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 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 April 8th, 2026, has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed March 12th 2026 has been entered. Claims 1, 3-4 & 6-11 remain pending in the application. Claim 2 was cancelled by the Applicant. The argument to the 102(a)(1) rejection in view of Gross et al. US 2004/0048149 A1 is persuasive and the rejection has been withdrawn in view of the amendments. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection is made in view of Tsushima et al. US 2021/0351484 A1, Chung KR 101002444 B1, and Kim et al. KR 102023739 B1. New rejections follow.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 1, 3-4 & 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gross et al. US 2004/0048149 A1 in further view of Tsushima et al. US 2021/0351484 A1, Chung KR 101002444 B1, and Kim et al. KR 102023739 B1. Citations to Chung and Kim are mapped to the English machine translations provided.
Regarding Claim 1, Gross discloses a pouch type battery [0025] comprising
An electrode assembly with alternating electrodes and separators [0024]
A pouch type exterior that accommodates the electrode assembly [0025]
Wherein the pouch type exterior comprises
An accommodation part that creates a space that accommodates the electrode assembly (flexible packaging 18 Figure 8 [0025]; 0027]
And a sealing part (rigid container 19 [0028] around a circumference of the accommodation part where some areas are attached to each other to seal the accommodation part (see Annotated Figures 8-11 below)
Gross further discloses that the sealing part comprises a plurality of corners on the sealing part (see Annotated Figures 8-11 below), wherein at least one corner of the sealing part has a chamfer (Item 22 Figure 10) [0030]. Gross discloses that the chamfer can be a straight line (diagonal part) with rounded ends [0033], (see Annotated Figures 8-11 below).
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Annotated Figures 8-11
Gross discloses that the diagonal part extends in a diagonal direction crossing a longitudinal direction of the pouch type exterior (see Annotated Figure 10 below).
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Annotated Figure 10
Gross is silent as a recess part recessed towards the electrode assembly, wherein an entire recess part is adjacent to the electrode assembly and is between a virtual line and the electrode assembly, wherein the virtual line extends coincident with the diagonal direction of the diagonal part. Gross is also silent as to the recess part having a curved shape that is recessed towards the electrode assembly, wherein the curved shape of the recess part being concave so as to include a concavity facing away from the electrode assembly.
Tsushima discloses a battery having a battery electrode [0019] wherein the battery electrode comprises a stack of electrodes [0019], similar to the electrode assembly of Gross. Tsushima discloses that the embodiments show a rectangular outer covering body (such as a battery case made of metal) that houses the electrode assembly however the electrode assembly can alternatively be a housed in a laminating film type of housing [0023] such as the pouch type battery of Gross.
Tsushima discloses that in the positive electrodes, there is a cutout portion (Figures 3-7 Item 25) positioned at the base of electrode tabs that protrude from the current collector, as shown in Tsushima Annotated Figure 3 below:
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Tsushima Annotated Figure 3
As shown in Tsushima Annotated Figures 2 & 3 below, Tsushima discloses a recess (cutout) that is recessed towards the electrode assembly, having a curved shape that is concave so as to include a concavity facing away from the electrode assembly:
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Tsushima Annotated Figures 2 & 3 below
Tsushima discloses that the cutout sufficiently curbs any cracking that could occur at the base of the electrode tab and in the vicinity thereof [0018, 0030], and discloses that the cutout can be present in one or both of the positive and negative electrodes [0030]. Tsushima further discloses that the cracking specifically occurs when pressing the layers and occurs on a boundary such as the corner of the tab portion and the rest of electrode (current collector with active material layer), whereas when a cutout is formed in the corner (as shown in Figure 3 above), the cutout reduces the stress generated [0040]. Tsushima further discloses that the shape of the cutout has an effect on the reduction in cracking, and discloses that it is advantageous when the cutout comprises a curved portion and a straight line portion [0041].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present invention to incorporate the cutout of Tsushima in the sealing portion of Gross for the benefit of reducing the occurrence of cracking at the base of the electrode tab. Examiner notes that while Tsushima discloses that the cutout is in the electrode, the benefit of reducing the occurrence of cracking at the base of the electrode tab during pressing of the layers would be recognized by one of skill in the art as beneficial to the pouch type battery of Gross, wherein the electrode assembly is housed in a pouch and the edges of the pouch are pressed to form a sealing portion that surrounds the electrode assembly and around the base of the electrode tabs. The issue of cracking near the electrode tab in a pouch-type battery is known and recognized in the art, as disclosed by Chung KR 101002444 B1 and Kim et al. KR 102023739 B1. Chung discloses a pouch type lithium secondary battery [Page 1 Lines 42-43] similar to that of Gross, and discloses that cracks can occur at the time of sealing the pouch around the electrode assembly especially in the location of the electrode tabs, which can lead to electrical shorts [Page 3 Lines 38-43]. Kim discloses a crack detection system [0001] for a pouch type battery [0003], as cracks are known to occur on an electrode, electrode tab, or a weld [0014] and are known to occur during the manufacturing process [0006] such as by external forces during welding or sealing [0056, 0058].
