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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 August 29, 2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-17 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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-6, 8-10, and 12-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (CN 108054305 A, using EPO machine translation for citation purposes) and further in view of Teramoto (US 2009151863 A1), and further in view of Tsurutani (US 6090322 A).
Regarding Claim 1, Wu discloses an apparatus for producing a cylindrical secondary battery cell (Abstract, “The invention discloses a sealing device for a cylindrical lithium battery.”) having a battery can (Paragraph 0061, “outer shell 51 of the cylindrical lithium battery 50”).
Additionally, Wu discloses a cap plate 53 coupled to the battery can (Paragraph 0063, “top cover 53 of the battery head”) as well as a gasket located between the battery can and the cap plate, depicted in their figure 22. Additionally, Wu discloses structure which comprises a support member configured to receive the cylindrical secondary battery cell therein in a state where an end portion of the battery can and an end portion of the gasket are arranged to face a preset direction and the cap plate contacts the gasket, shown in their figure 1, where lower fixing groove 14 holds the battery in a fixed sealing position (Paragraph 0060, “As shown in FIG. 1, the cylindrical lithium battery 50 is placed in the lower fixing groove 14, and is transferred to a fixed sealing position”).
Additionally, Wu discloses at least one fixing member being movable relative to the support member (Paragraph 0013, “In an embodiment, the movement of the fixture (11) is a lateral movement; a positioning section is fixed on the fixture (11)”), to fix the cylindrical battery cell after the cylindrical battery cell is moved to a preset position by the support member (Paragraph 0013, “A plurality of second arc-shaped surfaces (12) of the clamping device (11) cooperatively define a positioning structure.”; Paragraph 0020, “In an embodiment, the plurality of fixtures (11) are connected to the frame and can move relatively far toward the axis of the cylindrical lithium battery relative to the frame, and the first arc of the plurality of fixtures (11) is moved by the fixture (11). Shaped surface can hold cylindrical lithium battery”).
Additionally, Wu discloses a forming member located over the support member, the forming member being movable towards the support member and the cylindrical secondary battery fixed by the at least one fixing member to press the end portion of the battery can, shown in Wu’s figure 21 (Paragraph 0061, “The crimping upper die presses from the top to the bottom of the outer shell 51 of the cylindrical lithium battery 50 (the outer shell 51 has an upper end protruding from the battery core, and the sealing part of the battery has a cap insulating colloid 52 enclosed in the outer shell 51) through the crimping”), where the forming member is also rotatable to form a crimping portion of the cylindrical secondary battery at an end portion of the battery can (Paragraph 0061, “The shape of the inner revolving wall 21 is such that the upper end of the shell 51 is deformed inwards to achieve hemming processing, as shown in FIG. 11, FIG. 12, FIG. 13, FIG. 17 and FIG. 18.”).
However, though Wu discloses the use of a cylindrical lithium battery, they are silent in regards to the specific details of the cylindrical secondary battery, and if it comprises an electrode assembly and an electrolytic solution. Therefore, we look to Teramoto which discloses a method of manufacturing a cylindrical battery (Abstract, “A method for manufacturing a cylindrical battery”), where said battery is a cylindrical battery comprising an electrode assembly and an electrolytic solution (Paragraph 0003, “For example, in order to form a cylindrical lithium battery, an electrode plate group is formed by winding a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate in a spiral shape with disposing a separator between them and the electrode plate group is contained in a cylindrical battery case with a bottom. After injecting a predetermined amount of electrolyte into the battery case”). Accordingly, where this defines the cylindrical secondary battery as comprising an electrode body and electrolytic solution which can be formed by a manufacturing process, and where the structure of Wu is a secondary electrode manufacturing process, the manufacturing of a cylindrical secondary battery comprising an electrode and electrolyte is an obvious variant of the manufacturing of a cylindrical secondary battery without specified contents, thereby reading upon and making obvious that limitation of the instant claim.
