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 .
Summary
Since the Office Action mailed on 23 March 2026, claim 18 was amended and claim 24 is newly added, and claims 1-9, 13-14 and 16-24 remain in the application to be further examined with further consideration of applicant’s filed remarks.
New in this Office Action are 103 rejections, necessitated by amendment of claims, particularly by new claim 24, which further limits the structure of the claimed secondary lithium battery and changes the scope of the claimed subject matter.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1-8, 13-14 and 16-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al (KR 20200007559 A) in view of Li (CN 106098973 A) and Pan et al (CN 203134875 U). These prior art references being cited to as Hwang, Li and Pan, respectively, hereinafter in this Office Action.
Regarding claim 1, Hwang discloses a secondary lithium battery (“According to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problems, the present invention is a secondary battery” [0010] where “the above problems” pertains to “the problems mentioned in the technology that is the background of the invention” [0008], which is the battery disclosed in “JP 2002-164076” [0007] or US 2004/0048151 A1 as its English equivalent, Hayashi et al, which discloses “Flat batteries according to the embodiments described below are constructed, as one example, as lithium ion coin type rechargeable batteries.” [0044]) comprising:
(a) a housing (“a housing cover 200” [0017]) enclosing an interior space (“the opening direction of the side wall part 220 of the housing cover 200 is formed on the inner surface of the bottom portion 310 of the insulating member 300” [0085] and “the sidewall portion of the housing cup 100 is in close contact with each other. 120 is in close contact with the side wall portion 320 of the insulating member 300, the edge portion 130 of the housing cup 100 is inserted so as to be in full contact with the edge portion 330 of the insulating member 300” [0091]), and
(b) a composite body (“an electrode assembly 400” [0017]) arranged in the interior space (“the electrode assembly 400 is formed by the bottom portion 110 of the housing cup 100” [0017] and “the electrode assembly 400 has a central axis 430 of the electrode assembly perpendicular to the bottom portion 110 of the housing cup 200 and the bottom portion 210 of the housing cover 200” [0046]) and comprising at least one positive electrode, at least one negative electrode and at least one separator (“the electrode assembly 400 may be a jelly-roll type electrode assembly in which a first electrode plate, a separator, and a second electrode plate are sequentially stacked” [0047]), wherein
(c) the housing comprises a metal housing part having an inner side facing the interior space (“the inner surface of the bottom portion 210 of the housing cover 200” [0068]) and an outer side facing away from the interior space (“outer surface of the housing cup” [0020]), and
(d) the metal housing part comprises:
a first layer consisting of steel (the “steel sheet” aspect of “housing cover 200 may be nickel plated steel sheet” [0028]), and
a second layer, being in direct contact with the first layer, consisting of nickel or a nickel alloy (the “nickel” aspect of “housing cover 200 may be nickel plated steel sheet” [0028]),
wherein the housing comprises the metal housing part as a first housing part and a further metal housing part as a second housing part (“a housing cup 100” [0017] where “in the state of the final secondary battery after the assembly of the housing cup 100 and the housing cover 200, the bottom portion 110 of the housing cup 100 and the bottom portion 210 of the housing cover 200 to be described later It may be parallel and at the same time perpendicular to the side wall portion 120 of the housing cup 100 and the side wall portion 220 of the housing cover 200” [0023]), and
wherein the first and second housing parts are electronically isolated from one another by a seal having electrically insulating properties (“100 and the housing cover 200 are insulated from each other by the insulating member 300” [0017]).
Hwang does not disclose wherein the first layer consisting of aluminium or an aluminium alloy that forms the inner side of the metal housing part,
the second layer that forms the outer side of the metal housing part,
wherein the first layer consisting of aluminum or aluminum alloy has a thickness in the range from 10 µm to 1500 µm,
wherein the second layer consisting of nickel or nickel alloy has a thickness in the range from 0.1 µm to 50 µm, and
wherein the second layer is sandwiched between the seal and the first layer.