Thus, one of ordinary skill would have looked to the art for a recognized solution to cracking issues in batteries to address a recognized issue in pouch-type batteries of cracking where the electrode tabs are sealed, and therefore the reduction of cracking during the pressing of the sealing portion would be motivation to one of skill in the art to modify Gross with the teaching of Tsushima, as further supported by Kim and Chung. Additionally, Tsushima discloses that when the cutout is formed of a curved portion and a straight line portion, this is an advantageous configuration for the cutout. Gross discloses a cut corner in the sealing portion comprising a straight line portion (chamfer 22 Figure 10), and thus incorporating the curved cut out portion of Tsushima in combination with the chamfer of Gross would be further beneficial as suggested by Tsushima, and therefore the modification of Gross with the teaching of Tsushima would be obvious. See Tsushima Figure 3 & Modified Gross Figure 10 below:
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Tsushima Figure 3 & Modified Gross Figure 10
Thus, as shown in Modified Gross Figure 10 below, modified Gross discloses a recessed part adjacent to the diagonal part, as modified by Tsushima’s cutout, that recesses towards the electrode assembly, wherein the diagonal part extends towards the recess part. Modified Gross further discloses, illustrated in Modified Gross Figure 10 below, that the entire area of the recess part is adjacent to the electrode assembly and is between a virtual line and the electrode assembly, wherein the virtual line extends coincident with the diagonal direction of the diagonal part. Modified Gross also discloses that the recess part has a curved shape that is concave so as to include a concavity facing away from the electrode assembly, which is shown above in Tsushima Figure 3 & Modified Gross Figure 10 as well as below in Modified Gross Figure 10.
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Modified Gross Figure 10
Regarding Claim 3, Gross discloses that the diagonal part extends in a straight line [0033] (see Annotated Figure 10 above).
Regarding Claim 4, modified Gross discloses that the recessed part and the diagonal part are in direct contact with each other (chamfer with straight line and concave cutout portion thus in contact) [0033], see Tsushima Figure 3 & Modified Gross Figure 10 above.
Regarding Claim 6, Gross discloses that the battery further comprises an electrode lead (electrode tabs [0025]) that are electrically connected to the electrode assembly [0026]. Gross discloses that the electrode leads extend out of the sealing part [0025]. As shown in Figure 10, Gross discloses that at least one corner comprising the recess part and the diagonal part is next to the electrode lead.
Regarding Claim 7, modified Gross discloses that the recess part is in direct contact with a part of the sealing part where the electrode lead protrudes, see Annotated Figure 10 below:
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Annotated Modified Gross Figure 10
Claims 8 & 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gross, Tsushima, Chung, and Kim as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of Park et al. US 2011/0274955 A1.
Regarding Claim 8, modified Gross discloses a first electrode lead connected to the electrode assembly and protruding from one side of the sealing part, as mentioned with regards to Claim 7. Additionally, modified Gross discloses at least one corner of the plurality of corners having the recess part and the diagonal part at one side of the first electrode lead, as mentioned with regards to Claim 7 and as shown in Figure 10.
