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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of group of claims 1-15 in the reply filed on 8/24/26 is acknowledged. Since the election is made without traverse, the restriction is deemed as proper and therefore made FINAL. Claims 16-20 are withdrawn from consideration.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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(s) 1-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mitchell et al US 2008/266753 in view of CN 220456476 (herein CN ‘476).
Per claims 1-2, 10-15, Mitchell teaches an apparatus (Fig. 2) to make an electrode in which a binder is attached to the current collector prior to the coating of the active material [0010], the apparatus comprising an electrode sheet supply roll (24) in which a collector (250, [0046], position adjustment roll) is supplied to the laminating and pressurizing rolls (253a-b) together with an active material (234a-b). A binder is laminated on top of the collector [0010] (223a-b) and a heater (279) faces the binder and provides heat before reaching the pressurizing rolls where the active material is inserted.
Mitchell teaches adjustment rolls before the heater but is silent regarding the heater being positioned between the electrode sheet supply roll and position adjustment roll. CN ‘476 teaches an apparatus to prepare electrodes in which a heating roll (Fig. 1, item 71) is followed by a transition roll (position adjustment roll, item 56, 59, Fig. 1-3) that adjusts the preheating time by controlling the travel distance and the contact conditions of the rolls (pages 3-4). CN ‘476 teaches having the adjustment roll after the heater and It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have utilized such an arrangement because CN ’476 shows that such an arrangement is suitable for preparing electrodes as desired.
Per claims 3-4, Mitchell teaches the claimed limitations of inserting the active material and discharged from between the laminating roll and pressurized roll and combined with the binder [0053], [0058].
Per claim 5, Mitchell teaches silicon [0081].
Per claims 6, 8, Mitchell teaches controlling the temperature of the rolls [0021] and therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have utilized a temperature sensor with a reasonable expectation for success and predictable results.
Per claim 7, CN ‘476 teaches that heaters and the temperature can be adjusted (pages 3-4).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHAN T. LEONG whose telephone number is (571)270-5352. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00-6:00pm.
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/NATHAN T LEONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1718
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