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 .
Response to Amendments
This office action is in response to amendment filed on 05/12/2025.
Claim 1 has been amended.
Claims 1-3 are currently pending.
The drawing objection to character (5) in Figure 2 has been withdrawn.
The drawing objection to character (10) in Figure 1 has not been withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 05/12/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
As to claim 1’s amendment, Shinoda (US10,418,612) discloses a width dimension of a welding surface being equal/similar to the tip portion of the current collecting tab.
As to character (10) of Figure 1, the objection has not been withdrawn as character (10) is not referenced in the specification. The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: (10) of figure 1. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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. 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 § 103
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.
Claims 1-3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shinoda (US10,418,612) in view of Kosugi (US20090239133) and Hiroki (US10,320,025).
As to claims 1-2, Shinoda teaches an electrode body (fig. 1 – electrode group 11) including an electrode plate (fig. 6 – electrode group 11):
a rectangular exterior body (fig. 2 – outer can 19) having an opening (fig. 1 – cap 18) and housing the electrode body:
a sealing plate (fig. 1 – cap 18) sealing the opening: an electrode terminal provided on the sealing plate (fig. 1 – cathode terminal 14) :
a first current collector (fig. 1 – cathode lead 16) arranged between the electrode body and the sealing plate and connected to the electrode terminal:
a second current collector (fig. 9 – tab holding member 20) arranged between the electrode body and a side wall of the rectangular exterior body and connected to the first current collector:
and a tab group (fig. 1– current collecting tab 12) formed such that multiple electrode tabs extending from the electrode plate toward the side wall are stacked on each other and connected to the second current collector,
the second current collector being formed of a flat plate having a surface parallel with the side wall (col. 5, lines 15-18)
the tab group being bent on a connection portion side (fig. 9 – welding surface 16a) with the second current collector in parallel with the side wall (fig. 9 – outer wall 19).
Shinoda further discloses a width dimension (arrows in Image 1 below) of a welding surface 16a, 17a (welding area) (col. 5, lines 15-20) between the tab holding members 20, 22 and current collecting tabs 12, 13 (tab groups) and the cathode and anode lead 16, 17 (first/second current collector). Since the tab holder member is welded to the ‘tip portion’ of the tab groups only (see fig. 8), the width of the welding surface 16a, 17a (welding area) and the width of the tip portion (arrow in Image 1 below) of the tabs are equal.
Shinoda fails to disclose whether the electrode tabs have a first and second rounded portion.
Kosugi teaches a rolled battery with rounded electrode tabs. Kosugi discloses:
each electrode tab having a first rounded portion (fig. 3 – positive electrode tab 16) formed in a rounded shape (par. [0063])
and provided at each of corner portions on both sides in a width direction of a base portion continuous to the electrode plate (fig. 3 – side edge portion 32b)
and a second rounded portion (fig. 5 – lugs 50) formed in a rounded shape and provided at each of corner portions on both sides in a width direction of a tip portion in a direction in which the electrode tab extends (fig. 10 – lugs 50). As shown in fig. 3, Kosugi discloses each of the electrode tabs is in the form of a trapezoid whose long side is a base portion side and whose short side is a tip portion side (as applied to claim 2).
Kosugi fails to disclose whether the rounded portions have varying curvature radiuses.
Hiroki teaches a rounded electrode tab with varying curvature radiuses for tab corners. Hiroki discloses a curvature radius of the first rounded portion being greater than a curvature radius of the second rounded portion (col. 16, lines 23-30). The rounded corners of the electrode tab were implemented to relieve concentration of stress (col. 16, lines 8-13).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to add the rounded portions of electrode tabs from Kosugi’s invention and the different curvature radiuses from Hiroki’s invention to Shinoda’s electrode tabs (current collecting tabs) in order to reduce the amount of stress on the tabs.
As to claim 3, Shinoda discloses the electrode tab having a curvature radius on the first rounded portion but fails to disclose the curvature radius being equal to or greater than 5mm. However, it has been held that where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device. See MPEP 2144.
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Image 1. Annotated version of Fig. 8 from Shinoda (US10,418,612) reference.
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 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JADE S SIMMONS whose telephone number is (571)270-7254. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 9:00am - 5:00pm EST.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JADE S SIMMONS whose telephone number is (571)270-7254. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 9:00am - 5:00pm EST.
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JADE SIMMONS
Examiner
Art Unit 1727
/Robert S Carrico/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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