Additionally, modified Gross discloses a second corner that comprises a second recess part recessed toward the electrode assembly and a second diagonal part next to the second recess part that extends toward the second recess part (see Annotated Modified Gross Figure 10 below), which meets the limitations set forth in Claim 8.
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Annotated Figure 10
However, Gross fails to disclose that the battery comprises a second electrode lead on the opposite end of the battery from the first electrode lead.
Park discloses a pouch type battery with electrode leads on the same end of the battery as well as electrode leads on opposite ends from each other (Figure 4 compared to Figure 5) [0059, 0062]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to substitute one known electrode lead placement, i.e. on same side of Gross, for another electrode lead placement, i.e. opposite side of Park, with reasonable expectation of success. The simple substitution of one electrode lead placement for another to obtain predictable results is not patentable. See KSR International Co v. Teleflex Inc., 127 S. Ct. 1727,82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007); MPEP 2143 B.
In addition, by teaching the two alternative methods of electrode lead placement for pouch type batteries, Park demonstrates that these are known equivalents in the art, and the selection of either electrode lead placement would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.06.
Thus, modified Gross with the substitution of Park’s electrode lead placement would achieve the configuration wherein the second corner comprising the second recess part and the second diagonal part (as shown above in Annotated Figure 10 above) is disposed next to the second electrode lead.
Regarding Claims 10 & 11, modified Gross is relied upon for the reasons given above in addressing Claim 1, however fails to disclose that the secondary battery is used in a battery module.
Park discloses a battery pack including a pouch type battery [0093] wherein a plurality of the pouch-type battery unit cells are arranged in a module case [0094]. Thus Park discloses a battery module comprising a pouch-type battery, which meets the limitations set forth in Claim 10.
Park discloses trimming portions positioned at the corners of the pouch-type batteries [0061]. Park discloses that when the pouch type batteries are arranged in a battery module, the trimming portions are stacked next to each other [0094-0097], also shown in Figure 14.
Park discloses that stacking the recessed parts (the trimming portions) next to each other in the module allows for a holder to be placed in the voids created by the recessed parts to stably fix the unit cells in the module, which increased stability within the battery pack [0097-0098]. Park discloses that using a plurality of pouch type battery cells in a module allows for the battery pack to be used in medium and large devices instead of being limited to small devices [0099].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present invention to use multiple battery cells in the configuration as disclosed by Park, wherein the recess parts and the diagonal parts are disposed in the plurality of secondary batteries and are arranged to face each other, in the battery module of modified Gross to achieve a battery pack with increased stability and with the ability to be used in medium and large devices.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gross, Tsushima, Chung, and Kim as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of Cho et al. KR 101831252 B1.
Regarding Claim 9, modified Gross is relied upon for the reasons given above in addressing Claim 1, however fails to disclose a coating part surrounding the recess part and the diagonal part.
Cho discloses a pouch for a battery [0012]. Cho further discloses a reinforcing tape member configured to be folded over the outer periphery of the sealing part of the pouch [0041], shown in Figures 6-9. In Figure 8, Cho discloses that the reinforcing tape member folds over the sealing part immediately adjacent to the electrode tab (see Annotated Figure 8 below).
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Annotated Figure 8
Cho discloses that the reinforcing tape member protects the sealing portion from the outside to limit exposure [0041]. Additionally, Cho discloses that the reinforcing tape member can improve insulation to avoid electrical interference between the tape and the electrode lead [0054].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present invention to incorporate the coating (reinforcing tape member) of Cho to coat the recess part and diagonal part in the pouch type battery of modified Gross to limit outside exposure of the sealing part and to improve insulation.
Thus, modified Gross, with the coating of Cho, discloses a pouch type battery with a coating that surrounds the recess part and the diagonal part.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANNA E GOULD whose telephone number is (571)270-1088. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey T. Barton can be reached at (571) 272-1307. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/A.E.G./Examiner, Art Unit 1726
/JEFFREY T BARTON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1726 28 May 2026
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