DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 5/14/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
This is a non-final office action in response to Applicant's remarks and amendments filed on 5/14/2026. Claim 1 is currently amended. Claim 3 is cancelled. Claims 1-2 and 4-14 are pending review in this action.
The 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections in the previous Office Action are withdrawn.
New grounds of rejection necessitated by Applicant's amendments are presented below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/14/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues, pertaining amended claim 1, that the cited prior art fails to render obvious “wherein the first and second plates have a height corresponding to 3/10 to 5/10 of a height of a region of the battery cell having an electrode assembly.” Applicant submits that the present invention recognizes that during activation process, battery cells are positioned upright, causing the electrolyte to settle at the bottom, leading to insufficient wetting (impregnation) across the entire electrode, which negatively affects battery performance. To solve this, the battery cell is heated in a specific height range of 3/10 to 5/10 of the total height during the aging process to increase the migration speed of the concentrated electrolyte at the bottom, thereby significantly improving the impregnation of the electrode assembly. Applicant further submits that Jeong discloses the height of the first and second partition walls is in the range of 20-90% of the battery cell height, and while this encompasses the claimed range of 3/10 to 5/10, the range recited in Jeong fails to recognize and address the problem of electrolyte to settling at the bottom of the cell. And moreover, Jeong’s partition wall height of 20-90% of the battery cells is merely to prevent cells from dislodging if under 20% during transport and to ensure mounting if over 90%.
Examiner respectfully disagrees with Applicant’s arguments for the following reasons. First, Jeong’s explicit teaching of the height for proper mounting of the battery cells so that they’re not dislodged during transfer can be easily mounted still provides a sufficient overlap with the claimed range. Second, Applicant fails to provide comparative data demonstrating that the specific 3/10-5/10 range produces unexpected results compared to adjacent values (e.g., 25%, 55%). Without evidence showing a qualitative change in performance at these specific boundaries, the selection of the claimed sub-range constitutes routine optimization of a result-effective variable.
Applicant further submits that Jeong teaches providing heating wire on a middle portion of the partition wall and thus does not suggest heating across the entire surface of a shorter plate. However, Jeong explicitly discloses that the purpose of the heating member is to facilitate electrolyte impregnation, and further teaches providing the heating elements at lower ends of the partition wall [Jeong – par. 0017]. The specific location shown in Jeong’s figures is an embodiment, not a limitation. It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill to extend or position the heating element to cover the full height of the plate or the lower region where the electrolyte concentrates simply to maximize heat transfer to the electrode assembly. Applicant’s assertion that Jeong doesn’t suggest to combine 30-50% height with a full-surface heater is incorrect because Jeong teaches a functional requirement of heating the cell to improve wetting, and that the plates can be as short as 20% while remaining stable. Combining these teachings creates a predictable result. The argument that these feature were never combined ignores the principle that combining prior art elements to perform their known functions (heating for wetting and supporting with shorter plates) is obvious unless the combination yields unexpected synergy. Here, the result is simply efficient heating of the lower region of the electrode assembly. Accordingly, the selection of a plate height to be 30-50% of battery height and the integration of heating member within that area remains a routine optimization of known parameters and configurations.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-2, 6 and 9-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jung (CN110419132A – see IDS; US2019/0379083A1 used as English Equivalent) in view of Jeong (JP5932886B2 – see IDS; machine translation attached herein) and Hilligoss (US20180205055A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Jung discloses a battery cell tray 100 [Figs. 1-2] comprising:
a tray body 111 having a storage space therein; and
first and second plates 112-115 arranged in the storage space of the tray body, the first and second plates being configured to support opposite surfaces of at least one battery cell to allow the battery cell to be mounted in an erect state, the first and second plates being movable in a horizontal direction in the storage space [pars. 0067-75; Figs. 1-2].
Jung teaches performing an aging process, including a high-temperature aging process, before or after an activation step by pressure applied to the battery cells by the first and second plates, in order to sufficiently impregnate the electrode assembly with the electrolytic solution [pars. 0018,0032-34], but fails to teach wherein each of the first and second plates have a heating member therein. However, Jeong, from the same field of endeavor, teaches a battery cell tray 200 having a tray body 110 and first and second plates 222 configured to support opposite surfaces of at least one battery cell to allow the battery cell to be mounted in an erect state, wherein heating members 230 are provided on the first and second plate to induce a temperature rise in the battery cells to facilitate transport and charging of battery cells during manufacturing process and improving the impregnation of the electrolyte into the battery cells during transport and manufacturing process [Jeong – pars. 0010-11,0029,0033-36; Figs. 1-3]. While Jeong teaches that the heating members are on both side surfaces of the plates, Jeong does not necessarily teach that the heating members may be provided in the plates. However, providing the heating members in the plates configured to support opposite surfaces of at least one battery cell is a well-known configuration in the art. For example, Hilligoss, from the same field of endeavor, discloses plates (heaters 24) arranged on opposite surfaces of each battery cells (electrochemical cells 22), wherein the plates include an etched plate 24a including a laminated copper foil heating element 24b (i.e., the heating element 24b is provided within the etched portion of the plate 24a) [Hilligoss – pars. 0087; Figs. 3-4]. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled artisan to have modified the first and second plates of Jung to have comprised heating members therein in order to induce a temperature rise in the battery cells to facilitate transport and charging of battery cells during manufacturing process and improving the impregnation of the electrolyte into the battery cells during transport and manufacturing process.