Additionally, Wu discloses structure wherein the forming member comprises a support holder configured to contact the cap plate, the support holder being the centermost region of the shaping part 412, shown in figure 21 (Paragraph 0059, “The shaping die 41 includes a rod 411 and a shaping portion 412 fixed to the lower end of the rod 411.”) as contacting the cap plate.
Additionally, in regards to the limitation which requires that the forming member comprises a rotating plate rotatably coupled to the support holder to rotate about the support holder, here, the at least one forming roller 21 (Paragraph 0061, “The shape of the inner revolving wall 21 is such that the upper end of the shell 51 is deformed inwards to achieve hemming processing, as shown in FIG. 11, FIG. 12, FIG. 13, FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 .”) is a rotating plate coupled to the support holder as shown in figure 21.
However, in regards to the limitation which requires structure where the support holder is in direct contact with the cap plate, Wu fails to disclose said structure, instead disclosing structure where the support holder is applied via a crimping mechanism, followed by the application of the shaping mechanism after the support holder has been retracted, thereby representing structure where the support holder is not in direct contact with the cap plate while the rotating plate rotates about the support holder. Therefore, we look to Tsurutani, who discloses a method of producing sealing members for batteries (Abstract, “A method for producing a sealing member for a battery includes integrally insert-molding a gasket on a peripheral edge of a metal sealing plate.”). Here, Tsurutani discloses structure comprising a magnetic support holder which fixes a cap plate in place (Column 3 lines 42-49, “Then, the sealing plate 1 is clamped by the magnet 16, and the female mold 10 is further moved downward, thereby pressing down the movable core 14 outdoing the elastic force of the springs 15. With the sealing plate 1 clamped between the female mold 10 and the male mold 11 in this way, the molds 10 and 11 are pressed against each other by the elastic force of the springs 15, and the sealing plate 1 is compressed by the spring 17.”) during both a sealing step and a shaping step. Here, Tsurutani discloses that their sealing magnet’s presence during the entirety of the cap application process, the support holder’s constant presence prevents detaching or dislocation (Column 3 lines 57-62, “n molding the gasket 2 using the female mold 10 and the male mold 11 mentioned above, the sealing plate 1 is clamped by a magnet 16 and will not detach or dislocate. Even if there is an uniformity in thickness of the metal sealing plate 1, the resin material will not flow out to other than the specific area,”).
Based on this disclosure, which teaches the benefits of continued holding via the support holder, it would be obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to make use of a support holder which holds and is in direct contact with the cap plate through out the entirety of the cap and sealing process, thereby reading upon and making obvious the limitation of the instant claim which requires structure wherein the rotating plate is rotatably coupled to the support holder to rotate about the support holder while the support holder is in direct contact with the cap plate.
Regarding Claim 2, modified Wu makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Wu discloses structure wherein the gasket is located in the battery can, contacting the battery can, and where the cap plate is located inside the gasket and contacts the gasket, as shown in Wu’s figure 16. Additionally, Wu discloses that the forming member is configured to press against an outer side of the battery can (Paragraph 0010, “The hemming mechanism (20) includes a hemming upper die capable of moving up and down with respect to the frame. The hemming upper die has a hemmed inner rotating wall (21) at the bottom, and the inner rotating wall (21) of the hemming is gradually reduced from the bottom to the upper inner diameter. Small, the inner wall of the curling upper die (21) acts on the cylindrical lithium battery and realizes curling during the movement of the upper die from the top downward;”).
Regarding Claim 3, modified Wu makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Wu discloses structure where the support member comprises a receiving portion into which the cylindrical secondary battery cell is insertable, shown in their figure 1 as lower fixing groove 14 (Paragraph 0050, “As shown in FIG. 1, the cylindrical lithium battery 50 is placed in the lower fixing groove 14, and is transferred to a fixed sealing position”) which transfers the battery to a fixed sealing position. Accordingly, where the lower fixing groove performs the function of transferring, it therefore comprises a moving portion configured to move the cylindrical secondary battery cell toward the at least one fixing member.
