DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-6 are pending.
The foreign priority application No. 2021-126234 filed on July 30, 2021 in Japan has been received and it is acknowledged.
The examiner would like to make of record that the foreign priority application has been received with the pages out of order.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because a single drawing used to illustrate the claimed invention must not be numbered, and the abbreviation “FIG.” must not appear (see 37 CFR 1.84 (u) Numbering of views). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The following guidelines illustrate the preferred layout for the specification of a utility application. These guidelines are suggested for the applicant’s use.
Arrangement of the Specification
As provided in 37 CFR 1.77(b), the specification of a utility application should include the following sections in order. Each of the lettered items should appear in upper case, without underlining or bold type, as a section heading. If no text follows the section heading, the phrase “Not Applicable” should follow the section heading:
(a) TITLE OF THE INVENTION.
(b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS.
(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT.
(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT.
(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A READ-ONLY OPTICAL DISC, AS A TEXT FILE OR AN XML FILE VIA THE PATENT ELECTRONIC SYSTEM.
(f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR.
(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.
(1) Field of the Invention.
(2) Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.
(h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.
(i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S).
(j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.
(k) CLAIM OR CLAIMS (commencing on a separate sheet).
(l) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE (commencing on a separate sheet).
(m) SEQUENCE LISTING. (See MPEP § 2422.03 and 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825). A “Sequence Listing” is required on paper if the application discloses a nucleotide or amino acid sequence as defined in 37 CFR 1.821(a) and if the required “Sequence Listing” is not submitted as an electronic document either on read-only optical disc or as a text file via the patent electronic system.
The specification of the instant application should be amended to recite under the heading (b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS that the application claims priority benefit from the foreign application No. 2021-126234 filed on July 30, 2021 in Japan.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In par.0015 “FIG.1” should be amended to read “The FIGURE”.
In par.0105 “FIG.1” should be amended to read “the FIGURE”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 3, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kazuki et al. (JP 2017-103027A, with attached machine translation).
With regard to claims 1 and 6, Kazuki et al. teach a non-aqueous secondary battery comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and an electrolyte. The separator has an adhesive layer including organic particles with a volume average (Dp) of 0.2-5 mm, and a face at which at least one of the positive and negative electrode is in contact with the adhesive layer has a surface roughness (Ra) of 0.1 to 5.0 mm (abstract, claim 2).
The organic particles are polymeric particles (par.0030), and the adhesive layer is a dried slurry composition comprising the organic particles (par.0082).
Kazuki et al. fail to teach that the particle diameter D10 is larger than the surface roughness (Sa) of the electrode.
However, Kazuki et al. teach that it is preferable that Dp is greater than Ra. If Dp >Ra, when the adhesive layer and the electrode surface are bonded together, it is possible to suppress the organic particles in the adhesive layer from getting into the irregularities on the electrode surface, thereby preventing the organic particles from becoming ineffective in contributing to adhesion. As a result, the organic particles contribute sufficiently to adhesion near the electrode surface, enabling high adhesion between the battery components (par.0027).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to obtain the adhesive layer of Kazuki et al. with organic particles having a D10 larger than the surface roughness (Sa) of the positive and/or the negative electrode, in order to keep the organic particles with small diameter from getting into the irregularities of the electrode(s) and improve the adhesion between the separator and the electrode(s).
Therefore, the laminate in claim 1 is obvious over the positive and/or negative electrode and the adhesive layer of Kazuki et al.
The non-aqueous secondary battery in claim 6 is obvious over the non-aqueous secondary battery of Kazuki et al.
With regard to claim 3, Kazuki et al. teach that the organic particles may have a core-shell structure, which includes a core and a shell, the shell being the outermost part of the organic particle (par.0031).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kazuki et al. (JP 2017-103027A, with attached machine translation) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Tanaka et al. (US 2021/0313580)
With regard to claim 5, Kazuki et al. teach the laminate of claim 1 (see paragraph 8 above).
Kazuki et al. teach that a slurry for the adhesive layer is applied to the surface of the separator (par.0082), but fail to teach an inkjet method.
Tanaka et al. teach a slurry for a non-aqueous battery comprising a particulate polymer having a core-shell structure. The slurry can be provided at a surface of a battery member by inkjet method (abstract, par.0166).