Jung fails to disclose wherein the first and second plates have a height corresponding to 3/10 to 5/10 of a height of a region of the battery cell having an electrode assembly. However, Jeong teaches wherein the first and second plates have a height corresponding to 20% to 90% of the battery cells, and that if the height is less than 20% of the battery cells the battery cells mounted on the tray may shift and become detached during transfer process, and if the height exceeds 90%, it may become difficult to mount the battery cells on the tray body [Jeong – par. 0012]. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled artisan to have modified the tray of Jung wherein the first and second plates have a height corresponding to 3/10 to 5/10 of a height of a region of the battery cell having an electrode assembly in order to prevent the battery cells from shifting and become detached during transfer process and to more easily mount the battery cells on the tray body without undue experimentation and with a reasonable expectation of success [MPEP 2144.05(II)].
Regarding Claim 2, modified Jung teaches wherein each heating member is a heat wire [par. 0033].
Regarding Claim 6, modified Jung discloses wherein the first and second plates define one pair of plates, wherein the battery cell tray has n pairs of plates, and wherein n is an integer equal to or greater than 2 [Jung – Figs. 1-2].
Regarding Claim 9, modified Jung discloses wherein the at least one battery cell is a plurality of battery cells arranged along the first and second plates [Jung – Figs. 1-2].
Regarding Claim 10, modified Jung teaches a method of activating a battery cell 131 including a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode (inherent battery cells components), the method comprising:
mounting the battery cell on the battery cell tray according to claim 1; and
aging the battery cell mounted on the battery cell tray [Jung – par. 0032],
wherein the aging of the battery cell includes applying heat to the battery cell (i.e., high-temperature aging process) [Jung – par. 0033].
Regarding Claim 11, modified Jung teaches wherein the aging of the battery cell includes applying heat in a temperature range of 50 to 70o C to the battery cell [Jung – par. 0033], which falls within the claimed range of 50 to 80o C.
Regarding Claim 12, modified Jung teaches wherein the aging is performed for about 1 day [Jung – par. 0034], which falls within the claimed range of about 12 to 48 hours.
Regarding Claim 13, modified Jung fails to teach wherein the applying of heat is performed for about 5 to 15 minutes per hour. However, timing the heat application to facilitate sufficient impregnation of the electrolytic solution into the electrode assembly is well-within the ordinary skilled artisan. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled artisan to have modified the method of Jung to have controlled the heat application step wherein the applying of heat is performed for about 5 to 15 minutes per hour in order to sufficiently impregnate the electrolytic solution into the electrode assembly, without undue experimentation and with a reasonable expectation of success [MPEP 2144.05(II)].
Claim(s) 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jung, Jeong and Hilligoss, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Xie (CN109148989A – see IDS; machine translation attached herein).
Regarding Claim 4, modified Jung teaches wherein the first and second plates move toward each other to press the battery cell during activation of the battery cell in order to prevent the battery cell from being deformed due to expansion of the electrode assembly while the battery cell is charged and discharged [Jung – par. 0104], but fails to teach wherein an interval adjusting member is located between the first and second plates to adjust an interval between the first and second plates. However, Xie, from the same field of endeavor, teaches a clamping device comprising a first and second plate 110/120 arranged and opposite surfaces of at least one battery cell (not shown), wherein an interval adjusting member 130 is located between the first and second plates to adjust an interval between the first and second plates in order to uniformly clamp the battery cell under pressure during charging and discharging to thereby improve performance of the battery cell to prevent bloating during the charge and discharge process [Xie – pars. 0092-95; Fig. 1]. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled artisan to have modified the method of Jung wherein an interval adjusting member is located between the first and second plates to adjust an interval between the first and second plates in order to uniformly clamp the battery cell under pressure during charging and discharging to thereby improve performance of the battery cell to prevent bloating during the charge and discharge process.