However, Li discloses a secondary lithium battery (“a lithium battery” [0001]) comprising a metal housing part (“battery core casing” [0006]).
Li teaches the metal housing part comprises a first layer consisting of aluminium or an aluminium alloy (“aluminum battery core 3” [0011] where “If aluminum can be used instead of stainless steel to make the core case, it can reduce the hidden danger and reduce the cost of the lithium battery” [0002]) that forms the inner side of the metal housing part (Fig. 2 shows nickel electrode sheet 4 to be welded on the outer side of the metal housing part of the lithium secondary battery 3 such that one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to dispose the nickel strip 12 of the aluminum-nickel composite strip 1 taught in Li as the outer side of the metal housing part of the lithium secondary battery of Hwang, which would dispose the aluminum strip 11 of the aluminum-nickel composite strip 1 disclosed in [0010] on the inner side of the disclosed metal housing part based on the structure of the composite strip shown in Fig. 1), and
a second layer (“a nickel strip 12” [0010]), being in direct contact with the first layer (“which also has an aluminum strip 11, which is rolled and composited” [0010]), consisting of nickel or a nickel alloy (“nickel” [0010]) that forms the outer side of the metal housing part (Fig. 2 shows nickel electrode sheet 4 to be disposed on the outer side of the metal housing part of the lithium secondary battery 3 such that one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to dispose the nickel strip 12 of the aluminum-nickel composite strip 1 taught in Li as the outer side of the metal housing part of the lithium secondary battery of Hwang).
Li further teaches that the metal housing part is usually constructed out of stainless steel (“stainless steel core case” [0002]) with a nickel strip disposed on the metal housing part in which stainless steel as the metal housing part poses higher destructive power, or force, in the event of the secondary battery exploding (“If the lithium battery explodes, the stainless steel core case has a greater destructive power.” [0002]) whereas replacing the construction of the metal housing part of stainless steel with aluminum reduces this high destructive force in the event that the secondary battery explodes (“If aluminum can be used instead of stainless steel to make the core case, it can reduce the hidden danger” [0002]).
Furthermore, Li teaches that the second layer that consists of nickel as the outer side of the metal housing part makes it possible to weld a nickel electrode sheet to the outer side of the metal housing part (“an object of the present invention is to provide an aluminum-nickel composite tape as a connecting member for soldering a nickel electrode sheet to an aluminum battery case” [0003]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to replace the steel of the first layer of the metal housing part of Hwang in view of Li with aluminium that forms the inner side of the metal housing part, and the second layer that forms the outer side of the metal housing part in order to reduce a high destructive power from the corresponding secondary battery in the event of it exploding while making it possible to weld a nickel electrode sheet to the outer side of the metal housing part.
The examiner recognizes, which one of ordinary skill in the art would also be able to recognize, that this modification to the metal housing part of Hwang would inherently obtain the claimed limitation of
wherein the second layer is sandwiched between the seal and the first layer (nickel strip 12 taught in Li disposed on the outer side of the metal housing part of the secondary battery of modified Hwang would arrange the nickel strip 12, or the second layer, between insulating member 300 and the inner side of the metal housing part of modified Hwang as shown in the arrangement of Hwang Fig. 4, and Hwang describes this arrangement in [0031] and [0036]).
Additionally, Pan discloses a secondary lithium battery (“lithium button battery” [0004]) comprising a housing that comprises a metal housing part (comprising of “a positive battery shell 1, a negative battery shell 7” [0017], 1 and 7 in Fig. 3) having an inner side (the side of 1 that faces 3 in Fig. 3), an outer side (the side of 7 that faces in a direction away from 3 in Fig. 3), a first layer consisting of aluminum or an aluminum alloy that forms the inner side of the metal housing part (“the inner surface of the positive battery shell 1 is coated with an aluminum composite layer 14” [0017]), and a second layer (“nickel plating layer 13” [0017]) being in direct contact with the first layer (“the nickel plating layer 13 on the inner surface of the positive battery shell 1 is coated with an aluminum composite layer 14” [0017]) and consisting of nickel or a nickel alloy (“nickel plating” [0017] is known in the art to involve depositing a thin layer of nickel).
