www.uspto.gov
`
`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and TrademarkOffice
`Address; COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
`P.O. Box 1450
`Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
`
`16/979,581
`
`09/10/2020
`
`TAKAAKT YOKOYAMA
`
`083710-3154
`
`9270
`
`McDermott Will and Emery LLP
`The McDermott Building
`500 North Capitol Street, N.W.
`Washington, DC 20001
`
`BERMUDEZ, CHARLENE
`
`1721
`
`PAPER NUMBER
`
`NOTIFICATION DATE
`
`DELIVERY MODE
`
`04/11/2022
`
`ELECTRONIC
`
`Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
`
`The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
`
`Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
`following e-mail address(es):
`
`mweipdocket@mwe.com
`
`PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
`
`

`

`
`
`Disposition of Claims*
`1-10 is/are pending in the application.
`)
`Claim(s)
`5a) Of the above claim(s) ___ is/are withdrawn from consideration.
`C} Claim(s)
`is/are allowed.
`Claim(s) 1-10 is/are rejected.
`S)
`) © Claim(s)____is/are objected to.
`Cj) Claim(s
`are subjectto restriction and/or election requirement
`)
`S)
`* If any claims have been determined allowable, you maybeeligible to benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway program at a
`participating intellectual property office for the corresponding application. For more information, please see
`http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/pph/index.jsp or send an inquiry to PPHfeedback@uspto.gov.
`
`) )
`
`Application Papers
`10)C The specification is objected to by the Examiner.
`11){¥ The drawing(s)filed on 10 September 2020is/are: a)(¥| accepted or b)L) objected to by the Examiner.
`Applicant may not request that any objection to the drawing(s) be held in abeyance. See 37 CFR 1.85(a).
`Replacement drawing sheet(s) including the correction is required if the drawing(s) is objected to. See 37 CFR 1.121 (d).
`
`Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119
`12) Acknowledgment is made of a claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d)or (f).
`Certified copies:
`_—_c)L) None ofthe:
`b)L) Some**
`a)¥) All
`1.2 Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
`2.2) Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No.
`3.4 Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been receivedin this National Stage
`application from the International Bureau (PCT Rule 17.2(a)).
`* See the attached detailed Office action for a list of the certified copies not received.
`
`Attachment(s)
`
`1)
`
`Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
`
`Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO/SB/08a and/or PTO/SB/08b)
`2)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`
`3) (J Interview Summary (PTO-413)
`Paper No(s)/Mail Date
`(Qj Other:
`
`4)
`
`PTOL-326 (Rev. 11-13)
`
`Office Action Summary
`
`Part of Paper No./Mail Date 20220322
`
`Application No.
`Applicant(s)
`16/979,581
`YOKOYAMA, TAKAAKI
`
`Office Action Summary Art Unit|AIA (FITF) StatusExaminer
`CHARLENE BERMUDEZ
`1721
`Yes
`
`
`
`-- The MAILING DATEofthis communication appears on the cover sheet with the correspondence address --
`Period for Reply
`
`A SHORTENED STATUTORY PERIOD FOR REPLYIS SET TO EXPIRE 3 MONTHS FROM THE MAILING
`DATE OF THIS COMMUNICATION.
`Extensions of time may be available underthe provisions of 37 CFR 1.136(a). In no event, however, may a reply betimely filed after SIX (6) MONTHSfrom the mailing
`date of this communication.
`If NO period for reply is specified above, the maximum statutory period will apply and will expire SIX (6) MONTHSfrom the mailing date of this communication.
`-
`- Failure to reply within the set or extended period for reply will, by statute, cause the application to become ABANDONED (35 U.S.C. § 133}.
`Any reply received by the Office later than three months after the mailing date of this communication, evenif timely filed, may reduce any earned patent term
`adjustment. See 37 CFR 1.704(b).
`
`Status
`
`1) Responsive to communication(s)filed on 10 September 2020.
`C) A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/werefiled on
`
`2a)L) This action is FINAL. 2b)¥)This action is non-final.
`3)02 An election was madeby the applicant in responseto a restriction requirement set forth during the interview
`on
`; the restriction requirement and election have been incorporated into this action.
`4\0) Since this application is in condition for allowance except for formal matters, prosecution as to the merits is
`closed in accordance with the practice under Exparte Quayle, 1935 C.D. 11, 453 O.G. 213.
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 16/979,581
`Art Unit: 1721
`
`Page 2
`
`DETAILED ACTION
`
`Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
`
`1.
`
`The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined underthe
`
`first inventor to file provisions of the AJA.
`
`Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
`
`2.
`
`In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C.
`
`102 and 103 is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be
`
`considered a new groundofrejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the
`
`rejection, would be the same undereitherstatus.
`
`3.
`
`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 madein this Office action:
`
`A personshall be entitled to a patent unless —
`
`(a)(1) the claimed invention waspatented, 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.
`
`(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, namesanother inventor and waseffectively filed before the effective filing date of the
`claimed invention.
`
`4,
`
`Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamato (WO
`
`2017/119018 A1). Hereinafter referred to as Yamato, and using patent publication US
`
`2018/0309138 A1 as the English equivalent.
