CYNTHIA K WALLS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1751
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