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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 06/09/2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/11/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-11 and 14 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.
Specifically, the applicant’s arguments in regards to the conductive epoxy layer feature of claim 1 are moot, as said claims are addressed below in view of Nakamura in view of Lin and Ohsawa.
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, 5, 9-11 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakamura (US 20200212377 A1) and further in view of Lin (US 20200203675 A1) and Ohsawa (US 20190067680 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Nakamura is an analogous art to the instant application, being directed towards the art of lithium secondary batteries (Paragraph 0022, “This battery is, for example, a general lithium ion secondary battery”). Here, Nakamura discloses structure wherein a lithium secondary battery comprises a battery case made of metal (Paragraph 0008, “According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a battery is provided. The battery includes a can that includes a base material including iron and a nickel layer provided on a surface of the base material,”), as well as an electrode assembly comprising a positive electrode, a separator, and a negative electrode (Paragraph 0023, “The electrode element 20 includes a pair of positive electrode 21 and negative electrode 22 and a separator 23 that are strip-shaped.”). Here, Nakamura further teaches that the electrode assembly is housed in the battery case together with an electrolyte solution (Paragraph 0023, “A non-aqueous electrolytic solution as an electrolytic solution is injected into the battery can 11, and the positive electrode 21, the negative electrode 22, and the separator 2. are impregnated with the non-aqueous electrolytic solution.”).
Additionally, in regards to the limitation which requires a conductive layer, Nakamura fails to disclose said structure. Therefore, we look to Lin, which is an analogous art to the instant application, disclosing a secondary battery (Paragraph 0002, “The present disclosure concerns rechargeable (i.e., secondary) batteries as well as methods of making and using the same”). Here, Lin discloses an anti-corrosive coating layer coated on a current collector (Paragraph 0222, “To afford resistance against corrosion when used in the current collector, a metal substrate (e.g., Ni foil or Ni foam) can be applied with a protective coating, such as including a carbon-containing (or carbonaceous) material derived from pyrolysis of organic compounds deposited on the metal substrate.”), which may comprise materials such as a PEDOT:PSS conductive polymer (Paragraph 0222, “Another example of a protective coating is a coating of a conducting polymer deposited on the metal substrate, such as PEDOT:PSS”), and a carbon-polymer composite making use of conductive polymers and carbon substrates (Paragraph 0222, “For example, fibrous, carbon-based substrates can be used as corrosion-resistant current collectors, such as carbon fiber paper (CFP), carbon fiber cloth (CFC), graphite fiber paper, and graphite fiber cloth. A carbon-based current collector can be adhered to a metal (e.g., Ni) tab using a conducting carbon-polymer composite adhesive, and the metal tab can be welded to electrical leads for charge and discharge.”). Here, where Lin discloses that this protective layer is effective at providing corrosion resistance on metal substrates (Paragraph 0214, “To afford resistance against corrosion when used in the current collector 110, a metal substrate (e.g., Ni foil or Ni foam) can be applied with a protective coating”), it would therefore be obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to apply this conductive coating to the exposed metal substrates of the interior of the battery of Nakamura, as this would produce a beneficial and predictable result, thereby resulting in the coating of a part of or an entirety of an inner surface of the battery case with the conductive protective layer, where said coating would be in contact with the electrolytic solution, as the electrolytic solution is freely injected into the can (Paragraph 0023, “A non-aqueous electrolytic solution as an electrolytic solution is injected into the battery can 11, and the positive electrode 21, the negative electrode 22, and the separator 2. are impregnated with the non-aqueous electrolytic solution.”).
Additionally, in regards to the limitation which requires that the conductive layer consists of a conductive epoxy layer, Nakamura in view of Lin fails to make obvious said structure, where as discussed above Lin makes obvious an anti-corrosive conductive polymer layer. Therefore, we look to Ohsawa, which is an analogous art to the instant application, being directed towards the art of lithium secondary batteries (Paragraph 0001, “The present invention relates to an electrode for a lithium ion secondary battery and a production method therefor.”). Here, Ohsawa discloses the use of a conductive anticorrosive layer epoxy layer (Paragraph 0106, “It is also preferable that the thin-film layer is characterized by containing a crosslinked epoxy resin mainly as the crosslinked resin and an Ni filler as the conductive filler B.”), disclosing that it is conductive and anticorrosive as a result of a nickel filler, which also improves durability (Paragraph 0111, “Specific examples of the conductive filler B include nickel (Ni) because, when the crosslinked epoxy resin impermeable to the electrolyte solution and Ni known to have lithiation resistance are used as a conductive filler, it is excellent not only in terms of constituting an electrode (negative electrode) for a lithium ion secondary battery with good durability but also having excellent corrosion resistance or the like.”), as well as disclosing that the epoxy layer is impermeable to the electrolyte solution. Here, this conductive corrosion-resistant epoxy layer fulfills all of the structural requirements of the conductive anti-corrosive polymer layer of Lin. Accordingly, it would be obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art, seeing the art of Lin and Ohsawa as being directed towards analogous art in the field of lithium secondary batteries, to consider the conductive anticorrosive epoxy layer material of Ohsawa as an obvious variant to the material of Lin, thereby making obvious structure where the conductive layer is a conductive epoxy layer, reading upon and making obvious the scope of the instant claim.
