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 (RCE) 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 09/17/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 09/17/2025 has been entered. Claims 1, 3, 9-13, 16-17, 20, and 22-23 are pending and examined below (claim 23 being newly added). Claims 4, 6, 7-8, 14-15, and 18-19 stand withdrawn as being previously non-elected.
Support for the amended limitation “wherein the first area at least partially overlaps the second area” within claim 1 is unclear from the figures (see Drawings Objection below) because in the original disclosure, the first area is mapped to 11a and the second area is mapped to 11b ([0044]), yet in the figures (Fig. 10 for example) 11a and 11b appear to be adjacent in Y-direction but not overlapping. Perhaps the amendment intended to claim that the first area (i.e., 11a) overlaps the third area (i.e., 12a from the specification and figures). Such would be supported by Figs. 2-3, which the 09/17/2025 Remarks at pg. 8 had pointed to for support of claim 1 amendment. Appropriate correction or clarification is required to overcome the below drawings objection.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 09/17/2025 with respect to claim(s) 1 as amended and its dependent claims 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. The new grounds of rejection presented below are made in light of updated searching conducted in light of the amendments and RCE.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “wherein the first area at least partially overlaps the second area” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 22 is 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 22 recites “the first part comprises a first area and a second area interconnected”, but these features were already introduced within base claim 1, so it is unclear whether “a first area and a second area” introduced by claim 22 are the same or different than those features of claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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(s) 1, 3, 9, 11-13, 16-17, 20, and 22-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zama et al. (US 20070292753 A1) in view of Kim (US 20090023062 A1) and Jang (US 20150364729 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Zama teaches a battery (sealed battery, abstract), comprising: a first electrode, a second electrode (a positive electrode and a negative electrode of the battery element, abstract), a first layer (an insulating resin layer, abstract) and a housing (film casing, abstract); wherein,
the first electrode comprises a first conductor (an electrode terminal 4A on a positive electrode side, [0032]) having a first face and a second face (upper and lower faces of 4A, Fig. 1B), and a first metal plate (positive electrodes having a flat-plate shape, [0006]) connected to the first face of the first conductor (the positive power collection tab pulled out from the positive power collection body on the positive power collection body including an aluminum foil, [0056]);
the second electrode comprises a second conductor (an electrode terminal 4B on a negative electrode side, [0032]) having a third face and a fourth face (upper and lower faces of 4B, Fig. 1A in view of Fig. 1B), and a second metal plate (negative electrodes having a flat-plate shape, [0006])) connected to the third face of the second conductor (the negative power collection tab pulled out from the negative power collection body on the negative power collection body including a copper foil, [0057]);
the first layer comprises an insulating material (insulating resin layer 6, [0012, 0014] and Fig. 1A) and is connected to a first surface of the first metal plate (upward portion of 6A atop 4A, Fig. 1B; laminating a synthetic resin film on both surfaces of a metal thin film, [0062]) and a third surface of the second metal plate (upward portion of 6B atop 4B, Fig. 1B; laminating a synthetic resin film on both surfaces of a metal thin film, [0062]); and
the housing comprises a first part and a second part (upper and lower layers of film casing 3, Fig. 1B), and covers the first electrode, the second electrode (positive and negative electrodes are within battery element 2 which sealed inside casing 3, [0031-0032] and Figs. 1A-1B) and at least a part of the first layer through the first part and the second part (upper and lower layers of 3 covers a portion of insulating resin layer 6, specifically at the sealing part 5 of the casing 3; [0008-0009, 0014, 0033-0034] and Fig. 1B), wherein at least a part of the first part is connected to the first layer (upper layer of film casing 3 is connected to upper portion of insulating resin layer 6A at sealing part 5, Fig. 1B; and heat-sealed together per [0065]);
wherein the first layer comprises a first zone connected to the first part (where upper portion of 6A/6B gets sealed within sealing part 5 of casing 3, Figs. 1A-1B) and a second zone connected to the first zone (outwardly-extending portion of layer 6(6A/6B), covering outwardly drawn portions of 4A/4B beyond sealing part 5; Figs. 1A-1B and [0033-0034]); the first zone being covered by the housing (zone of 6 overlapped by 5, where 5 is formed in 3; Figs. 1A-1B) and the second zone being not covered by the housing (insulating resin layers 6A and 6B extending beyond the sealing part 5, and exterior part of 5 covered by the insulating resin layers 6A and 6B; [0033-0034] and Figs. 1A-1B); and
wherein, in the first layer, the first zone is shorter than the second zone in a first direction extending from the first zone to the second zone (see [0033-0034] as cited above; L1 < L2 in D1 per annotation of Fig. 1A provided below).
