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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
Figure 2 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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.
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) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by foreign application JP2008159330A (English Machine translation provided with this Office Action), hereafter Nakamura.
Regarding Claim 1, Nakamura discloses a secondary battery (annotated Fig 1, [0021] bipolar battery 1) comprising: an electrode layer (Fig 1, [0021] bipolar electrodes 10); and an electrolyte layer (Fig 1, [0022] electrolyte layer 14),
the electrode layer (10) comprising an electrode active material (Fig 1, [0031] active material 12&13 ) and a current collector (Fig 1, [0025] current collecting 11), and
the current collector (11), comprising a region differing in thickness (see annotated Fig 1) in a stacking direction (Fig 1, [0017] stacking direction Z axis) of the electrode layer (10) and the electrolyte layer (14), along a direction orthogonal(Fig 1, [0050] perpendicular X,Y axis) to the stacking direction (Z axis).
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Regarding Claim 2, Nakamura discloses wherein the current collector (11) continuously changes in thickness from one end part toward the other end part (see Fig 1) along the direction orthogonal (X, Y axis) to the stacking direction (Z axis).
Regarding Claim 3, Nakamura discloses wherein the current collector (11) comprises, along the direction orthogonal (X,Y axis) to the stacking direction (Z axis), a facing part (see annotated Fig 1 below) that faces an electrode active material layer (12&13) comprising the electrode active material (12&13) and a non-facing part (see Fig 1) that does not face the electrode active material layer (12&13), and
wherein the non-facing part (see annotated Fig 1) has a thickness that is larger than that of the facing part (see annotated Fig 1 below).
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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.
Claim(s) 4 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Published application JP2008159330A (English Machine translation provided with this Office Action), hereafter Nakamura, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Published application EP3220446A1, hereafter Takuya.
Regarding Claim 4, Nakamura discloses wherein a plurality (Fig 1, plurality [0019]) of sets of the electrode layer (10) and the electrolyte layer (14) are stacked (stacked [0025]),
wherein the current collector (11) comprises a negative electrode current collector (negative electrode current collector [0030]) and a positive electrode current collector (positive electrode current collector [0030]), and the negative electrode current collector (negative electrode current collector [0030]) and the positive electrode current collector (positive electrode current collector [0030]) are arranged such that a region, having a small thickness in the stacking direction (see annotated Fig 1 above), of one of the negative electrode current collector (negative electrode current collector [0030]) or the positive electrode current collector (positive electrode current collector [0030]), and a region, having a large thickness in the stacking direction (see Fig 1 above), of the other of the negative electrode current collector (negative electrode current collector [0030]) or the positive electrode current collector (positive electrode current collector [0030]).
Nakamura does not disclose the negative electrode current collector or the positive electrode current collector are alternately arranged in the stacking direction, wherein thicknesses of a plurality of the negative electrode current collectors increase along the same direction, and wherein thicknesses of a plurality of the positive electrode current collectors increase along the same direction.
Takuya does disclose the negative electrode current collector or the positive electrode current collector are alternately arranged in the stacking direction are alternately arranged in the stacking direction (see annotated Fig 1, [0108]).
wherein thicknesses of a plurality of the negative electrode current collectors increase along the same direction ([0178]), and
wherein thicknesses of a plurality of the positive electrode current collectors increase along the same direction ([0178]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to modify the invention of Nakamura to use the alternately arrange current
collectors in the stacking direction as disclosed by Takuya in order to improve current distribution, as suggested by Takuya.
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Regarding Claim 5, Nakamura discloses wherein a plurality (plurality [0025]) of sets of the electrode layer (12 &13) and the electrolyte layer (14) are stacked (stacked [0025]),
wherein the current collector (11) comprises a negative electrode current collector ([0030]) and a positive electrode current collector ([0030]), and the negative electrode current collector ([0030]) and the positive electrode current collector ([0030]) are arranged such that a region.
wherein a plurality (plurality [0025]) of the negative electrode current collectors (negative electrode current collector [0030]) have equal rates of change in thickness along the direction orthogonal to the stacking direction [0037], and
wherein a plurality (plurality [0025]) of the positive electrode current collectors (positive electrode current collector [0030]) have equal rates of change in thickness along the direction [0037] orthogonal to the stacking direction (Z axis).
Nakamura does not disclose wherein the negative electrode current collector and the positive electrode current collector are arranged such that a region, having a small thickness in the stacking direction, of one of the negative electrode current collector or the positive electrode current collector, and a region, having a large thickness in the stacking direction, of the other of the negative electrode current collector or the positive electrode current collector are alternately arranged in the stacking direction.
Takuya discloses wherein the current collector comprises a negative electrode current collector and a positive electrode current collector, and the negative electrode current collector and the positive electrode current collector are arranged such that a region, having, a small thickness in the stacking direction (Fig 1 less than [0057]), of one of the negative electrode current collector or the positive electrode current collector, and a region, having a large thickness in the stacking direction ([0031]), of the other of the negative electrode current collector or the positive electrode current collector are alternately arranged in the stacking direction (Fig 1, [0108]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to modify the invention of Nakamura such that the current collector is arranged as discussed above as disclosed by Takuya in order to improve volume energy density [0031], as suggested by Takuya.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTIAN CHERRISE FRIESON whose telephone number is (571)270-7048. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 07:30am-5:00pm.
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/CHRISTIAN CHERRISE FRIESON/Examiner, Art Unit 1754
/SUSAN D LEONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1754
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