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 .
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 11-16 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 11 recites the limitation “the battery cell” in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For purposes of examination, this limitation is understood as -a battery cell-
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.
[Examiner’s note: Strikethrough indicates that the limitation is not disclosed by the reference]
Claims 1 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guo (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/ 0144582) in view of Angerer (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2015/ 0153148) and Ikeda (U.S. Patent 7,802,456).
Regarding claim 1, Guo discloses an electrode lead bending and welding apparatus comprising:
a base portion (Fig. A6; element 108) movable in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction (Figs. 6A-6C; element 108, part of the base portion, moves in those directions);
a bending portion (104)
wherein a welding between an electrode lead (Fig. 6A-6C58A-D) and a busbar (Guo, 60) of a battery is performed in a state in which the electrode lead is bent by the bending portion (Fig. 5, ¶¶65, 66, “The welds 64A-64E are laser welds in this example.”).
However, Guo does not disclose wherein the bending portion is “attached to the base portion and extending away from the base portion”; nor a sensing portion attached to the bending portion and configured to be rotatable.
However, although Guo does not explicitly teach wherein the bending portion is “attached to the base portion and extending away from the base portion, he does teach that both the base 108 and the bending portion are part of the same “fixture assembly”( Guo, ¶0073), and further, that “[a]n actuator can be used to translate the wiper 108 and the terminals 58A-58D relative to each other (¶0076, “The actuator is omitted in the FIGS. 6A-6C”). Here, the advantage to have the fixture connect the base and the bending portions, at least through the actuator, is so that 108 may be aligned perfectly and slide easily over 112 so that the leads may be moved consistently and precisely to contact the busbar. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, given the teachings of Guo, to have this “fixture” also be connected to an “actuator”, to have the bending portion attached, at least in some indirect manner, in order that base (108) may be aligned perfectly and slide easily over the bending portion (104) so that the leads may be moved consistently and precisely, aligned to contact the busbar and the base, as well, may be moved back, into the ready position, and it will be in a consistent relative position to the bending portion, ready for the next process.
Although Guo may teach all of the above limitation, he still does not teach a sensing portion attached to the bending portion and configured to be rotatable.
However, Angerer teaches a sensing portion configured to be rotatable determine the angles of metal pieces. (figs. 3, 6, sensors 39, Abstract, “determining an angular position of at least one limb” produced from metal). The advantage here would be to determine that all the electrode leads are bent to ensure it is properly prepared for welding (Guo, ¶83 requires proper “bend angles”). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Guo with the teachings of Angerer, to have a sensor on the bent lead, to have be able to determine the angle of the bend electrode to ensure it is properly bent and prepared for welding.
And while Guo in view of Angerer teaches all the limitations above, it still does not teach wherein the sensing portion is attached to the bending portion. However, Ikeda, in his device for detecting bending angle. However, Ikeda, in his invention for measuring the angle of bent metal, teaches that the sensing portion is attached to the bending portion (and not to the metal workpiece itself) (Ikeda, fig. 19, column 19 lines 28-38,with this mechanical means, measuring δ1 and δ2 with angle detecting device 102 on each side of the die D) and calculating the sum of the angles; the workpiece bending device is used in the workpiece bending machine 101, and is attached thereto, fig. 1). Thus it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Guo in view of Angerer with the teachings of Ikeda, to have the sensing portion attached to the bending portion, in order to have the sensing portion immediately next to the bending portion, but the at the same time, to have it prepared to quickly measure future metal pieces, so it is ready for further processes.
Regarding claim 10, Guo in view of Angerer and Ikeda teach all the limitations of claim 1, as above, and further teach an electrode lead bending and welding apparatus, wherein one bending portion having one sensing portion coupled thereto is attached to the base portion to constitute a unit member (this is the combination of Guo in view of Angerer and Ikeda), and wherein a plurality of unit members are assembled with each other (see fig. 6A-6C, where there are a plurality of bending portions).
Claims 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guo (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/ 0144582) in view of Angerer (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2015/ 0153148) and Ikeda (U.S. Patent 7,802,456) and further in view of Park (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2018/ 0315977).
Regarding claim 11, Guo in view of Angerer and Ikeda electrode lead welding method comprising:
when the battery cell is provided in plural (Guo, 56A-D, for instance), using the electrode lead bending and welding apparatus according to claim 1 (see above) to perform the operations of:
preparing the battery cells and disposing the battery cells such that electrode leads of the battery cells extend through [a slit] (Guo, fig. 7a-7c);
disposing the bending portion of the electrode lead bending and welding apparatus at a first surface of each of the electrode leads (fig. 7B);
bending the electrode leads (7C); and
welding the bent electrode leads to the busbar (fig. 5, for instance, welds 64A-64E).
However, Guo in view of Angerer and Ikeda does not teach wherein the leads of the battery cells extend through “slits of the busbar”. However, Park teaches that the bus bar (Fig. 1, Park, 3) has slits (S) to accommodate the leads (Park, 2), and that the leads get bent to attach to the busbar (figs. 1-2). Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to have slits in the busbar, in order to have the leads attach to the bus bar closer to its battery, in case of a need to change the battery and it may be more easily removed, using a conventional method to attach leads to a busbar with the expected result of good electrical connectivity.
Regarding claim 12, Guo in view of Angerer and Ikeda and Park teaches all the limitations of claim 11, as above, but does not further teach an electrode lead welding comprising determining whether a bent state of each of the electrode leads is at a predetermined angle before welding the bent electrode lead to the busbar. However, in accordance with how the electrodes bend towards the busbar (Guo, Fig. 7C), it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Guo in view of Angerer and Ikeda, to ensure that the resulting angle is at a predetermined angle, which would be substantially 90 degrees, in order for the electrodes to be properly welded to the busbar (as in fig. 7C).