Regarding Claims 4 and 5, modified Wu makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Wu discloses structure where an inner groove is formed along the circumference of the battery can under the gasket, as shown in Wu’s figures 3 and 17, which further depicts a fixing member comprising a protrusion 13 inserted into the inner groove to fix the battery cell (Paragraph 0014, “and the first arcuate surface of the other clamping device (11) is convexly provided with an annular grooved rib (13) that matches the cylindrical lithium battery case.”), as well as a second moving portion coupled to the fixing protrusion to move the fixing protrusion (Paragraph 0013, “In an embodiment, the movement of the fixture (11) is a lateral movement;”).
Regarding Claim 6, modified Wu makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Wu discloses structure which comprises a rotating plate rotatably coupled to the support holder to rotate about the support holder, here, the at least one forming roller 21 (Paragraph 0061, “The shape of the inner revolving wall 21 is such that the upper end of the shell 51 is deformed inwards to achieve hemming processing, as shown in FIG. 11, FIG. 12, FIG. 13, FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 .”) is a rotating plate coupled to the support holder as shown in figure 21, with the forming roller being configured to press the end portion of the battery can to form the crimping portion, as discussed above.
Regarding Claim 8, modified Wu makes obvious the invention of Claim 6. Additionally, Wu discloses structure wherein the at least one forming roller comprises a connection rod coupled to the rotating plate (Paragraph 0018, “In one embodiment, the shaping mold 41 includes a rod 411 and a shaping part 412 fixed on the lower end of the rod 411;”) where the connection rod is the upper portion of the rod 411 which extends through the first through hole 22 or second through hole when the pressing module 30 or crimping module 20 are not engaged, shown in figure 1 (Paragraph 0056, “in this embodiment, the upper mold of the curling hole is provided with a first through hole 22 that penetrates up and down through the upper mold.”, Paragraph 0059, “During use, the rod 411 can pass through the first through hole or the second through hole from bottom to top and be connected to the frame, such as the second drive mechanism of the frame”), as well as a pressing rod coupled to the connection rod, where the pressing rod is the lower portion of the rod 411 which past the bottom of the through holes when the modules 20 or 30 are not engaged, down to the shaping portion 412, where the pressing rod is spaced from the support holder, where though one end of the pressing rod contacts the support holder, the pressing rod extends upwards and away from the support holder, thereby being spaced from the support holder as sections of the pressing rod are not in contact with the support holder. Additionally, the pressing rod is configured to press the end portion of the battery can through the support holder 412, as shown in Wu’s figure 21.
Regarding Claim 9, modified Wu makes obvious the invention of Claim 8. Additionally, Wu discloses structure where the pressing rod comprises a rotating shaft coupled to the connection rod, where the upper portion of the crimping mechanism 20 is a rotating shaft, as a result of its connection to the hemmed inner rotating wall 21 (Paragraph 0056, “The hemming mechanism 20 includes a hemming upper die capable of moving up and down relative to the frame. The hemming upper die has a hemmed inner rotating wall 21,”), where the hemmed inner rotating wall 21 is a roller member coupled to the rotating shaft. Here, these components are coupled to the connection rod via the connection rod’s passage through the first through hole 22, and subsequent attachment to the surrounding mechanism (Paragraph 0056, “in this embodiment, the upper mold of the curling hole is provided with a first through hole 22 that penetrates up and down through the upper mold.”, Paragraph 0059, “During use, the rod 411 can pass through the first through hole or the second through hole from bottom to top and be connected to the frame, such as the second drive mechanism of the frame”).
Regarding Claim 10, modified Wu makes obvious the invention of Claim 9. Additionally, Wu depicts structure wherein an inclined portion is formed on a portion of the roller member configured to contact the end portion of the battery can, here hemmed inner rotating wall 21, which comprises an inclined portion, as shown in figure 1, and described through “hemming” and through a statement that it’s diameter gradually decreases (Paragraph 0056, “The hemming upper die has a hemmed inner rotating wall 21, and the inner rotating wall 21 of the hemming has a gradually decreasing inner diameter from the bottom to the top.”), where the hemmed inner rotating wall 21 contacts the battery can (Paragraph 0056, “During the movement of the mold from the top to the bottom, the inner wall 21 of the beading acts on the cylindrical lithium battery and realizes curling;”).
