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
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.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kochi et al. (US Pat. App. Pub. No. 2013/0114184).
With respect to claim 1, Kochi discloses a solid electrolytic capacitor element (see abstract), comprising an anode body (see FIG. 2B, element 2 and paragraph [0014]), a dielectric layer formed at the surface of the anode body (see FIG. 2B, element 3 and paragraph [0014]), and a cathode section covering at least part of the dielectric layer, wherein the cathode section includes a solid electrolyte layer covering at least part of the dielectric layer (see paragraph [0014]), and includes a metal particle-containing layer in at least part of the cathode section (see FIG. 2B, element 9 and paragraph [0014]), the solid electrolyte layer contains a conductive polymer (see FIG. 2B, element 6 and paragraph [0014]), metal particles contained in the metal particle-containing layer include first metal particles containing silver (see paragraph [0019]), and the first metal particles each include a core particle containing silica (see paragraph [0019]), and a silver-containing coating layer covering the core particle (see paragraph [0045]).
With respect to claim 2, Kochi discloses that a proportion of the first metal particles in the whole metal particles is 10 mass% or more. See paragraph [0031].
With respect to claim 3, Kochi discloses that an average of aspect ratios of the core particles is 1 or more and 10 or less. See paragraph [0026], noting that the reference discloses a range of diameters, which implicates a circular (i.e., an aspect ratio of 1) particle without a disclosure that the particles have a different shape or aspect ratio.
With respect to claim 4, Kochi discloses that an average of proportions of the silver-containing coating layers in the first metal particles is 0.1 mass% or more and 50 mass% or less. See paragraph [0031], noting a first metal particle with a weight ratio of 10 to 60%.
With respect to claim 5, Kochi discloses that the metal particles include second metal particles containing silver, and each of the second metal particles is at least one selected from the group consisting of silver particles and silver alloy particles. See paragraph [0030].
With respect to claim 6, Kochi discloses a solid electrolytic capacitor, comprising at least one solid electrolytic capacitor element. See FIG. 1.
With respect to claim 7, Kochi discloses a plurality of the solid electrolytic capacitor elements stacked together. See FIG. 1.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Nemoto et al. (US 2009/0161299) and Tomimatsu et al. (US 2025/0054707) each disclose a silver layer have flakes in combination with spherical silver particles.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DION R FERGUSON whose telephone number is (571)270-7566. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 5:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m..
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, Timothy Dole, can be reached at 571-272-2229. 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.
/DION R. FERGUSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2847
Prosecution Insights