Regarding Claim 5, modified Jung teaches wherein the interval adjusting member is a coil spring [Xie – par. 0094; Fig. 1].
Claim(s) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jung, Jeong and Hilligoss, as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Schmieder (US2021/0408573A1; priority date of 6/30/2020).
Regarding Claim 7, modified Jung fails to teach wherein an elastic pressing member is included between a k-th second plate and a (k+1)-th first plate, and wherein k is an integer equal to or greater than 1 and equal to or less than n-1. However, the claimed limitation can be interpreted such that adjacent second and first battery plates comprise the elastic pressing member at their respective surfaces which do not face the battery cells. In this regard, Schmieder, from the same field of endeavor, discloses a battery cell tray 18 comprising a prestressing unit 36b which comprises a k-th second plate 42b and a (k+a)-th first plate 42a including an elastic pressing member 44 to compensate for swelling of the battery cells 22 [Schmieder – pars. 0044-51; Fig. 2]. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled artisan to have further modified the battery cell tray of Jung wherein an elastic pressing member is included between a k-th second plate and a (k+1)-th first plate, and wherein k is an integer equal to or greater than 1 and equal to or less than n-1 in order to compensate for swelling of the battery cells.
Regarding Claim 8, modified Jung teaches wherein the elastic pressing member is a coil spring.
Claim(s) 1-2, 6 and 9-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jung (CN110419132A – see IDS; US2019/0379083A1 used as English Equivalent) in view of Jeong (JP5932886B2 – see IDS; machine translation attached herein) and Lee (KR101713042B1; foreign copy and machine translation attached herein).
Regarding Claim 1, Jung discloses a battery cell tray 100 [Figs. 1-2] comprising:
a tray body 111 having a storage space therein; and
first and second plates 112-115 arranged in the storage space of the tray body, the first and second plates being configured to support opposite surfaces of at least one battery cell to allow the battery cell to be mounted in an erect state, the first and second plates being movable in a horizontal direction in the storage space [pars. 0067-75; Figs. 1-2].
Jung teaches performing an aging process, including a high-temperature aging process, before or after an activation step by pressure applied to the battery cells by the first and second plates, in order to sufficiently impregnate the electrode assembly with the electrolytic solution [pars. 0018,0032-34], but fails to teach wherein each of the first and second plates have a heating member therein. However, Jeong, from the same field of endeavor, teaches a battery cell tray 200 having a tray body 110 and first and second plates 222 configured to support opposite surfaces of at least one battery cell to allow the battery cell to be mounted in an erect state, wherein heating members 230 are provided on the first and second plate to induce a temperature rise in the battery cells to facilitate transport and charging of battery cells during manufacturing process and improving the impregnation of the electrolyte into the battery cells during transport and manufacturing process [Jeong – pars. 0010-11,0029,0033-36; Figs. 1-3]. While Jeong teaches that the heating members are on both side surfaces of the plates, Jeong does not necessarily teach that the heating members may be provided within the plates. However, providing the heating members to be disposed within the plates configured to support opposite surfaces of at least one battery cell is a well-known configuration in the art. For example, Lee, from the same field of endeavor, discloses plates (heat generation plates 120 formed of base 122) arranged on opposite surfaces of each battery cells 10, wherein each plate includes a heating member (heat ray 124) embedded therein [Lee – pars. 0042-48; Figs. 3-4]. Lee further teaches that because the heating member are embedded within the plates, the plates may be formed in planar surfaces when contacting the battery cells so that the surfaces of the battery cells in contact with the plates are planarized [Lee – par. 0048]. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled artisan to have modified the first and second plates of Jung to have comprised heating members therein in order to induce a temperature rise in the battery cells to facilitate transport and charging of battery cells during manufacturing process and improving the impregnation of the electrolyte into the battery cells during transport and manufacturing process in a manner that the surfaces of the battery cells in contact with the plates are planarized.
Jung fails to disclose wherein the first and second plates have a height corresponding to 3/10 to 5/10 of a height of a region of the battery cell having an electrode assembly. However, Jeong teaches wherein the first and second plates have a height corresponding to 20% to 90% of the battery cells, and that if the height is less than 20% of the battery cells the battery cells mounted on the tray may shift and become detached during transfer process, and if the height exceeds 90%, it may become difficult to mount the battery cells on the tray body [Jeong – par. 0012]. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled artisan to have modified the tray of Jung wherein the first and second plates have a height corresponding to 3/10 to 5/10 of a height of a region of the battery cell having an electrode assembly in order to prevent the battery cells from shifting and become detached during transfer process and to more easily mount the battery cells on the tray body without undue experimentation and with a reasonable expectation of success [MPEP 2144.05(II)].