Regarding Claim 12, Wu discloses a method of producing a cylindrical battery cell having a battery can (Abstract, “The invention discloses a sealing device for a cylindrical lithium battery.”) having a battery can (Paragraph 0061, “outer shell 51 of the cylindrical lithium battery 50”).
Additionally, Wu discloses a cap plate 53 coupled to the battery can (Paragraph 0063, “top cover 53 of the battery head”) as well as a gasket located between the battery can and the cap plate, depicted in their figure 22. Additionally, Wu discloses structure which comprises a support member configured to receive the cylindrical secondary battery cell therein in a state where an end portion of the battery can and an end portion of the gasket are arranged to face a preset direction and the cap plate contacts the gasket, shown in their figure 1, where lower fixing groove 14 holds the battery in a fixed sealing position (Paragraph 0060, “As shown in FIG. 1, the cylindrical lithium battery 50 is placed in the lower fixing groove 14, and is transferred to a fixed sealing position”).
Additionally, Wu discloses at least one fixing member being movable relative to the support member (Paragraph 0013, “In an embodiment, the movement of the fixture (11) is a lateral movement; a positioning section is fixed on the fixture (11)”), to fix the cylindrical battery cell after the cylindrical battery cell is moved to a preset position by the support member (Paragraph 0013, “A plurality of second arc-shaped surfaces (12) of the clamping device (11) cooperatively define a positioning structure.”; Paragraph 0020, “In an embodiment, the plurality of fixtures (11) are connected to the frame and can move relatively far toward the axis of the cylindrical lithium battery relative to the frame, and the first arc of the plurality of fixtures (11) is moved by the fixture (11). Shaped surface can hold cylindrical lithium battery”).
Additionally, Wu discloses structure wherein the forming member comprises a support holder, the support holder being the centermost region of the shaping part 412, shown in figure 21 (Paragraph 0059, “The shaping die 41 includes a rod 411 and a shaping portion 412 fixed to the lower end of the rod 411.”), as well as the rotating plate being rotatably coupled to the support holder to rotate about the support holder (Paragraph 0061, “The crimping upper die presses from the top to the bottom of the outer shell 51 of the cylindrical lithium battery 50 (the outer shell 51 has an upper end protruding from the battery core, and the sealing part of the battery has a cap insulating colloid 52 enclosed in the outer shell 51) through the crimping The shape of the inner revolving wall 21 is such that the upper end of the shell 51 is deformed inwards to achieve hemming processing, as shown in FIG. 11, FIG. 12, FIG. 13, FIG. 17 and FIG. 18.”).
Additionally, Wu discloses forming a crimping portion by means of a forming member located over the support member, the forming member being movable towards the support member and the cylindrical secondary battery fixed by the fixing member to press the end portion of the battery can, shown in Wu’s figure 21 (Paragraph 0061, “The crimping upper die presses from the top to the bottom of the outer shell 51 of the cylindrical lithium battery 50 (the outer shell 51 has an upper end protruding from the battery core, and the sealing part of the battery has a cap insulating colloid 52 enclosed in the outer shell 51) through the crimping”), where the forming member is also rotatable to form a crimping portion of the cylindrical secondary battery at an end portion of the battery can (Paragraph 0061, “The shape of the inner revolving wall 21 is such that the upper end of the shell 51 is deformed inwards to achieve hemming processing, as shown in FIG. 11, FIG. 12, FIG. 13, FIG. 17 and FIG. 18.”).
