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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 2-12-2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 3-8, 10, 18 and 20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 1, 3-8, 10, 18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 is rejected because unclear where the tab is provided on the 1st surface. This is not cited in claim 1. Figure 1, shows that the tab (4) is positioned in the center of the current collector (1)
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separating the bottom coating layer (2) from each other and separating the active material layer (3) from each other. Claim 1 is rejected because it is unclear what the difference is between the phrase “the thickness of the active material layer of the recessed area is less than the thickness of the active material layer of the normal area” and “a thickness of the recessed area is less than a thickness of the normal” because each of the phrases are stating that the thickness of the active material layer of the recessed area is less than the thickness of the material layer of the normal area. Claim 1 requires that the functional layer on the first surface of the current collector requires an active material layer. This makes the claim vague and indefinite. Claim 1 is rejected because it is unclear where the adhesive tape (5) is adhered to the tab surface (4) because the tab (4) is positioned on the current collector (1). Claim 1 should cite “wherein the 1st surface is provided with a 1st surface of a tab, the functional layer… and the adhesive tape is adhered to the tab on the 2nd surface of the tab and covering at least part of the recessed area on both sides of the tab…; there is a gap between the adhesive tape and the normal area along a length direction of the electrode piece and there is a gap between the tab and the recessed area of the functional layer; wherein a thickness of the tab is not greater than the thickness of the normal area; and the active material layer comprises a 1st active material…”.
Claim Objections
Claims 7-8 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claims 7-8 are objected to because the claims should be moved up into claim 1 to further define where the tab is located because claim 1 from which the claim depends from was rejected for this reason. Appropriate correction is required.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Zhang (CN 211088397) teaches
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Sun et al. (CN 112802992) teaches
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a pole piece comprising a current collector, a first active layer and a second active layer. Sun et al. (CN 112820852) teaches
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a negative plate comprising a current collector, a 1st active layer and a 2nd active layer. Hitachi Maxell( JP 6-734059) teaches in [0012]-[0052],[0057],[0120]-[0122]; Fig. 1), an electrode piece, comprising a current collector (21) and a functional layer (22) located on a first surface of the current collector, wherein the first surface is provided with a tab (23), and the functional layer (22) on the first surface is composed of a normal area away from the tab and a recessed area near the tab (i.e. area where the collector is exposed since the functional layer has thickness and a thickness of the recessed area is less than a thickness of the normal area.
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/LAURA S. WEINER/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1723
/Laura Weiner/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723
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