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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 10-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 2/3/2025.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim (US 2012/0321946 A1, received in the information disclosure statement on 9/26/2022).
Regarding claim 1, Kim teaches an electrode manufacturing method [0058] comprising:
coating [0058] an electrode mixture coated portion (positive active material coated area, 112, fig. 4-6) on an electrode sheet (electrode plate, 110, fig. 4-6), leaving an uncoated portion of the electrode sheet (positive non-coated area, 113, fig. 4-6) having no electrode mixture formed thereon [0058];
slitting the electrode sheet (slit at lines A, B and C, fig. 5A, [0070]) into a plurality of unit electrode sheets (sub electrode plates, SUB1 and SUB2, fig. 5A, [0070]); and
then notching the electrode sheet (slit at lines D, F, G, I, J and L, fig. 6, [0072]), wherein the uncoated portion (positive non-coated area, 113, fig. 4-6) comprises:
a first uncoated portion (part of 113 to the left of SUB1 and right of SUB2 in fig. 5-6) extending parallel to a direction in which the electrode sheet is moving (direction X in fig. 5-6); and
a second uncoated portion (part of 113 comprising SUB1 and SUB2 in fig. 5-6) extending perpendicular to the direction in which the electrode sheet is moving (direction X in fig. 5-6).
Regarding claim 2, Kim further teaches the slitting includes slitting the coated portion between a first part of the first uncoated portion and a second part of the first uncoated portion adjacent to the first part of the first uncoated portion (slit at lines A, B and C that are in between the parts of 113 to the left of SUB1 and right of SUB2, fig. 5A, [0070]).
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.
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 3-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lim (US 9502734 B1).
Regarding claim 3, Kim teaches during the notching (slit at lines D, F, G, I, J and L, fig. 6, [0072]), a part of the coated portion (waveform boundary section, 114, fig. 6) located between a first part of the second uncoated portion (part of 113 comprising SUB1 and SUB2 above 112, fig. 6) and a second part of the second uncoated portion adjacent to the first part of the second uncoated portion (part of 113 comprising SUB1 and SUB2 below 112, fig. 6) is cut (coated portion 112 slit at lines F, I and L) to manufacture a unit electrode [0072]. Kim does not disclose the second uncoated portion (part of 113 comprising SUB1 and SUB2 in fig. 5-6) is a folding portion of the electrode sheet (electrode plate, 110, fig. 4-6). However, Lim teaches a battery structure including hinge regions that are folded to enhance flexibility and battery geometry (col. 16, lines 22-24). Furthermore, the hinge regions may have discontinuities wherein the anode or cathode active material layers are not deposited in order to reduce the cross-sectional area at the hinge region (col. 13, lines 25-42). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date to include a folding portion of the electrode sheet at the second uncoated portion, in order to enhance flexibility and battery geometry as taught by Lim (col. 16, lines 22-24).
Regarding claim 4, Kim teaches the second uncoated portion (part of 113 comprising SUB1 and SUB2 in fig. 5-6) comprises a notching portion (slit at lines F, I, and L, fig. 6, [0072]) and a second portion (lines D, G, and J), the notching portion and the second portion are alternately disposed (fig. 6), and a unit electrode is manufactured by notching the notching portion [0072]. Kim does not disclose the second portion is a folding portion. However, Lim teaches a battery structure including hinge regions that are folded to enhance flexibility and battery geometry (col. 16, lines 22-24). Furthermore, the hinge regions may have discontinuities wherein the anode or cathode active material layers are not deposited in order to reduce the cross-sectional area at the hinge region (col. 13, lines 25-42). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date to include a folding portion at the second uncoated portion, in order to enhance flexibility and battery geometry as taught by Lim (col. 16, lines 22-24).
Regarding claim 5, modified Kim does not disclose the electrode manufacturing method as applied to claim 4, wherein a width of the notching portion (slit at lines F, I, and L, fig. 6) and a width of the folding portion (slit at lines D, G and J, fig. 6) are different from each other. Modified Kim teaches these portions and the electrode plate (110) are equal in width (fig. 6). However, Lim teaches the folding portion (hinge region) is about 20 to 80 percent of the width of the electrode plate (cell region, col. 13, lines 49-52) to allow for sufficient folding (col. 18, lines 9-12). Therefore, it would have been obvious to further modify Kim to make the folding portion 20 to 80 percent of the width of the electrode plate; to allow for sufficient folding as taught by Lim (col. 18, lines 9-12), and therefore it would also be 20 to 80 percent of the width of the notching portion, allowing for the width of the notching potion and the width of the folding portion to be different from each other.
Regarding claim 6, modified Kim teaches the electrode manufacturing method as applied to claim 3, wherein the notching (slit at lines D, F, G, I, J and L, fig. 6, [0072]) comprises: forming an electrode tab (113a, fig. 6); and notching the electrode sheet to manufacture the unit electrode (slit at lines D, F, G, I, J and L, fig. 6, [0072]). Modified Kim does not disclose the electrode tab (113a, fig. 6) is formed on the first uncoated portion (part of 113 to the left of SUB1 and right of SUB2 in fig. 5-6). However, the purpose of the electrode tab is to prevent contact between electrode plates having different polarities [0049], and is best located at a non-coated area to improve safety and productivity of the battery [0049]. The rearrangement of the electrode tab to be formed on the first uncoated portion (113a on a part of 113 to the left of SUB1 and right of SUB2 in fig. 6) would not affect its ability to safely prevent contact between electrode plates having different polarities. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date to rearrange the electrode tab to be formed on the first uncoated portion, as a matter of design choice, barring evidence of criticality and unexpected results, see M.P.E.P. §2144.04.
Regarding claim 7, modified Kim further teaches forming of the electrode tab and the notching are simultaneously performed (slit at lines D, F, G, I, J and L in fig. 6 to form tab 113a, [0072]).
Regarding claim 8, Kim teaches the electrode manufacturing method as applied to claim 4, wherein the notching (slit at lines D, F, G, I, J and L, fig. 6, [0072]) comprises: forming an electrode tab (113a, fig. 6); and notching the electrode sheet to manufacture the unit electrode (slit at lines D, F, G, I, J and L, fig. 6, [0072]). Modified Kim does not disclose the electrode tab (113a, fig. 6) is formed on the first uncoated portion (part of 113 to the left of SUB1 and right of SUB2 in fig. 5-6). However, the purpose of the electrode tab is to prevent contact between electrode plates having different polarities [0049], and is best located at a non-coated area to improve safety and productivity of the battery [0049]. The rearrangement of the electrode tab to be formed on the first uncoated portion (113a on a part of 113 to the left of SUB1 and right of SUB2 in fig. 6) would not affect its ability to safely prevent contact between electrode plates having different polarities. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date to rearrange the electrode tab to be formed on the first uncoated portion, as a matter of design choice, barring evidence of criticality and unexpected results, see M.P.E.P. §2144.04.
Regarding claim 9, Kim further teaches forming of the electrode tab and the notching are simultaneously performed (slit at lines D, F, G, I, J and L in fig. 6 to form tab 113a, [0072]).
Conclusion
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/M.A.C./Examiner, Art Unit 1724
/MIRIAM STAGG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1724
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