However, though Wu discloses the use of a cylindrical lithium battery, they are silent in regards to the specific details of the cylindrical secondary battery, and if it comprises an electrode assembly and an electrolytic solution. Therefore, we look to Teramoto which discloses a method of manufacturing a cylindrical battery (Abstract, “A method for manufacturing a cylindrical battery”), where said battery is a cylindrical battery comprising an electrode assembly and an electrolytic solution (Paragraph 0003, “For example, in order to form a cylindrical lithium battery, an electrode plate group is formed by winding a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate in a spiral shape with disposing a separator between them and the electrode plate group is contained in a cylindrical battery case with a bottom. After injecting a predetermined amount of electrolyte into the battery case”). Accordingly, where this defines the cylindrical secondary battery as comprising an electrode body and electrolytic solution which can be formed by a manufacturing process, and where the structure of Wu is a secondary electrode manufacturing process, the manufacturing of a cylindrical secondary battery comprising an electrode and electrolyte is an obvious variant of the manufacturing of a cylindrical secondary battery without specified contents, thereby reading upon and making obvious that limitation of the instant claim.
Additionally, in regards to the limitation which requires that the support holder is in direct contact with the cap plate during the forming step, Wu fails to disclose said structure, instead disclosing structure where the support holder is applied via a crimping mechanism, followed by the application of the shaping mechanism after the support holder has been retracted, thereby representing structure where the support holder is not in direct contact with the cap plate while the rotating plate rotates about the support holder. Therefore, we look to Tsurutani, who discloses a method of producing sealing members for batteries (Abstract, “A method for producing a sealing member for a battery includes integrally insert-molding a gasket on a peripheral edge of a metal sealing plate.”). Here, Tsurutani discloses structure comprising a magnetic support holder which fixes a cap plate in place (Column 3 lines 42-49, “Then, the sealing plate 1 is clamped by the magnet 16, and the female mold 10 is further moved downward, thereby pressing down the movable core 14 outdoing the elastic force of the springs 15. With the sealing plate 1 clamped between the female mold 10 and the male mold 11 in this way, the molds 10 and 11 are pressed against each other by the elastic force of the springs 15, and the sealing plate 1 is compressed by the spring 17.”) during both a sealing step and a shaping step. Here, Tsurutani discloses that their sealing magnet’s presence during the entirety of the cap application process, the support holder’s constant presence prevents detaching or dislocation (Column 3 lines 57-62, “n molding the gasket 2 using the female mold 10 and the male mold 11 mentioned above, the sealing plate 1 is clamped by a magnet 16 and will not detach or dislocate. Even if there is an uniformity in thickness of the metal sealing plate 1, the resin material will not flow out to other than the specific area,”).
Based on this disclosure, which teaches the benefits of continued holding via the support holder, it would be obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to make use of a support holder which holds and is in direct contact with the cap plate throughout the entirety of the cap and sealing process, thereby reading upon and making obvious the limitation of the instant claim where the forming step occurs while the support holder is in direct contact with the cap plate.
Regarding Claim 13, modified Wu makes obvious the invention of Claim 12. Additionally, Wu discloses that the forming member further includes a forming roller coupled to the rotating plate, here the at least one forming roller 21 (Paragraph 0061, “The shape of the inner revolving wall 21 is such that the upper end of the shell 51 is deformed inwards to achieve hemming processing, as shown in FIG. 11, FIG. 12, FIG. 13, FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 .”) is a rotating plate coupled to the support holder as shown in figure 21, with the forming roller being configured to press the end portion of the battery can to form the crimping portion.
Regarding Claim 14, modified Wu makes obvious the invention of Claim 12. Additionally, Wu discloses structure where the support member comprises a receiving portion into which the cylindrical secondary battery is inserted, shown in their figure 1 as lower fixing groove 14 (Paragraph 0050, “As shown in FIG. 1, the cylindrical lithium battery 50 is placed in the lower fixing groove 14, and is transferred to a fixed sealing position”) which transfers the battery to a fixed sealing position. Accordingly, where the lower fixing groove performs the function of transferring, it therefore comprises a moving portion configured to move the cylindrical secondary battery cell toward the fixing member.
