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 elected Group 1: Claims 1-8 and 11 in response on 7/10/2026. During a telephone voicemail exchange, it was communicated claim 11, group 4, was a typo and not intended for group 1. Applicant elected to select group 1, claims 1-8. Restriction requirement amended below.
Election of core material: combination of aromatic vinyl monomer, a non-fluorine-containing (meth)acrylic acid ester monomer, and a (meth)acrylnotrile monomer.
Election of shell material: poly0oyalkylene (meth)acrylate represented by formula (1).
REQUIREMENT FOR UNITY OF INVENTION
As provided in 37 CFR 1.475(a), a national stage application shall relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept (“requirement of unity of invention”). Where a group of inventions is claimed in a national stage application, the requirement of unity of invention shall be fulfilled only when there is a technical relationship among those inventions involving one or more of the same or corresponding special technical features. The expression “special technical features” shall mean those technical features that define a contribution which each of the claimed inventions, considered as a whole, makes over the prior art.
The determination whether a group of inventions is so linked as to form a single general inventive concept shall be made without regard to whether the inventions are claimed in separate claims or as alternatives within a single claim. See 37 CFR 1.475(e).
When Claims Are Directed to Multiple Categories of Inventions:
As provided in 37 CFR 1.475 (b), a national stage application containing claims to different categories of invention will be considered to have unity of invention if the claims are drawn only to one of the following combinations of categories:
(1) A product and a process specially adapted for the manufacture of said product; or
(2) A product and a process of use of said product; or
(3) A product, a process specially adapted for the manufacture of the said product, and a use of the said product; or
(4) A process and an apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out the said process; or
(5) A product, a process specially adapted for the manufacture of the said product, and an apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out the said process.
Otherwise, unity of invention might not be present. See 37 CFR 1.475 (c).
Restriction is required under 35 U.S.C. 121 and 372.
This application contains the following inventions or groups of inventions which are not so linked as to form a single general inventive concept under PCT Rule 13.1.
In accordance with 37 CFR 1.499, applicant is required, in reply to this action, to elect a single invention to which the claims must be restricted.
Group 1, claim(s) 1-8, a battery having a core-shell arrangement.
Group 2, claim(s) 9, drawn to a method of forming a composition.
Group 3, claim(s) 10, 12, drawn to a laminate with adhesive.
Group 4, claim(s) 11, drawn to a method of producing a laminate
This application contains claims directed to more than one species of the generic invention. These species are deemed to lack unity of invention because they are not so linked as to form a single general inventive concept under PCT Rule 13.1.
The species are as follows:
Species Core material – select one or specific combination of: vinyl chloride monomer such as vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride; a vinyl acetate monomer such as vinyl acetate; an aromatic vinyl monomer such as styrene, a-methyl styrene, styrene sulfonic acid, butoxystyrene, and vinylnaphthalene; a vinylamine monomer such as vinylamine; a vinylamide monomer such as N-vinylformamide and N-vinylacetamide; a non-fluorine-containing (meth)acrylic acid ester monomer such as methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, butyl methacrylate, and cyclohexyl methacrylate; a (meth)acrylamide monomer such as acrylamide and methacrylamide; a (meth)acrylonitrile monomer such as acrylonitrile and methacrylonitrile; a fluorine-containing (meth)acrylic acid ester monomer such as 2-(perfluorohexyl)ethyl methacrylate and 2-(perfluorobutyl)ethyl acrylate; maleimide; and a maleimide derivative such as phenylmaleimide.
Species shell material – select one or specific combination/ratio of: (poly)oxyalkylene alkenyl ether as described above include (poly)oxyethylene vinyl ether, (poly)oxypropylene vinyl ether, (poly)oxyethylene allyl ether, (poly)oxypropylene allyl ether, (poly)oxyethylene butenyl ether, (poly)oxypropylene butenyl ether, (poly)oxyethylene pentenyl ether, and (poly)oxypropylene pentenyl ether or (poly)oxyalkylene (meth)acrylate represented by formula (I) above include polyalkylene glycol (meth)acrylate having a polyethylene oxide chain, polyalkylene glycol (meth)acrylate having a polypropylene oxide chain, polyalkylene glycol (meth)acrylate having a polybutylene oxide chain, and polyalkylene glycol (meth)acrylate having both of a polyethylene oxide chain and a polypropylene oxide chain, or other specific material (with support citation from instant specification).