Pan teaches wherein the first layer consisting of aluminum or aluminum alloy has a thickness in the range from 10 µm to 1500 µm (“the thickness of the aluminum composite layer 14 coated with the nickel-plated layer 13 on the inner surface of the positive battery shell 1 is 100 microns” [0018]), and
wherein the second layer consisting of nickel or nickel alloy has a thickness in the range from 0.1 µm to 50 µm (“The thicknesses of the nickel-plated layers 13 and 11 on the inner and outer surfaces of the positive battery case 1 are both 4 microns.” [0018]).
Pan further teaches that the secondary lithium battery of this structure has good high-temperature storage performance and high-temperature cycle life after experimental tests ([0024]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art to replace the first layer and the second layer of the metal housing part of modified Hwang in view of Pan wherein the first layer consisting of aluminum or aluminum alloy has a thickness in the range from 10 µm to 1500 µm, and wherein the second layer consisting of nickel or nickel alloy has a thickness in the range from 0.1 µm to 50 µm, in order to achieve good high-temperature storage performance and high-temperature cycle life in the secondary lithium battery.
Regarding claim 2, modified Hwang discloses the lithium battery with all the limitations set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein:
the first layer consists of the aluminium or the aluminium alloy having a thickness of 50 µm to 150 µm (Pan [0018] “the thickness of the aluminum composite layer 14 coated with the nickel-plated layer 13 on the inner surface of the positive battery shell 1 is 100 microns”), and
the second layer consists of the nickel or the nickel alloy having a thickness of 3 µm to 10 µm (Pan [0018] “The thicknesses of the nickel-plated layers 13 and 11 on the inner and outer surfaces of the positive battery case 1 are both 4 microns.”).
Regarding claim 3, modified Hwang discloses the lithium battery with all the limitations set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein:
the composite body comprises the electrodes in stacked form or in wound form (Hwang “a wound electrode assembly accommodated in” [0046] and “electrode assembly 400 may be a jelly-roll type electrode assembly” [0047]), the electrodes are able to reversibly store and release lithium ions (Hayashi “lithium ion coin type rechargeable batteries.” [0044]), the electrodes each comprise a current collector partly covered with an active material (Hwang “uncoated portion 401 provided at the outermost portion of the first electrode plate” [0050] and “the uncoated portion 402 of the second electrode plate may be provided at the outermost portion of the wound second electrode plate” [0064]), and the positive electrode is electrically connected to the metal housing part (Hwang “As a specific example, … the second electrode tab 420 is a positive electrode tab, … and the housing cover 200 is a positive terminal housing.” [0027]).
Regarding claim 4, modified Hwang discloses the lithium battery with all the limitations set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein
the first and the second housing part are both in a cup shape (Hwang “housing cup 100 may have a cup shape” [0019] and “housing cover 200 may have a cup shape” [0024]) and each have a circular or oval base and an annular side wall (Hwang “bottom portion 110 of the housing cup 100 may be, for example, a disc shape” [0023] and “bottom portion 210 and the side wall portion 220 of the housing cover 200 may be present in a vertical state, the side wall portion 220 may be cylindrical” [0025]),
the first and the second housing part are electrically isolated from one another by the seal (Hwang “100 and the housing cover 200 are insulated from each other by the insulating member 300” [0017]) having an annular shape and electrically insulating properties (Hwang “the outer surface of the bottom portion 310 of the insulating member 300 ( Lower surface), the first electrode tab 410, and the inner surface (upper surface) of the bottom portion 110 of the housing cup 100 may be in close contact with each other without an empty space. As a result, there is no play between the space in the secondary battery housing, especially the lower space, thereby preventing breakage and short circuit” [0043]), and
the first housing part is electrically connected to the positive electrode and the second housing part is electrically connected to the negative electrode (Hwang “As a specific example, when the first electrode tab 410 is a negative electrode tab and the second electrode tab 420 is a positive electrode tab, the housing cup 100 is a negative terminal housing, and the housing cover 200 is a positive terminal housing.” [0027]).