Regarding Claim 15, modified Wu makes obvious the invention of Claim 12. Additionally, Wu discloses structure wherein an inner groove is formed along a circumference of the battery can under the gasket and wherein the fixing the cylindrical secondary battery cell comprises inserting the fixing member into the inner groove to fix the cylindrical secondary battery cell (Paragraph 0060, “In the annular roller groove 511 of the cylindrical lithium battery case 51, the cylindrical lithium battery 50 is locked to ensure that the cylindrical lithium battery 50 does not move.”), shown in Wu’s figure 17.
Regarding Claim 16, modified Wu makes obvious the invention of Claim 12. Additionally, Wu discloses structure wherein forming the crimping portion comprises moving the support holder 412 to directly contact the cap plate, shown in Wu’s figure 21, such that the support holder does not rotate relative to the cap plate, as Wu discloses that the fixing member holds the battery and cap plate still (Paragraph 0060, “In the annular roller groove 511 of the cylindrical lithium battery case 51, the cylindrical lithium battery 50 is locked to ensure that the cylindrical lithium battery 50 does not move.”) and that the support holder 412 is fixed to the rod 411 and which only moves vertically with respect to the surrounding frame, without rotation (Paragraph 0059, “The shaping mechanism 40 includes at least one shaping die 41 capable of moving up and down with respect to the frame. The shaping die 41 shapes the cap insulating colloid of the cylindrical lithium battery during the movement of the shaping die 41 from above downwards. In the present embodiment, the shaping die 41 includes a rod 411 and a shaping portion 412 fixed to the lower end of the rod 411.”).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (CN 108054305 A, using EPO machine translation for citation purposes) in view of Teramoto (US 2009151863 A1) and further in view of Tsurutani (US 6090322 A) as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Volkhin (US 4656736 A).
Regarding Claim 7, modified Wu makes obvious the invention of Claim 6. Additionally, in regards to the limitation which requires structure where the at least one forming roller is a pair of forming rollers coupled to the rotating plate at positions spaced apart from a center of the rotating plate to be rotatable around the support holder, though Wu discloses structure where the forming roller 21 is coupled to the rotating plate spaced apart from a center of the rotating plate to be rotatable around the support holder (Paragraph 0061, “The crimping upper die presses from the top to the bottom of the outer shell 51 of the cylindrical lithium battery 50 (the outer shell 51 has an upper end protruding from the battery core, and the sealing part of the battery has a cap insulating colloid 52 enclosed in the outer shell 51) through the crimping The shape of the inner revolving wall 21 is such that the upper end of the shell 51 is deformed inwards to achieve hemming processing, as shown in FIG. 11, FIG. 12, FIG. 13, FIG. 17 and FIG. 18.”), they fail to disclose structure where the at least one forming roller is a pair of forming rollers, disclosing instead a singular roller.
Therefore, we look to Volkhin, which discloses an apparatus for producing a secondary battery (Abstract, “An apparatus for sealing a cylindrical storage cell comprises a main holder accommodating the storage cell,”), which comprises a pair of forming rollers 11 (Column 2 lines 60-62, “Working surfaces 11 of the rollers 10 face a portion 12 of the housing 13 of the storage cell 2 to be rolled-in jointly with a sealing gasket 14.”). Here, where Volkhin further discloses that their forming rollers act to deform and seal the gasket of the battery (Column 3 lines 28-33, “A further movement of the holder 3 causes the rollers 10 to exert a radial force on the portion 12 to thereby deform it and the sealing gasket 14 to a size determined by the distance between the straight sections 17 (FIG. 3) of the working surfaces 11 (FIG. 2) of the rollers 10.”), which produces the same end result of a sealed battery cell as the invention of Wu. Accordingly, as the structures of Wu and Volkhin achieve the same result, said structure of Volkhin therefore represents an obvious variant of the structure of Wu, and where the structure of Volkhin comprises a pair of rollers, said obvious variant therefore makes obvious the structure required by the instant claim where the at least one rollers are a pair of rollers.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (CN 108054305 A, using EPO machine translation for citation purposes) in view of Teramoto (US 2009151863 A1) and further in view of Tsurutani (US 6090322 A) as applied to claim 1 above.