Applicant is to select one material from each species for examination. Applicant is required, in reply to this action, to elect a single species to which the claims shall be restricted if no generic claim is finally held to be allowable. The reply must also identify the claims readable on the elected species, including any claims subsequently added. An argument that a claim is allowable or that all claims are generic is considered non-responsive unless accompanied by an election.
Upon the allowance of a generic claim, applicant will be entitled to consideration of claims to additional species which are written in dependent form or otherwise require all the limitations of an allowed generic claim. Currently, the following claim(s) are generic: 1
The groups of inventions listed above do not relate to a single general inventive concept under PCT Rule 13.1 because, under PCT Rule 13.2, they lack the same or corresponding special technical features for the following reasons:
Groups 1-4 lack unity of invention because even though the inventions of these groups require the technical feature of a polymer material in an electrode, this technical feature is not a special technical feature as it does not make a contribution over the prior art in view of prior art rejection below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka (WO 2019/221056 with English equivalent and reference to PGPUB 2021/0313580 submitted in IDS) and further in view of Taguchi (WO 2019/044909 with English equivalent and reference to PGPUB 2020/0235373).
Claim 1: Tanaka teaches a slurry for non-aqueous secondary battery with an adhesive material to be efficiently provided at a surface of a battery member by inkjet method [abstract]. The slurry comprises a particulate polymer having a core-shell configuration [0012]. The shell portion at least partially covers an outer surface of the core portion [0013].
Tanaka teaches the shell material (0040-0044] to be made of polymer materials made of monomers [0074-0086], but is silent to teach the surface of the adhesive particle to comprise alkylene oxide group-containing monomer units.
Taguchi teaches a composition for an electrochemical deice [abstract] wherein the functional layer acts as an adhesive layer [0025]. The polymer of the functional layer comprises an alkylene oxide structure-containing monomer [0029]. Specifics of the polymer comprising an alkylene oxide structure-containing monomer include references in paragraph 0034-0042. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the shell material of Tanaka to include a polymer comprising an alkylene oxide structure-containing monomer as taught by Taguchi in order to provide a functional layer for an electrochemical device that can improve low-temperature output characteristics and high-voltage cycle characteristics of an electrochemical device [0010].
The modification of the shell is obvious to either replace the shell material of Tanaka with the functional layer as taught by Taguchi OR to add the functional layer as taught by Taguchi to the shell material of Tanaka. The prior art establishes the incorporation of alkylene oxide structure-containing monomer as an art recognized equivalent usable for the same purpose.
Claim 2: Tanaka is silent to teach the alkylene oxide shell material.
Taguchi teaches polymer A, the alkylene oxide group-containing monomer unit, to be preferably 5 mass % or more and preferably 80 mass % or less [0056]. Claimed range of 35 mass% or more and 96% mass or less obviated by the prior art as the range is included within the taught range. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the shell material of Tanaka to include a polymer comprising an alkylene oxide structure-containing monomer as taught by Taguchi in order to provide a functional layer for an electrochemical device that can improve low-temperature output characteristics and high-voltage cycle characteristics of an electrochemical device [0010]. Optimization of the ranges allow for improved high-voltage cycle characteristics [0056].
Claim 3: Tanaka teaches a shell to comprise an aromatic vinyl monomer unit [0075] in an amount of 18 mass % or more and 60 mass % or less [0077]. Claimed range of 35 mass% or more and 96 mass% or less is obviated by the prior art as the range is included within the taught range.
Claim 4: Tanaka teaches the core to comprise a (meth)acrylic acid ester monomer unit [0049-0054] with a proportion of 6 mass % or more [0054]. Claimed range of 50 mass% or more and 98 mass% or less is obviated by the prior art as the range is included within the taught range.
Claim 5-6: Tanaka teaches the core portion to have a glass-transition temperature of 10oC or higher [0046] and a shell portion having a glass-transition temperature that is preferably 60oC or lower [0070]. The ranged taught by the prior art encapsulate at least part of the claimed range and therefore obviate the claimed ranges.
Claim 7: Tanaka teaches the particulate polymer to have a volume-average particle diameter of not less than 100nm and not more than 1,000nm [0018].
Claim 8: Tanaka teaches an adhesive layer taught above for use as an adhesive layer for a non-aqueous secondary battery [Abstract, 0140-0181].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEPHEN J YANCHUK whose telephone number is (571)270-7343. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 10a-8p.
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, Nick Smith can be reached at 571-272-8760. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/STEPHEN J YANCHUK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
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