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 .
Priority
Acknowledgement has been made of applicant’s claim for priority under 35 USC 119 (a-d). The certified copy has been filed on 07/09/2024.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statements (IDS) filed 12/01/2025, 11/26/2024 and 05/20/2024 have been placed in the application file and the information referred to therein has been considered.
Drawings
The drawings received 05/20/2024 are acceptable for examination purposes.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
In claim 1 it is unclear firstly is “ at least one component” that included in the active material and “at least one component” that included in the resin current collector the same compound or said “components” different compounds?
Second is not clear what kind of physical state is described by the term “mixed state”: amorphous and crystalline, liquid and solid, gel and polymer? Instant Specification does not provide clear definition for the claimed term. For example, PgPub recites:”
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The above does not clarifies confusion. Claims 2-6 depend from claim 1 and fall therewith.
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.
Claims 1,2 and 4-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by US 2011/0206974 to Inoue.
Regarding claim 1, Inoue discloses a solid-state battery (para 80), comprising an electrode, the electrode comprising: a resin current collector including a resin and a conductive material (Abstract), an active material layer including an active material layer, and an intermediate (outermost, para 40) layer disposed between the active material layer and the current collector. Regarding the limitation: “at least one component included in the active material layer and at least one component included in the resin current collector are present in a mixed state” Inoue teaches that the current collector contain conductive aid and electrode active material can be maid from carbon compounds such as soft carbon, i.e. amorphous material (para 45) or vapor grown carbon fibers (non-amorphous, re claim 6) material claimed limitation “mixed state considered met” and claim 1 is anticipated by Inoue.
Regarding claim 2, the current collector prepared from the same materials by the method and in condition substantially similar to that as in the instant application , claimed ratio intermediate layer / resin current collector from 1/30 to 1/6 inherently present MPEP 2112 V states that "once a reference teaching product appearing to be substantially identical is made the basis of a rejection, and the Examiner presents evidence or reasoning tending to show inherency, the burden shifts to the Applicant to show an unobvious difference."
Regarding claim 4, Inoue discloses the invention as discussed above as applied to claim 1 and incorporated therein. Regarding the limitation: “a coefficient of linear thermal expansion of the resin current collector is from 200×10−6 ppm/K to 350×10−6 ppm/K: since the resin current collector have the same structure as claimed: the above limitation is inherently present. Products of identical chemical composition cannot have mutually exclusive properties, and thus, the claimed property (i.e. the specific output energy density), is necessarily present in the prior art material. The courts have held that “[p]roducts of identical chemical composition cannot have mutually exclusive properties.” A chemical composition and its properties are inseparable. Therefore, if the prior art teaches the identical chemical structure, the properties applicant discloses and/or claims are necessarily present. In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990). See MPEP 2112.
Regarding claim 5, Inoue discloses wherein a softening temperature of the resin is equal to or lower than a crystallization temperature of the solid-state electrolyte (claim 5).
Regarding claim 7, Inoue discloses method of manufacturing a solid-state battery, the method comprising a step of preparing an electrode by pressing a stacked body, in which a resin current collector including a thermoplastic resin and a conductive material and an active material layer including an active material are stacked, at a temperature equal to or higher than a softening temperature of the thermoplastic resin(para 67-69,74-75, Examples 1-10).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claims 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over US 2011/0206974 to Inoue in view of US 20190067680 to Ohsawa.
Regarding claim 3, Inoue discloses the invention as discussed above as applied to claim 1 and incorporated therein. Inoue does not expressly disclose wherein the active material includes a Si-based active material.
Ohsawa teaches a lithium-ion battery comprising a resin current collector including a polyolefin resin matrix and a conductive filler and an electrode active material layer provided on the current resin collector. Ohsawa also teaches an intermediate layer provided on top of a resin current collector on the side of the negative electrode (para 12), wherein the negative electrode active material comprises Si based compound (para 355).It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the solid-state battery of Inoue with the Si-based negative active material, as taught by Ohsawa, because the simple substitution of one known element for another is likely to be obvious when predictable results as improvement in durability of the battery are achieved. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. __,__, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395 – 97 (2007) (see MPEP § 2143, B.).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER USYATINSKY whose telephone number is (571)270-7703. The examiner can normally be reached IFP.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jonathan Leong can be reached at (571) 270-1292. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Alexander Usyatinsky/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1751
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