Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/712,701

BINDER COMPOSITION FOR ALL-SOLID-STATE SECONDARY BATTERY, SLURRY COMPOSITION FOR ALL-SOLID-STATE SECONDARY BATTERY, FUNCTIONAL LAYER FOR ALL-SOLID-STATE SECONDARY BATTERY, AND ALL-SOLID-STATE SECONDARY BATTERY

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
May 23, 2024
Priority
Dec 22, 2021 — JP 2021-208617 +1 more
Examiner
GUPTA, SARIKA
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Zeon Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
75%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 75% — above average
75%
Career Allowance Rate
131 granted / 174 resolved
+15.3% vs TC avg
Strong +21% interview lift
Without
With
+20.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
26 currently pending
Career history
189
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.8%
-39.2% vs TC avg
§103
56.5%
+16.5% vs TC avg
§102
18.3%
-21.7% vs TC avg
§112
16.7%
-23.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 174 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 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 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) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by US20220045329A1(Matsuo). Regarding claim 1, Matsuo teaches a conductive paste for an all state battery[abs]; a binder composition for an all-solid-state secondary battery comprising: a binder; and an organic solvent [0055-0058] having a carbon number of 6 or more, wherein the binder includes a polymer X, the polymer X includes a monomer unit A that includes an aromatic hydrocarbon ring [0042] and a functional group bonded directly or indirectly to the aromatic hydrocarbon ring, the functional group is one or more selected from the group consisting of a sulfo group, a carboxy group, and an amino group, and proportional content of the monomer unit A in the polymer X is not less than 0.5 mass% and not more than 3.0 mass% when all repeating units included in the polymer X are taken to be 100 mass% [0010, 0040, 0151-0153]. Regarding claim 2, Matsuo teaches the binder composition for an all-solid-state secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein the polymer X further includes a nitrile group -containing monomer unit, and proportional content of the nitrile group-containing monomer unit in the polymer X is not less than 3.0 mass% and not more than 25.0 mass% when all repeating units included in the polymer X are taken to be 100 mass% [0039-0040 ]. Regarding claim 3, Matsuo teaches the binder composition for an all-solid-state secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein the polymer X further includes a (meth)acrylic acid ester monomer unit [0035-0036], and proportional content of the (meth)acrylic acid ester monomer unit in the polymer X is not less than 35.0 mass% and not more than 95.0 mass% when all repeating units included in the polymer X are taken to be 100 mass% [0035-0038]. Regarding claim 4, Matsuo teaches binder composition for an all-solid-state secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein the organic solvent having a carbon number of 6 or more includes one or more selected from the group consisting of an aromatic hydrocarbon, a ketone, an ester, and an ether [0057-0058]. Regarding claim 5, Matsuo teaches a slurry composition for an all-solid-state secondary battery comprising: functional particles; and the binder composition for an all-solid-state secondary battery according to claim 1 [0068, 0099-0100]. Regarding claim 6, Matsuo teaches the slurry composition for an all-solid-state secondary battery according to claim 5, wherein the functional particles are one or more selected from the group consisting of electrode active material particles, solid electrolyte particles, and conductive material particles [0099-0101]. Regarding claim 7, Matsuo teaches a functional layer for an all-solid-state secondary battery formed using the slurry composition for an all-solid-state secondary battery according to claim 5. Regarding claim 8, Matsuo teaches an all-solid-state secondary battery comprising the functional layer for an all-solid-state secondary battery according to claim 7 [0171-0176- describes the method of preparation of the slurry; as noted in the instant spec, the functional layer is described as being formed using a binder composition as required by claim 1; and the solvent is removed from this slurry composition to form a functional layer (electrode mixed material layer, solid electrolyte layer, undercoat layer, etc.; Matsuo teaches the functional layer as claimed) . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SARIKA GUPTA whose telephone number is (571)272-9907. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30AM-5:30PM. 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, Ula Ruddock can be reached at 571-272-1481. 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. /S.G./Examiner, Art Unit 1729 /ULA C RUDDOCK/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1729
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 23, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 26, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12738510
METHOD FOR PRODUCING A BIPOLAR PLATE STRAND, METHOD FOR PRODUCING A BIPOLAR PLATE, AND DEVICE FOR IMPLEMENTING THE METHOD
3y 8m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12725876
BATTERY PACK HOUSING AND BATTERY PACK INCLUDING THE SAME
3y 2m to grant Granted Sep 01, 2026
Patent 12719123
BATTERY, POWER CONSUMING APPARATUS, AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING BATTERY
3y 1m to grant Granted Aug 25, 2026
Patent 12706355
Battery Module and Manufacturing Method Thereof
5y 8m to grant Granted Aug 11, 2026
Patent 12700599
SYSTEM FOR SUPPORTING A FUEL CELL STACK
3y 11m to grant Granted Aug 04, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
75%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+20.8%)
3y 1m (~8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 174 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month