`
`5.
`
`Regarding claim 1, Yamato discloses an alkaline battery (“alkaline dry battery” [0019])
`
`comprising:
`
`a tubular battery case (“bottomed cylindrical battery case” [0019]);
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 16/979,581
`Art Unit: 1721
`
`Page 3
`
`a positive electrode filled in the battery case (“Positive electrode 2 is packed into battery
`
`case 1” [0028]), and including a stack of n pieces of hollow tubular pellets (“composedof or
`
`including n pieces of hollow cylindrical pellets” [0019], “In the example shownin the drawings,
`
`positive electrode 2 is composedofor containing a stack including two hollow cylindrical pellets
`
`2a” [0028]);
`
`a negative electrode disposed in hollow portionsof the pellets (“negative electrode 3
`
`disposed in a hollow portion of positive electrode 2” [0028]);
`
`a separator disposed betweenthe positive electrode and the negative electrode (“separator
`
`4 interposed betweenpositive electrode 2 and negative electrode 3” [0028]); and
`
`an alkaline electrolytic solution (“alkaline electrolytic solution” [0028]),
`
`wherein the battery case includes a body portion having a thickness of 0.15 mm orless
`
`(“thickness of the body portion is preferably 0.08 to 0.20 mm”[0086]),
`
`the positive electrode contains manganese dioxide (“positive electrode includes
`
`manganese dioxideas a positive electrode active material” [0052]) and a conductive agent
`
`(“positive electrode further includes a conductive agent in addition to the positive electrode
`
`active material” [0070]),
`
`n is an integer of 3 or more (“"n"is an integer of 1 or more, preferably an integer of 1 to
`
`8, and morepreferably an integer of 1 to 6” [0053]), and
`
`a first proportion is lower than a second proportion (“content of the conductive agent in
`
`the positive electrode is, for example, 3 to 10 parts by mass and preferably 4 to 6 parts by mass
`
`with respect to 100 parts by mass of manganese dioxide” [0072] and where “density dc. of
`
`manganese dioxidein the center portion in the height direction of the positive electrode is 98%
`
`or less, and may be 96% orless of an average value of densities de of manganese dioxide in the
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 16/979,581
`Art Unit: 1721
`
`Page 4
`
`both end portions” [0054], which correspondsto a greater amount of manganese dioxide, and a
`
`greater amountof the conductive agent, in the end portions as the content of conductive agentis
`
`a specified ratio based on the content of manganese dioxide), where the first proportion is a
`
`proportion of a mass of the conductive agent in a total mass of the manganese dioxide and the
`
`conductive agent in at least one pellet positioned in a middle portion in a height direction of the
`
`stack (“center portion in the height direction of the positive electrode” [0054]), and the second
`
`proportion is a proportion of a mass of the conductive agent in a total mass of the manganese
`
`dioxide and the conductive agent in at least one pellet positioned in end portion in the height
`
`direction of the stack (“the both end portions” [0054]).
`
`6.
`
`Regarding claim 2, Yamato disclosesall of the limitations for the alkaline battery as set
`
`forth in claim 1 above, and wherein the first proportion is lower than the second proportion in
`
`each of the pellets positioned in both end portionsin the height direction of the stack (“98% or
`
`less, and may be 96% orless of an average value of densities de of manganese dioxide in the
`
`both end portions” [0054]).
`
`7.
`
`Regarding claim 3, Yamato disclosesall of the limitations for the alkaline battery as set
`
`forth in claim 1 above, and wherein a difference between the first proportion and the second
`
`proportion is 2.1% by mass or more (“The density de of manganese dioxide may be 75 to 98% ...
`
`of the average value of densities de of manganese dioxide” [0054] applied to “the average density
`
`of manganesedioxide is 2.80 to 3.00 g/cem*” [0052] implies a density of 2.10 to 2.94 g/cm?in the
`
`center if each of the both ends have a density of the disclosed average density range, which then
`
`obtains a conductive agent content range of 0.063 g to 0.294 g per unit cm? ofthe center, and
`
`0.084 g to 0.300 g per unit cm? of the end. Thepercentdifference between these two ranges can
`
`then range between 2.0% to 33.3%, which overlaps the claimed 2.1% by mass or more).
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 16/979,581
`Art Unit: 1721
`
`Page 5
`
`8.
`
`Regarding claim 4, Yamato disclosesall of the limitations for the alkaline battery as set
`
`forth in claim 1 above, and wherein the first proportion is 5.9% by mass or less (The obtained
`
`2.0% to 33.3% range of difference between the first and second proportions also overlaps the
`
`claimed 5.9% by mass orless).
`
`9.