Regarding Claim 5, modified Nakamura makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Nakamura discloses that their secondary battery is a cylindrical secondary battery (Paragraph 0022, “This battery, which is generally called a cylindrical type, has a substantially hollow cylindrical shape,”), and that their electrode assembly is a jelly-roll type (Paragraph 0150, “Thus, a jelly roll type electrode element was obtained by winding the layers a large number of times in a longitudinal direction.”).
Additionally, Nakamura discloses that their battery case comprises a cylindrical can that includes a housing part in which the electrode assembly and the electrolyte solution are housed together (Paragraph 0153, “Next, after the non-aqueous electrolytic solution was injected into the battery can housing the electrode element,”), and a beading part located at an upper part of the housing part (Paragraph 0153, “After that, grooving (beading) is performed on the open end of the battery can, thereby forming a constriction for crimping the safety valve mechanism, the PTC element, and the battery lid.”). Additionally, Nakamura discloses a cap assembly that is mounted on an open upper end part of the cylindrical can (Paragraph 0090, “and the battery lid 14 are inserted into the open end of the battery can 11”), comprising an upper end cap having a protrusion type electrode terminal, as shown in Nakamura’s figure 1.
Additionally, as discussed above, Lin makes obvious structure where the conductive layer coats all exposed metallic substrates, which includes a bottom surface of the cylindrical can and a part of an entirety of an inner surface of the cap assembly facing an inner surface of the cylindrical can.
Regarding Claim 9, modified Nakamura makes obvious the invention of claim 1. Additionally, Nakamura discloses structure where the metal of the battery case is iron and nickel (Abstract, “A battery includes a can that includes a base material including iron and a nickel layer provided on a surface of the base material”).
Regarding Claim 10, modified Nakamura makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Nakamura discloses structure which comprises a hollow center pin inserted into a center of the electrode assembly (Paragraph 0026, “The electrode element 20 has a center hole 20H that penetrates from a center of one end surface toward a center of the other end surface of the electrode element 20. A center pin 24 is inserted into the center hole 20H. The center pin 24 has a cylindrical shape with both ends open.”).
Regarding Claim 11, modified Nakamura makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, in regards to the thickness of the conductive layer, Ohsawa discloses that an appropriate thickness for their anticorrosive conductive epoxy layer is 5 microns to 20 microns (Paragraph 0149, “Thickness of the thin-film layer is preferably 3 to 30 μm, and more preferably 5 to 20 μm.”). As Ohsawa makes obvious their material composition for the conductive coating layer of Lin, it would be obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to make use of Ohsawa’s thickness of said composition when making use of it as the conductive layer.
Regarding Claim 14, modified Nakamura makes obvious the invention of Claim 5. Additionally, as discussed above, Ohsawa makes obvious a conductive epoxy resin layer which comprises a conductive filler consisting of nickel metal powder (Paragraph 0111, “For example, nickel powder (manufactured by Vale, Type 123) or the like can be used.”).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakamura US 20200212377 A1) and further in view of Lin (US 20200203675 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lee (US 20180159100 A1).
Regarding Claim 6, modified Nakamura makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Nakamura discloses structure which comprises a gasket 17 mounted on an upper part of the beading part of the cylindrical can (Paragraph 0025, “The battery lid 14, the safety valve mechanisms 15 and the thermosensitive resistance element 16 are attached by crimping with a sealing gasket 17 interposed therebetween.”), shown in their figure 1.