Regarding claim 5, modified Hwang discloses the lithium battery with all the limitations set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein:
the first housing part has a cup-shaped design (Hwang “housing cover 200 may have a cup shape” [0024]) and a circular base and an annular side wall (Hwang “bottom portion 210 and the side wall portion 220 of the housing cover 200 may be present in a vertical state, the side wall portion 220 may be cylindrical” [0025]) whereas the second housing part is a circular disc (Hwang “bottom portion 110 of the housing cup 100 may be, for example, a disc shape” [0023]), the first and the second housing part are electronically isolated from one another by the seal having an annular shape and electrically insulating properties (“an integral insulating member 300 including an edge portion 330 of the and the end region 340 of the side wall portion” [0034]), and the first housing part is electrically connected to the positive electrode and the second housing part is electrically connected to the negative electrode (Hwang “As a specific example, when the first electrode tab 410 is a negative electrode tab and the second electrode tab 420 is a positive electrode tab, the housing cup 100 is a negative terminal housing, and the housing cover 200 is a positive terminal housing.” [0027]).
Regarding claim 6, modified Hwang discloses the lithium battery with all the limitations set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein:
the first housing part has a cup-shaped design (Hwang “housing cover 200 may have a cup shape” [0024]) and a circular base and an annular side wall (Hwang “bottom portion 210 and the side wall portion 220 of the housing cover 200 may be present in a vertical state, the side wall portion 220 may be cylindrical” [0025]), whereas the second housing part is a circular disc (Hwang “bottom portion 110 of the housing cup 100 may be, for example, a disc shape” [0023]),
the first and the second housing part are electrically isolated from one another by the seal having an annular shape and electrically insulating properties (Hwang “an integral insulating member 300 including an edge portion 330 of the and the end region 340 of the side wall portion” [0034]), and
the first housing part is electrically connected to the negative electrode and the second housing part is electrically connected to the positive electrode (Hwang “the first electrode tab 410 is a positive electrode tab and the second electrode tab 420 is a negative electrode tab, the housing cup 100 is a positive terminal housing, and the housing cover 200 is a negative terminal housing” [0027]).
Regarding claim 7, modified Hwang discloses the lithium battery with all the limitations set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein
the metal housing part is designed as a prismatic container that has a polygonal base with n sides and n rectangular side walls that enclose a right angle with the base, wherein n is an integer from 4 to 8 (Hayashi “The flat battery described above has a coin shape which is circular in plan view, but it can be constructed as a prismatic flat battery as shown in FIG. 13 (having a rectangular plan)” [0070]), and
the second housing part serves as cover for the first housing part and closes off an opening defined by the n rectangular side walls (Hayashi “the positive electrode case 102 of rectangular half shell form coupled onto the negative electrode case 103 to Seal the inner Space” [0070]).
Regarding claim 8, modified Hwang discloses the lithium battery with all the limitations set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein:
the metal housing part is a prismatic container having a polygonal base with n sides and n rectangular side walls that enclose a right angle with the base, wherein n is an integer from 4 to 8 (Hayashi “The flat battery described above has a coin shape which is circular in plan view, but it can be constructed as a prismatic flat battery as shown in FIG. 13 (having a rectangular plan)” [0070]), and
the second housing part serves as cover for the first housing part and closes off an opening defined by the n rectangular side walls (Hayashi “the positive electrode case 102 of rectangular half shell form coupled onto the negative electrode case 103 to Seal the inner Space” [0070]).
Regarding claim 13, modified Hwang discloses the battery with all the features set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein the second layer consisting of nickel or nickel alloy is located exclusively on an outer side of the housing part facing away from the interior space (Li Fig. 2 shows nickel electrode sheet 4 to be disposed on the outer side of the metal housing part of the lithium secondary battery 3 such that one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to dispose the nickel strip 12 of the aluminum-nickel composite strip 1 taught in Li exclusively on the outer side of the metal housing part of the lithium secondary battery of Hwang).