Regarding claim 13, Guo in view of Angerer and Ikeda and Park teaches all the limitations of claim 11, as above, but does not further teach an electrode lead welding wherein the disposing of the bending portion, the electrode lead bending and welding apparatus is moved downwards (Guo, Fig. 6A-6B, for putting the bending portion in the right place), the sensing portion of the electrode lead bending and welding apparatus extends through each of the slits of the busbar so as to be parallel with a direction in which the electrode leads protrude (the bending portions of Angerer, would be attached to each of the leads as taught in Guo, and would extend through the slits as taught in Park), and the lower surface of the bending portion of the electrode lead bending and welding apparatus (lower portion of 208, which is also part of the apparatus) is disposed so as to be adjacent to the busbar (and the bending portion, when it bends the lead, the bottom would be adjacent the busbar as taught in Park) .
Regarding claim 14, Guo in view of Angerer and Ikeda and Park teaches all the limitations of claim 11, as above, and further teaches an electrode lead welding method, wherein the bending of the electrode leads is performed as a process of disposing the bending portion on a first surface of each of the electrode leads (Guo, figs. 6b, 7b) and horizontally moving the bending portion (208, part of bending portion) such that a second surface, which is a surface opposite the first surface, faces the busbar in parallel therewith (leads 58A-D face busbar after bending).
Regarding claim 15, Guo in view of Angerer and Ikeda and Park teaches all the limitations of claim 11, as above, but does not further teach, in the combination so far, a lead welding method wherein the sensing portion of the electrode lead bending and welding apparatus is rotated 90 degrees in a first direction so as to be located at an outer surface of the busbar in response to a horizontal movement of the bending portion. However, Angerer teaches having the sensing portions either on the inside (Angerer, fig. 6), or on the outside of the bending metal (Angerer, fig 3) to measure the bend. As Angerer only has two locations for the sensing portion, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to try having the sensing on the outside of the bent metal, in accordance with one of the ways Angerer senses the bending of the metal, using a conventional method in a conventional way achieving the expected result of sensing the bent metal (see MPEP 2143(E)).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guo (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/ 0144582) in view of Angerer (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2015/ 0153148) and Ikeda (U.S. Patent 7,802,456) and further in view of Pelaprat (U.S. Patent Application publication 2017/ 0341144).
Regarding claim 7, Guo in view of Angerer and Ikeda teaches all the limitations of claim 1, as above, but does not further teach an electrode lead bending and welding apparatus comprising a vision camera configured to inspect a welded state between the electrode lead and the busbar. However, Pelaprat teaches an apparatus comprising a vision camera configured to inspect a welded state between the electrode lead and the busbar (Pelaprat ¶¶0003, 0037, fig. 1, Welding buss bars…electrodes.. and “cameras, can be used to check the quality of the weld”). Thus, it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify Guo in view of Angerer and Ikeda with the teachings of Peleprat, to have the welds be monitored and inspected/check via a camera, in order to be able to assess the quality of the weld, even from a distance, in order to move on to the next process, and this is a faster and more efficient way of checking the quality of the weld.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claim 2, the prior art does not teach wherein the sensing portion is attached to the bending portion in a state of being perpendicular to a lower surface of the bending portion before the electrode lead is bent by the bending portion; and the sensing portion is rotated so as to be parallel with the lower surface of the bending portion when the electrode lead is bent. The prior art of Angerer teaches that the sensing portion is attached to the metal and senses its bend, and in combination would be attached to the leads in Guo (58), not attached to the bending portion. Claims 3 and 4 are dependent on claim 2 and thus also have allowable subject matter.
Regarding claim 5, the prior art does not teach wherein a distance between the sensing portion and the busbar is formed so as to be equal to a thickness of the electrode lead. Guo teaches the busbar much farther than a thickness of a lead (figs. 7A-7C, lead 58, busbar 60).
Regarding claim 6, the prior art does not teach wherein the sensing portion is coupled to the bending portion by an elastic member, and wherein the sensing portion returns to a standby state due to elastic force of the elastic member after the welding of the electrode lead is finished. The sensing portion of Angerer is not connected by an does not return to a standby state due to an elastic force (see Angerer figs. 3 and 6).
Regarding claim 8, the prior art does not teach wherein the bending portion is formed in a shape of a quadrangular pillar having a hollow formed therein, and wherein a welding rod is inserted through the hollow in order to perform the welding. It would not be obvious to modify Guo to have a quadrangular pillar having a hollow formed therein.
Regarding claim 9, the prior art does not teach wherein a welding rod is on a lower surface of the bending portion. In Guo, the welding takes place adjacent the bending portion, and cannot be added onto its lower surface.
Regarding claim 10, wherein one bending portion having one sensing portion coupled thereto is attached to the base portion to constitute a unit member, and wherein a plurality of unit members are assembled with each other. The prior art of Angerer teaches that the sensing portion is attached to the metal and senses its bend, and in combination would be attached to the leads in Guo (58), not attached to the bending portion.
Claim 16 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claim 16, the prior art does not teach wherein the welding of the bent electrode lead to the busbar is performed, the sensing portion is rotated 90 degrees in a second direction, which is a direction opposite the first direction, while becoming far away from the busbar, whereby the sensing portion returns to a standby state. At least, the combination with Angerer would not allow the sensing portion to return to a standby state.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see attached PTO-892.
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/LAWRENCE H SAMUELS/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
/IBRAHIME A ABRAHAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761