Additionally, in regards to the limitation of the instant claim which requires structure where the cap assembly has a safety device for current interruption (PTC device) and a safety vent for internal pressure drop stacked under the upper end cap, and a current interruption device (CID device) located at a lower end of the safety vent, we look to Lee, which is an analogous art to the instant application, disclosing structure which comprises a cap assembly for a secondary battery (Abstract, “The present disclosure relates to a cap assembly for a secondary battery and a secondary battery including the same.”) which comprises a cap which has a PTC safety device for current interruption, as well as a safety vent disposed under the upper end cap (Paragraph 0018, “which further includes a PTC device between a top cap and the safety vent.”), as well as a CID safety device located at a lower end of the safety vent (Paragraph 0009, “which includes: a safety vent made of a circular metal plate, wherein an indented portion is provided at the center thereof and one or more notch is formed on concentric circles around the indented portion; a CID (current interrupt device), which is made of a circular metal plate, comprises a filter portion and a supporting portion, the filter portion having a gas discharge hole, a center portion protruding at a center of CID and thereby joined to a indented portion of the safety vent,”) depicted in their figure 6, where the CID 440a is located at a lower end of the safety vent 420a (Paragraph 0066, “When the indented portion 421a of the safety vent 420a and the center portion 444a of the CID are separated as the notch of the safety vent 420a is ruptured, the CID 440a may deviate from its original location due to the gas flow.”). Here, Lee discloses that their battery with their safety-device possessing cap experienced significantly lower decrease in internal pressure across multiple cycles run until the safety device engaged, compared to a comparative example battery which did not have the safety device (Paragraph 0085, “The change in the internal pressure of the batteries prepared in Comparative Example and Examples 1 and 2 was monitored while repeating charging and discharging within the nominal voltage range until the CID was activated.”; Paragraph 0086, “The decrease in the operation pressure of the batteries prepared in Comparative Example and Examples 1 and 2 was measured relative to the preset operation pressure of the cap assembly as 100%. The result is summarized in Table 1.”) as shown in their table 1. Additionally, Lee discloses that their invention allows for the usage of a current interruption device which is capable of interrupting current in the event of gas release within a battery (Paragraph 0071, “The CID 440a is a conductive circular plate. It serves to interrupt current when the gas inside the battery is discharged and is installed under the safety vent 420a.”), while also not being displaced by a flow of gas expelled from a battery (Paragraph 0037, “wherein a current interrupting device (CID) is fixed tightly inside the cap assembly such that the CID is not floated by the flow of a gas and a secondary battery including the same.”), as well as disclosing that the PTC current interruption device allows for the current to be interrupted if the temperature of the battery becomes too high (Paragraph 0059, “The PTC (positive temperature coefficient) device interrupts current as its resistance is increased greatly when temperature inside the battery is increased”).
Accordingly, based on this it would be obvious for one ordinarily skilled in the art to apply the cap of Lee to the invention of Nakamura, thereby reading upon and making obvious the limitation of the instant claim which requires structure wherein the cap assembly has a safety device for current interruption (PTC device) and a safety vent for internal pressure drop stacked under the upper end cap, and a current interruption device (CID device) located at a lower end of the safety vent.
Additionally, Nakamura discloses structure where the electrode assembly comprises a positive electrode tab and a negative electrode tab which extend out from the electrode assembly (Paragraph 0027, “A positive electrode lead 25 is connected to the positive electrode 21 of the electrode element 20,”; Paragraph 0027, “Meanwhile, a negative electrode lead 26 is connected to the negative electrode 22, such that one end of the negative electrode lead 26 comes out from the electrode element 20.”), where the positive electrode tab is connected to the cap assembly (Paragraph 0027, “The one end of the positive electrode lead 25 is electrically connected to the battery lid 14 by welding or the like to the safety valve mechanism 15.”) and the negative electrode tab is connected to the bottom of the cylindrical can, spaced apart from the housing part of the cylindrical can (Paragraph 0027, “Then, a portion of the negative electrode lead 26 extended from the electrode element 20 is sandwiched between the metal-containing material 18 and the can bottom 11Bt, and the one end of the negative electrode lead 26 is electrically connected to the can bottom 11Bt by welding or the like.”), spaced apart from the side walls which house the electrode assembly, as shown in figure 1.
Additionally, as discussed above, Lin makes obvious structure where the conductive layer coats all exposed metallic substrates, which include the top cap, the bottom surface of the cylindrical can, the safety device for current interruption, the safety vent, the current interruption device, the positive electrode tab and the negative electrode tab.
Conclusion
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/J.W.E./ Examiner, Art Unit 1725
/BASIA A RIDLEY/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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