Regarding Claim 2, modified Jung teaches wherein each heating member is a heat wire [par. 0033].
Regarding Claim 6, modified Jung discloses wherein the first and second plates define one pair of plates, wherein the battery cell tray has n pairs of plates, and wherein n is an integer equal to or greater than 2 [Jung – Figs. 1-2].
Regarding Claim 9, modified Jung discloses wherein the at least one battery cell is a plurality of battery cells arranged along the first and second plates [Jung – Figs. 1-2].
Regarding Claim 10, modified Jung teaches a method of activating a battery cell 131 including a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode (inherent battery cells components), the method comprising:
mounting the battery cell on the battery cell tray according to claim 1; and
aging the battery cell mounted on the battery cell tray [Jung – par. 0032],
wherein the aging of the battery cell includes applying heat to the battery cell (i.e., high-temperature aging process) [Jung – par. 0033].
Regarding Claim 11, modified Jung teaches wherein the aging of the battery cell includes applying heat in a temperature range of 50 to 70o C to the battery cell [Jung – par. 0033], which falls within the claimed range of 50 to 80o C.
Regarding Claim 12, modified Jung teaches wherein the aging is performed for about 1 day [Jung – par. 0034], which falls within the claimed range of about 12 to 48 hours.
Regarding Claim 13, modified Jung fails to teach wherein the applying of heat is performed for about 5 to 15 minutes per hour. However, timing the heat application to facilitate sufficient impregnation of the electrolytic solution into the electrode assembly is well-within the ordinary skilled artisan. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled artisan to have modified the method of Jung to have controlled the heat application step wherein the applying of heat is performed for about 5 to 15 minutes per hour in order to sufficiently impregnate the electrolytic solution into the electrode assembly, without undue experimentation and with a reasonable expectation of success [MPEP 2144.05(II)].
Regarding Claim 14, modified Jung teaches wherein the heating element in each of the first and second plates does not directly contact the opposite surfaces of the at least one battery cell [Lee – par. 0048; Fig. 5].
Claim(s) 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jung, Jeong and Lee, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Xie (CN109148989A – see IDS; machine translation attached herein).
Regarding Claim 4, modified Jung teaches wherein the first and second plates move toward each other to press the battery cell during activation of the battery cell in order to prevent the battery cell from being deformed due to expansion of the electrode assembly while the battery cell is charged and discharged [Jung – par. 0104], but fails to teach wherein an interval adjusting member is located between the first and second plates to adjust an interval between the first and second plates. However, Xie, from the same field of endeavor, teaches a clamping device comprising a first and second plate 110/120 arranged and opposite surfaces of at least one battery cell (not shown), wherein an interval adjusting member 130 is located between the first and second plates to adjust an interval between the first and second plates in order to uniformly clamp the battery cell under pressure during charging and discharging to thereby improve performance of the battery cell to prevent bloating during the charge and discharge process [Xie – pars. 0092-95; Fig. 1]. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled artisan to have modified the method of Jung wherein an interval adjusting member is located between the first and second plates to adjust an interval between the first and second plates in order to uniformly clamp the battery cell under pressure during charging and discharging to thereby improve performance of the battery cell to prevent bloating during the charge and discharge process.
Regarding Claim 5, modified Jung teaches wherein the interval adjusting member is a coil spring [Xie – par. 0094; Fig. 1].
Claim(s) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jung, Jeong and Lee, as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Schmieder (US2021/0408573A1; priority date of 6/30/2020).
Regarding Claim 7, modified Jung fails to teach wherein an elastic pressing member is included between a k-th second plate and a (k+1)-th first plate, and wherein k is an integer equal to or greater than 1 and equal to or less than n-1. However, the claimed limitation can be interpreted such that adjacent second and first battery plates comprise the elastic pressing member at their respective surfaces which do not face the battery cells. In this regard, Schmieder, from the same field of endeavor, discloses a battery cell tray 18 comprising a prestressing unit 36b which comprises a k-th second plate 42b and a (k+a)-th first plate 42a including an elastic pressing member 44 to compensate for swelling of the battery cells 22 [Schmieder – pars. 0044-51; Fig. 2]. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious for an ordinary skilled artisan to have further modified the battery cell tray of Jung wherein an elastic pressing member is included between a k-th second plate and a (k+1)-th first plate, and wherein k is an integer equal to or greater than 1 and equal to or less than n-1 in order to compensate for swelling of the battery cells.
Regarding Claim 8, modified Jung teaches wherein the elastic pressing member is a coil spring.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAROON S SHEIKH whose telephone number is (571)270-0302. The examiner can normally be reached 9-6.
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HAROON S. SHEIKH
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1751
/Haroon S. Sheikh/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1751
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