`
`Regarding claim 5, Yamato discloses an alkaline battery (“alkaline dry battery” [0019])
`
`comprising:
`
`a tubular battery case (“bottomed cylindrical battery case” [0019]);
`
`a positive electrode filled in the battery case (“Positive electrode 2 is packed into battery
`
`case 1” [0028]), and including a stack of n pieces of hollow tubular pellets (“composedof or
`
`including n pieces of hollow cylindrical pellets” [0019], “In the example shownin the drawings,
`
`positive electrode 2 is composedofor containing a stack including two hollow cylindrical pellets
`
`2a” [0028]);
`
`a negative electrode disposed in hollow portionsof the pellets (“negative electrode 3
`
`disposed in a hollow portion of positive electrode 2” [0028]);
`
`a separator disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode (“separator
`
`4 interposed betweenpositive electrode 2 and negative electrode 3” [0028]); and
`
`an alkaline electrolytic solution (“alkaline electrolytic solution” [0028]),
`
`wherein the battery case includes a portion having a thickness of 0.15 mm orless
`
`(“thickness of the body portion is preferably 0.08 to 0.20 mm” [0086]),
`
`the positive electrode contains manganese dioxide (“positive electrode includes
`
`manganese dioxideas a positive electrode active material” [0052]) and a conductive agent
`
`(“positive electrode further includes a conductive agent in addition to the positive electrode
`
`active material” [0070]),
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 16/979,581
`Art Unit: 1721
`
`Page 6
`
`n is an integer of 3 or more (“"n"is an integer of 1 or more, preferably an integer of 1 to
`
`8, and morepreferably an integer of 1 to 6” [0053]), and
`
`a first resistance is higher than a secondresistance (“the binderis used at a rate of 0.2%
`
`by mass with respect to the manganese dioxide powder” [0038] in context with “density de. of
`
`manganese dioxidein the center portion in the height direction of the positive electrode is 98%
`
`or less, and may be 96% orless of an average value of densities de of manganese dioxide in the
`
`both end portions” [0054] obtains a proportion of the binderin the end portionsthatis larger than
`
`the proportion of the binder in the middle portion), where the first resistance is resistance ofat
`
`least one pellet positioned in a middle portion in a height direction of the stack (“center portion”
`
`[0054]), and the secondresistance is a resistance of at least one pellet positioned in end portions
`
`in the height direction of the stack (“end portions” [0054]).
`
`10.
`
`Regarding claim 6, Yamato disclosesall of the limitations for the alkaline battery as set
`
`forth in claim 5 above, and wherein the first resistance is higher than the second resistance of
`
`each ofthe pellets positioned in both end portionsin the height direction of the stack (“the binder
`
`is used at a rate of 0.2% by mass with respect to the manganese dioxide powder” [0038] in
`
`context with “density dc of manganese dioxide in the center portion in the height direction of the
`
`positive electrode is 98% or less, and may be 96% orless of an average value of densities de of
`
`manganese dioxide in the both end portions” [0054]).
`
`11.
`
`Regarding claim 7, Yamato disclosesall of the limitations for the alkaline battery as set
`
`forth in claim 1 above, and wherein the bodyportion hasa thickness of 0.08 mm or more
`
`(“thickness of the body portion is preferably 0.08 to 0.20 mm” [0086]).
`
`12.
`
`Regarding claim 8, Yamato disclosesall of the limitations for the alkaline battery as set
`
`forth in claim 1 above, and wherein a density of the manganese dioxide in each ofthe pellets is
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 16/979,581
`Art Unit: 1721
`
`Page 7
`
`2.76 g/cm? or more and 3.14 g/cm? orless (“in n pellets included in the positive electrode, the
`
`average density of manganese dioxideis 2.80 to 3.00 g/em*”[0052])
`
`13.
`
`Regarding claim 9, Yamato disclosesall of the limitations for the alkaline battery as set
`
`forth in claim 1 above, and wherein a difference between the density of the manganese dioxide
`
`of at least one pellet positioned in the middle portion in the height direction of the stack and the
`
`density of the manganesedioxide of at least one pellet positioned in the end portions in the
`
`heightdirection of the stack is 0.2 g/cm? orless (“The density de of manganese dioxide may be
`
`75 to 98% ... of the average value of densities de of manganese dioxide” [0054] applied to “the
`
`average density of manganese dioxideis 2.80 to 3.00 g/cm*” [0052] implies a density of 2.10 to
`
`2.94 g/cm3 in the center if each of the both ends have a density of the disclosed average density
`
`range. This results in a density difference ranging from 0.06 g/cm? to 0.70 g/cm*, and overlaps
`
`with the claimed 0.2 g/cm3orless range).
`
`14.
`
`Regarding claim 10, Yamato discloses all of the limitations for the alkaline battery as set
`
`forth in claim 1 above, and wherein n is an integer of 3 or more and 8 orless (“preferably an
`
`integer of 1 to 8” [0053]).
`
`Conclusion
`
`15.
`
`Anyinquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
`
`examiner should be directed to CHARLENE BERMUDEZwhosetelephone numberis
`
`(571)272-0610. The examiner can normally be reached M-F generally 8 AM to 5 PM.
`
`Examinerinterviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using
`
`a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicantis
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 16/979,581
`Art Unit: 1721
`
`Page 8
`
`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, Allison Bourke can be reached on (303) 297-4684. The fax phone numberfor the
`
`organization wherethis 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.
`
`/CHARLENE BERMUDEZ/
`Examiner, Art Unit 1721
`
`/DUSTIN Q DAM/
`Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1721
`
`