Regarding claim 14, modified Hwang discloses the battery with all the features set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein the metal housing part consists only of the first layer consisting of aluminium alloy (Li “an aluminum strip 11” [0010]) and the second layer consisting of nickel or the nickel alloy (Hwang “nickel” in “housing cover 200 may be nickel plated steel sheet” [0028]).
Regarding claim 16, modified Hwang discloses the battery with all the features set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein the positive electrode is directly and electrically connected to the first layer of the first housing part (Hwang “the second electrode tab 420 is attached to the inner surface of the bottom portion 210 of the housing cover 200” [0068]).
Regarding claim 17, modified Hwang discloses the battery with all the features set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein the first housing part consists of the first layer and the second layer and without any intervening layers between the first layer and the second layer (Li “the aluminum-nickel composite strip 1 has a nickel strip 12, which also has an aluminum strip 11, which is rolled and composited” [0010] and “the aluminum strip is welded to the aluminum battery core 3, and the nickel electrode sheet 4 is welded to the side of the aluminum-nickel composite strip 1 having the nickel strip” [0011] such that the layer consisting of aluminum is in direction contact with the layer consisting of nickel without any additional layer in between consisting of another material).
Regarding claim 18, modified Hwang discloses the battery with all the features set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein lowermost surfaces of the first layer and the second layer are seated on a flange of the seal (Hwang “the housing cover 200 formed by the side wall portion 220 of the housing cover 200 are bottoms of the insulating member 300. It may be sealed and insulated by the portion 310” [0036]).
Regarding claim 19, modified Hwang discloses the battery with all the features set forth in claim 18 above, and wherein the flange of the seal is seated on a lower surface of the second housing part (Hwang “the edge portion 130 of the housing cup 100 is inserted so as to be in full contact with the edge portion 330 of the insulating member 300” [0091]).
Regarding claim 20, modified Hwang discloses the battery with all the features set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein a top surface of the seal is positioned at an elevation between a top surface of the first housing part and a top surface of the second housing part (Hwang Fig. 2 shows that the portion of insulating member 300 that is disposed at the top of the secondary battery 10 is positioned in between the portions of the housing cup 100 and the housing cover 200 that is disposed at the top of the secondary battery 10).
Regarding claim 21, modified Hwang discloses the battery with all the features set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein the seal, the first layer and the second layer each have a cylindrical shape and each have a base wall and an annular side wall depending from the base wall (Hwang “the bottom portion 210 and the side wall portion 220 of the housing cover 200 may be present in a vertical state, the side wall portion 220 may be cylindrical” [0025] and “the housing cover 200 to which the positive electrode tab is bonded may be a nickel plated … sheet” [0028]), and wherein distal end surfaces of the first and second layers are respectively seated on the base wall of the seal (Hwang “the housing cover 200 formed by the side wall portion 220 of the housing cover 200 are bottoms of the insulating member 300. It may be sealed and insulated by the portion 310” [0036]).
Regarding claim 22, modified Hwang discloses the battery with all the features set forth in claim 21 above, and wherein the annular side walls of the seal, the first layer and the second layer are oriented perpendicular to the bases of the seal, the first layer and the second layer, respectively (Hwang “the housing cup 100 includes a bottom portion 110, a sidewall portion 120, an edge portion 130 between the bottom portion and the sidewall portion” [0019], “the bottom portion 110 and the side wall portion 120 of the housing cup 100 may exist in a vertical state with each other, the side wall portion 120 may be cylindrical, The corner portion 130 between the bottom portion 110 and the sidewall portion 120 may have a bent corner portion or a curved corner portion.” [0021], “the bottom portion 210 of the housing cover 200 to be described later It may be parallel and at the same time perpendicular to the side wall portion 120 of the housing cup 100 and the side wall portion 220 of the housing cover 200” [0023], and “the insulating member 300 may include a first insulating member (not shown) including only the bottom portion 310, and the sidewall portion 320, between the bottom portion and the sidewall portion” [0034]).