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the first part comprises a first area and a second area that are interconnected (perimeter of top layer of 3 as first area, and central region of top layer of 3 covering 2 as second area; Fig. 1A).
Zama does not explicitly show in the figures an embodiment of the first layer being one integral piece which covers both the first surface of the first metal plate and the third surface of the second metal plate. However, Zama at [0014] generally teaches that insulating resin layer 6 is one layer, but is shown in Fig. 1A as two pieces 6A and 6B. Kim is analogous in the art of pouch batteries, specifically having insulating members between tabs and casings ([0016]), and teaches while an embodiment can have two separate insulating tapes 114 and 115 for the electrode tabs 112 and 113, respectively (Fig. 4), there is also an embodiment in which one insulating tape 214 can serve to protect both tabs 212 and 213 ([0020] and Fig. 9). Kim teaches this embodiment a singular resin layer (i.e., one protection tape 214) surrounding both the cathode tab 212 and anode tab 213 is preferred because a gap between the tabs 212 and 213 is kept constant, it is possible to easily set the two electrode tabs at a sealing portion of a case, and sealing stability is improved in an internal region ([0056]).
Therefore, in view of Kim, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the insulation resin layer(s) 6A and 6B of Zama to be integrated into one singular layer surround both metal plates (i.e., both electrode tabs) in order to keep a constant distance between the tabs, set the tabs easily into the sealing portions of the case, and ensure sealing stability as taught toward by Kim. When the top surfaces of 6A and 6B are integrated into one piece 6, the instantly claimed limitation “the first layer comprises an insulating material and is connected to a first surface of the first metal plate and a third surface of the second metal plate” is satisfied, and the above limitations referring to “the first layer” are sufficiently met by modified Zama.
Zama also fails to teach:
the first area is connected to the second part, the first area surrounding the second area on a first side, a second side, and a third side but not on a fourth side; and
wherein the first area at least partially overlaps the second area.
Zama does teach in [0063] that in film casing 3, there is a thermoplastic resin layer which is heat-sealed well or has an excellent bonding property by adhesive, such that from Fig. 1A it can be seen that the perimeter of the sealed battery (“first area” of 3 surrounding battery element 2) is indeed sealed from the top layer to the bottom layer of 3 (“the second part” as cited above), to yield the sealed battery of Zama. However, Zama fails to teach that a fourth side is not connected in this way (each side is heat-sealed per Zama [0064]) and fails to teach overlap between the first and second areas.
Jang is analogous in the art of batteries with film casings (rechargeable battery includes pouch case, Abstract; is formed as a laminate film, [0010]) and teaches pouch case having:
a first part (perimeter of 30, Figs. 1-2) that comprises a first area (first bent portion 33a/34a, Fig. 2-3) and a second area (second bent portion 33b/34b, Fig. 2-3) that are interconnected (within respective lateral edges 33/34, Figs. 1-2)
the first area is connected to the second part (upper plate of 30 sealed to lower plate of 30 at outermost perimeter surrounding space 31, [0043]),
the first area surrounding the second area on a first side (33a around 33b, Figs. 1-2), a second side (34a around 34b, Figs. 1-2), and a third side (at edge 32, Figs. 1-2) but not on a fourth side (no perimeter edge at lower side of battery opposite 32, Figs. 1-2); and
wherein the first area at least partially overlaps the second area (first bent portions folded over second bent portions, Figs. 4B-4C and [0047-0048, 0058]).