The discharging of the slurry by inkjet method allows for strongly adhering battery member to each other (par.0006).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply the slurry of Kazuki et al. on the surface of the separator by inkjet method, in order to strongly adhere the separator to the positive and/or negative electrode.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato et al. (US 2021/0036375) in view of Kazuki et al. (JP 2017-103027A, with attached machine translation)
With regard to claim 1, Sato et al. teach a laminate for a secondary battery including an electrode and a separator that are affixed to each other (abstract), and an adhesive material adheres the electrode and the separator (par.0048). The adhesive material is preferably formed of a polymeric material in particulate form (par.0047, par.0048, and par.0052).
Sato et al. further teach that the adhesive material is a dried product of a composition for the adhesive material (par.0086).
Sato et al. fail to teach that the adhesive material has a particle diameter D10 larger than the surface roughness (Sa) of the electrode.
Kazuki et al. teach a non-aqueous secondary battery comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and an electrolyte. The separator has an adhesive layer including organic particles with a volume average Dp of 0.2-5 mm, and a face at which at least one of the positive electrode and negative electrode is in contact with the adhesive layer has a surface roughness (Ra) of 0.1 to 5.0 mm (abstract, claim 2).
The organic particles are polymeric particles (par.0030).
Kazuki et al. teach that it is preferable that Dp is greater than Ra. If Dp >Ra, when the adhesive layer and the electrode surface are bonded together, it is possible to suppress the organic particles in the adhesive layer from getting into the irregularities on the electrode surface, thereby preventing the organic particles from becoming ineffective in contributing to adhesion. As a result, the organic particles contribute sufficiently to adhesion near the electrode surface, enabling high adhesion between the battery components (par.0027).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to obtain the adhesive material of Sato et al. with polymeric particles having a D10 larger than the surface roughness (Sa) of the positive and/or the negative electrode, in order to keep the polymeric particles with small diameter from getting into the irregularities of the electrode(s) and improve the adhesion between the separator and the electrode(s).
With regard to claim 2, Sato et al. further teach that the constituent polymer of the adhesive material includes a low-Tg polymer having a glass transition temperature of 25oC or lower and -120oC or higher (par.0060). This range includes the claimed range of 0oC or less.
With regard to claim 3, Sato et al. teach that the adhesive material may have a core-shell structure comprising a central portion (core portion) and an outer shell portion (par.0052).
With regard to claim 4, Sato et al. teach that the shell portion may have a glass transition temperature of -40oC or higher and 50oC or lower (par.0063). This range allows for a glass transition temperature of slightly over 50oC, which is within the claimed range.
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) (The prior art taught carbon monoxide concentrations of "about 1-5%" while the claim was limited to "more than 5%." The court held that "about 1-5%" allowed for concentrations slightly above 5% thus the ranges overlapped.) (MPEP 2144.05. I. OVERLAPPING, APPROACHING, AND SIMILAR RANGES, AMOUNTS, AND PROPORTIONS)
With regard to claim 5, Sato et al. teach that the formation of the adhesive material at the affixing surface can be performed by inkjet method (par.0078).
With regard to claim 6, Sato et al. teach a secondary battery including the laminate (abstract). The secondary battery may be a non-aqueous secondary battery (see par.0162-0164).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Akiike et al. (US 2017/0155107) teach a composition for a non-aqueous secondary battery functional layer comprising a particulate polymer having a core-shell structure. The shell portion is formed by a polymer having a glass transition temperature of 50oC to 200oC (abstract). The functional layer enables strong adhesion between a separator and an electrode (par.0041).
Sato et al. (US 2024/0322374) teach a laminate for a non-aqueous secondary battery, wherein the laminate includes an electrode and a separator that are adhered via an adhesive layer. The adhesive layer is a dried product of a composition for adhesion that contains a particulate polymer (abstract).
The relationship between the particle size distribution (D90) of the composition for adhesion and at least one surface roughness (Sa) of the electrode and surface roughness (Sa) of the separator satisfies the formula:
PNG
media_image1.png
116
584
media_image1.png
Greyscale
(claim 2).
The particulate polymer has a core-shell structure including a core portion and a shell portion partially covering an outer surface of the core portion (claim 4).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANCA EOFF whose telephone number is (571)272-9810. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10am-6:30pm.
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, Niki Bakhtiari can be reached at (571)272-3433. 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.
/ANCA EOFF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
Prosecution Insights