Regarding Claim 11, modified Wu makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, in regards to the limitation which requires structure where the forming member is formed of a metal material, Wu is silent in regards to the material of which the forming member is constructed, disclosing that it is an inner wall 21 which acts on the cylindrical lithium battery, causing curling (Paragraph 0056, “the inner wall 21 of the beading acts on the cylindrical lithium battery and realizes curling;”).
Therefore, we look again to Teramoto, which discloses structure where a rotating member is controlled by means of a control unit, where the control unit actuates the rotation of the rotating member (Paragraph 0040, “The other output shaft 23 a of the reduction gear 23 is coupled to the rotary shaft 17 through a bevel gear unit 24 . Thus, the push-in amount of the groove-forming roller 15 synchronizes with the push-up amount of the receiving die 8 with certain relation.”; Paragraph 0041, “A control unit 25 controls the drive of the driving motor 22 and the rotation driving means 13 composed of the servomotor.”) as depicted in Teramoto’s figure 1. Here, where the rotating member includes the portions of the motor and control unit which allow it to operate, and the control unit makes use of wires to control the servomotor 22, where wire comprises a metal material, the rotating member is therefore formed of a materials which include a metal material. Accordingly, where the disclosure of Teramoto comprises structure which facilitates the effective and controlled rotation of a rotating member, it would be obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to make use of said structure for controlling Wu’s rotating forming member, thereby resulting in structure which comprises metal, and wherein the forming member is formed of a metal material.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (CN 108054305 A, using EPO machine translation for citation purposes) in view of Teramoto (US 2009151863 A1) and further in view of Tsurutani (US 6090322 A) as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Volkhin (US 4656736 A).
Regarding Claim 17, modified Wu makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, in regards to the limitation of the instant claim which requires structure wherein the forming member is rotatable about an axis perpendicular to a movement direction of the support member, Wu fails to disclose said structure, failing to specify the direction or nature of the movement of the support member.
Therefore, we look to Volkhin, which discloses an apparatus for producing a secondary battery (Abstract, “An apparatus for sealing a cylindrical storage cell comprises a main holder accommodating the storage cell,”), which comprises a pair of forming rollers 11 (Column 2 lines 60-62, “Working surfaces 11 of the rollers 10 face a portion 12 of the housing 13 of the storage cell 2 to be rolled-in jointly with a sealing gasket 14.”). Here, where Volkhin further discloses that their forming rollers act to deform and seal the gasket of the battery (Column 3 lines 28-33, “A further movement of the holder 3 causes the rollers 10 to exert a radial force on the portion 12 to thereby deform it and the sealing gasket 14 to a size determined by the distance between the straight sections 17 (FIG. 3) of the working surfaces 11 (FIG. 2) of the rollers 10.”), which produces the same end result of a sealed battery cell as the invention of Wu. Accordingly, as the structures of Wu and Volkhin achieve the same result, said structure of Volkhin therefore represents an obvious variant of the structure of Wu, and where the structure of Volkhin comprises a pair of rollers, said obvious variant therefore makes obvious the structure required by the instant claim where the at least one rollers are a pair of rollers.
Accordingly, where the resulting orientation of the movement of the forming roller of Wu is perpendicular to the axis of the forming rollers of Volkhin, and where said orientations are obvious variations, this results in structure where the movement of the support member would be perpendicular to the axis of rotation of either the roller of Volkhin or Wu, where if it moves along a lateral axis it is perpendicular to Volkhin’s forming members, and if it moves along a vertical axis it is perpendicular to Wu’s forming members, thereby making obvious the limitation of the instant claim.
Conclusion
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/J.W.E./Examiner, Art Unit 1725
/BASIA A RIDLEY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1725