DETAILED ACTION
for
DEVICE FOR FABRICATING SPECIMEN FOR TESTING ADHESIVE FORCE OF ELECTRODE ACTIVE
MATERIAL LAYER AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING SPECIMEN FOR TESTING ADHESIVE
FORCE OF ELECTRODE ACTIVE MATERIAL LAYER BY USING SAME
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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/12/2024, 06/02/2025 and 07/11/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Oath/Declaration
The Oath/Declaration submitted on 07/12/2024 is noted by the Examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because:
The drawings are further objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show as (a hinge as described in claim 3) described in the specification. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d).
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 disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: It appears the (a hinge as described in claim 3) does not have a corresponding reference numerals in the specification.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(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.
Claims 1-8 and 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being (a)(2) by Przybelinski et al. [herein after Przybelinski] (US 8,043,449) “Submitted by Applicant on IDS”.
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Regarding claims 1 and 10, Przybelinski discloses a device and method for fabricating a specimen for testing an adhesive force of an electrode active material layer (see abstract), the device having a lower guide panel (14) having a guide groove (22) provided on an upper surface (top of 14) of the lower guide panel (14), the guide groove (22) being configured to guide (Fig. 1) and accommodate a fixing substrate (20) to which the electrode active material layer (12) is adhered (Fig. 8); and an upper guide panel (15) having a guide hole (41) for guiding an adhesion position (11) of the electrode active material layer (13) to the fixing substrate (20) accommodated in the guide groove (22), at least one of the upper guide panel (15) and the lower guide panel (14) is provided with a coupler (35, 36) between the upper guide panel (15) and the lower guide panel (14).
Regarding claim 2, Przybelinski further discloses the upper guide panel (15) being provided in a form separated from the lower guide panel (Fig. 1); wherein the upper guide panel (15) separated from the lower guide panel (14) being coupled to the lower guide panel when guiding the electrode active material layer (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 3, Przybelinski further discloses the upper guide panel (15) being fixed to one side of the lower guide panel (14) by a hinge (pin 35 acts as a hinge).
Regarding claim 4, Przybelinski further discloses the upper guide panel (15) being coupled in a structure in which it is configured to slide in a transverse direction on the upper surface of the lower guide panel (slides up and down), the lower guide panel (14) being provided with a guide rail (Fig. 1), and the other one of the upper guide panels (15) being provided with a driving unit (19) that is configured to slide on the guide rail (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 5, Przybelinski further discloses a width of the guide hole (41) being smaller than a corresponding width of the guide groove (22) in order to hold the fixing substrate (20; Figs. 5-7) accommodated in the guide groove (22).
Regarding claim 6, Przybelinski further discloses the guide groove (22) being in a form of a square pillar (Fig. 4) with an open upper surface (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 7, Przybelinski further the guide hole (41) being in a form of a square pillar with open upper and lower surfaces (Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 8, Przybelinski further discloses one open side wall of the guide groove (22) and the guide hole are formed in a same direction (Figs. 4-5).
Regarding claim 8, Przybelinski further discloses coupling (35-36) the upper guide panel (15) to an upper portion (top of 14) of the lower guide panel (14) so that the guide hole (41) and the guide groove overlap (Fig. 1), after the positioning of the fixing substrate (20).
Regarding claim 12, Przybelinski further discloses releasing the coupling of the upper guide panel (15) to the upper portion (top of 15) of the lower guide panel (14) before separating the specimen for testing the adhesive force of the electrode active material layer [(13; “ method 55 for adhering coupons 12 and 13 together for adhesive shear testing”; (Col. 6, lines 28-30)].
Regarding claim 13, Przybelinski further discloses attaching a double-sided tape (11) the electrode active material layer (13) upon adhesion of the electrode active material layer “The adhered coupons 12 and 13 may subsequently be shear tested to test the strength of the adhesive 11 holding the coupons 12 and 13 together”; (Col. 2, line 66 to Col. 3, line 2).
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 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Przybelinski et al. [herein after Przybelinski] (US 8,043,449) “Submitted by Applicant on IDS”.
Regarding claim 9, Przybelinski further discloses the upper guide panel (15) are made of at least one of a non-stick material or a non-stick plastic.
Przybelinski fails to explicitly discloses a transparent panel.
The use of the particular material, i.e., transparent panel , as stated in claim 9, for the panel, absent any criticality, is only considered to be the “optimum” material that a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made using routine experimentation would have found obvious to provide for the probe element disclosed by Prior Art since it has been held to be a matter of obvious design choice and within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use of the invention. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Therefore, by using a transparent material one can accurately assess the shear testing results.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDI N HOPKINS whose telephone number is (571)270-7042. The examiner can normally be reached M & F 9-5 and T-TH, 6-4.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kristina Deherrera can be reached at (303) 297-4237. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRANDI N HOPKINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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