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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by NISHI et al. (JP H11126602; citations to machine translation).
Regarding claims 1 and 2,
NISHI teaches a method of coating a negative and positive electrode material for a secondary battery onto a continuous substrate abstract. As shown in figs. 6, 7 and 13-14 the deposition is performed from discharge port (ejecting from a coating die) 56. A rotary screen 21 or moving film 65 (guide portion) with openings 22 allows for the formation of coating portions 16 and uncoated portions 16b (starting and ending of coating portions), [0037]. Negative and positive electrode layers for a secondary battery contain necessarily contain their respective cathode and anode active materials.
Regarding claim 3,
NISHI teaches the formation of coating portions and uncoated portions using a rotary screen or moving film as described above. The moving film as shown in Fig. 8 is considered to have a “wide guide portion” that is associated with the start and end part of the coating area.
Regarding claim 4,
NISHI teaches the substrate is continuously traveling [0009], and the rotary screen and film 65 are designed to repeatedly pass between the discharge port (die) and substrate in Figs. 6-7.
Regarding claim 5,
NISHI teaches including a cleaning unit 80 can be used to clean a blocking shutter 68 after it passes between the discharge port and substrate Figs. 13-14.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AUSTIN MURATA whose telephone number is (571)270-5596. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5.
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, MICHAEL CLEVELAND can be reached at 571272-1418. 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.
/AUSTIN MURATA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1712
Prosecution Insights