Jang teaches that in such an embodiment – including an edge portion at an outer side of the receiving portion, the edge portion including a first bent portion extending in a length direction of the edge portion, a second bent portion extending in a length direction of the edge portion, the first bent portion being bent relative to the second bent portion, and a bent corner folding portion at a corner of the edge portion ([0014]) – a corner folding portion can formed to be positioned between a first folding portion and a second folding portion, thereby preventing or substantially preventing the corners from protruding to cause a short circuit ([0011, 0013, 0020] and Figs. 3, 4A-C).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to further modify Zama to include the first area surrounding the second area along three sealed sides and to include partial regions of overlap of the first area being folded onto the second area in order to prevent protrusions at the corners of the film casing and thus prevent short circuiting as taught by Jang.
Thereby, all limitations of claim 1 are rendered obvious.
Regarding claim 3, modified Zama teaches the limitations of claim 1 above and the first layer further comprises a third zone connected to the first zone (insulating resin layer 6 is preferably extended beyond an edge part inside of the sealing part 5, Zama [0036] and Figs. 1A-1B showing inner zone of 6A/6B inside 5, closer toward battery element 2).
Regarding claim 9, modified Zama teaches the limitations of claim 1 above and wherein the first layer is shorter than the housing in a second direction extending from the first metal plate to the second metal plate (width of layer 6(cumulative 6A+6B) smaller than that of casing 3 in Zama Fig. 1A; also as modified by Kim above to be one-piece design, 214 is shorter width-wise than portion 223 of case 220 in Kim Fig. 9, such that one-piece layer 6 would remain widthwise shorter than 3 in modified Zama).
Regarding claim 11, modified Zama teaches the limitations of claim 1 above and wherein the first layer is provided away from the first conductor (6A and 6B each wider than 4A and 4B, such that lateral edges of layer 6 are positioned away from the conductors 4, Zama Fig. 1A; similarly, when modified in view of Kim Fig. 9 like 213, central widthwise section of insulating layer is spaced away from the conductor tabs).
Regarding claim 12, modified Zama teaches the limitations of claim 1 above and the battery further comprises a second layer containing an insulating material (upper and lower layers of exemplary 6A in Zama Fig. 1B); and the second layer is connected to both a second surface of the first metal plate and a fourth surface of the second metal plate (at lower surface of exemplary 4A in Zama Fig. 1B; see also Kim [0056] where 214 surrounds 212 and 213 – i.e., covers both upper and lower surfaces).
Regarding claim 13, modified Zama teaches the limitations of claim 12 above and the first layer is connected to the second layer (6 surrounds 4A/4B widthwise per Zama Fig. 1A and above/below per Zama Fig. 1B, such that the upper and lower[first and second] layers of 6 become heat-sealed in Zama [0064-0065]).
Regarding claim 16, modified Zama teaches the limitations of claim 13 above and in a second direction extending from the first metal plate to the second metal plate (left-right in Zama Fig. 1A), the first layer is shorter than the housing, and the second layer is shorter than the housing (width of layer 6(cumulative 6A+6B) smaller than that of casing 3 in Zama Fig. 1A; also as modified by Kim above to be one-piece design, 214 is shorter width-wise than portion 223 of case 220 in Kim Fig. 9, such that one-piece layer 6 would remain widthwise shorter than 3 in modified Zama – while still covering both top and bottom surfaces of tabs 4A/4B).
Regarding claim 17, modified Zama teaches the limitations of claim 13 above and when viewed from a third direction perpendicular to the first surface of the first metal plate (downward view of Zama Fig. 1A), the first layer is connected to the second layer at least in the first zone (in sealing part 5, Zama [0033-0034, 0064-0065] and Figs. 1A-1B).
Regarding claim 20, modified Zama teaches the limitations of claim 1 above and the first layer and the second layer each independently comprise at least one selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene (polyethylene, polypropylene for insulating resin layer; Zama [0066]).