Regarding claim 23, modified Hwang discloses the battery with all the features set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein:
the composite body comprises the electrodes in stacked form or in wound form (Hwang “electrode assembly 400 is a wound electrode assembly” [0017]), the electrodes are able to reversibly store and release lithium ions (Hayashi “lithium ion coin type rechargeable batteries.” [0044]), the electrodes each comprise a current collector partly covered with an active material (Hwang “uncoated portion 401 provided at the outermost portion of the first electrode plate” [0050] and “the uncoated portion 402 of the second electrode plate may be provided at the outermost portion of the wound second electrode plate” [0064]), and the positive electrode is electrically connected to the metal housing part by a current conductor that is not covered with the active material (Hwang “The second electrode tab 420 may be electrically connected to the uncoated portion existing at any position of the uncoated portion 402 to be drawn out” [0065] and “the second electrode tab 420 is attached to the inner surface of the bottom portion 210 of the housing cover 200” [0068]).
Regarding claim 24, modified Hwang discloses the battery with all the limitations set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein top surfaces of the seal, the first housing part and the second housing part extend to an elevation above the composite body (Hwang Fig. 2 shows the surfaces of housing cup 100, insulation member 300, and housing cover 200 disposed on the top of the secondary battery 10 extend above the thickness of electrode assembly 400).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang (KR 20200007559 A) in view of Li (CN 106098973 A), Pan (CN 203134875 U), and Masuda et al (US 4865932). The latter prior art reference cited as Masuda hereinafter in this Office Action.
Regarding claim 9, modified Hwang discloses the battery with all the limitations set forth in claim 1 above, but does not disclose wherein at least one of:
the first layer comprises lithium in addition to the aluminium or the aluminium alloy,
the first layer is coated with a layer consisting of lithium,
the first layer is lithium-doped, and
the aluminium in the first layer is alloyed with lithium.
However, Masuda discloses a secondary lithium battery (“the cell of the present invention” Col 6 L 9) comprising a housing enclosing an interior space (“a negative electrode casing 3.” Col 6 L 11), and a composite body (“A positive electrode 4, a current collector 5 for the positive electrode, a negative electrode 6, and a current collector 7 for the negative electrode are received in the container 1. A separator 8 intervenes between the positive and negative electrodes 4 and 6.” Col 6 L 11-16), wherein the housing comprises a first layer consisting of aluminium (“the negative electrode was prepared by abrading one surface of an aluminum disk” Col 11 L 63-65) that forms the inner side of the housing (“The negative electrode current collector were spot welded to the negative electrode on its aluminum side.” Col 11 L 35-36).
Masuda teaches wherein at least one of:
the first layer comprises lithium in addition to the aluminium or the aluminium alloy (Col 12 L 19-24),
the first layer is coated with a layer consisting of lithium (Col 11 L 63-65- Col 12 L 1-3),
the first layer is lithium-doped (Col 12 L 15-18), and
the aluminium in the first layer is alloyed with lithium (Col 12 L 19-24).
Masuda further teaches that the housing is formed in situ, or that it is formed by an electrochemical reaction carried out within the secondary battery (Col 6 L 32-35), and that a lithium-aluminum alloy layer as the first layer of the housing prevents dendrite formation and passivation, and is also effective in securing a minimum discharge amount by holding in an amount of lithium in the first layer consisting of aluminium (Col 2 L 55-59).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to add a layer of lithium to the first layer of the housing when constructing the secondary battery of modified Hwang in view of Masuda, in order to achieve at least a lithium-aluminium alloy layer as the first layer, which is formed in situ by electrochemical reaction, and prevents dendrite formation and passivation that is effective in securing minimum discharge amount of the secondary battery.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 has 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.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLENE BERMUDEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-0610. The examiner can normally be reached Mondays through Thursdays generally from 12 PM to 5 PM Eastern Time.
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/CHARLENE BERMUDEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 1721
/ALLISON BOURKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1721
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