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
Claim 5 was previously withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim and remains withdrawn until allowability is determined. Newly added claims 10-11 depend from claim 5 and are also withdrawn.
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.
Claims 1, 4-5 and 8-9 are 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.
A broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.05(c). In the present instance, claim 1 recites the broad recitation “…wherein the first welded portion and the second welded portion overlap each other” in line 16, and the claim also recites “…a first welded portion and a second welded portion that partially overlap each other…” prior to this in line 15 which is the narrower statement of the range/limitation. The claim(s) are considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims. Claims 4-5 and 8-9 depend from claim 1 and are rejected for the same reasons. For the purposes of compact prosecution, the limitation will be treated such that the first welded portion and the second welded portion partially overlap each other at least at a boundary position.
Claim Interpretation
Claim 4 recites “the welded portion when viewed from the laminating direction…has an annular shape having no corner or an arch shape having no corner” will be interpreted in line with the instant application [0068] where it was identified that such that any elliptic shape or circular shape would not have any corners.
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, 4, 12 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oda et al. (JP2015088443A, English machine translation previously provided) in view of Tsutsumi et al. (US20140377625) in view of Yokota et al. (US 20170054131).
Regarding claim 1, Oda discloses: an energy storage apparatus comprising: an energy storage device ([0001] battery) including a metal external terminal (Fig. 6 terminal 8); and a metal bus bar ([0031] bus bar 101 is Al) that is laminated (Fig. 6 where 8 and 101 lays flat on each other thus meeting laminated) on the external metal terminal (8) and welded to the metal external terminal ([0031] 8 and 101 are welded), wherein a welded portion that welds the bus bar and the external terminal is formed on the bus bar (implicit when welding two parts together), the welded portion is extended from the bus bar to the external terminal ([0061] laser welding is used which is the same as the instant [0062] and thus the extension is expected), the external terminal (8) includes a clad material ([0007], clad plate material) including a first metal layer ([0042] Al layer 80) adjacent (see Fig. 6) to the bus bar (101) and a second metal layer ([0042] Cu layer 81) adjacent (see Fig. 6) to the first metal layer (80), the welded portion welds the bus bar (101) and the first metal layer (80) ([0031] and Fig. 6, 80 and 101 are welded), and an end of the welded portion does not reach an interface between the first metal layer (80) and the second metal layer (81) (Fig. 6 provided below, 81 is separated from the welding).
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Oda further discloses the welded portion but does not explicitly disclose where the welded portion includes a first welded portion and a second welded portion that partially overlap each other at least at a boundary position.
Tsutsumi discloses an electric storage apparatus (title) where a weld portion (9) is used to weld the bus bar (6) to an external terminal (4). Overlapping the weld portions helps eliminate possible blowholes that may form while forming the weld portions [0031].
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have modified the weld portion of Oda such that the welded portion includes a first welded portion and a second welded portion that partially overlap each other at least at a boundary position as taught by Tsutsumi because it helps eliminate possible blowholes that may form while forming the weld portions [0031].
Oda discloses wherein a section of the metal external terminal (8) and the metal bus bar (101) in a laminating direction of the metal external terminal and the metal bus bar, a dimension of the welded portion at the boundary position between the metal external terminal and the metal bus bar in the direction orthogonal to the laminating direction (see annotated Fig 6 of Oda above) but does not explicitly disclose where the dimension of the welded portion is larger than a thickness of the first metal layer, and wherein the thickness of the first metal layer is smaller than a thickness of the second metal layer.
Tsutsumi discloses an electric storage apparatus (title) where a weld portion (9) is used to weld the bus bar (6) to an external terminal (4). The weld portion has a ring shape which helps suppress stress concentration on the weld and increases the strength of the weld portion [0103]. Tsutsumi further teaches that increasing the weld length will increase the strength of the weld portion [0089].
Yokota discloses that the electrical conductivity can be improved by increasing the Cu and reducing the Al can reduce the weight ([0104]).
As the length of the weld portion and thickness of the first and second metal layers (thickness is indicative of the amount of the Cu/Al of the layers) are variables that can be modified, among others, with said strength of the weld portion increasing as the length of the weld portion is increased, increasing the thickness of the Cu (second metal layer) would increase the electrical conductivity and decreasing the amount of Al (first metal layer) can reduce the weight, the precise dimension of the weld portion with respect to the thickness of the other layers would have been considered a result effective variable by one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made. As such, without showing unexpected results, the claimed dimension of the welded portion and the thicknesses of the first metal layer with respect to the thickness of the second metal layer cannot be considered critical. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made would have optimized, by routine experimentation, the length of the welded portion with respect to the thickness of the first metal layer and the thickness of the first metal layer to be smaller than a thickness of the second metal layer in the apparatus of Oda to obtain the desired balance between the weld strength, conductivity and weight (In re Boesch, 617 F.2d. 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980)), since it has been held that where the general conditions of the claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. (In re Aller, 105 USPQ 223).
Regarding claim 4, Oda further discloses a welded portion but does not explicitly disclose wherein the welded portion when viewed from the laminating direction of the external terminal end and the bus bar has an annular shape having no corner or an arch shape having no corner.
Tsutsumi discloses an electric storage apparatus (title) where a weld portion (9) is used to weld the bus bar (6) to an external terminal (4). The weld portion has a ring shape which helps suppress stress concentration on the weld and increases the strength of the weld portion [0103].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have modified the weld portion of Oda such that the welded portion has a ring shape (thus, when viewed from the laminating direction of the external terminal end and the bus bar has an annular shape having no corner or an arch shape having no corner, see claim interpretation section) because it helps suppress stress concentration on the weld and increases the strength of the weld portion [0103].