Regarding claim 22, modified Zama teaches the limitations of claim 16 above and
the first part comprises a first area and a second area interconnected (perimeter of top layer of 3 as first area, and central region of top layer of 3 covering 2 as second area; Fig. 1A),
the second part comprises a third area and a fourth area interconnected (perimeter of bottom layer of 3 as first area, and central region of bottom layer of 3 covering 2 as second area; Fig. 1A in view of Fig. 1B),
the first area is connected to the third area (perimeter of top and bottom layers of casing 3 connect to seal edges around battery element 2, Zama Fig. 1A and [0064]), and
the second area and the fourth area together form an accommodating cavity for accommodating the electrode assembly (central regions of upper and lower layers of 3 cover and accommodate/contain battery element 2 therein, Zama Fig. 1B and [0065]); wherein
in the second direction, the first layer is shorter than the second area and the fourth area, and the second layer is shorter than the second area and the fourth area (6 shorter width-wise than top edge of 3 at sealing part 5, Zama Fig. 1A; similarly, 214 shorter width-wise than 220 at 223 in Kim Fig. 9 as applied to modified Zama); and
the accommodating cavity encloses the electrode assembly (2 contained/sealed inside the central region formed within upper and lower layers of casing 3, Zama Fig. 1A-1B and [0065]).
Regarding claim 23, modified Zama teaches the limitations of claim 1 above and wherein, the housing is made of a packaging film (film casing 3, Zama [0031]), the packaging film comprises a protective layer, a metal layer, and a packaging layer that are stacked in sequence (the film casing obtained by laminating a synthetic resin film on both surfaces of a metal thin film such as an aluminum foil, Zama [0006, 0062]);
along a thickness direction of the packaging film, the packaging layer is close to the electrode assembly (thermoplastic resin layer which is heat-sealed well or has an excellent bonding property by adhesive is on an inner surface side of the battery as the film casing, Zama [0063]), and the protective layer is away from the electrode assembly (lamination of polyester resin such as polyethylene terephthalate or nylon resin is used on an outside of the battery, Zama [0063]);
the protective layer comprises polymer resin (polyethylene terephthalate or nylon resin, [0063] as cited above);
the metal layer comprises one or more of aluminum (aluminum foil, [0062] as cited above);
the packaging layer comprises polypropylene (thermoplastic resin layer such as polypropylene, Zama [0063]; and the packaging layers are melted and connected to achieve sealing of the housing (thermoplastic resin inner layer is heat-sealed, [0063] as cited above).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zama et al. (US 20070292753 A1) in view of Kim (US 20090023062 A1) and Jang (US 20150364729 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Suehiro et al. (US 2018/0131009 A1, cited in 06/17/2025 Office action).
Regarding claim 10, modified Zama teaches the limitations of claim 1 above but fails to teach the first layer is formed by stacking two or more layers of materials in a third direction perpendicular to the first surface of the first metal plate.
Suehiro is analogous in the art of batteries and pertinent to the problem of insulating layers. Suehiro teaches an insulating layer 5 (Suehiro Figs. 5(a)-5(b)) which can be made of insulating tape, wherein the insulating tape includes an insulating sheet (substrate film), and a pressure sensitive adhesive layer disposed on one surface of the insulating sheet (Suehiro [0065]). Suehiro Figs. 5(a-b) and [0063, 0065] teaches the insulating tape being useful to cover an uncoated portion 40a, which is similar to the uncoated terminals 501/503 of Yao being covered by first layer/isolating portion 40 (Yao [0009, 0036] and Figs. 2-3 as cited above). Suehiro [0066] lists exemplary insulating sheet materials overlapping with those listed in Yao [0039] for material options of 40, and Suehiro [0064] lists examples of pressure-sensitive adhesives which form the secondary adhesive layer on the insulating substrate film/sheet layer per Suehiro [0065] taught above.
It would have been obvious, at the time of filing, for a person having ordinary skill in the art to further modify Zama such that an insulating tape (having two layers: substrate and adhesive) as taught by Suehiro was used for the insulating layer 6, since Suehiro teaches these bi-layer insulating tapes being useful to achieve desired, expected results of insulating uncoated terminal/tab portions. (Also, in Kim as applied to modified Zama in claim 1 rejection above, teaches that the one-piece insulting layer 214 is a “protection tape”, Kim [0056]). Per MPEP 2144.07, the selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use (bi-layer substrate/adhesive as insulating tape) supports a prima facie obviousness determination.
Thus, the instant claim 10, as amended, is rendered obvious.
Conclusion
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/JESSIE WALLS-MURRAY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1728