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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group II (claims 3,4) in the reply filed on 05/21/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the restriction requirement is improper.
Applicant argues that the inventive concept is a combination of constructing a unit all-solid-state battery, assembling a module by stacking a plurality of such unit batteries; 3. Interposing collector electrode plates between adjacent unit batteries, and 4. controlling the polarity arrangement of the electrode material layers.
Examiner respectfully disagrees as a 371 restriction is based on sharing a special technical feature among different inventive groups that does not make a contribution over the prior art. Here, the unit solid-state battery of claim 1 is being shared among the different groups presented in the restriction requirement, where the unit solid-state battery (layered solid state battery 10; Fig 1; [0039-0044]) comprising a solid electrolyte layer (solid electrolyte layer 3; Fig 1), a negative electrode material layer (negative electrode layer 2; Fig 1) and a positive electrode material layer (positive electrode layer 1; Fig 1) as electrode materials layers are respectively laminated on both sides of the solid electrolyte layer (see Fig 1), the negative electrode material layer and the positive electrode material layer each not comprising a current collector (i.e., see preparation of sheet for positive and negative electrode layers section in [0079-0082]) is disclosed by Takeshi.
Claims 1-2, 5-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected groups, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 05/21/2026.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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 4 is 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 4 currently requires that the solid-state battery module is formed by laminating “a plurality of the first laminated structures, and a type of the electrode material layer disposed at each of the two ends differs between the first laminated cell structures adjacent to each other.” However, according to claim 3, “the first laminated structure” necessarily includes the same type of electrode plate or electrode material layer at two ends. Thus, it’s not clear how the first laminated structure and adjacent laminated structure can have different configurations.
For example, if the first laminated structure has positive plate/electrode layer at both ends, then the plurality of the first laminated structures in claim 4 must also have the positive plate/electrode layer at both ends.
For examination purposes, the instant claim is interpreted to have recited “wherein the module is formed by laminating a plurality of laminated structures including at least the first laminated structure and a second laminated structure, and a type of the current collecting electrode plate or the electrode material layer disposed at each of the two ends differs between the first laminated cell structure and an adjacent second laminated structure” based on Fig. 7B of the instant specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 3,4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Takeshi (US20130149593, IDS cited 08/17/2023).
Regarding 3, Hayashi discloses a solid-state battery module (layered solid-state battery 100 [0062-0063]; Fig 2) comprising a laminated cell structure formed by laminating a plurality of the unit solid-state batteries (see unit cell n, n-1, n-2, n-3 in the annotated Fig 2 below; [0061-0063]),
the laminated cell structure being a first laminated cell structure, wherein
a current collecting electrode plate (internal collection layer 4 including layers 4a, 4b; Fig 2; [0039-0046]) is disposed between each of the unit solid-state batteries,
the unit solid-state batteries adjacent to each other are arranged such that the positive electrode material layers are adjacent to each other (see annotated Fig 2 below wherein positive electrode layer 1 of unit cell n-1 and unit cell n-2 are adjacent to each other) and the negative electrode material layers are adjacent to each other (see Fig 2 wherein negative electrode layer 2 of unit cell n and unit cell n-1 are adjacent to each other),
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a negative electrode plate serving as the current collecting electrode plate is disposed between the adjacent negative electrode material layers (see internal collection layer 4b disposed between adjacent negative electrode layers 2 in the annotated Fig 2 above; [0061-0062]),
a positive electrode plate serving as the current collecting electrode plate is disposed between the adjacent positive electrode material layers (see internal collection layer 4a disposed between adjacent positive electrode layers 1 in the annotated Fig 2 above; [0061-0062])
the electrode material layer disposed at one of two ends of the laminated cell structure of the laminated unit solid-state batteries is of the same type as the electrode material layer disposed at the other of the two ends of the laminated cell structure of the laminated unit solid-state batteries (see Fig 2 above comprising positive electrode layers 1 at the upper and lower end of the stacked unit cells).
Regarding claim 4, Hayashi discloses the solid-state battery module according to claim 3. As discussed in the 112(b) rejection above, claim 4 is interpreted to have recited “wherein the module is formed by laminating a plurality of laminated structures including at least the first laminated structure and a second laminated structure, and a type of the current collecting electrode plate or the electrode material layer disposed at each of the two ends differs between the first laminated cell structure and an adjacent second laminated structure” based on Fig 7B.
Hayashi further discloses wherein the module is formed by laminating a plurality of laminated cell structures including at least the first laminated cell structure and a second laminated cell structures (see the annotated Fig 2 below), and
a type of the electrode material layer disposed at each of the two ends differs between the first and an adjacent second laminated cell structures (i.e., see the laminated cell structures below having different electrode material layers between the first and the second laminated cell structures; i.e., positive electrode layer 1 disposed at the bottom of the first laminated cell structure and the negative electrode layer 2 is disposed at the top of the second laminated cell structure).
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Conclusion
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/T.S./Examiner, Art Unit 1751
/Haroon S. Sheikh/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1751
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