Regarding claims 12/15, Oda discloses: an energy storage apparatus comprising: an energy storage device ([0001] battery) including a metal external terminal (Fig. 6 terminal 8); and a metal bus bar ([0031] bus bar 101 is Al) that is laminated (Fig. 6 where 8 and 101 lays flat on each other thus meeting laminated) on the external metal terminal (8) and welded to the metal external terminal ([0031] 8 and 101 are welded), wherein a welded portion that welds the bus bar and the external terminal is formed on the bus bar (implicit when welding two parts together), the welded portion is extended from the bus bar to the external terminal ([0061] laser welding is used which is the same as the instant [0062] and thus the extension is expected), the external terminal (8) includes a clad material ([0007], clad plate material) including a first metal layer ([0042] Al layer 80) adjacent (see Fig. 6) to the bus bar (101) and a second metal layer ([0042] Cu layer 81) adjacent (see Fig. 6) to the first metal layer (80), the welded portion welds the bus bar (101) and the first metal layer (80) ([0031] and Fig. 6, 80 and 101 are welded), and an end of the welded portion does not reach an interface between the first metal layer (80) and the second metal layer (81) (Fig. 6 provided below, 81 is separated from the welding).
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Oda discloses wherein a section of the metal external terminal (8) and the metal bus bar (101) in a laminating direction of the metal external terminal and the metal bus bar, a dimension of the welded portion at the boundary position between the metal external terminal and the metal bus bar in the direction orthogonal to the laminating direction (see annotated Fig 6 of Oda above) but the dimension of the welded portion at the boundary position between the metal external terminal and the metal bus bar in a direction orthogonal to the laminating direction is larger than a thickness of the first metal layer or where the thickness of the first metal layer is smaller than a thickness of the second metal layer.
Tsutsumi discloses an electric storage apparatus (title) where a weld portion (9) is used to weld the bus bar (6) to an external terminal (4). The weld portion has a ring shape which helps suppress stress concentration on the weld and increases the strength of the weld portion [0103]. Tsutsumi further teaches that increasing the weld length will increase the strength of the weld portion [0089].
Yokota discloses that the electrical conductivity can be improved by increasing the Cu and reducing the Al can reduce the weight ([0104]).
As the length of the weld portion and thickness of the first and second metal layers (thickness is indicative of the amount of the Cu/Al of the layers) are variables that can be modified, among others, with said strength of the weld portion increasing as the length of the weld portion is increased, increasing the thickness of the Cu (second metal layer) would increase the electrical conductivity and decreasing the amount of Al (first metal layer) can reduce the weight, the precise dimension of the weld portion with respect to the thickness of the other layers would have been considered a result effective variable by one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made. As such, without showing unexpected results, the claimed dimension of the welded portion and the thicknesses of the first metal layer with respect to the thickness of the second metal layer cannot be considered critical. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made would have optimized, by routine experimentation, the length of the welded portion with respect to the thickness of the first metal layer and the thickness of the first metal layer to be smaller than a thickness of the second metal layer in the apparatus of Oda to obtain the desired balance between the weld strength, conductivity and weight (In re Boesch, 617 F.2d. 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980)), since it has been held that where the general conditions of the claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. (In re Aller, 105 USPQ 223).
Claim(s) 8-9, 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oda et al. (JP2015088443A, English machine translation previously provided) in view of Tsutsumi et al. (US20140377625) in view of Yokota et al. (US 20170054131) as applied to claim 1 or 12 above, further in view of Kagiya (WO2015186168A1).
Regarding claims 8/9, Tsutsumi discloses the overlapping the weld portions (9) but does not explicitly disclose where the welded portion comprises a plurality of concentric circles or where it comprises a plurality of welding tracks formed in concentric circles.
Kagiya discloses a laser welding method for a battery pack (title) where the welding tracks/lines (12, 13, 14) are concentric (abstract).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have modified the welded portion of Oda such that concentric track/lines are used in stead of two beads as taught by Kagiya because utilizing a known weld shape (concentric track/lines) in place of another (beads) is well within the ambit of one of ordinary skill in the art. Note that the shape is being modified which would not impact the modification that would include the overlapping welding portion taught by Tsutsumi.
Regarding claims 13/14, Oda discloses a weld portion but does not explicitly disclose where the welded portion comprises a plurality of concentric circles or where it comprises a plurality of welding tracks formed in concentric circles.
Kagiya discloses a laser welding method for a battery pack (title) where the welding tracks/lines (12, 13, 14) are concentric (abstract).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have modified the welded portion of Oda such that concentric track/lines are used instead of the bead as taught by Kagiya because utilizing a known another known weld shape (plurality of concentric track/lines) in place of another (beads) is well within the ambit of one of ordinary skill in the art.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 11/18/25 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.
Regarding the argument on page 14 directed towards claim 12 that the Oda reference teaches away from using a dimension of the welded portion larger than a thickness of the first metal layer, the examiner respectfully disagrees. Indeed, Oda expressed a preference, but Oda did not explicitly disclose that a smaller portion cannot be used. A reference can be relied upon for all that it discloses including non-preferred embodiments. It is also well known in the art to vary the welding portion and thicknesses of the layers as discussed above with Tsutsumi and Yokota. The instant specification does not appear to indicate that there is any unexpected result associated with having the welded portion larger than a thickness of the first metal layer, if there is, the applicant is invited to provide it for further consideration.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/SUSAN D LEONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1754